Every local church has a call to create greater disciples in the world. Many churches have the opportunity to help globally as well. What does it look like to establish a relationship with a global partner? How would we even do that?
In today’s blog, I want to share with you a story of how a church in the USA teamed up with Children’s HopeChest and a community in Guatemala to create lasting change, both for the community in Guatemala and in their local church as well.
Entitled “How to Launch a Partnership with Children’s HopeChest,” this video illustrates the initiation of a partnership from both sides: Bethlehem Lutheran Church in the United States and San Antonio CarePoint in Guatemala.
What makes HopeChest’s model different from others?
How have we seen so much success in our partnering communities? The answer is through HopeChest’s community-to-community Friendship model.
This model eliminates any levels of superiority and inferiority between communities and instead focuses on creating strong relationships that inspire growth. Through this model, an individual’s generosity does much more than provide support for an individual child, instead, it contributes to the transformation of the entire community. This method utilizes strategic analysis of a community’s natural assets to promote holistic community development.
HopeChest prioritizes maintaining dignity for the children and individuals living within the vulnerable communities that we partner with. One way this is accomplished is by giving agency to the children to select which North American partner they want as their HopeChest Friend. This subtle but intentional decision is empowering, giving them a sense of joy and excitement that they have ownership over their partnership.
In the video “How to Launch a Partnership…,” the different aspects of the Friendship Match event at the CarePoint are featured, including the setup, the children selecting their HopeChest Friends, taking pictures of the children with their HopeChest Friend cards, and recording why the children chose the partners that they did.
Another critical feature of our community-to-community Friendship model is sustainability. When two communities partner with each other, it opens the door for two-way transformation and holistic, long-term development. These relationships that are built empower CarePoints to create programs and provide resources where children are supported and educated to be successful once they “graduate” from the sponsorship program.
When a CarePoint is launched, HopeChest collaborates with local leaders to design a unique and specific plan for the CarePoint’s development, utilizing the community’s natural assets. This lays the foundation for long-term sustainability within the community.
Children’s HopeChest’s model for partnership is rooted in community, dignity, and sustainability.
As you look to partner with a global mission agency, look no further than HopeChest.
The opportunity for a vision trip to see their work in Uganda is what helped me see this organization is special.
My family, and my local church, is proud to support the work of Children’s HopeChest. Without hesitation, we would highly recommend their organization because they do things right.
They build a mission organization that truly is the “helping without hurting” model. Plus, in my estimation, there are few things in church life that accelerate discipleship as much as being partnered with a global missions organization. Can you imagine the impact that a long-term partnership, including mission trips overseas to visit your global partner, would have on those in your church?
The best thing for you to do is go on a vision trip. There, you can see the work in action. To see a list of some vision trips in Uganda, Ethiopia, and Guatemala coming up, go here.
And, if you’d like even more information on why global missions can spur discipleship on in your church, visit the blog here.
