Portable Sponsorship: 6 tips on sharing sponsorship 1:1

The following article is by Vicki Casper -- master of 1:1 sharing. :) She is an amazing, vibrant, delightful person and her tips are fantastic! 

What you do as Child Ambassadors changes lives!

Portable Sponsorship

By Vicki DeSantis Casper

Every ordinary day holds great potential for child sponsorship.  Prayer and Preparation are the keys.

1. Pray

God is always ready to work through us to better the lives of others, but are you ready?  In this ministry as a Child Ambassador the first and most important way to be successful is to pray. Every morning lift up the children in the picture folders that you have in your possession.  Pray that each day you can have an impact in the lives of these children, their communities and also in the lives of their future sponsors. 

2. Be Prepared

Always have your sponsorship material readily available. 

These items include:

* Picture folders and your personal sponsorship page

            * How a Community is Transformed Fold Out brochure 

            * World Vision Yearly Financial Information

            * Pictures, letters, report cards and community reports of your own sponsored child

ALWAYS have these materials with you whether in your purse, car, backpack or wherever you can bring them with you.

 3. Be Bold 

Great success can happen when talking to people one on one about sponsorship ( it has been the best way for me)

Here’s how to do it:

 “ Be bold and courageous in His work.”  1 Chronicles 28:2

Take your self out of your comfort zone, sacrifice, be readily prepared mentally to speak to strangers or anyone about child sponsorship

 4. Be obedient to the Holy Spirit. 

Act 2:4 tells us that Jesus has not left us without His supernatural help.  He has left us with His Holy Spirit to guide us and to work through us.  Pray that the Holy Spirit will show you who to speak to.  I have been prompted many times by the Spirit to talk to someone who outwardly (through my humanness) I would never think would want to sponsor.  Listen to the Spirit and trust Him in this ministry and your faith and witness will grow even stronger in all areas of life.

 5. Be up to date on the happenings in the world so that your daily conversations can lead into telling others about World Vision and Child Sponsorship.  

For example, if someone is talking about the economy or world politics; you can bring up how there are others in worse economic dire straits than ours and tell about how World Vision works to change that through community transformation and micro loans ,etc. How we fight for the rights of those who live in countries where they have none.

6. Have a 30 second spiel ready and practiced.

When talking to others in every day conversations, you can lose people’s attention if you start dragging on about World Vision.   You have about 30 seconds to get out the important, gripping info before their eyes glaze over.

Here is how it goes:

‘Are you interested in hearing about a children’s charity I volunteer for?”

The nod their head or say “ Yes.” (Very few people ever say “No.”)

“ World Vision is a charity that has been around for 60 years that helps build sustainable communities for poor children and their families through Child Sponsorship. Here is a picture of my child I sponsor and these are his letters and report cards.  His grandma could not afford to send him to school and his parents are gone (or whatever your child’s story is), but since I have been sponsoring him he is getting everything he needs also;  World Vision is building a school, water wells, helping with businesses, helping the farmers and making sure there is health care( Use your How to transform a Community fold out to show this or actual pictures you might have from your child’s community).The plan is that in 15 to 20 years his community will not need help anymore and World Vision has been successful in doing that in many places.  I have these children here (hand them your picture folders) who still need help.  This is Aster from Ethiopia and she only has a mother. Oh, by the way, 86% of the money goes to the child and their community. You can pull out the card inside the folder and read about each child (pull a child’s story out of the folder a little to show them where to read).  Which child do you think you want?”

 The person says they are not sure so you say,” It’s giving up a latte a day, a lunch out a month or a purse you don’t need ( or whatever a guy would say about something he doesn’t need).  What do you think?”

In just this short conversation, you can get a child a changed life and a sponsor a joyful heart.  I am just as thrilled at the new sponsors joy as I am for the child’s new lease on life.  Remember, not to judge who will be a sponsor.  More often than not, those who have little financially have much in the giving department. Go practice in the mirror, in front of your dog, to your spouse and do it loudly. 

NOW GO OUT AND BE BOLD, OBEDIENT, SACRIFICE YOUR COMFORT AND GET A CHILD SPONSORED!