Conversation Starters

Easy ways to bring up sponsorship with your friends and family

Written by: Rebekah Malbrecht

Think about this for a moment: If every sponsor with Compassion was able to invite a friend, family member or person in their workplace, sports team or church into the transformational journey of sponsorship this year, our impact in the lives of children living in poverty would be doubled.

The impact that our supporters have—the relationships you have, the environments you are connected to, the everyday conversations you are in—far outreaches what our team at Compassion can achieve alone. You have something unique to contribute in helping release children from poverty in Jesus’ name—your real, personal and firsthand experience with sponsorship! Not only this, you also have established trust within your relationships so your testimony matters to those you know.

If you have ever thought, “I wish I could do more for the Kingdom of God,” then take heart! You can partner with us this year and double your impact for the sake of children around the world. How? Through a simple conversation.

For some of you, this conversation might be a one-on-one conversation.

• At the dinner table with a family member
• Over a cup of coffee with a friend
• On your lunch break with a colleague
• On the drive home from youth group
• At a soccer game this summer with another mom or dad you know

For others, it will feel more natural to have a conversation with a group.

• As a discussion with your Bible study group
• At breakfast with your running group
• At your next book club meeting
• In the banter during a round of golf with your friends

No matter how conversation happens for you, talking about your sponsorship journey can be the means to change a child’s life forever.

We want to make those life-changing conversations easy. That’s why we have 7 conversation starters to spark up great chats about something that matters to you—sponsorship!

I want to connect…

Sponsorship + learning: using your head

Sponsorship + time: using your hands

Sponsorship + childhood: using your heart

Sponsorship + social justice: using your voice

Sponsorship + impact: using your influence

Sponsorship + curiosity: using your creativity

Sponsorship + simplicity: using an invitation

Sponsorship + learning: using your head

Maybe an important part of your sponsorship journey is that it just makes sense to you. From what you have read, learned and researched, Compassion’s sponsorship program is the logical way to engage in the fight against poverty. That’s great! Compassion’s sponsorship program is a simple, powerful and effective way to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. This is a great way to start up a conversation about something you are passionate about with someone who knows that you are a deep thinker and value efficacy.

If this is you OR if you know someone who would resonate with this aspect of sponsorship, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• What have you been learning recently?

Follow this up with something new you have learned about Compassion’s sponsorship program from a blog, our resources or maybe our Annual Report

• What book, podcast or blog has impacted how you see the world?

Follow this up with sharing a resource that influenced you to sponsor with Compassion and explain how that shaped your thinking.

• What is a statistic you’ve heard recently that surprised you?

Follow this up by sharing a statistic about poverty that inspires you to sponsor.

• Invite a friend or group to go through a book about poverty with you.

Choose a book you know will facilitate good conversations about poverty or take one of our recommendations.

Sponsorship + time: using your hands

If you are someone who gets excited about practical ways to engage with God’s Kingdom, then you know that sponsorship is a unique way to get the best of both worlds: for one, it gives you the opportunity to make a real and tangible impact in a child’s life with opportunity to write letters and be involved in your sponsor child’s life. At the same time, it is also an efficient way to maximize your global impact so that you can continue helping in your local church, volunteering in local contexts or being present in your community. For you, this connects your dedication to making an impact with your hands-on approach. This is a great way to invite a meaningful conversation with someone who knows you love to take action and show love in tangible ways.

If this is you OR if you know someone who would be excited to learn about this aspect of sponsorship, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• Do you feel you have enough time to do everything that is important to you?

Follow this up by sharing how sponsorship has help you have the global impact you want while giving you time to stay connected to your community in a hands-on way.

• What causes do you give your time to?

Maybe the conversation will bring up how there never seems to be enough time to make the kind of impact you want—introduce sponsorship! Maybe you will have a rich conversation about what is meaningful to each of you and this is a great way to share how sponsorship allows you to make a tangible impact globally!

• What are some of your favourite time management tips and tricks?

Enjoy a conversation where you can both learn new habits or systems to manage your time well. Share how sponsorship has been a meaningful way for you to take action in your life.

Sponsorship + childhood: using your heart

If the reason sponsorship resonates with you is because you have a tender heart for kids, then you will know that sponsorship helps you channel that love and care into the life of a child who really needs it. Sponsorship is a way to move through all the overwhelming ways the world is hurting and connect with a child who needs love and support. What a wonderful way to express God’s heart in our world! For you, any conversation about sponsorship is meaningful because it resonates with what you deeply care about. When you start a conversation with someone who knows your passion and concern for others, you are creating an authentic invitation into what sponsorship really is all about.

If this is you OR if you know someone who would love the opportunity to learn more about this aspect of sponsorship, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• What is your favourite childhood memory?

Listen and respond by sharing your own memory from childhood. Then share a story of your sponsor child or show a picture they have sent you. Share how sponsorship helps children in poverty have a positive childhood full of hope.

• What is something you wish you had as a child?

Listen with compassion, share your own experiences, and if appropriate, pray together. Then use the opportunity to share about how sponsorship is a way that you ensure children around the world can have a happy and safe childhood connected to a community that knows, loves and protects them.

• What is one way that you stay childlike in life?

Children live so authentically and with such joy. Enjoy a conversation discussing ways you can ensure you nurture that childlike engagement with life. Follow up with an example of how your sponsor child has inspired that in you or talk about what you have learned about caring for children through your sponsorship journey.

Sponsorship + social justice: using your voice

Are you someone who feels a profound sense of responsibility towards social concerns? You were drawn to sponsoring a child because it was a way to engage in the things that matter most. Not only that, but it brings all the things you are passionate about together by ensuring that a child’s future is full of hope and promise. Perhaps you see child sponsorship as a form of advocacy—a statement of hope in the face of an unjust world, an action of promise that the future can and will change one child at a time. If this is you, you have probably already talked about sponsorship to someone, or maybe you feel a bit paralyzed by all the ways you want to bring change to the world. Starting a conversation about sponsorship with someone who sees your heart for justice, love and change can be a very practical way to double your impact and give a voice to the voiceless.

If this is you OR you know someone whose passion for social justice would make them interested in this aspect of sponsorship, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• What social justice issues do you care most about?

Follow up by sharing why you are passionate about releasing kids from poverty. Perhaps there is a bridge to build between the social justice causes they care about and the impact of sponsorship!

• What do you do when you feel overwhelmed by injustice or social issues?

Have a rich conversation about ways to support yourself and one another when fatigue or discouragement set in. Share a time that your sponsorship has encouraged you—a positive letter at the right time, a child update showing progress or a blog that encouraged you.

• What is a sign of progress or evidence of change that encourages you?

Follow up with your personal story of sponsorship and how you get to see the way you have impacted a child’s life through it.

Sponsorship + impact: using your influence

Maybe for you, sponsorship really just comes down to impact—plain and simple and powerful. You believe in the impact that sponsorship has for children in poverty because you have seen it firsthand through your sponsorship journey. Not only have you seen the impact you have been able to have for your sponsor child, but they have also impacted your life! Starting a conversation about sponsorship is really about sharing that impact with others.

If this is you, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• Who in your life has made an impact on you?

Share your own answer (maybe your answer even includes your sponsor child!). Follow up with talking about how sponsorship is a way to impact a child’s life forever.

• How do you seek to use your influence?

Talk about the people and places where God has invited you to use your influence for His Kingdom. Include how you feel sponsorship is one of those areas.

Sponsorship + curiosity: using your creativity

Do serious conversations make you squirm? Perhaps you are not the type to bring up serious topics of conversation—it’s not that you mind listening in, but that would just feel too unnatural for you to initiate. Or maybe it’s not you but the person you want to share sponsorship with that either gets flighty or a fit of the giggles any time the conversation gets too deep. No problem! Starting a conversation about sponsorship can also be light-hearted and fun!

If this is you OR someone you know, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• Would you rather visit Africa or Asia?

Swap out one or both of these continents to be regions or countries where you sponsor. After they answer the question and you ask them why, then share your own answer and include the possibility of visiting your sponsor child there!

• What was your favourite birthday gift you’ve received? How about your favourite gift you’ve given?

Have fun talking about favourite gifts and why they were your favourites. Share your plans to write a letter or give a birthday gift to your sponsor child when their birthday comes. Explain a little bit about your relationship with your sponsor child and share how you want to be a part of making special memories for them.

Sponsorship + simplicity: using an invitation

Sometimes you just want to get to the point. You might be talking to someone and you know that it is the right time to bring up sponsorship or you feel prompted to bring it up when you don’t have time for a long conversation. Starting a conversation can be as simple as extending an invitation.

If this is what you need, try starting a conversation with these questions:

• Have you ever considered sponsoring a child with Compassion?
• I think you’d find a lot of meaning and fulfillment in sponsoring a child. Here’s why…
• Can I share with you what sponsorship has come to mean to me and why I love it?
• Something that surprised me about Compassion’s child sponsorship program is…

Originally published on: https://www.compassion.ca/blog/conversation-starters/