Effective Compassion

Not every Christian is able or called to foster and adopt. But everyone has a part to play, and churches are finding ways to get more people involved in helping kids in crisis. Because only the church—not government agencies—can meet the deepest spiritual and relational needs of children and families with the hope of the gospel. North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

All kids in crisis have needs. But some have extra challenges, medical conditions that complicate their care. What does it look like to love children with these special needs? And how can Christians support families involved in this heart-wringing and exhausting work?North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Since the mid 20th century, the U.S. foster care system—and Christian organizations—have moved away from institutions in favor of family care. That's because statistics show children thrive when they're raised in a stable family unit. But some kids in crisis don't need—or want—a new family. Where do they fit in a system with a one-size-fits-all approach?North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Social workers face the worst of human brokenness every day. And they're often lightning rods for the anger of everyone involved in the foster care system: families, foster families, judges, and even the kids themselves. Burnout and turnover is high, a heart-breaking end to careers that almost always start with a desire to help. But Christians, who know the source of hope, are finding ways to help.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Christian ministries that once emphasized adoption as the best solution now focus on prevention—coming alongside families in crisis before their kids enter the foster care system. That means meeting more than just their material needs. For many struggling families, it's all about relationships—connections that shatter their isolation and discipleship that points them to the only source of true restoration.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

The family court system in practice includes two components of effective compassion. Help that is challenging and personal. But in a secular system, it's up to individual believers to bring the spiritual component.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

How can Christian parents effectively foster hope in children whose traumatic past gives them little hope for the future? Choosing to love children not their own—whose behavior often does not foster familial love—builds trust. That fosters better communication, self-discipline, good character, and, by God's grace, hope in the one who will never leave them or forsake them.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Christians once flocked to foreign countries to adopt children who desperately needed families to love them. But attitudes toward taking children so far from their home countries and native cultures have shifted. Christians who once emphasized adoptions are now prioritizing in-country care. What does that mean for vulnerable children around the world?North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

More than a third of Americans say they've thought about adopting. But just 2 percent actually have. Adoption is complicated and expensive. It can be confusing and overwhelming. Christians are the most likely to adopt…twice as likely as the general population. That's because adoption holds a special place in the Kingdom. It's a common figure of speech in the Bible, describing how we are made part of God's family. But for all its beauty, adoption is never simple. It involves a lot of broken hearts…on all sides of the equation.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Christians once played a key role in caring for American children in crisis. But as the government's involvement in social services grew, Christians' participation shrank. Now that state and federal agencies have the primary responsibility for meeting the needs of children without families, how can the church answer the call set out in James 1:27—to care for widows and orphans in their distress?North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

This season, we're exploring how we care for orphans in this country and the ways God has called His people to provide help that is challenging, personal, and spiritual. Those are the hallmarks of help that really helps. Or, as we like to call it, Effective Compassion.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

If we're going to say prison ministry works, we need to know it works on a wide scale, not just for a lucky few. In other words … we need hard evidence. Leigh Jones talks to sociologist Byron Johnson about how decades of research shows that prison ministry really can facilitate true rehabilitation. And Anna Johansen Brown and Jenny Rough meet two men who are living proof of that life-changing transformation.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Evangelism and discipleship forms the foundation of prison ministry behind bars. But those spiritual supports are just as important for inmates transitioning back to the free world. Unfortunately, they're much less common. Leigh Jones visits two ministries in Texas that help inmates along the process of sanctification—living out the life of faith they embraced behind bars.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people.Click here to learn more and donate.

Every year, more than 600,000 men and women convicted of serious crimes are released from U.S. federal and state prisons. Within three years of release, as many as two out of three of them are rearrested. And more than half go back to prison. That's partly because they just don't know how to live life on the outside. Sarah Schweinsberg visits Christian ministries in California, Massachusetts, and South Carolina helping former inmates find stable housing and jobs … and keep them.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people.Click here to learn more and donate.

For every one inmate there are countless family members abandoned and left to hold together what's left of their broken lives. Providing them the personal and spiritual essentials of Effective Compassion is fairly straightforward. And that goes a long way to encouraging—or challenging—families to stay the course when it would be easier to give up on their loved ones behind bars. Bonnie Pritchett meets Christians in Texas working to show that God, who created the family, cares about theirs and they are not serving time on the outside alone.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Education is a key component to preparing inmates for life after prison. If they can't provide for themselves and their families, they're much more likely to return to a life of crime. Christian colleges and seminaries are among the schools going behind bars to teach marketable skills and offer four-year degrees. Jenny Rough visits a prison in Mississippi and talks to teachers and students in West Virginia to learn about college on the inside.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Prisoners who meet Jesus behind bars experience true transformation. That's the power of the gospel in prison. The basic building block of all prison ministry. It usually starts with Christians on the outside. But once prisoners grasp the meaning of grace, their testimony and changed lives make them even more effective at sharing the good news on the inside. Bonnie Pritchett visits several prisons in Texas to meet inmates who found Jesus and are now serving a life sentence as his prisoner.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast/.North Korea is one of the most secretive, closed-off countries in the world, but World Help has a network of trusted partners there with 20+ years of experience smuggling Bibles and other aid to believers. These partners use donations to print, ship, and secretly distribute Bibles as well as food to people who have been desperately praying for help. And since North Koreans share their Bibles with trusted family and friends, each copy impacts around five people. Click here to learn more and donate.

Many of the inmates in U.S. prisons have experienced trauma. Sexual abuse. Physical abuse. Substance abuse. Exposure to violence. Abandonment. Even those who meet Christ behind bars still bear the wounds of their past experiences. And chaplains are starting to realize that until those wounds are healed, inmates will continue to struggle with true transformation. Jenny Rough meets an incarcerated veteran who overcame his own past and now helps others to do the same. Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast.

Nearly half of all prisoners sitting in federal cells are behind bars because they committed drug-related offenses. And for many of them, breaking the law started with addiction. But not everyone convicted of doing or dealing drugs ends up in prison. Some get a second chance through a unique system known as drug court. It's a secular solution to what is ultimately a spiritual problem. But even here, Christians are making a difference. Kim Henderson visited the 14th Circuit Drug Court in McComb, Mississippi, to find out how. Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, one of the most dangerous nations for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast.

Almost everyone in prison has one thing in common: trauma and brokenness. They come from shattered and impoverished communities, dysfunctional families. They never imagined a future that didn't include time behind bars. In many cases that's because the people closest to them walked the same path. Reporter Sarah Schweinsberg travels to California and Massachusetts to meet Christians working to break that cycle, starting with its youngest victims.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, the most dangerous nation for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast.

The U.S. prison system began with the best intentions. Reform was its top priority. That resolve eroded over time, and now America imprisons more people per capita than any country in the world. And people who end up in prison almost always come out worse off than they were before. The one bright spot in an otherwise hopeless situation: Christians who go behind bars to share the power of the gospel and the hope of new life.Support Effective Compassion today at wng.org/donate. Additional support comes from World Help, a Christian humanitarian organization working to deliver food and Bibles to starving, persecuted Christians in North Korea, the most dangerous nation for Christians. A gift of $20 sends a Bible and a week's worth of food to a North Korean brother or sister. More at worldhelp.net/podcast.

Season 3 of Effective Compassion starts January 18th! This year, we are going to prison. We'll explore three areas where Christians are active in ministering to inmates. First, pipelines to prison. How are Christians intervening in the lives of kids and adults who are likely to end up in jail? Second, ministry behind bars. Leading inmates to a saving faith in Jesus and teaching them to live lives that glorify God, even if they're facing a lifetime in lockup. And third, breaking the cycle of recidivism. How can Christians help inmates settle into productive patterns of work and service after their release?U.S. prisons are too often focused on punishment as an incentive for changing behavior. But Christians know true change starts with the heart, and only Jesus can bring a man from death to life.

Every year, WORLD recognizes a handful of non-profit ministries serving on the front lines of poverty fighting. Those ministries are nominated by WORLD readers and listeners. We call it our annual Hope Awards. In this episode of Effective Compassion, we highlight the four finalists for 2021.

In this final episode, journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg visit two organizations with similar goals: They want to help the homeless, people who have lost everything and have nowhere to go. But these two organizations chose different strategies … and ultimately, got very different results.

Nonprofits, both Christian and secular, have to watch out for some common pitfalls that threaten to undo all their hard work. In this episode, journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg recount five cautionary tales from organizations that failed due to a lack of accountability, transparency, or an accurate understanding of what the people they wanted to help really needed.

Every year, WORLD hosts the Hope Awards for Effective Compassion. Readers and listeners nominate hundreds of ministries, and we narrow the list to about eight or 10 semi-finalists. Just four make the final cut. This episode is about the runners-up. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg visit two ministries that didn’t win in 2019 and explain what bumped them out of the winner’s circle.

Just about anyone working in mental healthcare, criminal justice, or social work will agree: people with mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders face a difficult road. This episode is about the 50 million Americans dealing with mental illness. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg talk to some of the Christians who are there to help, working to put the challenging, personal and spiritual into behavioral health care.

Many of the people who struggle with addiction or homelessness grew up with a family member with unhealthy habits. Or they experienced abuse. Some didn’t have a family at all. Coming from a good family doesn’t guarantee a trouble-free life. But having a shaky family foundation makes everything a lot harder. In this episode, journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg explore what compassion looks like for hurting children, young adults, and their parents.

This episode is about newcomers: Refugees and asylum seekers looking for a fresh start. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg explain how refugee resettlement works and visit several ministries that help these newcomers become self-sufficient in their new homes.

Natural disasters are disruptive and traumatic, especially for people already in emotional, physical, or spiritual crisis. Last year, every compassion ministry in the country faced the same disaster: COVID-19. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg explore the ways the pandemic made ministry more difficult and challenged leaders to rethink the ways they help people in need.

This episode of Effective Compassion is part two of our dive into addiction and substance abuse: The cauldron of stewing ingredients that leads to it, and the intense, drastic life-renewal strategies that help vanquish it. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg visit three ministries that take different approaches to helping addicts begin new lives.

This episode of Effective Compassion is all about addiction. The patterns and choices and life circumstances that lead to it...and the patterns, choices, life circumstances, hard work, prayer, grit, sweat, time, and love that can help break its grip. Journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg share stories from addicts traveling the road to recovery with the help of Christian ministries.

Turns out, there’s more than one way to run a nonprofit. In this episode of Effective Compassion, journalists Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg explore the blueprints of ministry. They dive into org charts and business models, all in the hopes of answering one very important question: Does a ministry’s structure determine its fruit?

Season Two of Effective Compassion is on its way! In this preview episode, hosts Anna Johansen Brown and Sarah Schweinsberg introduce the winner of WORLD's 2020 Hope Awards for Effective Compassion. Find out more about this ministry and how it plans to use its grand prize winnings. And get ready for the rest of Season Two. We'll tell you how the church, nonprofits and government agencies get involved in poverty fighting...and which methods produce lasting results.

Anna Johansen and Charissa Koh visit the winner of WORLD’s 2019 Hope Award. Watered Gardens is one ministry working to help the homeless of Missouri get back on their feet and find true hope for the future. If you have comments or questions, please email us at effectivecompassionpodcast@wng.org

Housing First. Community First. Jesus First. Every organization has a different standard of success that shapes the way they combat homelessness. In this epilogue, Marvin Olasky takes a deeper look at the ministries we’ve visited so far, and offers insight on what works and what doesn’t.

Just outside Austin city limits, hundreds of tiny homes and RV sites are scattered over 51-acres. The Community First Village is home to many formerly chronic homeless men and women. On the surface, it may look like just another housing initiative, but here, relationships transform simple houses into something much more significant. Anna Johansen and Charissa Koh visit with Alan Graham, the village founder.

Downtown Austin. Anna Johansen, Charissa Koh, and Marvin Olasky visit two agencies fighting homelessness on the front lines. One agency focuses on short-term emergency shelter; the other on long-term housing. Both organizations are working to get people off the street. But should that be the primary standard of success? Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.

In the midst of political wrangling, thousands of small non-profits keep working to fight poverty and homelessness across the country. But what does that look like at ground level? Anna Johansen takes a closer look at the homeless communities of south Austin and talks with pastor Mark Hilbelink about how Sunrise Community Church became a sought after social service agency.   Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.  

In 1999, George W. Bush launched his presidential campaign as a Compassionate Conservative. Many of the policies he advocated came straight out of the playbook of 19th century poverty fighters. Soon, compassion tactics from 200 years ago were shaping national politics... and drawing criticism from all sides. This episode is about 19th century compassion versus D.C. politics.   Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.  

From the team that brings you The World and Everything in It: Effective Compassion is a new podcast exploring American poverty-fighting. WORLD journalist Anna Johansen reports on what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. Hosted by WORLD Radio features editor Paul Butler, this program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope. Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.

From the team that brings you The World and Everything in It: Effective Compassion is a new podcast exploring American poverty-fighting. WORLD journalist Anna Johansen reports on what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. Hosted by WORLD Radio features editor Paul Butler, this program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope. Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.

From the team that brings you The World and Everything in It: Effective Compassion is a new podcast exploring American poverty-fighting. WORLD journalist Anna Johansen reports on what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. Hosted by WORLD Radio features editor Paul Butler, this program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope. Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.

From the team that brings you The World and Everything in It: Effective Compassion is a new podcast exploring American poverty-fighting. WORLD journalist Anna Johansen reports on what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. Hosted by WORLD Radio features editor Paul Butler, this program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope. Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.

From the team that brings you The World and Everything in It: Effective Compassion is a new podcast exploring American poverty-fighting. WORLD journalist Anna Johansen reports on what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. Hosted by WORLD Radio features editor Paul Butler, this program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope. Effective Compassion is a production of WORLD. Learn more at wng.org.