Disclaimer: I am not taking a stance for or against proselytizing and missionary/evangelizing charities. I am just laying out the modus operandi.
Compassion International is a US based evangelical charity that acts as a donor for poor children all over the world.
Their business model is to act as a middle man - bringing together individual donors (sponsors) from affluent countries and individual children (sponsoreds) in less-than-affluent (poor) countries. The money doesn't go directly to the children.
The money flow is from the donors, pooled, and remitted to the country where the sponsored children live, given to churches in those countries, and the churches provide education, food, and clothing.
In addition to the money flow, the sponsors and the sponsoreds stay in contact through letters.
While it is true that Compassion International itself is not involved in proselytizing activities, it only acts as a conduit for that to happen.
Compassion International, along with the other missionary charities, rely heavily on the findings of Luis Bush, who came up with terms such as "10/40 Window" and "4/14 window" to spread christianity.
10/40 window refers to the region in Asia/Africa where the majority religion is not christianity.
4/14 window refers to the ages 4 to 14, where kids in that age group are targeted for a more effective and longer-lasting christian influence.
By having a direct channel (through old fashioned post) between christian sponsors and not-yet-christian children, the pliable children are influenced with christianity.
By targeting (or focusing on) kids aged 4 to 14, and whose parents hand them over to churches for education, and being unable to counter-influence the "mentoring", these children start following christianity. The kids then influence their parents, and the parents their neighbours.
By focusing on the marginalized population, offering a way out of poverty, and someone who treats them as equal, missionary objectives are achieved.
So, in a way, it is true that Compassion International is not directly involved in proselytizing or conversions but they certainly offer the means and ways to do that. If evangelization does happen, they can certainly deny any responsibility for that simply for the fact that they don't monitor anything that goes on between the sponsor and the sponsored, and state whatever happens between them is their personal relationship.
Compassion International is a US based evangelical charity that acts as a donor for poor children all over the world.
Their business model is to act as a middle man - bringing together individual donors (sponsors) from affluent countries and individual children (sponsoreds) in less-than-affluent (poor) countries. The money doesn't go directly to the children.
The money flow is from the donors, pooled, and remitted to the country where the sponsored children live, given to churches in those countries, and the churches provide education, food, and clothing.
In addition to the money flow, the sponsors and the sponsoreds stay in contact through letters.
While it is true that Compassion International itself is not involved in proselytizing activities, it only acts as a conduit for that to happen.
Compassion International, along with the other missionary charities, rely heavily on the findings of Luis Bush, who came up with terms such as "10/40 Window" and "4/14 window" to spread christianity.
10/40 window refers to the region in Asia/Africa where the majority religion is not christianity.
4/14 window refers to the ages 4 to 14, where kids in that age group are targeted for a more effective and longer-lasting christian influence.
By having a direct channel (through old fashioned post) between christian sponsors and not-yet-christian children, the pliable children are influenced with christianity.
By targeting (or focusing on) kids aged 4 to 14, and whose parents hand them over to churches for education, and being unable to counter-influence the "mentoring", these children start following christianity. The kids then influence their parents, and the parents their neighbours.
By focusing on the marginalized population, offering a way out of poverty, and someone who treats them as equal, missionary objectives are achieved.
So, in a way, it is true that Compassion International is not directly involved in proselytizing or conversions but they certainly offer the means and ways to do that. If evangelization does happen, they can certainly deny any responsibility for that simply for the fact that they don't monitor anything that goes on between the sponsor and the sponsored, and state whatever happens between them is their personal relationship.
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