At World Vision, we’re big fans of Giving Tuesday. This global generosity movement started in 2012 as a day for doing good and falls each year on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. In 2025, that’s December 2. It’s a day to flex those generosity muscles and support your favorite nonprofits or charities. Think of Giving Tuesday like an extension of that moment when everyone around the Thanksgiving table shares what they’re grateful for — a day for not only counting blessings, but also passing them on to others in need.

Ready to give back as you give thanks? Read on for five reasons why Giving Tuesday’s the perfect day to do so.

Reason #1: Double your joy

Lots of organizations have donation matches on Giving Tuesday. If they do, that means when you give $5, it becomes $10 to further support a charity and have a bigger impact. Knowing that your money can support extra people with no extra effort is a great feeling. Most organizations will publicize their matches leading up to Giving Tuesday, so you can usually see on their website or social media if your gift will double.

Surrounded by our own comforts and needs, we sometimes forget to prioritize generosity toward others who have a lot less than us. To keep generosity central, my family has our own “matching gift” program: When we spend a certain amount on a home or lifestyle item, we donate the equivalent amount to a charity or nonprofit. The point isn’t to make ourselves feel good, but to remember that “… life does not consist in the abundance of [one’s] possessions,” as Jesus tells us in Luke 12:15 (ESV). It’s a tangible reminder that our money is God’s and that He can do more with what we have than we can imagine.

Reason #2: Check off Christmas shopping

It’s as inevitable as It’s a Wonderful Life reruns all December: You make your Christmas list, jotting down gift ideas for your sister, your roommate, your kids. Then you get to that one person who’s tough to shop for. You know who it is. For me, it’s my dad. He’s not big on gifts, and he still happily wears clothes from the mid-’90s (although those ARE making a comeback!). But I found a solution to this Christmas conundrum: a donation in his name to a poverty-fighting fund.

We all have that person in our life we want to find a just-right gift for. Whether it’s through a donation or a handcrafted item to treasure, empowering kids around the world to create lasting change — in Jesus’ name! — sounds like the perfect gift. (Now if only I could give that gift of lasting change to my dad’s wardrobe …)

Reason #3: Get sustainable

Sustainable lifestyles are becoming fairly common. We’ve got our reusable shopping bags, our cloth coffee filters for our fair-trade coffee, and our metal straws. For Christians, though, caring about all kinds of sustainability isn’t just ethical, it’s also spiritual. Part of our Genesis 1:28 mandate, set up by God from the beginning, is a responsibility to care for the earth and its products, and, of course, people who make those products.

That’s why holistic community development work is one of the most sustainable things to give to. “Community development” is a fancy way to talk about poverty-busting projects that leave entire regions better than they started. As Christians, we want to make sure the way we spend our money upholds the dignity of all people — how better to do this than to equip them with the tools to break out of extreme poverty? (See Reason #5 for a real story of how this works!)

Reason #4: Make gratitude your lifestyle

Giving Tuesday’s all about keeping those good Thanksgiving vibes going, recognizing how much we have to be grateful for and sharing it with others. But you know what’s better than focusing on giving back for a day or a few weeks during the holidays? Making gratitude part of our everyday life by giving a recurring gift throughout the year. An easy way to do that? Use Giving Tuesday as a day to sign up to give a monthly gift to the charity (or charities!) that you care about.

Automatic giving is a simple step that does lots of good with our dollars. For a charity, it allows them to have a clearer picture of what to expect financially so they can build more accurate budgets to maximize their work throughout the year. For me, pausing to consider my own abundance motivates me to infuse the smallest parts of life with generosity. No gift is too small when it comes with a heart of gratitude and a desire to give back, so consider if God is calling you to take that next step of faith. A recurring gift to the World Vision Fund helps create lasting change around the world by meeting critical needs both today and tomorrow!

Reason #5: Join something bigger

Let’s take a trip to Yamaranguila, Honduras. Remember when I said community development is sustainable? This region is living proof of how people can transform their circumstances with the right tools. Only a couple decades ago, deep poverty, discrimination, and despair kept people in Yamaranguila down. But today, every family has clean water piped to their home. The Lenca Institute, a local high school, promotes Indigenous cultural values, including the importance of protecting the environment. Teenagers get support for university rather than dropping out of school. Kids are healthy, and their parents’ businesses are succeeding. The mayor, a former World Vision sponsored child, is dedicated to serving others, even receiving a national award recognizing Yamaranguila’s transformation.

Community members’ ownership of their development leads to lasting change like this. It’s work that’s possible with partnerships from generous donors and child sponsors who supported people in Yamaranguila. These donors have received the rare gift of seeing an entire community go from extreme poverty to health and hope in their lifetime. Who wouldn’t want to keep that gift going?

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Poverty is a social sickness that we can’t seem to cure. Even Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you” (Matthew 26:11, NIV). We wonder, if the poor will always be with us, what’s the point in addressing poverty at all?

Poverty is both as ancient as pharaohs and as modern as smartphones. No matter any shift in politics, economics, or philosophy, poverty remains. Its very persistence can lull us into complacency. We can easily choose inaction from a deep sense of helplessness.

But if we could do something to address the issue of injustice in the world, would we? And why would we?

Bob Pierce, founder of World Vision, once said, “Don’t fail to do something just because you can’t do everything.” Many followers of Jesus have dedicated their lives to eradicating poverty. But for many of us, it can often be a little too easy to stay comfortable in our church communities — praying for the world’s needs but failing to follow prayer with action.

We may feel confident in our understanding of the gospel of Christ. We believe Jesus was born, lived, died, and was resurrected to reconcile us to God and bring us new life. While these truths are central to our faith, when we look to the teachings of Jesus, we may encounter a question: Does our response to poverty point to a missing component in our understanding of the gospel?

Rich Stearns, World Vision president emeritus, addresses this piercing question in his book, The Hole in Our Gospel. His premise is that if we claim to follow Jesus — the One who fed the hungry, healed the broken, and called the poor “blessed” — but ignore the suffering of His people, then we’re preaching an incomplete gospel.

But let us address the elephant in the room. There is no need to pack your bags for a guilt trip. Nor is there a reason to beat ourselves up. Rather, this is a call to arms — compassionate, Jesus-filled arms — that are ready to do the gritty, holy work of justice. It’s about waking up as the Church and doing good, hard, and healing work. Because poverty is not just a social issue — it’s a gospel issue.

The Church has the power to respond to extreme poverty. Even more, how our congregations respond to the call of the gospel can rewrite the course of history.

How does poverty happen?

People often misunderstand poverty. In his book, Stearns writes, “Each of us brings different associations to the word poverty based on our past understandings and misunderstandings.” It’s tempting to reduce poverty to a simple economic issue — a lack of money, food, housing, or access to clean water. And while these are real and urgent needs, they only scratch the surface. Poverty is not just about empty wallets or bare cupboards. It’s about something deeper: a rupture in how things were meant to be. Poverty is the hum of brokenness under the noise of the world.

Many people mistakenly assign fault as well, beyond confusing what poverty is. Some believe poverty is caused by laziness, irresponsibility, or a failure to work hard enough. Others believe it’s solved with a job, a budget, or a new policy. These assumptions are clean, simple — and erroneous. They ignore the complexities of trauma, war, injustice, displacement, generational loss, and spiritual trauma or confusion. They miss the fact that a person can work three jobs and still not afford to live. They treat poverty like a math equation, assuming it has a simple, one-step solution. But Stearns tells us:

“Poverty is extremely complex. Picture the poor caught in a spiderweb of interwoven causes that trap them hopelessly while the marauding spiders of hunger, war, disease, ignorance, injustice, natural disasters, and exploitation prey upon them unrestrained.”

What about extreme poverty?

Extreme poverty is the most severe form of poverty, involving the acute deprivation of basic human needs. The technical definition of extreme poverty is living on less than $3.00 per person per day. According to the latest data, about 8.5% of people globally are estimated to be living in extreme poverty. That’s nearly 700 million people.

How does the Church view poverty?

Poverty reflects the world’s brokenness. From a Christian perspective, it can be seen as an extended consequence of sin — reflecting broken relationships between humans and God, humans and one another, and humans and creation. When Adam and Eve turned from God, their relationships with Him, with one another, with the land, and even with themselves were torn. Poverty is the lingering aftershock of that tearing. It shows up in hunger and homelessness, yes — but also in loneliness, powerlessness, and hopelessness. It is not just the absence of material things; it is the absence of shalom — God’s wholeness, His peace, His intended design.

The good news is that God did not stay distant from this pain. Jesus entered it. He was born into poverty. Instead of being wrapped in royal silk, Christ was clothed in rags and lay on straw. He walked among the outcast, the beggar, the widow, the orphan. He told stories where the poor were heroes and the last were first. And He declared that in His kingdom, the poor in spirit — those who know their need — are blessed. Not pitied. Not blamed. But blessed.

The Church is called to see poverty through this lens. Not as something “other people” experience, but as something we are all touched by in one form or another. Material wealth does not mean spiritual wholeness. A person can be surrounded by abundance and still live in spiritual poverty. Conversely, a person in rags may possess a faith that could move mountains.

Defining poverty

So, what is poverty? Among the many complexities contributing to it, it is a crack in the foundation of creation. It is a distortion of God’s image, a symptom of the fall. Enter Jesus, who came not only to forgive sins but to also restore what was lost. To bind up the brokenhearted. To bring good news to the poor. To lift the lowly and invite them to the banquet in the kingdom of God, where there is more than enough for everyone.

To address poverty, then, one is not merely called to give, but to enter into relationship. To recognize Christ in the face of the hungry, the unhoused, the overlooked. To listen before we speak, to serve without superiority, to give without expecting return. It is to partner with God in the holy, hard, beautiful work of restoration.

Global hunger crisis

The global hunger crisis isn’t just a logistics problem; it’s a moral emergency. The Church, with its vast reach and even deeper calling, holds a powerful key to closing the door on extreme poverty. As St. Thomas Aquinas put it, “He who is dying of hunger must be fed rather than taught.” Before we offer sermons, we must offer sustenance. People don’t have mental space for spiritual conversations or practices when they’re in survival mode. A woman may not have time to go to church if she’s walking 6 kilometers each day to provide water for her family. A child may not feel comfortable going to Sunday school if they’re dirty from lacking clean water in which to bathe. But when we can meet physical needs — through food distributions, agricultural training, or other forms of support — we show Christ’s love and create space for spiritual needs to be met as well.

What does Scripture say about poverty?

The Bible talks about poverty and caring for the poor a lot. In fact, Scripture mentions the subject more than 2,000 times. From the thundering prophets of the Old Testament to the quiet wisdom of the book of James, God makes one thing painfully clear: We can’t claim to know Him if we ignore the people He is forever pursuing.

Isaiah 1:17 says, “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.” James 1:27 keeps it uncomfortably simple: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress…”

We cannot forget Deuteronomy 15:11: “There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your fellow Israelites who are poor and needy in your land.” God is not simply giving us a heads-up that poverty exists; He’s giving us a path forward, calling us to open our hands, our hearts, our homes.

Jesus, too, had many words on the matter. He fed the hungry, touched the untouchables, and made room at His table for the folks nobody else wanted to invite. In Luke 4:18, Jesus gives His personal mission statement: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”

Notice that Jesus said good news. Not “okay news.” Not “news you can ignore.” Good news! And if our gospel isn’t good news for the poor, then maybe it’s not the gospel at all.

Stearns says, “Being a Christian, or follower of Jesus, requires much more than just having a conversion experience or affirming a statement of belief.” In other words, faith without action is incomplete. It’s faith that’s missing the point. If our gospel has a hole where justice, compassion, and action should be, then it’s time to get out the needle and thread and start patching up the missing pieces.

Further in The Hole in Our Gospel, Stearns says: “It is crystal clear from Scripture that God loves the poor while hating their poverty, the man-made actions that contribute to it, and the apathy of the ‘well-off’ who allow it to persist.”

Church solutions to end extreme poverty

An anonymous writer once crafted an imaginary conversation with a friend. “Sometimes I would like to ask God why He allows poverty, suffering, and injustice when He could do something about it,” he imagined saying to a friend. The friend responded, “Well, why don’t you ask Him?”

“Because I’m afraid He would ask me the same question.”

An honest look will reveal the Church has sometimes been like that one friend who says, “Let me know how I can help!” — and then disappears faster than snickerdoodles at the school bake sale. According to a 2001 study, Christians make up 33% of the world’s population, receive 53% of the world’s annual income, and spend 98% of their wealth on themselves. Only .01% of all Christian giving is directed toward mission efforts. While this study is over 20 years old, its findings are just as striking to us today.

If generosity is an indicator of our involvement, then this data suggests that the Church is taking a back seat in kingdom work. But when the Church does show up, the results are nothing short of miraculous.

For more than 75 years, World Vision has been witnessing this firsthand. Today, local churches around the globe have become centers of transformation through faith-driven partnerships. Not because they have big budgets, significant donations, or flashy programs, but because they understand that loving their neighbors means taking action, and doing more than offering thoughts and prayers.

Churches are uniquely positioned to help end extreme poverty because they are embedded in communities all over the world. The local body of Christ is rooted, trusted, and consistent. That kind of presence can’t be bought or manufactured. It’s cultivated through years of weddings, births, baptisms, graduations, funerals, prayer meetings, potlucks, neighborhood walks, and of course weekly Sunday gatherings.

In many parts of the world, the local church is the most stable and reliable institution around. Schools may close. Clinics may run out of medicine. Governments may overlook the needy. But the church doors stay open. That consistency makes churches powerful partners in long-term efforts to alleviate poverty.

World Vision’s model leans into this strength. We listen. We learn. And we walk alongside churches already doing the work, helping equip them with training, tools, and support to amplify their impact.

From tiny villages in Malawi to megachurches in California, congregations are taking on the giants of hunger, disease, lack of education, and hopelessness. Not because they have the answers, but because they are asking the question from those wristbands of another era: What would Jesus do?

Let’s not forget that spiritual poverty often walks hand-in-hand with physical need. Churches don’t just deliver aid — they help foster hope. They carry the message that each person is made in the image of God, loved beyond measure, and not forgotten.

Stearns wrote, “If your personal faith in Christ has no positive outward expression, then your faith has a hole in it.” But the good news is that the Church can be the holy patch that mends that tear. And the better news? The more we patch, the more we resemble Christ.

This is kingdom work, no doubt about it. It’s justice with hands and feet. It’s the Church waking up, standing tall, and proclaiming to a weary world: You are not alone. We see you. And we’re coming alongside with the reminder that Jesus is here.

Programs for The Church

 

The power of Church generosity

Local and global giving is essential in the effort to end extreme poverty. Churches can designate funds to support global partners, adopt struggling communities, or respond to emergencies and support long-term needs through trusted organizations like World Vision. But generosity doesn’t stop with collection baskets. It means organizing food drives, supporting local shelters, and remembering that “love thy neighbor” includes both the family next door and the child in another nation. Stearns wrote in The Hole in Our Gospel,

“This gospel—the whole gospel—means much more than the personal salvation of individuals. It means a social revolution.”

To revolutionize a broken world, we have to take Sunday morning sermons into the streets. We have to take the love we preach and put it on the road — into villages, towns, deserts, and urban centers. We must offer hope in every place where hope is gasping for breath.

Ending extreme poverty is possible.

When faced with such a persistent problem, it’s easy to feel powerless. But we must remember: it is possible to end extreme poverty — maybe even in our lifetime! Recent history provides the proof. The percentage of the world’s workers living in extreme poverty recently fell by half, from 14.3% in 2010 to 7.1% in 2019. Humanitarian organizations were even working toward the goal of ending extreme poverty by 2030. Unfortunately, COVID-19 happened. In 2020, the percentage of people living in extreme poverty rose for the first time in two decades.

Rather than being disheartened, we can find motivation.

In just five years, together with partners and donors, World Vision has impacted the lives of over 200 million vulnerable children by tackling the root causes of poverty. This is compelling evidence that the mission is not only possible, but progress is happening right now.

Christian response to poverty

Extreme poverty isn’t just about money. It’s about powerlessness. It’s about being told you don’t matter. It’s about hearing “no” in every language — no food, no school, no doctor, no future.

But the Church knows a better Author. One who turns “no” into “yes” and “not yet” into “watch what I can do.”

The Church’s response to extreme poverty helps us all understand what it looks like to follow Jesus. It’s not reserved for missionaries in distant lands. It’s for every believer who’s ever uttered the prayer, “Lord, here am I. Send me.” And sometimes, the sending looks like writing a check. Sometimes it looks like sponsoring a child. And sometimes it looks like speaking up, advocating for needs to be met.

Jesus didn’t pass the poor on His way to somewhere more important. He stopped. He healed. He listened. He told stories that flipped the long-standing tables of power.

This is the model.

The Church’s response to extreme poverty must be steeped in both prayer and action. It must be as local as your own zip code and as global as God’s kingdom. It must challenge comfort and invite community. It may be inconvenient and unglamorous, but it’s always wildly beautiful.

Because here’s the thing about serving the poor: You’ll find Jesus there. In the tears. In the resilience. In the joy that makes no economic sense.

If you want to meet Christ, follow Him into the margins. If you want to be the Church, feed His sheep. Clothe His children. Defend His beloved. Not just in theory — but in sweat, in sacrifice, in solidarity.

Let’s fill the hole in our gospel. Let’s be a Church that doesn’t just believe, but becomes. Becomes the good news for those who’ve only known hard times.

Because when we respond to poverty with love, justice, and unshakable faith, we don’t just change the world, we reveal the kingdom of Jesus.

Specific ways to get involved

The work of alleviating poverty is both deeply spiritual and surprisingly practical. When churches commit to action, they ignite hope. And when that hope spreads, lives change. Here are some meaningful ways that churches can make a difference in the fight against poverty.

Emergency response

When disaster strikes, poverty digs in, and its roots in communities become that much deeper. But the church has the power to interrupt this cycle. By supporting emergency response programs, congregations extend Christ’s compassion in the most urgent moments, providing food, shelter, and safety that protect families from slipping further into hardship. When communities recover faster and stronger, children can return to school, parents can rebuild livelihoods, and hope rushes in where despair once threatened. In responding to crisis, the Church becomes a living answer to prayer — and a vital partner in breaking poverty’s grip on our world.

Partnering with a development organization like World Vision

World Vision offers congregations a variety of meaningful ways to come alongside children and families in need. One of the most personal and transformative ways is through child sponsorship. Through sponsorship church members are connected directly with a child, providing not just resources but relationships that transform lives — both there and here. But that’s only the beginning. Some churches choose to focus on hunger relief, others on education, clean water, or health initiatives. Still others prefer the broad impact of giving to the World Vision Fund, which strengthens every sector of the work and helps families lift themselves out of poverty for good. However a church chooses to partner, each gift becomes a living expression of faith — turning Sunday lessons into change in real communities, in real time.

Economic empowerment

Access to economic tools, training, and opportunities can have a huge impact on a family’s ability to provide for themselves not just today, but over time, through generations. Christians can support microfinance initiatives, vocational training programs, and savings groups that help families lift themselves out of poverty. Imagine believers helping a single mother in Rwanda start a bakery. Or enabling a farmer in Honduras to finally afford tools. This is more than what many would call charity. It’s a way of actually coming alongside people and working to equip them with the tools needed to write a different life story.

Advocacy

Advocacy may not sound as directly impactful as other solutions, but it is every bit as vital. Churches can raise their voices on behalf of those whose voices are being drowned out by injustice. That might mean hosting an advocacy Sunday, where members sign petitions or write to their elected officials about legislation that affects global poverty. It might mean educating the congregation on how policies affect access to food, healthcare, and education. When the Church speaks truth to power, it echoes the prophets of old — and makes a real difference today.

In fact, some of the greatest societal shifts in history have been sparked by a praying, persistent Church. Christians like William Wilberforce fueled the abolition of slavery, refusing to let injustice hide behind polite silence. The U.S. Civil Rights Movement moved to the rhythms of gospel hymns and sermons from pulpits that proclaimed freedom in Jesus and freedom on earth. More recently, World Vision’s work combating the HIV and AIDS crisis in Africa was driven by churches who said, “This is our issue, too.” When faith communities stood up — advocating for prevention, care, and compassion, change occurred.

Investing in education

Education has long been a cornerstone of the Church’s anti-poverty efforts. Christian schools have provided literacy and vocational skills to marginalized communities, opening pathways out of poverty. Today, Christian organizations continue to invest in schools, vocational training, and scholarships, recognizing education as a powerful tool for empowerment and self-sufficiency.

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If you spend a few minutes with Melissa Joan Hart, you’ll quickly learn of her passion to serve others. “I love all kinds of community outreach on a local level and on a wider level,” she says. “With World Vision, it’s really both because it is domestic and international outreach. I also am the community outreach committee member for my kid’s football team. I think it’s important to serve our community and to give back because we have been so blessed. It’s important to share those blessings.”

As a World Vision Celebrity Ambassador, Melissa is all-in for ending extreme poverty. “I first came to World Vision because I wanted to find an organization to make a difference with, and to feel a part of. And I love the idea of knowing where money goes, knowing where efforts are going, and seeing the change being made. I have seen the very complex systems that World Vision has put into place that are sustainable and are life-changing.”

From organizing volunteer opportunities to promoting handcrafted gifts in the World Vision Gift Catalog, Melissa enjoys finding creative and meaningful ways to bless others, especially around the holidays. “My favorite thing about Christmas is the Gift Catalog,” she says. “As soon as I get it, I start circling things. What do I want to get and give to people? I love giving teacher gifts from the Gift Catalog.”

World Vision recently connected with Melissa to talk more about what it means to be a change maker and how she encourages others to give back.

Q&A: Melissa Joan Hart, actor and World Vision Celebrity Ambassador

Where does your desire to serve others come from?

I’ve met a lot of different people and learned different ways of life, and it’s all fascinating to me. I feel it’s our job to take care of our neighbors. Everyone deserves clean water. Everyone deserves food. Everyone deserves safety, sanitation, and education. These are things that World Vision is working towards. I love being a part of that, and bringing in as many people as I can to help.

How is your faith and your relationship with World Vision connected?

[My family’s] faith is a big part of what we do and why we want to help. As Christians, we’re called to mission work — to helping our neighbors and our fellow man. Finding an organization you can get excited about, like World Vision, is a big part of that. Where you can see the work they’re doing and you believe in it, and you want to come back and spread the word.

What does lasting change mean to you?

The idea of lasting change is the ultimate prayer for peace and for ending poverty. No child being hungry, no one having to die of terrible diseases because they can’t get clean water. Putting an end to all of that.

How have you experienced world change in your partnership with World Vision?

We have seen families develop. When we first visited Zambia, I met a family who was not part of the sponsorship program yet and you could see the poverty. You could see the malnutrition in the children. You could see them struggling. You could see the lack of hope in their faces. Our sponsored child’s family struggled with poverty too. But now, four years later, they are thriving. They’re healthier. The smiles on their faces told us everything. They were going to school because they had bikes, they had a roof over their heads, they had chickens, and they were getting goats. They had a thriving farm and water nearby. They couldn’t stop thanking us for helping them get on their feet. And it just reconfirmed my love for World Vision because I get to see the changes being made.

What changes have you seen in your sponsored family in Zambia since you started with World Vision?

My family and I have been to Zambia twice, and we’ve just seen such a difference between four years ago and now with the families that have been helped [from] sponsors. The girls that we sponsor are now going to school, they have clean clothes, they have a house, and a bed and clean water really close by so they can go get water when they want to cook or clean.

It’s just amazing. The family’s whole demeanor has changed, and they just are so proud now of what they’ve accomplished. They are farming and taking of goats, and they have a massive garden.

What lessons are you trying to teach your own children about the importance of serving others?

I think this is so important for our boys to see the work that World Vision is doing and to see that there are parts of the world that are struggling. I want them to know we can do so much good — with our time, our energy, our money — to be able to help people in need that live far away. It’s crucial to show our kids good charitable works.

I believe we’re called in to it, and [my husband and I] want them to learn what gifts they have that they can share. As they grow, they can be a shining light to others and that it’s so important.

What is one way you’d encourage others to get involved with World Vision?

One of the programs I love is the sponsorships. I believe sponsorship truly changes lives. We are lucky enough to sponsor three children. I consider them family — they’re our sponsor sisters. I think child sponsorship is the number one way people can help all year because it not only changes life for that child, but also changes their family and their village. So, if you sponsor a child, like we do in Zambia, you can help. Your money might go towards supporting access to clean water or improved education, or chickens so a family can have fresh eggs. If you want to help with the family’s particular needs, like putting a roof on their house for the next rainy season, you can give a Special Gift .You can even send them a birthday present, and that is huge.

Why are you excited to share your handcrafted gift and the Gift Catalog with others this year?

The World Vision Gift Catalog offers all kinds of handcrafted gifts, from bracelets to bowls to scarves, so you can find anything for that person in your life. The money you donate to each gift goes towards World Vision and their projects; it helps in so many ways. You can give something very meaningful. Or if the person doesn’t need anything, I can send gifts to World Vision’s programs in honor of them. I love to give goats, chickens, medical supplies, or school supplies. I know I can always get my friends and family something from World Vision’s Gift Catalog and they’ll know it’s going to help someone else.

What are you looking forward to in the next year?

There are so many things on the horizon that I’m excited about, from work to family. We’re getting to a new phase with our kids. We now have two new drivers in the family. I have a son who graduated high school. My middle child is playing football. I had a new movie come out this year called The Bad Guardian on Lifetime. I’m excited about all of that.

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When Christian recording artists Brandon Lake and Phil Wickham headed out on tour together, they had one goal: change lives.

Brandon, a Grammy and Dove Award-winning artist, joined forces with Phil, a Grammy-nominated and Dove Award-winning artist, for the Summer Worship Nights Tour, visiting 17 cities across this U.S. this past August.

At these concerts, the artists wanted to engage Christians and draw them closer to the heart of God through worship.

“These songs are catalysts for that unity in the church to happen in these rooms,” Phil says.

But they didn’t want concertgoers to be the only ones whose lives changed. Brandon has been partnering with World Vision since 2022, helping connect children in need with sponsors, and he got Phil on board this summer too. So at each of their tour stops, they put out a call for their audience to help vulnerable children as well.

“We want to make a lasting eternal kingdom impact with World Vision, and so we want to find the kids who have been waiting the longest for a sponsor,” Phil said at the onset of the tour. “We’ve heard that some kids have been waiting two, three, four years and they haven’t found a sponsor yet. We want to find those kids, bring them into the fold, and make an eternal difference in their lives.”

Concertgoers caught the vision, and because of World Vision’s community-focused solutions where for every child you help, four more benefit as well, the tour along with Brandon’s Tear Off the Roof Tour, helped impact more than 61,300 children’s lives around the world this year!

In addition to helping vulnerable children, as they moved from city to city, the two also opened up their lives to cameras, and later this month, a documentary about their tour called FOR THE ONE hits theaters for a one-weekend-only event October 27–29, 2024. Here are some thoughts from Brandon and Phil about the film, their tour, and partnering with World Vision.

On touring and what motivates them to tour:

Brandon: I want to see the church come alive. I think that’s what fuels me going on tour. It’s brutal on your body. It’s brutal on your emotions, you’re missing your family, but for me it’s worth it.

Phil: Touring is both the most beautiful moment but it’s also the most difficult, because touring usually means we’re away from our family.

How they hope this documentary about touring will impact fans:

Phil: Never in my life did I think I would be a part of telling a piece of my story in theaters. I hope the stories encountered through this movie show everyone watching how much they are loved by the One. I can’t wait to share this with the world, and I hope people are encouraged by it.

Brandon: My hope for this project is that it would not only show what it takes to go on tour, but why the music and touring mean so much to us. Countless lives have been changed, especially ours. Though we’ve had the opportunity to influence many, our focus remains for the One.

Why it was important to them to help children by partnering with World Vision:

Phil: Joining together in the presence of God is amazing. But one of our huge goals was to see these children who have been literally waiting years for sponsors to find a sponsor. [People] showed up in a huge way. We impacted so many children’s lives through World Vision and the sponsorship program. The cool thing through World Vision, as we sponsor a child, you don’t just help the child, which is more than enough, but you help their family and their community as well.

Brandon: Things like healthcare, healthy food, clean water, and the spiritual influence that World Vision is making on all these children’s lives and their families. … It’s been amazing for me and my family to get involved. Each one of my three boys sponsor a child, and it’s an amazing thing to know that with just giving a little bit, it can completely change a child’s life.

A message to their fans (other than “Go see FOR THE ONE”!):

Brandon: I [love] to sing songs with people and tear off the roof, but you guys are tearing off the roof for so many children around the world. … Thank you so much for partnering with me and World Vision.

Get tickets to see FOR THE ONE, in select theaters October 27–29, 2024, and it’s not too late to sponsor a child to help change lives with Brandon and Phil.

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Some grandparents cook with their grandchildren. Some play games together. Some make music. But Susy and her granddaughter, Siachen, walk World Vision’s Global 6K for Water^®. And they’ve done it together for 10 years — in 2023, they’ll make it 11 years.

“We certainly will do it [this year]. For us it’s a given,” says Susy. “Because it’s important to us and we both believe in it.”

It all started in 2013 when Susy strapped her infant granddaughter to her chest and walked 6 kilometers to raise money so that people around the world could have access to clean water.

Understanding the need

Susy doesn’t take clean water for granted. She lived in northern India for more than 18 years and learned that easy access to the precious resource wasn’t guaranteed. “I know how heavy it is to haul water just a few hundred feet,” she says. “You treasure your water so much. You have such a limited supply.”

The average distance that people in developing countries walk to get water is 6 kilometers (3.7 miles). Susy’s walk for water in India was significantly shorter, but it nevertheless helped her to empathize with the burden that many people around the world bear. She says, “I really feel for people who through their whole life don’t have access to clean water and travel a distance and only have dirty water.”

A June 2021 report from the World Health Organization/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Program reported that 771 million people, or 1 in 10, lacked access to a clean water source within a 30-minute round trip from their home.

“There’s always something you can do.”

When the 2014 Global 6K rolled around, Susy pushed Siachen in a stroller. From the age of 4 on, Siachen walked the 6 kilometers on her own two feet.

In fact, Siachen didn’t want Susy to even bring her stroller. Susy remembers, “She was a big kid now. She was going to do the whole thing.”

The race was fun, but the fundraising has really brought grandmother and granddaughter together. They always look for ways they can help others and the Global 6K makes it easy, especially for someone Siachen’s age. She’s learned that she can believe in people’s generosity and their desire to support a good cause.

“When you do have expectations of another person, they usually live into it,” Susy says. “You don’t necessarily have to say anything but show by your attitude that of course they can do this.”

Siachen is learning that she has power. She can use her own gifts and abilities to make a difference. “You don’t ever think you don’t have anything to give. There’s always something you can do,” Susy tells Siachen. “You have help in your feet.”

That first year Siachen walked the Global 6K, grandmother and granddaughter passed out flyers to parents of her preschool classmates. Now they send emails and talk to people in person. “Me and my nani have a lot of friends. And our friends donate money,” Siachen says, “to help get clean water for other kids.”

Indeed, they do have a lot of friends. In 2021, Siachen was the top youth fundraiser in the United States, raising $4,840.50. In 2022, she raised even more: $5,181. In 2022, she was the U.S. top youth fundraiser again. Together Siachen and her grandmother’s donations totaled $9,531 in 2022. That means clean water for 190 people.

Over their 10 years, Siachen and Susy have raised $39,047 — helping empower 780 people with clean water.

Braving the elements

The 2022 Global 6K wasn’t without incident. Susy and Siachen set out walking with Siachen’s friend Maya on the official 6K date. They had hoped that the predicted rain would hold off, but about a third of the way through, the skies opened up on the walkers. Drenched, they decided to try again on another day.

Happily, on June 4, they got a second chance. Siachen and Maya walked part of the way, roughly what they’d missed out on walking before rain cancelled their first attempt. Then they finished up their Global 6K on bikes.

Encouraging others

Susy knows that people often stumble over having to raise funds. Her recommendation? Maybe try the 6K without fundraising the first time, just to see what it’s like. And, she adds, “It’s a fun time to be together to help people.”

Many people, especially in Western cultures, don’t especially enjoy asking others for help, but Susy offers another point of view. Scripture tells us that it’s more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). “You’re giving people that opportunity to be blessed,” she says.

After the event, grandmother and granddaughter always bless everyone who gave to their effort with a picture postcard thank-you note. They want to be sure that people know their fundraising outcome. The donors are a part of their team.

As Susy started Siachen on this journey, now Siachen offers advice to friends who might be considering joining in World Vision’s Global 6K. “I would tell them you’re helping kids get clean water,” Siachen says simply. “You can do this. Stay strong.”

Good advice from a 10-year-old Global 6K veteran.

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