This project will help: 68,000 children and youth
Completion date: November 2025
Country: Guatemala
Executive summary
Compassion strives to support children as they grow into youth and young adults. Compassion’s goal for all youth who complete the program is that young men and women will be disciples of Jesus Christ who develop their God-given potential and make a difference in their communities. Through Compassion’s child development program, staff members work tirelessly to support the registered beneficiaries and their holistic development—including their spiritual development.
In Guatemala, 252 child development centres are currently supporting 68,000 registered children and youth, starting from infancy until 18 years old. In 2019, the POEM survey was conducted to determine areas of strength and opportunities for growth. The study surveyed students age 16 to 18 in the Compassion program as well as their peers who were not registered in the program to compare the two groups. The results showed the need to better develop spiritual growth among Compassion program participants. Further, an analysis conducted by the Compassion Guatemala office in 2022 also found that many tutors and centre staff across the country expressed the need for additional teaching materials and tools related to spiritual growth.
Without improved access to faith-based teaching materials that complement the Compassion curriculum, centre staff may struggle to support the formation and development of participants’ spiritual growth. A lack of spiritual learning materials and tools may hinder children and youth from developing a meaningful relationship with Christ and engaging in an uplifting Christian community, which can make all the difference for young people who may not have positive role models at home or in their community.
With your support, this intervention will provide 252 frontline church partners in Guatemala with essential tools and teaching materials to give all registered students the spiritual nurture and support they need. The teaching materials will be developed for each age group, ensuring all children have access to creative, fun and age-appropriate learning materials, so that each child can thrive spiritually, emotionally and intellectually, laying a strong foundation for their future growth and development.
Summary
Background
The POEM survey conducted in 2019 found that many Compassion-assisted youth who would soon graduate from the program struggled to prioritize their faith. The study discovered that 76 per cent of participants do not read their Bible daily, 79 per cent do not disciple others and 30 per cent do not attend church. It also found that 30 per cent of students have not made a confession of faith—leaving them at high risk of leaving the church once they graduate from the Compassion program.
Young adults aged 18 to 25 are the least committed to the church, with nearly half of all young adults eventually leaving the church entirely. Many young people leave the faith around age 18, when they transition from high school to post-secondary school or enter the workforce. This is also the age where Compassion-assisted beneficiaries graduate from the centre-based child development program.
It is crucial for children and youth to learn to practise spiritual disciplines, internalize Biblical truths and develop a deep relationship with Christ before the critical stage when so many leave the church. Developing a strong faith and sense of Christian community can improve self-worth, provide a source of ongoing support and ensure young people learn to give back to their communities.
The need
Children and youth today often struggle with their spiritual growth and development. A survey performed by Compassion found that among Compassion-assisted youth in Guatemala, three-quarters do not pray for their families and friends, 30 per cent have not accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour and 76 per cent do not take part in regular spiritual disciplines such as reading the Bible. Sadly, nearly half the students leave the church at age 18.
Compassion Guatemala sees the need for dedicated and caring adults to provide ongoing mentorship and teaching through age-appropriate and fun learning materials and tools. With your support, Compassion Guatemala will search out and adapt existing evangelical Christian material into an interactive, didactic and creative curriculum for four different age groups. Centre staff from 252 Compassion centres across Guatemala will receive three kits of the spiritual disciplines material for each age group, a guide for implementation for each age group and materials for each child, including printed or audiovisual material. One tutor from each age group from each Compassion centre will undergo in-person training to ensure they can implement the curriculum effectively. These tutors will then train the other tutors at their centres. Centres will also receive games, other equipment and a digital version of the material to be reused with subsequent groups. This spiritual disciplines curriculum will ensure that each registered child who attends their local Compassion centre will be taught crucial lessons like the love of God, who God is, how to read the Bible, spiritual practices and how to develop a Christ-like character.
With your generous gift, centre staff will be well equipped to provide students with ongoing support and mentorship as they develop their faith and ask big questions about God and the world around them. These teaching materials are aimed to support each child’s spiritual growth as well as their holistic development, providing students with greater opportunities as they graduate from the program and a heart to help others in their communities.
What your gift will do
Your gift will provide 68,000 children and youth age 0 to 18 from 252 Compassion centres in Guatemala with access to age-appropriate spiritually nurturing resources and teaching materials:
- Design and adaptation of spiritual disciplines material and user/teaching guides
- Printing and shipping of materials
- In-person training for centre staff on materials
- Adapting/Renovating space at centres for program implementation
- Travel expenses for centre staff
- Monitoring
Logistics
- Local contribution: Travel costs for in-person training and renovating space in the centres as needed.
- Handling of funds: Compassion Guatemala will ensure this project stays within budget.
- Monitoring and follow-up: The implementation of this intervention will be led and monitored by the Survival and Middle Childhood specialists as well as a partnership facilitator from the Compassion Guatemala office. Three surveys will be conducted to analyze the successes and challenges of the teaching materials.