Compassion is a beautiful word with a rich, deep meaning, more then showing kindness or sympathy. Compassion is about recognising the needs of others and doing something about it. When we read our Bible, we read Scripture after Scripture that reveals our God of compassion. I wonder what your favourite verses are?

As God’s children, created in His image, we are called to be people of compassion. We have a world full of needs that we can do something about and anyone, regardless of age is invited to respond to the needs that arise around them in compassion.

And that can be done at any age! In fact, I think this is one of the greatest opportunities we have as those called to serve and minister to children. As we continue to focus on our theme of Clear: Discovering the Real You, providing opportunities for kids to live out compassion as part of their Identity in Christ is a great opportunity! And there are so many ways we can do this all year round! Since we are moving towards the season of Advent and Christmas, and there are so many tangible opportunities in this season to express the compassion of our Incarnate God, why not take this opportunity to engage the kids in your life along with you in compassion experiences?

Here are some great opportunities to consider:

Hopeful Gifts for Change is a great way to give gifts that truly make a difference in the lives of  so many people! You can do this as a family or as a church community! Check out the great resources available to promote this in your church here.

And there is a great kids lesson that you can use to teach kids about the good gifts God gives and the gifts we can give too! Check it out here

Here are some links to places you could donate clothes, toys, etc:

Canadian Diabetes

Toys for Tots Canada

ECHOage Here’s a great gift giving idea! Set up at ECHOage party. Instead of people buying a whole bunch of Christmas gifts for kids, invite people to donate money towards one special gift or experience and half the online donation goes to a charity of the child’s choice! This is great for birthdays too!

Other ideas to consider:

Reverse Advent Calendar

Advent Calendar of Service Projects for kids

Advent Calendar Service Projects

24 Random Acts of Kindness