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.

Season 2, Episode 8: Hope Award semi-finalists

Effective Compassion explores what’s really working in the fight against poverty and how thinking biblically aids in the restoration of human dignity. This seasonal program is made for people who want to elicit real change because they know true hope.

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 (http://worldhelp.net/podcast) to learn more and donate.

Effective Compassion: Pure and faultless religion - S4.E10

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 (http://worldhelp.net/podcast) to learn more and donate.

Effective Compassion: Extra needs, special love - S4.E9

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 (http://worldhelp.net/podcast) to learn more and donate.

Effective Compassion: Better together - S4.E8

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 (http://worldhelp.net/podcast) to learn more and donate.

Effective Compassion: Bearing heavy burdens - S4.E7

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 (http://worldhelp.net/podcast) to learn more and donate.

Season 2, Episode 8: Hope Award semi-finalists

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