Allison Alley on Her Journey to the Least of These & Eliminating Poverty Through the Local Church
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In this episode Jason interviews Allison Alley, the President of Compassion Canada. Allison’s love for the church and the poor bleed through this entire conversation as they explore the work of Compassion around the world. Specifically, Allison highlights the commitment of Compassion to work with local churches, both for theological and practical reasons. The church is God’s plan A for bringing love, hope and healing into the world so Compassion exists to mobilize the church in lifting children out of poverty and providing for their spiritual and physical needs.
Allison’s journey from a successful career in the finance industry to high-level leadership in the non-profit sphere is a fascinating one. It all started with a deep conviction to serve the poor and make an impact in the world for Jesus. She shares how her own pilgrimage parallels the missional shift her church underwent. Rather than just launching a new program the church radically reshaped their ministry ethos by breaking down the divide between the church and the community and Sunday mornings and the rest of the week. Her church even purchased a building to create a 24/7 shelter for the vulnerable in the community. These efforts led to significant growth in the church and greater impact in the community.
The conversation shifts to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 on the most vulnerable around the world. The sad reality is that the virus has disproportionately impacted the poor and vulnerable leading to estimates that global hunger could double by the end of the year. More than that, developmental work might be set back ten years as the ripple effects of this pandemic are magnified in the months to come.
Despite this very hard news, there is incredible hope. Compassion has responded through more than 8,000 of their local church partners. Allison closes the interview with a stirring appeal to church leaders, inviting them to partner with the work of Compassion during this global crisis.
Allison Alley
Allison Alley became the fourth President of Compassion Canada in October 2019 after joining the organization in 2012 to establish the Advocacy department. After spending more than a decade in leadership roles in the marketplace, God used her love for her own children to call her to be an advocate for all children, especially those living in poverty. Allison holds a Master of Arts in Global Leadership with an emphasis in International Development and Urban Studies from Fuller Theological Seminary’s School of Intercultural Studies, and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Western Ontario’s Ivey Business School. She and her husband, Tommy, live in London, Ontario and have two young daughters.
“We want to exchange relationship not just resources between the resourced and under resourced churches of the world.”
Youtube Links
We have also posted some of our favourite sections of this interview on our Youtube Channel - here is one of them:
“The Church is God’s Plan A, so we at Compassion are all about mobilizing God’s Bride to live out their calling to be His hands and His feet.”
This episode was brought to you by Compassion.
The mission of Compassion is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. And they’re doing exactly that in 25 different countries. Now, here is what is unique about Compassion—100% of their work is done in partnership with local churches. In fact, for many of the communities Compassion serves, they don’t know a large international NGO—they simply know the people of the local church who serve the most vulnerable in their community. Compassion’s heart for the local church extends here, to Canada, too. They are experts at equipping the Canadian church for mission in ways that are tailored to each church’s unique context. We want to encourage you to begin a transformative missions partnership with Compassion.
Visit ccln.ca/compassion to learn more about how you can partner with Compassion.
Coming Up Next
Sidney Muisyo
Sidney Muisyo began his service with Compassion International in 2002 (19 years total). He has served in various roles at Compassion Kenya including communications specialist and sponsor and donor manager. Before his role as Africa regional vice president, Sidney served as the Kenya country director. Sidney is passionate about leadership development in Africa, believing that a Biblical-based approach to leadership as discipleship is fundamental to creating hope and opportunity — which are the bedrock to eradicating poverty and releasing children from it.