Sidney Muisyo on the Impact of the Pandemic on Global Development Work & God’s Heart for the Most Vulnerable
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In this interview Jason speaks with Sidney Muisyo, the Senior Vice President of Global Program at Compassion International. Sidney is on the front-lines with over 8000 of Compassion’s church partners providing holistic care to those who need it most, today.
Sidney is profoundly passionate about the eradication of poverty in and beyond the 25 different countries Compassion is currently working in. From the get-go, Sidney is explicit in sharing that the call to serve the poor and the “least of these” is not a unique calling on some people, but it is the mission mandate from God to the whole people of God. In Sidney’s words, “It is the call of the church to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”
One of the great gifts of this conversation is being able to hear from someone who has their finger on the pulse of developing countries around the world. Towards the end of the interview, Sidney shares about the dramatic and devastating effects of COVID-19 in third-world societies. The whole of the world has been affected by this pandemic, and the impact on the most vulnerable has been acute. Sidney says that “The UN itself has shared that we are likely to lose 10 years of gains in the war against poverty because of this virus.”
Despite the saddening reality of some of the statistics shared, Sidney remains contagiously hopeful as he sees the global church rising up in response. In light of the deep need, Compassion has responded swiftly and specifically to and through their local church partners. But the need has not evaporated though a dent has been made. There is still plenty that the local church in Canada can do to help serve the most vulnerable in the most trying time this generation has ever experienced.
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.
“It is the call of the church to speak up for those who cannot speak up for themselves.”
Youtube Links
We have also posted some of our favourite sections of this interview on our Youtube Channel - here is one of them:
“Ministry to children and youth is perhaps the most strategic ministry that a church can be involved in.”
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
Ho-Ming Tsui
Ho-Ming is the Lead Pastor of Richmond Hill Christian Community Church, a multi-generational, multi-lingual church just outside of Toronto. He completed his undergraduate degree at Queen’s University, and went onto graduate studies at Tyndale Seminary in Toronto, and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Boston. Ho-Ming speaks frequently at conferences in Toronto and has traveled to Asia, Europe and Africa to teach as well. He is an avid guitarist and loves all things sci-fi. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Katie, they have three children.