Editor’s note: This is part of our six-week sponsor series highlighting Compassion and the work that some of their epic bearded gospel men are doing to serve pre-bearded children and churches around the world.
As a talented web designer, Andrew could work anywhere. For Andrew, life isn’t about making as much money as possible. This bearded gospel man chooses to use his talents to serve His Savior.
Andrew’s facial hair has taken many forms over the last 20 years, but a full beard is by far his favorite. “I know that a lot of guys pull their identity from their facial hair. I don’t. I simply don’t want to shave,” he shared honestly. “I do enjoy the style choices facial hair affords me though and have enjoyed everything from a full beard to a handle-bar mustache.”
By his mid-30s, Andrew’s beard was mostly gray. While visiting a fast food restaurant with his two-year-old son, an employee asked if the toddler was his grandson. When he later told his wife about the incident, she tilted her head and said, “I can see it.”
Sometimes people correlate bearded men into a stereotype of masculinity. Andrew sees it a bit differently and that insight has directed many of his life choices, “Masculinity shows compassion. It shows love and vulnerability. It is a balance between what needs to be done, but doing it in a kind manner. God created me with a desire to take care and protect my family. It’s more than physically protection though—bringing in food, making sure we have shelter, protecting my family from physical harm. There is an emotional aspect of masculinity, and for me, that is called compassion. You can see that with our bearded Savior. He showed compassion to people that the manly men of that culture would disregard. Women weren’t looked upon well, especially a Samaritan. The women at the well would be overlooked, disregarded. Jesus engaged her one-to-one and got down to what she needed. He showed immense compassion to her. I want my sons to follow Jesus’ example.”
Andrew and his wife Kristi are raising two up-and-coming bearded gospel men, ages 7 and 11. They take their parental responsibility very seriously, “I aim to teach my boys what it means to care and respect all people, including treating women with respect. I want them to have a soft heart toward God and what He is doing. Our God is a compassionate God and that is one key aspect of His identity.”
Andrew’s entire professional life has been in the nonprofit sector and he’s been a web designer for Compassion International for eight years. “I need my work to have an eternal purpose, not just padding someone else’s bottom line. I need to work with people or an organization that seeks to bring people closer to what the kingdom of God is.”
Compassion’s mission is to release children from poverty in Jesus’ name. The organization is Christ-centered, church-based and child-focused. “What I love about Compassion is that we partner with established churches where these children in poverty live. Through those churches, we develop relationships with children and their families. We meet needs, but not just physical ones. It’s a holistic model, so we can be sure spiritual, educational, emotional, and other needs are met. And we do it in the name of Jesus—all because of what He did for us. Because of His love, we’re able to show children hope and opportunity that they wouldn’t have otherwise.”
Hope and opportunity—that’s what Compassion gives. Andrew explains, “We’re not just giving families in need money and saying, ‘Good luck.’ We’re not just dropping in and helping out once a quarter. The Compassion center in that community is a constant in these families. What Compassion does resonates with me. It’s a single focus—always coming back to the main mission of releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name.”
The first time Andrew saw poverty was in the Andes mountains of Peru. His eyes were opened to the difficult conditions in which these children live.
He found children who didn’t know how to get out of their circumstances—the hopelessness of poverty and the cycle of destruction it perpetuates. The Compassion center there was getting ready to launch and the pastor was inviting his church to reach out to the children in their community. The followers of Jesus in that community wanted to share God’s love, but they didn’t have any way to accomplish it on their own. Compassion provided them with the tools. “The people there wanted to share that hope and opportunity with the kids. I watched as the church invited each child to see their individual potential. Each child was seen and loved.”
A few years later, Andrew took his wife Kristi to Honduras so she could see his work firsthand. One program especially resonated with them. Compassion’s Survival Program is all about moms and babies—including helping moms literally bring their little ones into the world. The first five years of life are a crucial period in the development of a child. Babies in poverty are too often the victims of infant mortality and millions of children around the world die within their first year of life due to a lack of resources, delivery complications, malnutrition, and preventable diseases.
“While watching the mothers, I realized the Compassion program was giving them the tools to be the kind of moms they wanted to be.”
While visiting the Survival Program, Andrew introduced himself as well as Kristi to the young mothers. His introduction resulted in a chorus of “ahh” from the audience and several of the mothers made a heart shape with their hands. “I was so surprised by that reaction, but it also spoke volumes to me. Just from my brief introduction, the mothers could tell that I love Kristi. I want to be with her. It was unusual for them to see spouses in public together, even traveling together. Our presence there was an example to the young women. They could see an example of a Christian marriage and it could be attainable to them as well, through the love of Christ.”
Andrew and his family sponsor an 11-year-old boy from Ghana through Compassion. “We selected a child the same age as our son so they could grow together and learn about each other’s cultures. I want my sons to be exposed to what life is like in other parts of the world, especially in the developing countries where Compassion works. My son is growing up in the suburbs and would like to give him a new perspective on the world and a love for what God is doing.”
“Sponsorship is a wonderful way to make a global impact. For my family, our monthly donation is not a lot of money, but it’s a tangible way to make a difference. A child has so much life ahead of them, so when we impact them early in life, it impacts them tremendously. Think of an angle. If you change it just a few degrees at the base, that tiny impact will result in them ending up in a very different place. That’s a worthwhile investment.”
