Backpacks! Backpacks!

As far as recurring blog topics go, backpack collection trips rank pretty high for Sowers4Pastors. That’s because backpacks are an important part of helping the ministry achieve its ultimate goal of empowering pastors. But, wait! Aren’t backpacks all about sending kids to school? Today, let’s begin by talking about how the single act of filling a backpack can help on multiple levels. 

Level 1

Each S4P backpack filled with school supplies that makes its way into the hands of a child means that a child will be attending school. It’s not that some of the recipients wouldn’t have attended anyway, but it does lighten the load for those families. A large percentage of the kids who receive backpacks truly wouldn’t be attending school without the gift of school supplies and a new pair of shoes, however.

Level 2

The backpacks, distributed as part of a sponsorship program or feeding center program, give local pastors an ongoing opportunity to share the Gospel with the children.  It’s not a once and done thing. 

Level 3

The education systems in several communities have been transformed by the impact of backpacks. More and more kids are attending school well beyond what was previously the norm in their rural communities. Some areas have built new schools to accommodate these changes. 

Level 4

From the very beginning, Sowers4Pastors had the goal that all sponsorship programs would serve a dual purpose. They have always provided the things they said they would provide, such as backpacks, shoes, nutritious food, and sharing the Gospel. Those are amazing benefits for the low cost of sponsorship. But… they also knew that if they were careful and frugal with the money, they would also be able to use some of the funds from these programs to empower pastors in that area to spread the Gospel to a larger degree. In fact, if the sponsorships didn’t also serve to empower pastors, Sowers4Pastors wouldn’t do sponsorship programs. Not because the programs are a bad idea, but because the ministry focus is now, and has always been, empowering pastors. 

Most of the sister churches are fully committed to providing a backpack to every child in their program, whether or not the child has a sponsor. They do this even though S4P has already promised to provide a backpack for each child in the program. The reason these churches have made this commitment is because they want to help Sowers4Pastors stretch their funds to empower pastors – through things like pastors training school and church building projects. This is accomplished through careful management and not wasting a penny of what has been entrusted to the ministry.

Get Involved with the 2023 Backpack Collection Trip

This year’s backpack road trip is scheduled to officially kick off on September 7th. Allen will begin the trip in Indiana and will collect backpacks through multiple states to get to Maryland before driving down the East Coast, Texas, and back to Florida. This means that there’s still time for you to get involved. If you are along the route (or suspect you might be), contact Kirstin (kay@sowers4pastors.com) to see about getting added to the pickup schedule. Even if you are filling a couple of backpacks and not a couple of hundred, they will try to make it work if you are along the route. 

A lot of people enjoy packing a personalized backpack for their sponsored child. It’s an opportunity, not an obligation. If you are a sponsor, your monthly donation means that your child will receive a backpack from S4P if you do not fill one yourself. If you want to give a child some special things, then go for it! 

Naturally, non-sponsors are also invited to fill backpacks. It’s a fun way to help a child and empower pastors at the same time. 

Stay tuned for future updates about the trip. The zig-zag drive across the US is expected to wrap up around October 15th, though the journey of the backpacks will be just beginning. They will still need to make it onto shipping containers, travel by sea to Honduras, and be sorted before being handed out to the waiting children.

 - posted by Christi