MAKING SPACE FOR “ENOUGH”With our busy lives, we sometimes need a story that reminds us that simplicity leads to joy and that the opposite of poverty is not wealth, it’s finding God is enough. As we discover God’s purposes and provision for us, our families and our world, we live blessed to be a blessing.

That’s where Step Into My Shoes comes in. Because Compassion International exists to see all children released from extreme poverty, we’ve prayerfully designed this gift for the Church. Addressing poverty and injustice takes all of us, so churches in Canada and the United States joined to create Step Into My Shoes. Churches who try it say participants find more contentment in Christ and new habits of sharing with their neighbors, locally and globally.

We’ve learned that families long to step into the shoes of a family who lives on less than we do to see what it looks like to find enough. Families and multigenerational small groups also want to dive into Jesus’ example of how to care for those in need and then find practical ways to act.

SEE THE WORLD THROUGH GOD’S EYES – NO PASSPORT REQUIRED

According to the Willow Creek Association’s MOVE study of 250,000 believers, the “most catalytic” action a church can take to make disciples is to serve together. Step Into My Shoes curriculum designer Fuller Youth Institute also found that raising kids with a resilient, “sticky faith” involves serving together as families. Step Into My Shoes is designed to nurture spiritual and physical transformation both for those served, and those serving.

WHO IS IT FOR? Step Into My Shoes is a 7-step interactive experience for the whole family and intergenerational small groups to see the world through God’s eyes and see what it might mean to live “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth.” Participating in Step Into My Shoes, families peek into the daily life of Ugandan Pastor Tom, his wife Nancy and their 12 children, as they gather water, prepare food, find safety when they sleep, go to school, worship, and spend time together. The journey wraps up with the opportunity for families to choose one practical next step to invest in children locally or globally.

HOW DOES IT HELP FAMILIES IN NEED?To encourage participants to bear fruit by following in Jesus’ footsteps, Step Into My Shoes devotionals and activities point families to His example as they study Scripture, memorize God’s Word, and then act according to God’s guidance. In step 7, participants find guidance on how to continue their journey to help those in need locally and globally.

SERVING TOGETHER GROWING TOGETHER

ENDORSEMENTS

“The mutual goal of Willow Creek Association and Compassion is to create Jesus-centered disciples who pray—and live—‘God’s Kingdom come, His will be done.’ This goal is well served by SIMS. I urge you and your church to explore and use SIMS to see transformation in your congregation by inspiring people to follow in Jesus’ footsteps, and serve.”

— Steve Bell, Executive Vice President, Willow Creek Association

“ I am so glad we got to participate in the Step Into My Shoes program. What a wonderful opportunity for our families. I like the idea of encouraging them to take a next step while they are still freshly impacted. I look forward to when this experience can be available to all Vineyard churches.”

— Becky Olmstead, Vineyard USA Kids Ministry National Task Force Director

“ SIMS helps us to see and feel both the beauty and the hurt of our world, and invites us to act in response. Many people saw SIMS at the CAFO 2014 Summit and now plan to use it as a very compelling, ready-to-use way to celebrate Orphan Sunday at their church.” 

— Jedd Medefind, President, Chrisitan Alliance for Orphans (CAFO)

“ It is one thing to hear about the lack of food or unclean drinking water. It was a different thing to experience it! It became very real when it was my children staring at a dirty jug of water and realizing that this was our only option to drink. As an American, it is easy to lose sight of what is meant by ‘basic needs.’ This experience brought that into focus and deeply impacted our families’ understanding of what it means to provide and advocate for other’s basic needs.”

— Julie Wright, Minister of Next Generation Outreach, Grace Church, Eden Prairie, MN

YOUR STEP I NTO MY SHOES K IT I NCLUDES:

WELCOME LETTER PACKING L IST JOURNEY GUIDE CARDS DVD JOURNEY MAP PRAYER BANDS* MAGNET* MAGAZINE

WHAT DOES THE EXPERIENCE LOOK LIKE? Step Into My Shoes participants receive an engaging and interactive Toolkit that includes:

• A Welcome Letter

• Packing List

• A Journey Guide of Bible-based family devotionals and fun, enriching activities

• A DVD with engaging videos featuring Pastor Tom’s family and their daily life

• A map of Uganda and a map for your Journey

• Prayer bands to encourage participants to pray for those in need

• A Magnet

• Explorer Magazine, an award-winning publication with games, recipes, crafts, devotionals and stories from kids in Africa

FOR THE SMALL GROUP LEADER: • An interactive website with downloadable

resources, promotional materials, and ideas for facilitating KickOff and closing gatherings

• Email delivery of each step to participating families and groups

WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT? Step Into My Shoes can run alongside regularly scheduled programming. Families and small groups typically devote just 10-15 minutes per mealtime devotional, and then can dive deeper on weekends or during group gatherings with the activities, approximately 30 minutes. Designed to be flexible to support churches’ individual roles in God’s mission, participants might complete all 7 steps in a month, some once a week, and others may use Step Into My Shoes for a week long missions focus or weekend retreat.

HOW DO I GET MY GROUP INVOLVED?To sign up and request the Step Into My Shoes Toolkit, just visit stepintomyshoes.org and indicate that you are a church or group leader.

VI LLAGETHROUGHOUT YOUR JOURNEY!FOLLOW OUR HOST FAMILY

The kit is also available through an interactive website and emails of all materials except those asterisked above.

The Step Into My Shoes experience is a seven-step interactive journey that lets your family, church or school walk alongside a family in poverty and explore the important question “How much is enough?” Step inside the life of Reverend Tom and his Ugandan family and see the world through God’s eyes — no passport required.

Start your journey today at stepintomyshoes.org