Setting the Captives Free



Update 1/10/2010

Our Christmas Eve celebration was a wonderful celebration which included an offering designated for Setting the Captives Free.  God truly blessed your efforts to help out these children.  The results are below:

  • Our children and youth saved and gave $7,421
  • The rest of the congregation raised $66,660
  • Total Giving was $74,021

To give some perspective on how this will make an impact to Set Captives Free, it takes approximately $100 to buy back a child from bondage and around $216 per year to provide basic needs, mentoring and Sunday school.  The amount we collected could buy back and support 32 children for 10 years!  Praise God for using us in this powerful way.  Stay tuned to "Be Amazed" at more incredible ways that God is working through our missions efforts coming up during Missions Week 2010 (February 27th through March 7th).

Northshore Christian Church's Setting the Captives Free--Christmas 2009 project will work with an indigenous ministry inside India to rescue child slaves.  These are bonded laborers, most of whom are from extremely poor families. Here are some important facts:

  • This program rescues children from bondage labor only in areas where a an indigenous evangelist works.
  • The child is returned to their parents and enrolled in an indigenous children's program until they are 18 or graduate from high school.
  • The child’s basic needs are provided preventing the child from being resold.
  • The child is mentored by an indigenous evangelist and Christian leaders from a local church The child regularly participates in the Sunday School and the parents in the local church.
  • The child must attend school and receive passing grades Each child must annually reenroll in the program by providing their mark sheet (grades), updated personal information, and a picture Indigenous ministry staff visit the children on a quarterly basis.
  • This children's program is also offered to poor children who are at risk of being sold into bondage labor, thus eliminating the need for a child to be sold.

Over 2,800 children are enrolled in this children’s program. Not all of these were rescued from bondage labor; many were at-risk. Because rescuing children from bondage labor is a very sensitive issue in India, NCC will not publish information about the indigenous ministry  Through this 27 year long program more than 150 of the children have become indigenous evangelists. The children are supported by sponsors in America for $15 a month ($18 effective July 1, 2010).

Over 90% of the children remain in this program from year-to-year.

Would you pray with us as you budget your Christmas spending and consider matching that amount as a Christ gift which we will receive on Christmas Eve? Donations can also be made online the week of 12/21-28 at www.northshorechristian.org.