Sponsorship
Sponsorship is taken for granted in many communities. The assumption is that everyone knows the how and why of sponsorship. Sometimes sponsorship only sounds like a reference to the number of participants who are signed up for a Chrysalis weekend; and make no mistake:
Sponsorship is the most important service in the Chrysalis movement – but what's important – is we do it with excellence.
What is sponsorship?
Every youth who attends Chrysalis has a "sponsor" who supports and encourages him or her before, during, and after their Chrysalis experience. Sponsorship is a job that is shared between all the youth who have been through Chrysalis and all the adults who have been through the Walk to Emmaus before you. It is more than just simply "signing up youth" to go on Chrysalis.
Sponsorship is the way in which the Chrysalis experience is passed on from person to person, reflecting the manner in which God purposefully reaches out to people through other people. After a Chrysalis weekend, you may also want to share the gift of these three days with others. Sponsorship provides you with a caring and disciplined way to do that. And by becoming a sponsor, you can participate in and demonstrate God's outreaching love for others - as He has called us to do.
The aim of Chrysalis through sponsorship
The importance of our community to be educated about good sponsorship cannot be overemphasized. The quality of sponsorship will impact new participants, the health and effectiveness of the Chrysalis movement, and all of our sponsoring churches.
The aim of sponsorship is the same as the aim of Chrysalis which is: The spiritual growth of young Christians as disciples of Jesus Christ through churches and their youth groups. Every sponsor should reflect upon his or her motivation for your desire to sponsor a youth and make sure it is consistent with this aim.
Reasons NOT to sponsor someone
- to get all of my friends to go
- to fix a young person's problems or crisis
- to have a full weekend
- to reproduce one's own religious experience in others
Who is Chrysalis really for?
Chrysalis is primarily designed for young Christian leaders who have a desire to strengthen their spiritual lives, may have unanswered questions about their faith, understand that being a Christian involves responsibility and are willing to dedicate their everyday lives to God.
A Chrysalis weekend is designed for those who are currently active in their local church and are already on their way to believing in Jesus Christ.
Reasons TO sponsor someone
A sponsorship opportunity can and should be motivated by a number of hopes and prayers for youth which ARE consistent with the aims of Chrysalis – as listed above. These include giving youth the gift of three days apart in order to:
- experience the accepting and healing grace of God through Christian community
- realize they are precious in God's eyes, that they are here on this earth for a holy purpose
- discuss without judgment their questions and struggles as young persons with peers and mature Christian adults
- hear anew the gospel of God's love in Jesus Christ and the basics of Christian faith and life
- make friends with other youth who share the faith and will support each other in living as Christians
- develop relationships with mature Christian adults, relationships which might extend beyond the three days
- be strengthened in their decisions to follow Jesus
- be better prepared to live as Christian witnesses at home, school, church, and in their community
- learn what goes into building their lives and relationships on a solid foundation
- bring new vitality to the church youth group upon returning, to inspire the sponsorship of other youth, and to energize the body of Christ through young people whose hearts are on fire with the love of Christ.
Next steps
Now that we have an understanding what sponsorship is, what should motivate us and a little about who we should sponsor, the next step is to review what this commitment looks like when it comes to Sponsoring a Youth.