I Sponsored One Child. Then This Happened. | Allison Alley | Trinity Sermons

Hello and welcome to this week's episode of Trinity

Sermons. This week we have a very special episode

for you as we welcome Allison Alley, who is the

President and CEO of World Vision Canada. And

Allison is going to be sharing a bit of her story

with us, a bit of World Vision's story, but really

all about Jesus' story. How Jesus calls us to

take one small step at a time to share what we

can to have a huge impact all around the world.

Today's reading is from the Gospel of John, chapter

John 6:5–13

6, verses 5 to 13. When Jesus looked up and saw

a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip,

Where shall we buy bread for these people to

eat? He asked this only to test him, for he already

had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered

him, It would take more than half a year's wages

to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite.

Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's

brother, spoke up. Here is a boy with five small

barley loaves and two small fish, but how far

will they go among so many? Jesus said, Have

the people sit down. There was plenty of grass

in that place, and they sat down. About 5 ,000

men were there. Jesus then took the loaves gave

thanks, and distributed to those who were seated

as much as they wanted. He did the same with

the fish. When they had all had enough to eat,

he said to his disciples, Gather the pieces that

are left over. Let nothing be wasted. So they

gathered them and filled twelve baskets with

the pieces of the five barley loaves left over

by those who had eaten. The word of the Lord.

I get the great pleasure of introducing our guest

speaker for today, who is none other than Alison

Alley. And it was just about a year ago, just

maybe over a year ago, that Alison took on the

role of CEO and President of World Vision Canada.

And prior to joining World Vision, Alison, I

think, spent some 12 years in various... leadership

roles with Compassion Canada. And so I can't

think of a better person that we could welcome

on this day. And I, for one, am looking very

forward to hearing from her. So would you join

me in giving a warm Trinity welcome to Alison

Alley. Thanks, Rob, so much. I mean, let's be

real. You can think of a better person. His name

is Tony. Plan A, right? So Allison is definitely

plan B. But folks, it is... pure joy to be with

you today. I have to tell you, I have heard so

much about this church over the years from a

family named Michael and Yvonne Messenger. If

you know them, they've been going to this church

for quite some time. Also, the former president

and CEO at World Vision Canada. I've heard about

this church from Dave and Diane Toyson, who have

been going here for quite some time. Also, the

other former president and CEO of World Vision.

So I can't believe that I finally get a chance

just to sit with you and be with you. Because

I've also heard about you, forget those other

guys, from our staff here in Canada and our staff

in Honduras. And I thought I would start by sharing

a moment for me 14 years ago where everything

changed because of one seemingly small moment.

It was 14 years ago that I was sitting in my

basement holding my new baby daughter. And my

toddler was in the corner of the room with my

husband playing. And in this moment, I was overcome

with emotion, like undone with emotion. And it

was perplexing to me because at the time I had

everything I had ever hoped for and imagined.

A marriage with an amazing man of God for 10

years. Still in that marriage with that amazing

man of God. Two healthy children. I had a career

that I loved in the finance industry. We were

connected to a church that we loved. And yet

there was this void and this pit in my stomach

that I felt at the time. And it was there that

God met me and impressed upon me a question that

changed everything. And it was, what about the

rest of them? What about the rest of them? And

it was as if like my blinders were removed and

I could all of a sudden see my life and my family

and more to the point, those on the perimeter

of it more clearly. I began to recognize in new

and sobering ways that I had been so focused

on my own little world, right? On working hard

for my kids to thrive and flourish while ignoring

the needs of other kids around the world. Not

just kids, but other moms around the world that

just wanted their kids to survive another day.

And it was in that season that God gave my husband

and I what is now our life verse from Luke 12,

48, that says, to whom much is given, much is

required. And to whom much is entrusted, even

more will be asked. And we recognize that we

had been entrusted with a fair amount, right?

We have been entrusted with a fair amount. And

we enter this path of discernment. And the point

of the story is that we took one small step.

You know, the answer to the question, what about

the rest of them? This vast and big question

was one step for our family. We sponsored one

child, a little boy from Ecuador. And slowly

over time, everything changed. Our prayer life

changed. The conversations we had with our kids

changed, and over time, what I never would have

imagined is that that one seemingly small step

would contribute to a path of me standing here

on behalf of World Vision with you today. But

indeed, the path towards the rest of them was

just a path of one step, and then another, and

then another. Fast forward to today, and every

day, I'm not sure about you, certainly in my

world, there's another headline that kind of

brings us to our knees. In Sudan right now, tens

of millions of people are caught in the world's

largest humanitarian crisis. In Haiti, half of

the country is facing acute hunger while violence

has reshaped daily life. In the Dominican Republic

of Congo, families are navigating displacement

and disease and instability all at the same time.

And of course, there's ongoing wars in Ukraine

and Lebanon and Gaza, and these are just a few

of the places, right? Because what we're experiencing

globally right now is not just widespread need,

but it's stacked. It's things like conflict and

climate shocks and economic pressures and displacement

and this thing called fragility. And it's like

all of it all at once. Right? Not just happening

side by side, but stacking on top of one another

and amplifying the crisis. What's starting with

one crisis quickly becomes five. And what's beginning

in one place is kind of moving to the surrounding

areas. And the result is this heaviness in the

world in this moment. Do you ever feel it? Certainly

in my world, it feels like everything is kind

of happening everywhere. And I know that's dramatic,

but it feels that way at times. I think if we're

honest, we see it, right? We feel it. It's in

our minds. It's in our hearts. And sometimes,

over time, something starts to happen in us because

of it. We start to feel a little bit or a lot

overwhelmed. We start to feel perhaps a bit numb

to the need. Or maybe for some, this sense of

uncertainty or skepticism about the mechanisms

by which we could possibly respond. And underneath

that, whether we say it out loud or not, this

question begins to form. You know, if the need

is this vast, and it is vast, and even though

I know and I care, Does that small thing that

I can do actually matter? You know, those who

walked with Jesus certainly knew that feeling.

You know, we read in the Gospels that Jesus had

been teaching and healing, and eventually he

and his disciples withdrew to this remote place

up a mountain, we're told. And it was late in

the day. You know, evening was approaching. And

in Mark, the Gospel of Mark's telling of the

story, we learn that Jesus actually wanted his

disciples to rest. But the crowds kept coming.

And it made sense that they were coming, right?

Because, you know, we know that Jesus had compassion

on them. It says elsewhere in Matthew that they

were harassed and helpless like sheep without

a shepherd. We're told in this story that, you

know, he's helping heal the sick. And so this

crowd is following Jesus on foot because he's

bringing help and he's bringing hope in his teaching.

And yet in this moment, they're just hungry.

And they're not just hungry. I would imagine

that walking on foot, listening to teaching,

all the dramatics of the day would make you a

little bit tired, perhaps restless. Maybe this

is where we start to say not just hungry, but

a little bit hangry, this crowd of thousands.

And Jesus sees them, right? And doesn't just

see them. He sees the unspoken need and he wants

to respond. And so he turns to Philip, one of

his disciples, right? And it says in John 6,

6, he says, where shall we buy bread for these

people to eat? Now, Jesus knew exactly what he

was going to do, but the disciples didn't at

the time, right? And so they did what any human

being I think logically would do. They assess

the need. They calculated. They ran the numbers

and quickly realized this is an impossible problem.

Then Philip said in verse 7, it would take more

than half a year's wages to buy enough food for

each one to have one bite. Every person, one

bite. Can you imagine that? Imagine offering

a crowd of thousands, one bite each. I would

tend to think that this would stoke their anger,

right? Not meet their need. And so they arrive

at this completely reasonable conclusion. We

learn in Mark's telling of the story that they

say, you know, send them away so they can go

and buy themselves something to eat. In other

words, there's nothing we can do. They're going

to have to just figure this thing out themselves.

And it's not that the disciples didn't care.

Of course they did. It's that the need existed.

exceeded their capacity. There's no way they

could feed thousands, and so why try? And then

Andrew, another disciple, speaks up. He notices

something small, and someone small. It says in

verse 9, well, here's a boy with five small barley

loaves and two small fish. Five small loaves,

two small fish. from one small boy. And if I'm

honest, I don't know about you, but I'm a little

surprised that Andrew said this, right? It's

kind of an embarrassing suggestion that's like

a little bit ridiculous, right? 5 ,000 hungry

people, and he's pointing to this one little

boy's basket of food. And so, of course, it's

no surprise that, you know, quickly after that,

Andrew comes to his senses and says, but, you

know, how far could they go among so many anyways,

right? It's like, just kidding. Like, of course,

that's not reasonable. It's too small to make

any difference. And we don't know much about

this child. Maybe, you know, I would imagine

that he was hungry too, looking forward to his

dinner. Or maybe, maybe. There was 10 loaves

to begin with, and he had a stomachache from

eating five of them. You know, we never know

the circumstance of this child. But what we know

is the little boy offered his basket of food.

And Jesus took the loaves, and he gave thanks,

and he began to distribute it. And somehow, in

the hands of Jesus, what was seemingly not enough

became. And not just barely enough, not rationed,

as we were reminded in the reading, and it says

in verse 11, that they had as much as they wanted.

And there were leftovers. You see, Jesus does

what only he can do, and he multiplies what was

offered. Not all at once, but hand by hand, person

by person, one step at a time. Here at World

Vision, our vision, which you've probably heard

before, but allow me to remind you, is for every

child, life in all its fullness. Our prayer for

every heart, the will to make it so. You know,

every child not just surviving, but experiencing

fullness of life. And this is what Jesus said

he came to bring to everyone. It says in John

10, 10, I have come to bring life, life to all.

It's fullness. This is about dignity and empowerment

and protection and growing healthy minds and

healthy bodies and healthy relationships. It's

about being able to experience the love of God

and to realize one's God -given potential. And

every heart, to not just see, to not just stop,

to not just care. But to have the will to move,

right? The will to make it so by doing something.

Not one heart, every heart. And here's the thing,

if I can be real with you. When you hold this,

you know, every child and every heart against

everything that's happening everywhere, it can

feel just a tad bit overwhelming. You feel pretty

heavy at times. And frankly, in my world, sometimes

it feels like you're swimming upstream and the

currents are surrounding you. But here's what

I've come to learn. That we were never meant

to carry the weight of every. We were meant to

faithfully focus on the one. And then the next

one. You see, the disciples didn't feed 5 ,000

people. One disciple saw one child. And the little

boy didn't feed 5 ,000 people. One boy offered

one basket of food. And in the hands of Jesus,

it was multiplied. And 5 ,000 were fed. You know,

this is what we see. time and time again at World

Vision that when someone says yes to one child,

we connect them meaningfully to that child, right?

To pray for them and to encourage them and to

champion them as they become an agent of change

in their life and in their community. And at

the same time, we in turn partner with the broader

community to address the context around the child.

Because we recognize that if you want to change

the whole life of a child, you need to change

the world in which the child lives. And so we

walk alongside families to help them strengthen

their livelihoods so parents can provide food

for their kids. We work with community members

to ensure they have access to clean water so

kids aren't walking for hours for basic needs

to survive. We invest in health care and nutrition

so children can grow and develop, and we support

education so they have this tangible hope for

the future and opportunities to pursue. And we

help build systems of protection and care so

kids are safe, they're known, they're valued

by their neighbors and by society at large. And

when this... cumulatively begins to change in

relationship to one another, the child begins

to change. And as the child begins to change,

they in turn further begin to change the world

around them. They impact their family and their

peers and their community. And it becomes this

mutually reinforcing, unstoppable ripple effect

of change in the community, in the nation. And

we believe in time in the world. Because what

begins with one child doesn't stay contained

to one child. God multiplies it. And he mobilizes

others to join him to realize that multiplication.

You with me? So a few months ago, I was in Honduras.

I was hosted by Tony, the hostess with the mostest,

so I can affirm that he is exactly that. And

I was able to visit the community that you had

been partnering with for some time, Nueva Frontera.

What a joy that was. And of course, it was the

kind of community where we heard about the hard

choices that the families still had to make.

You know, one of the realities that we were sitting

in was the reality of child labor. Kids who were

working with their parents in the fields because

the parents didn't have another option. And specifically,

this was quite relevant in the coffee fields.

And so the community came together because they

were supported by World Vision and supported

by a church like Trinity to realize a different

vision and future for their community. And they

worked together to create a simple alternative.

A place where children could come together to

be cared for. So they didn't have to be in the

fields with their parents. They created a place

they call a holistic child development center.

Where kids could come and be known. They could

play. They could grow. They could gain new passions

and skills. And the parents they discovered in

time were able to work more effectively. In fact,

they were more productive and were able to earn

more because they weren't distracted by the kids

along their side. You see, it was one small shift,

one change initially, but it didn't stay that

small. Eventually, in time, they began working

with local coffee buyers and with the Ministry

of Labor so that farms in the area were expected

to operate without children in the fields. They

secured local funding to keep centers running

long after their ability to personally sustain

it. And the children themselves are now creating

art using coffee paint, homemade coffee paint,

and selling it. That's what you're seeing here

was them teaching me. I was terrible, by the

way, so they were laughing is what you're seeing

in that picture. So they can earn an income.

And again, what began as one simple change meant

that one child left the field, and then another,

and then another, and then another. The impact

multiplied. I also met one little girl from the

same community. Her name was Anna Victoria. And

Anna Victoria is joyful and she is confident

and a ball of energy. And she was also born with

Down syndrome. And her story is that her father

died from gang violence when she was about one

and a half years old. Her brother then fled the

area because his life was at risk. And so her

mom was raising her as a single mom. And the

medical expenses and need that Anna Victoria

had were significant. But again, because of the

local community coming together, supported by

a community and a church like Trinity, there

was hope and opportunity in this household. Anna

Victoria initially, by the way, couldn't walk.

So she was provided surgeries, medical care,

socio -emotional support, a wheelchair. And over

time, through the interventions in place and

through the support that her mom was trained

to help her with like physiotherapy and training,

in time, Anna Victoria started walking. An answer

to her mother's prayers and her mom was clear

with me that what brought her joy is that she

was able to hand back this wheelchair to the

next person in the community that might need

it. Her mom also, by the way, was gifted a few

chickens, taught how to raise them, how to sell

the eggs for income. They have multiplied over

time in ways that allows her to provide for Anna

Victoria. Anna Victoria is now also a child that

I sponsor. Couldn't leave without that happening.

One choice towards one child that I trust God

will continue to multiply. So what do we know?

When we know that we can't do everything, but

we can do one thing. And we know that we can't

address needs everywhere, but we can invest somewhere.

And I'm incredibly, not just grateful, but in

awe of this church's long -term investment in

Honduras and in particular in the community of

Nueva Frontera. And so the question for you today,

I would suggest, is just what's that one next

step for you? What one faithful step might God

be calling you to next? Perhaps for some of you,

it's the opportunity to sign up to be chosen.

To say yes to one child and be one small but

important part of their life transformation story

in ways that I'm telling you from experience

will transform your life as well. Perhaps for

others of you, it's the opportunity to say yes

again to being chosen a second time, perhaps

a third time, because you have more to give to

those who need it. Perhaps for others of you,

it might be something different. Maybe a prompting

that God has placed on your heart to make something

so in the world, whether it's through prayer

or a social enterprise that can support the area.

I've heard some of those stories already today,

which is remarkable. But whatever that one step

is, in the context of a world that is so desperate

for help and for hope, I encourage you to not

miss the opportunity and to certainly not dismiss

what may seem seemingly small in relation to

the need. Because in the hands of Jesus, I'm

here to remind us that it is multiplied. Let

me pray. God, what a privilege it is to be among

your children. Those who love you and love their

neighbors locally and globally. And to be reminded,

God, of the ways that you are at work in and

through this church and in and through every

life represented here. God, we thank you for

the way that you are at work around the world,

the way you're at work in the country of Honduras,

the way that you are at work in Canada and at

work in this church. And God, we just... Continue

to offer all that we are and all that we have

and that next faithful step that you are calling

us to, to you, God. I pray that we would continue

to faithfully follow you as you lead and guide

and direct. And that God, that you would do immeasurably

more than all we could ever ask or imagine in

Christ Jesus. We pray this in the name of your

son. Amen. Thanks for tuning in to this week's

episode of Trinity Sermons. This sermon was recorded

at Trinity Church Streetsville in Mississauga,

Ontario on May 31st, 2026.