• 2007

    Under the leadership of Reverend Tomas Angon, Gloria Dei Hispanic Mission, and the Northwest Indiana Lutheran Hispanic Mission Society, a variety of classes were started to serve the local immigrant community.

  • 2010

    Having served as a volunteer since the beginning, Jessica Burkman was entrusted with leadership over all of the programming. It is at this point that she founded our whole-family education model in which all our classes began being held at the same time and in the same location. Jessica continued serving as our Executive director for nearly a decade thereafter.

     

  • 2011

    Participants representing a wide variety of countries and languages, not just Spanish speakers, began to attend. To reflect our growing diversity and whole-family education model, the name Compass International Family Center was adopted.

  • 2011-2017

    Compass experienced dramatic growth, welcoming over 100 participants on a nightly basis with the help of 50 annual volunteers.

  • 2017

    Tim and Jessica Burkman completed the process of establishing Compass International Family Center as an independently registered non profit organization.

Compass is an open community of participants who come from a variety of cultural, language, and faith backgrounds. A heart of warmth and welcome is shared with our participants regardless of our differences. With great care, we create an environment that allows all to be comfortable within our learning community. Compass leadership experiences that same freedom, as being a program founded by Christians, and continues to be led by Christians. As a Leadership Team, it is our deepest desire to extend mercy and care to our new neighbors on their long difficult journeys.

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