Churches that Change Communities 2015

 

Jude (from Southfields) and I had the opportunity to attend the Jubilee Plus ‘Churches that Change Communities 2015’ conference this Saturday. It was incredibly inspiring to be amongst other Christians who have a heart for the poor, to hear stories of impact and the different ways in which churches and organisations are meeting the needs of the most vulnerable and hurting in our communities.
We were reminded that social action, social justice and social enterprise are not modern ideas bolted onto the church, but the kingdom of God at work as epitomised by Jesus when He showed us what God’s mercy looks, acts and feels like. His mercy in becoming human, as we are, and exchanging our poverty for His riches to give us freedom. His mercy in treating all, especially the outcast, with worth and dignity, as those who bear the image of God.
It was sobering to realise anew that there is only one real answer to the State and local governments’ diminishing capacity, the increased fearmongering that strips people of names, faces and common humanity, and the future challenges of the widening gap between the need and finite human resources:
YOU,
ME,
as the church, God’s chosen vehicle for extending His kingdom on earth, and through which He brings to bear His unlimited resource.
Are we getting ready to show mercy as God will require of us in the coming days? Will we take up the call to break the curse of systemic poverty in our society, whether it’s material, relational, spiritual or which robs a person of a sense of their own value?
It starts with our hearts.
‘Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’
And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’
Isaiah 6:8
I’m excited about what God’s doing in and among us, and look forward to all we will do together in His name for the sake of the world!
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