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13 January 2015

Will you Show Up?

A new campaign was launched today to encourage Christians to engage with politics and vote at the general election in May.

The Evangelical Alliance and Christians in Politics joined with a host of others to launch Show Up, the first campaign to encourage positive engagement in politics.

Dr Dave Landrum, director of advocacy at the Evangelical Alliance, said: "As Christians, we have spent too long shouting from the sidelines rather than getting on the pitch of political life. This campaign will encourage Christians to move from commentary to participation."

The campaign includes a short, biblically-based, animated video that can be shown in churches, spread on social media and used as a discussion starter in small groups. You can view the video here

Show Up was created in response to the growing disillusionment many voters feel towards politics in the UK.

Dave says: "There may be glaring flaws with our political system, but the simple matter is that decisions are made by those who show up to vote."

"Voting may just be the start of our decision-making. By 2020, we could be the people answering questions at hustings rather than just asking them," says Andy Flannagan, hoping the video will make it clear that participation in politics is vital for Christians.

Show Up will be speaking into the current political context with articles, blogs, videos, interviews and more. Resources to equip Christians to get involved are available on the Show Up website.

The Evangelical Alliance has also launched a website today to inform Christian voters about the political system, the importance of engaging and how churches can get involves. Visit election2015.eauk.org for more information.

Show Up Sunday is being held Sunday, 25 January 2015, and the Alliance is encouraging member churches to participate by showing the short video and using the resources available on the election site.

"We are thrilled that so many organisations also recognise how vitally important it is for voters to participate in the election and beyond. We are committed to working together to get this message out to the Christian community," says Amelia Abplanalp, public policy officer at the Evangelical Alliance.

Other organisations involved in the Show Up campaign include Christians on the Left, the Liberal Democraty Christian Forum, Conservative Christian Fellowship, Bible Society, Tearfund, Christian Solidarity Worldwide, Care, Spring Harvest, Jubilee +, Open Doors and Release International.

Dr Steve Holmes of the University of St Andrews and Alliance board member and Chair of the Theology Advisory Group wrote about why engaging in politics is biblical in idea magazine. You can read that here.

You can learn more about the general election, and the Show Up campaign, at election2015.eauk.org. The Evangelical Alliance is encouraging all Christians to use their vote on 7 May 2015.