idea magazine

Blow the whistle at half time

January / February 2007

This year marks the mid-point for the promises world leaders made in the year 2000 to halve global poverty by 2015. Julia Wensley urges leaders to turn the game around in the second half...

In 2000, nearly 200 world leaders signed up to the Millennium Development Goals, eight objectives which would lift 500 million people out of poverty throughout the world. These goals are all achievable, but little progress has been made over the past six and a half years, and governments need to be held to account.

The Alliance is calling on Christians in the UK to join together through the Micah Challenge campaign to speak out about the injustice of global poverty. For many years we have tended to separate evangelistic and social justice concerns in churches. But over the last generation Christians have come to see the importance of an integrated, holistic Gospel.

Micah Challenge is an international campaign, founded by the World Evangelical Alliance and the Micah Network, at the heart of which is a declaration that says, "Perhaps the most critical social task for the church in our generation is to offer a compelling alternative to the unjust imbalances in the world economic order and the value of its consumer culture.... We need to create a coalition of compassion."

As a result, a number of agencies, organisations and churches in the UK have come together to work collaboratively, speak out with one voice on behalf of the poor, and engender a passion within Christians in the UK for greater practical action. Members include the Evangelical Alliance, Tearfund, World Vision, Shaftesbury Society, Faithworks, Alpha and many more.

Micah Sunday
There are more than 2 billion Christians worldwide who could blow the whistle on the lack of progress and call on world leaders to honour their promises. Just think of the impact that would have.

The potential of such a movement was seen on a smaller scale on Micah Sunday, 15 October, when 32 national Micah Challenge campaigns stood up and prayed for those who are living with poverty every day. Millions of Christians around the world joined in prayer and participated in the UN Millennium campaign to Stand Up ...against Poverty.

In Malawi, more than 1.5 million Christians stood up in churches, schools and stadiums, and there are similar stories across the continents. Here in the UK some 10,000 Christians took part in churches up and down the country. And these are just the ones the Alliance has heard about. Many more also participated. Churches watched a DVD highlighting some of the key issues and then in response, the congregations were asked to stand and pray to show their commitment to stand alongside those living in poverty, whether here in the UK or overseas.

Seymour Road Baptist Church in Nottingham was one such church. Rev Vanessa Hollingworth reports, "Having considered the role of the G8, the congregation was asked to stand one at a time if they were willing to take up the challenge to do more for a fairer and just world. There was a 100 per cent commitment to try and do our bit."

Christians want to play an active part in the fight against global poverty, and the desire for Micah Sunday was summed by one Micah Challenge supporter: "My prayer is that a mighty prayer has been spoken today and we have spoken to a loving God who can change things when His children cry out to Him."

A compassionate world record
In the process, Christians in the UK have helped set a world record for the most number of people standing for a cause. A staggering 23,542,614 people stood up worldwide as part of the Millennium campaign and entered the Guinness Book of World Records.

Following on from Micah Sunday, each of the national Micah Challenge campaigns will be running a Blow the Whistle campaign during 2007, marking the halfway point of the Millennium Development Goals.

Here in the UK, Micah Challenge will remind Tony Blair of his words in last July's white paper on The Elimination of World Poverty: "Eliminating world poverty is in Britain's interests  - and is one of the greatest moral challenges we face.... This will need effort right across Government, to put our pledges into practice.... But there is still a long way to go. It will need commitment, and continuing support from the British public, to achieve this. But if we work together, it can be done. There is no greater or just cause facing us today."

The verbal commitment is there, but now is the time for action to ensure that the game is turned around. Not only will the campaign directly hold the Government to account, but it will also call for influence to be exerted over other governments.

In addition, Micah Challenge is also enlisting Church leaders to use their influence with leaders in areas of business, charities, politics and religion. This spring, Church leaders will meet members of the Government to discuss not only the UK's progress towards meeting their promises but also to look at how the Government and Christians can work together to achieve the goals.

Blow the Whistle campaign will be launched in January calling all Christians in the UK to take further action. Opportunities include the following…

• Get Involved. For details of who is involved and what you can do, visit www.micahchallenge.org.uk
• Sign the Micah Call. This is a declaration of support to hold governments to account for their promises and a personal commitment to become more active in the issues of injustice and poverty. A monthly email bulletin of up-to-date news and prayer points will be sent out to all supporters. 
• Send a postcard to Hilary Benn, Secretary of State for International Development, calling on him to honour the promises the UK Government made in 2000. Postcards can be ordered by email or on the website. 
• Write a letter to your local MP and/or Tony Blair. In April there will be an opportunity to send a hand-written letter. Suggestions for wording will be available on the website. 
• Mark Blow the Whistle Sunday. Churches can participate by holding a special service, praying for significant progress to be made in the Millennium Development Goals. Details of dates and resources will be on the website.
• Join the rally. Blow the Whistle will culminate in a public event on 2 June, drawing together Christians from around the country. Details of this event are available from the website or by email.
  
• Pray hard. Pray that God will move mountains, for a global readiness to fulfil the promises of 2000, that the hard of heart will extend the compassion they show their families to people of other nations, that corruption and lack of good governance will be removed as barriers to compassion.