"Shine in the darkness": Anti-violence campaigner challenges Church

New initiative launched to help Christians with whole-life mission

09 March 2009

"We talk about how powerful and great God is, but that greatness is in all of us, and what are we doing about it?"

Anti-gun campaigner Patsy McKie challenged the church to put its faith into action at the launch of the Evangelical Alliance's new integral mission toolkit for churches.

Square Mile – a small group DVD resource, website and workbook to help Christians incorporate mission into all areas of life - was launched to key evangelical leaders at the Alliance's council meeting on March 5.

The project aims to help and inspire Christians to see the whole of their lives as mission and focuses on four areas: Mercy, Influence, Life discipleship and Evangelism.

Patsy became chair of Mothers Against Violence after her son was shot dead in 1999. Her work, which has had an impact both politically and in the community, is featured in the DVD as an inspirational example of Christian influence.

She said that she had grown up as part of the narrow church world, but it had taken her son's death to make her realise that she needed to get involved in the wider community in which she lived.

"God said, go into the world, infect the world as salt and light, shine in the darkness," she said.

"If we go out there and live in our communities, then we're going to see change."

The DVD also profiles The Gap project in Swansea, which transforms the lives of young people who are underachieving at school, as an example of mercy.

Sarah Richards, director of The Gap, said of the Christian faith: "It's never the intention to subdue Christianity into a meeting, but it's our whole life, living out there in the community."

David Westlake, Integral Mission Director at Tearfund, told the Alliance council that integral mission follows Jesus' example and commands to the church. He stressed that social action and the gospel are both vitally important to the future of evangelicalism.

"God's bringing about a new reformation where word, spirit and deed are coming together – and they should never have been divided.

He added: "I hope that through this, by placing social action in the context of discipleship, we help churches understand Jesus' whole mission and begin to do mission as Jesus did."

The Square Mile DVD functions as a four-week course for small groups. Each course session involves Scripture, deciphered in the home group and by theological experts, including Bishop of Durham Tom Wright, Elaine Storkey and Tim Keller, to provide the rationale for engaging in each of the four areas.  

As well as the stories about Christians having an impact on their communities around the UK, it has input from well-known practitioners - Shane Claiborne, Jim Wallis, Mark Greene and J John - to motivate the users to action.

For more information, or to order a copy of the DVD or workbook please visit the Square Mile website at www.eauk.org/squaremile.