in the thick of it

rene padilla hung out with cms for a few months earlier this year as a missiologist in residence. one of the phrases i picked up from him which is the title of one of his books is the church as an agent of transformation. his basic point is that the church doesn't exist in and for itself but to help transform the local community in response to whatever social or spiritual or physical needs there are. i was reminded of this today when i read tearfund's report in the thick of it. there is lots of stuff around (and i contribute to it from time to time) on the challenges the church faces in relation to the cultural changes often finding herself stuck in a world that is passing. it can end up in a bit of a negative spin. those challenges are real and i am not wanting to deny or minimise them but it was good to read a very different kind of critique of the local church that is saying what good news it is!

the local church is uniquely placed, in the thick of it, around the world in local communities acting as an agent of change in relation to HIV, poverty, education, environmental challenges, justice and advocacy to name a few issues. in many ways the local church has a reach and connection to the local community that ngos find much harder and more expensive to gain. this is the opening to the report...

A dramatic untold story is unfolding in some of the poorest places on our planet. Here, at the heart of HIV epidemics, at the epicentre of disasters, the church is bringing transformation to some of the most vulnerable and remote communities on earth – sometimes singlehandedly. Often the church is reaching these places in a way that other institutions do not – and cannot. Its long reach and presence extends even into war zones, refugee camps and mountain hamlets. Crucially, it is tackling poor people’s material and spiritual poverty to bring development that is truly sustainable.

gospel means good news of course so it's good to hear the church can be good news in this way. and of course it raises the question for any of us in a christian community/church how we are bringing transformation in our own local communities?

Comments

[Steve Adams]

I met Richard Myers last week. He's the Global Creative Director for Saatchi & Saachti. We talked through Tearfund - our mission (Integral Mission), how we work, what we do, what we achieve etc. He declared his position - not a practicing Christian (and, like us, not a fan of any implication of food for faith approaches), but someone who held onto Christian values (love your neighbour etc). But, he said that the global network of churches I had described, presented a unique infrastructure which, in marketability terms, had colossal potential. And which he could imagine people like him supporting simply because of the huge and unique infrastructure for change it presented: refreshing to have someone outside the church casting that view (even more rare in the church...) For my part (I work for Tearfund) what I see on the ground in places of great need IS the local church bringing essential material and spiritual hope. In Zambia the churc provides nearly a third of the nation's healthcare...

[JBB]

Thanks, Jonny and Steve for this. It is encouraging. Just to add a little to the stats, about 35% of global HIV/AIDS work is Christian based, with the RC being the single biggest contributor to education and health care in Africa. And from my viewpoint within the World Council of Churches, Christians do have a significant reach, probably beyond any other organisation in terms of reaching the grass roots. The tragedy remains that we aren't very good at doing things in a joined-up way, so we duplicate resources and so on. And we get ourselves caught up in endless squabbles about theology and ethics rather than actually getting on with the work.