Christians see opportunities for the church in Camerons Big Society plan

Christians have welcomed the launch of Prime Minister David Cameron’s ‘Big Society’ initiative as a way of getting everyone involved in their communities.

Spelling out his vision in Liverpool today, Cameron hailed the Big Society as “the biggest, most dramatic redistribution of power from elites in Whitehall to the man and woman in the street”.

He wants to see more people at the grassroots level work together to improve the quality of living for all through voluntary work. Initiatives include the local buy-out of a rural pub and the recruitment of volunteers to keep museums open.

Cameron said money from dormant bank accounts would go towards community projects, while civil servants would be appointed to help fledgling projects get up and running.

Steve Clifford, General Director of the Evangelical Alliance, said Christians are already at the heart of serving their communities, and should grasp this opportunity to get further involved.

He will be writing to Evangelical Alliance churches in the initial Big Society project areas – Liverpool; Eden Valley, Cumbria; Windsor and Maidenhead and the London borough of Sutton – encouraging them to get involved wherever possible.

“Churches are already the life blood of communities and the lifeline for many on the edge of society,” he said.

“We are delighted that the Prime Minister has recognised the incredible work community groups are already doing, and want to enthusiastically encourage churches to accept his invitation to get stuck in.”

Steve Chalke, founder of Faithworks and Oasis, welcomed the thinking behind the ‘Big Society’.

“This is what the church has always been about so there are enormous opportunities for churches in all of this – not because they are delivered by a coalition government but because this has always been what the church believes,” he said.

“The church should be the hub of its local community, that’s its task, and the great thing is that that’s acknowledged.”

He said it was important that people realise that true democracy was participatory rather than representative and that the church had the responsibility to be involved in society even when it was not government policy, because of Jesus’ commandment to love our neighbours as ourselves.

“But it is great that the Government is speaking this way because it’s the only sensible way forward,” he added.

“We need communities where everyone gets involved, not because we haven’t got enough money to go around, but because it is the only way of doing community sensibly.”

Adam Bonner, interim director of Community Mission at Christian charity Livability, formerly The Shaftesbury Society, gave a cautious thumbs up to the Prime Minister’s vision.

While he welcomed efforts to involve the voluntary sector more greatly in building thriving communities, he questioned whether there was sufficient funding to see the vision through.

“This new emphasis on community work could prove a great way to highlight and develop the existing long term work many churches and Christian projects are already doing and present further opportunities for further involvement," he said.

“It remains to be seen, though, whether there will be enough funding and support offered to implement this Big Society initiative. The voluntary sector itself is already struggling financially after the recession and short-term funding provision is already a challenge that many voluntary organisations have to contend with.

“Churches and Christian projects should welcome the renewed emphasis on local interventions for community cohesion whilst being careful about taking on contracts that may end up diverting their mission aims.”

Secretary of State Eric Pickles last week sought to assure faith groups that they had an important role to play in the Big Society vision.

He told faith leaders, including the Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Rowan Williams and Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, last week that the Government wanted to “build on the huge amount of experience faith groups have in getting out into the community”.

He said: "Some see religion as a problem that needs to be solved. The new Government sees it as part of the solution. I want to send an important signal that we value the role of religion and faith in public life. The days of the state trying to suppress Christianity and other faiths are over."

The Archbishop of Canterbury will respond publicly to the idea of the Big Society in central London this Friday. The evening, hosted by Faithworks, will also be joined by Bob Reitemeier, head of The Children’s Society, and Fran Beckett, former head of Church Urban Fund.