Canadian Christian Leader: Government and Church to Fight Poverty Together

A leading Christian in Canada has called on governments to collaborate with churches and Christian organisations in order to fulfil the UN Millennium Development Goals before the 2015 deadline.

Geoff Tunnicliffe, chair of Micah Challenge Canada and international director of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), said Christian leaders must step up to the plate in the fight against poverty and realise “it’s not just up to government”, reports Canadian Christianity.

Mr Tunnicliffe said the church is “God’s primary instrument of transformation within the local community”, whilst urging Canadian churches and Christian organisations to evaluate what they are doing to serve the poor.

|TOP|He said that churches must keep themselves informed about issues surrounding poverty, and strive to find meaningful, practical outlets for people to respond, as well as build the theological, biblical framework for how believers engage on these issues in the public square.

Tunnicliffe co-wrote the “Call to Partnership” communiqué presented to representatives of the UN the day before the world leadership summit last month. The communiqué called for government leaders to work in partnership with the Church as a means of overcoming the growing disparity between wealth and poverty across the globe.

Mr Tunnicliffe recently met with new president of the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz, who reportedly assured that the church would be given a greater role in action against global poverty.

“I think there’s a new level of integration happening and certainly for the evangelical community. In some ways this is very new territory,” said Tunnicliffe.