Churches hear call to share successes and ideas

Sharing successes and ideas is vital if churches are to bring hope and transformation to our communities, according to hundreds of leading Christian organisations and churches.

Integral Mission and the UK Church, an event in London hosted by Community Mission this week, brought together more than 60 of the UK’s church leaders and leading Christian organisations to discuss how best to meet the material and spiritual needs of local communities.

"There is widespread and growing interest in ‘integral mission’ across the whole of the Church," says David Westlake, Tearfund’s Integral Mission Director. "We believe this a move of God calling churches to work together and serve their local communities in the power of the Holy Spirit.

"We put together this gathering of key organisations that are seeking to serve the UK Church, to wrestle with our common calling and explore opportunities for how we can deepen connection.

"It’s an exciting opportunity to move forward together and see the church released into the fullness of its calling and ministry."

Community Mission, which is a partnership between Tearfund and Livability, helps churches and Christian groups grapple with issues of injustice and poverty and see how they are intrinsic to a biblical understanding of mission.

"It’s great to see the UK church really take hold of our biblical calling and mandate to reach out to people who are living in poverty and to speak up for justice," says Jon Kuhrt, Director of Community Mission at Livability.

"As we’ve shared our stories and experiences and prayed together today, we’ve found that we already agree that this is important – now it’s time to find practical ways to get on with it.

"We need to look at the how rather than the why, and share tried and tested models with each other so we can give confidence to local churches who want to reach out to their communities.

"Today’s event is the start of a much bigger journey to bring UK churches together in a shared commitment and passion to bring hope to the communities we serve."

The Integral Mission and the UK Church event hosted Justin Thacker, Head of Public Theology at the Evangelical Alliance, who gave the keynote speech: "Integral mission is simply about the church being the church.

"It’s not some new idea – it’s the very old one of being what God has always called us to be: the body of Christ – arms, feet, hands and mouth reaching out to those in material and spiritual poverty with the abundance that Christ has to offer."