Becoming advocates for the poor

Helpful booklet from Christian Aid is a resource to help churches campaign for those who cannot speak

Following the recent study into evangelical attitudes towards poverty, Christian Aid has encouraged churches to become advocates for the poor with the help of a booklet The Prophetic Church.

The research, carried out by the Evangelical Alliance, showed that 97 per cent of evangelicals believed Christians should work for justice for the poor and 73 per cent had given to a charity tackling poverty overseas in the last 12 months.

Despite having strong views on tackling poverty and injustice (97 per cent agreed that the Government should act to ensure large companies can’t avoid paying their taxes) only 30 per cent had written to their MP or campaigned on international poverty issues.

Christian Aid has produced The Prophetic Church as a resource to help churches to campaign, drawing on the rich history of the evangelical tradition in bringing about radical change for the poor. It features a chapter from Baptist minister the Revd Simon Jones on BMS World Mission founder William Carey "a community builder who campaigned for a better world for all."

Project coordinator David Muir said: 'It is great to see the evangelical heart for the poor borne out in the new research. Evangelical Christians have such potential to bring about real change by using their democratic voice.

'The Prophetic Church will help churches understand their role, as the bible puts it; “to speak out for those who cannot speak”, as well as explaining how this can be achieved through campaigning.

'Evangelicals have a proud tradition of speaking truth to power and calling for justice and I hope this booklet will enable Christians today to follow in those footsteps.'