the micah challenge

Last week the Nehemiah Center hosted a training called "Dejate tocar por los pobres" (Let yourself be touched by the poor), led by a passionate Peruvian woman named Erika Izquierdo, which is part of an international campaign known as the Micah Challenge. The Micah Challenge is based on Micah 6:8, and its primary goal is to promote the achievement of the 8 Millenium Development Goals. A whole network of Christians from relief and development and justice organizations around the world have joined forces to advocate for these goals, as an expression of an integrated understanding of mission and community transformation. In their own words:

“Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the word of God we have nothing to bring to the world. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together. As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task.”

Micah Declaration on Integral Mission