At World Impact, we attach ourselves to the local church because we believe fruitful evangelism and discipleship happen best there. They are the primary vehicle for living out our vision, mission, and strategy. We should never underestimate the church’s power to make a difference in the lives of people.
I believe the witness of the Church is an undervalued and overlooked asset when it comes to urban poverty. A healthy church is a holy place, because holiness lies at the heart of the Christian faith. It is the game-changer in any situation.
The Apostle Peter wrote, “It is written, ‘Be holy, because I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16). We’re instructed to be like God—holy in everything we do. Holiness displays the character of God; it means being set apart for service to God. As we do this, we have the privilege of influencing situations for God’s glory. A key understanding that many may miss when ministering to those who are marginalized is that holiness is the way to victory.
The Church is to pursue holiness socially through God-created institutions. This is where advocacy comes in. Social institutions are permanent and complicated structures formed to meet basic human needs. They are powerful, they endure for generations, and they influence many lives. The Church is one of these institutions.
Yet it is much more than that. It is God’s divine vehicle to change the world. Pursuing holiness on the institutional level means seeking the common good of a community. God wants all neighborhoods to flourish, and they can’t if institutions don’t function well.
When the Church shows up on the scene, it is an opportunity to influence broken situations for God’s glory. We share about lives being changed as evidence of what God can do. As one of my professors from college put it, the Book of Acts never stops. God is always at work.
At World Impact, our prayer is that we be connected to these churches, so that we may equip and serve them as they serve their community.