STEP 1 Form a Justice Learning Community. A Justice Learning Community is a multi-disciplinary group composed of church staff and volunteers meeting for the purpose of learning together about the Biblical call to seek justice in our world. Effective Justice Learning Communities can be led either by church staff or volunteers, but function best when both are involved.

Invite an IJM speaker to your church. Nearly every weekend, there is a passionate and qualified IJM representative sharing the message of Biblical justice in a church in the U.S.

Study a book together. Begin with Good News About Injustice or Just Courage. Enhance your discussion by using the discussion questions at the back of each book.

Study scripture together. As a place to start, reference Appendix 1 of the The Justice Journey for a list of passages.

Pray together. Sign up to become an IJM Prayer Partner and receive a confidential weekly prayer e-mail detailing IJM’s current prayer requests from around the world. Pray for victims of injustice and for those who are working to provide relief and aftercare. Pray for the perpetrators. Pray as a community for clear leadership to emerge for the justice movement within your church.

Preach on biblical justice. Download resources for creating a sermon using IJM casework illustrations.

Join The IJM Institute. The IJM Institute is a community of Christian leaders advancing solutions for overcoming injustice. It is a place for sharing action ideas, resources, and tools for seeking justice and moving the Body of Christ to action. Go to www.ijminstitute.org and join the community and contribute your work.

Share this passion and vision with your youth pastor. Direct your youth pastor to the Youth/Students page of our Web site. Email this page to your youth pastor!

Education Resources

Books:

Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a Hurting World — Interspersed with individual stories of specific abuse, Good News About Injustice chronicles the vision behind IJM's work and seeks to respond to tragic injustices with practical insight. Author Gary Haugen answers tough questions about the nature of injustice and the Biblical call for Christians to confront it.

Terrify No More — This gripping book documents the events leading up to and surrounding IJM's groundbreaking work in the notorious Cambodian village of Svay Pak. In a single operation, IJM partnered with local authorities to rescue 37 underage victims of sex trafficking, many of them under the age of 10.

Just Courage: God’s Great Expedition for the Restless Christian — IJM President Gary Haugen’s most recent book leads us on a journey to freedom from the triviality and fear that can stifle our lives. Set against the frontlines of today’s battle against slavery and injustice, Just Courage shows how common people are called to uncommon courage – and how we, too, can be a part of God’s great expedition. (Discussion questions included in book text.)

Videos:

The Justice Mission — This DVD-enhanced youth curriculum explores God’s call to justice. The five-session study series takes four high school-aged students into the developing world, where they see the reality of violent oppression first-hand and learn what can be done to confront injustice. Produced in collaboration with Youth Specialties and intended for use with youth, this excellent resource has also been very effective with adult audiences.

As You Go: IJM Mission Training — This 30-minute DVD with accompanying leader’s guide will equip your team with “eyes to see” and “ears to hear” injustice while traveling internationally. In concise video segments, Gary Haugen, President and CEO of IJM, walks your short-term team through defining and discerning injustice, providing guidance on how to incorporate justice into the good work your team is already doing. An online companion devotional series will help your team prepare spiritually before you go and process spiritually while you are on your trip.

IJM Media Montage — This 4.5-minute compilation of news clips and interview footage serves as an excellent introduction to the work of IJM. This short piece includes clips from “Dateline-NBC,” “60 Minutes,” “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” Fox News, BBC News, NPR, CNN and others.

We Were Free — Three people freed from modern-day slavery through IJM intervention share their lives in this mini-documentary. This 12-minute DVD is a great way to introduce your congregation and others to the reality of slavery and sex trafficking, as well as IJM’s work to combat violent oppression.

Loose Change to Loosen Chains: Students Freeing Modern Day Slaves (LC2LC) — This youth-focused fundraiser is designed to raise awareness about modern-day slavery while raising money to free actual slaves. Hundreds of youth groups and campuses across the country have used this tool to explore justice involvement and have raised thousands of dollars to bring freedom and restoration to victims of violent oppression. You can find everything you need to know about Loose Change to Loosen Chains and all the materials necessary to get started at www.ijm.org/getinvolved/youth.

David’s story. This short DVD tells the story of David, a victim of police abuse. After David was falsely accused of robbery and faced a possible death sentence for a crime he hadn’t committed, IJM Kenya was able to secure his freedom.