Once you have spent time learning about oppression and God’s call to justice in the Educate phase, and carefully considered specific needs in your church, your community and in the world in the Explore phase, it is time to begin the Engage phase and develop or discover the unique contribution that your church can make to the work of justice.
The following action items may be important next steps in your journey as you begin to do this work. You can learn more about this process in The Justice Journey: A Handbook for Pastors and Other Christian Leaders. IJM’s Church Mobilization staff is also available to provide specific guidance – please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it for more information.
Action Step: Pray for the work of justice. We invite all who would join us in prayer to become IJM prayer partner. Once you sign up), you will receive a confidential weekly update by e-mail, detailing IJM’s current prayer needs. Join with members of your congregation to pray about your church’s own justice journey, and for the work of justice around the world.
Action Step: Attend The Global Prayer Gathering. Each spring, IJM brings together staff and friends from all over the world for the Global Prayer Gathering – a time of seeking God and seeking justice for victims of oppression. You can join with staff from Asia, Africa, Latin America, North America and the United Kingdom for this transforming time of worship, prayer and fellowship.
Action Step: Make justice a budget item. IJM offers individual and church-specific giving options called Freedom Partners. These initiatives will bring you in closer to the work you make possible through your financial commitment to justice.
Action Step: Become a Justice Advocate (JA). IJM is constantly seeking partners in the work of church mobilization. Justice Advocates are IJM-trained volunteers who make it possible for IJM to connect with a broader range of local churches. For more information, please contact This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .
Action Step: Join the IJM Institute. The IJM Institute exists to foster ongoing conversation about biblical justice among church leaders, pastors, seminary students and other concerned followers of Jesus. Here you’ll find resources, thoughtful articles and blog entries aimed at equipping the church with some of the theological raw material necessary to fuel the work of justice in the world.
Action Step: Get involved in IJM’s Justice Campaigns. Our staff members in Washington are appealing to the U.S. Government to provide foreign assistance to improve local courts, police, and prosecutors; to make grants to NGOs like IJM; and to reward slavery-free production of key exports with trade benefits. We invite you to join us in this effort – learn about specific initiatives at the Justice Campaigns page on our Web site.
Action Step: Explore stories of real churches doing the work of justice. Over the past ten years, IJM has worked closely with churches of all shapes and sizes, and we have been inspired by the courage, perseverance and joy we have witnessed as congregations engage in the work of justice. As you read the following stories of real churches seeking justice, be encouraged by the many shapes and forms this work takes.
- Saddleback Church – Orange County, California
- Perimeter Church – Atlanta, Georgia
- Foundry United Methodist Church – Houston, Texas
- Lake Grove Presbyterian Church – Lake Oswego, Oregon
- Crossroads Church – Cincinnati, Ohio
- First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley – Berkeley, California
- The River – San Jose, California
Saddleback Church – Orange County, California
After reading an article on the far-reaching effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, Kay Warren was compelled to take a closer look at the role of injustice in the world. As a result of the article, Kay and her husband, Rick Warren, senior pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, California, questioned why their church had been given such influence and affluence. The Warrens felt a call to lead their church in confronting some of the world’s major injustices. Leading others from their congregation, the Warrens developed an action plan with which to confront a variety of global issues. Their plan for action, The P.E.A.C.E. Plan, was designed to Promote reconciliation, Equip servant leaders, Assist the poor, Care for the sick, and Educate the next generation.In 2003 Rick and Kay read Good News About Injustice, and sought to learn from IJM’s expertise in justice work for a successful implementation of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan. Pastor Warren met with IJM President Gary Haugen and IJM Senior Vice President of Education Larry Martin to discuss IJM’s approach. In March 2004, Gary Haugen spoke at Saddleback and had the privilege of introducing the work of IJM and the biblical mandate for justice to the congregation.
Members of Saddleback decided they wanted to take an active role in responding to injustice. Saddleback members formed a Justice Task Force made up of a core group of 100 judges, educators, social workers, psychologists, police and private investigators.
Under the leadership of federal judge Sam Smith, Saddleback’s Justice Task Force set out to make sure the work of justice was understood and being undertaken throughout the rest of the congregation. In April 2004, the task force, alongside IJM, designed a curriculum to equip short term mission teams travelling internationally to see, hear, and respond to injustice. Since its conception, every participant of every Saddleback short-term mission team sent out from Saddleback has undergone the training. As a result of the excellent work of the Justice Task Force, IJM can now offer “As You Go: IJM Mission Training” to other churches as a tool to equip even more short-term teams.
In 2004, following Rick and Kay’s trip to Rwanda and a personal invitation from Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Saddleback decided to focus special attention on the implementation of the P.E.A.C.E. Plan in Rwanda. This decision also coincided with IJM’s decision to open a new field office in Rwanda, allowing for more collaboration.
Since 2004, IJM and the Justice Task Force have worked together to hold police and judicial trainings in Rwanda. IJM and the Justice Task Force also developed a biblical and practical guide for pastors in Rwanda, designed to lead and inform their congregants on issues of widow land rights. This development has already played a crucial role and has been widely used by various agencies throughout Rwanda. Saddleback’s Justice Task Force is currently in the process of developing a similar curriculum for pastors dealing with the prevention of domestic violence and another on the prevention of sexual assault on children.
Saddleback’s Justice Task Force has been active not only in its efforts to stop oppression abroad, but also within its local community. With the assistance of IJM, Saddleback has created a local anti-trafficking group as well as a local anti-sexual assault and abuse group. Saddleback also hosts an annual HIV/AIDS conference where they have partnered with IJM to teach on the role of sexual violence as an engine of epidemic.
Perimeter Church – Atlanta, Georgia
In 1999, after more than 20 years of holding services in the Atlanta area, Perimeter Church members came under the conviction that they weren’t spending enough time serving people outside their church walls. As they began to get involved in different evangelistic and mercy ministries, a few people from the church came across the book Good News about Injustice by Gary Haugen. Reading the book challenged them to learn more about God’s call to justice. After reading the book, several members participated in IJM’s Global Prayer Gathering in Washington, D.C., where they gained a greater awareness of the widespread oppression that exists globally and the Biblical call to respond.In an effort to educate the rest of the congregation, they invited IJM President Gary Haugen to speak at their Sunday services. Gary’s visit ignited a passion to dig deeper into issues of injustice. Perimeter launched a class to study Good News About Injustice, and, as a result of this class, many more Perimeter members became IJM Prayer Partners.
At the same time, Perimeter became involved in ministry in Thailand, establishing several partnerships with organizations there. They scheduled a trip to visit IJM’s field office in northern Thailand, where they increased their understanding of how IJM operates in the field. This deepened awareness led Perimeter to take steps to help IJM’s work in the area. Perimeter introduced IJM to many influential leaders they had developed relationships with through their partnerships in Thailand. These efforts have helped expand IJM’s network in Southeast Asia.
As they deepened their involvement with IJM, they also expanded their involvement with other organizations in Thailand. Having already established partnerships with churches in the Bangkok area, they helped educate these churches on the Biblical call to respond to injustice and connected them to Night Light, a ministry in the city that provides help and restoration to girls coming out of the sex trade.
Members of Perimeter church also began learning that sex trafficking was not just a problem in other countries, but that their own community of Atlanta, GA was a hub for trafficking in the U.S. Not knowing exactly how to begin to help combat trafficking in their own city, some of Perimeter’s staff visited IJM’s headquarters to receive training and resources to help them begin to address the issue of sex trafficking in their own backyard.
Returning to Georgia, Perimeter helped launch UNITE, a coalition of 100 churches in the Atlanta area seeking to make compassion an action with a goal to see city transformation. A primary focus for this group is to seek justice through fighting human trafficking in Atlanta. They have even been working alongside their mayor and local government to prioritize the eradication of sex trafficking in the city.
In order to keep this issue in front of the congregation, Perimeter has created a staff position responsible for making sure each of their ministry partnerships includes a justice strategy. Furthermore, Perimeter trains their mission teams to look for injustice while on their trips, they have included justice in their church-wide education initiatives, and they give financially to IJM on a regular basis. They have discovered that staying committed to justice ministry can be difficult, so Perimeter has been committed to recruiting and training lay leaders who can provide support to the staff and encourage a continued passion for God’s heart for justice.
The youth at Perimeter have also become involved. Their passion has led to the launch of Campus Chapters at local colleges and high school clubs. These chapters and clubs work to raise awareness and funds for IJM and local justice issues.
Foundry United Methodist Church – Houston, Texas
Prompted by an IJM sermon that his son e-mailed to him, Foundry Senior Pastor Godfrey Hubert invited IJM to speak to his congregation about God’s passion for justice. In 2006, Bethany Hoang, Director of the IJM Institute, and Bill Clark, IJM’s National Director of Church Mobilization at that time, gave the message at all five worship services and taught a Bible study on Isaiah 58.After hearing the message, the congregation wanted to respond to the Biblical call to seek justice on behalf of those who are suffering violent oppression. The next week, they explored giving to the work of justice specifically, collecting a special offering for IJM’s work.
As the congregation as a whole began to learn about the work of justice, a leader emerged to take on the task of bringing the church to a deeper level of engagement with justice ministry. Foundry member Sheryl O’Brient traveled to Washington, D.C., for IJM’s 2007 Global Prayer Gathering, where her conviction of the need for justice ministry in her church deepened. She returned and met with Pastor Hubert to brainstorm how they might help the whole church continue to seek justice.
They decided that the best way to capture the imaginations and further commitment of the congregation as a whole would be to start with the youth. The youth spent their Fall 2007 Retreat going through IJM’s Justice Mission curriculum, and, as a result of what they learned, they initiated IJM’s Loose Change to Loosen Chains program, raising money to free slaves. Pastor Hubert and Sheryl laugh when they recount the story of the youth charging into the sanctuary during worship with buckets to collect change.
In all, the youth raised over $10,000 in loose change alone. But money is not all that was raised – the youth truly spurred the rest of the congregation forward. And when a new church plant began out of Foundry in 2008, they brought Bethany Hoang back once again to speak to this new community.
The challenge that Foundry has experienced is discovering ways for the congregation to engage in more hands-on work in seeking justice. They are involved in serving at a battered women’s shelter locally and are considering other local initiatives. They are also involved with the IJM Institute – an online community resource offering ideas and tools for further action.
Pastor Hubert has been a great champion of the work of justice to other pastors and denominational leaders throughout the Houston area. He hosted a lunch for 25 other pastors and district superintendents to come hear speakers from IJM explain how churches can be mobilized to seek justice. Out of that event, many more churches explored how they could be involved in justice work, with several initiating relationships with IJM.
As an attorney, Sheryl has been advocate for the work of justice to other lawyers in the Houston area. Working through the Christian Legal Society, Sheryl convened a luncheon at a law firm in downtown Houston, in which 60 other lawyers had the opportunity to hear a speaker from IJM explain the great need for lawyers to offer their skills of advocacy on behalf of the poor. Sheryl also helped to launch IJM’s first benefit dinner in Houston, and now chairs this annual event, helping to introduce hundreds of people to IJM’s work and generate thousands of dollars in funding each year. She continues to attend the Global Prayer Gathering each spring in D.C., using this time to stay connected to the work she supports in the field.
Lake Grove Presbyterian Church – Lake Oswego, Oregon
There has long been a focus on outreach ministry at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon. This focus intensified in 1995 when the church partnered with World Vision to serve the Wolof people of Senegal. LGPC members Clay and Maggie Creps were personally involved in this mission for years, eventually developing close relationships with some of the World Vision staff. In 2001, one of the staff gave Clay a copy of Gary Haugen’s Good News About Injustice. The book opened Clay’s eyes to God’s passion for justice. It was convicting for Clay, but also provided him with a vision of how he could use his training and experience as an attorney to serve God. In response, Clay and a friend taught an eight-week class on the book on Sunday mornings.Shortly thereafter, LGPC invited IJM staff members to their church for a visit. In 2004, Clay became a Justice Advocate through a pilot program funded by the Murdock Trust in the Pacific Northwest. In the meantime, LGPC began another partnership with World Vision in Zambia. During trips to Zambia, several church members were able to visit IJM’s office in Lusaka, Zambia. In the summer of 2005, Clay traveled in advance of the rest of the church’s Zambia mission team and spent almost a week working in IJM’s Lusaka office, interviewing potential clients and teaching at churches regarding property rights and wills. All the while, Clay reported on his experiences to LGPC.
Clay’s wife Maggie also developed a passion for the work of justice and discovered she could serve God through IJM’s work. She became a Justice Advocate, traveling to Guatemala and Bolivia on a vision trip that exposed her to IJM field offices and casework in these countries. Looking to further support IJM’s work, she spearheaded Portland’s first IJM Benefit Dinner.
Both Clay and Maggie have valued attending IJM’s yearly Global Prayer Gathering in Washington, D.C. The chance to gather with hundreds of IJM supporters and Field Office Directors from around the world in a time of sustained worship and prayer is rejuvenating for the couple. They return each year to Lake Oswego “on fire” to share the Biblical call to justice with their community and raise support for IJM’s work.
LGPC’s partnership with IJM has led to a greater focus on issues related to Biblical justice both among the pastoral staff and the members. Having the issue pushed to the forefront by several involved members of the congregation has encouraged the pastors to include Biblical justice more frequently in sermons and to incorporate it in the education curriculum. In particular, the Director of Youth Ministries has initiated a program among both junior and senior high youth every May called “May Justice Reign” month. The high school youth go through IJM’s Justice Mission Curriculum and listen to speakers on issues related to Biblical justice. The congregation at large has also begun giving financially to IJM – since 2006, IJM has appeared as a line item on the church’s annual budget.
Although initially it seemed Clay and Maggie were lone voices, with perseverance, patience and love, they continued to bring IJM and the issue of Biblical justice to the attention of the pastoral staff and the missions committee at LGPC. The concept gained momentum and the result has been a church that is talking about Biblical justice and that is increasingly having members take an active role in educating others about justice and taking steps to live out God’s call.
Crossroads Church – Cincinnati, Ohio
Crossroad’s involvement in justice ministry started when Brian Wells, the church’s teaching pastor at the time, read Gary Haugen’s book Good News About Injustice. Desiring to know more, Brian and other leaders from Crossroads visited IJM’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., and met with staff. This meeting helped foster a relationship between Crossroads and IJM and further ignited a desire for action. Wanting to share the message of justice with the rest of the church, the leadership staff invited IJM President Gary Haugen to come speak to the congregation in the summer of 2005.
The congregation responded with a strong desire to get involved in the work of justice. The church funded IJM’s exploration of a possible new field office in a country in which Crossroads was already heavily involved in ministry. Beyond this very generous funding, a team of researchers and writers at Crossroads assembled a Deployment Briefing Guide that became a vital document to all IJM staff deploying to the region. When IJM determined that a new office would not be the best response to the needs of the country at the end of the exploratory period, Crossroads pressed on.
Rather than viewing the office exploration as a failure or setback, Crossroads began exploring new avenues for involvement. Desiring to combat sex trafficking, Crossroads began partnering with IJM’s casework in South Asia. In the past two years, multiple leaders and volunteers from Crossroads have visited the region to better understand the work of IJM in the field.
In 2008, Gary Haugen spoke at Crossroads again, this time during an all-church event called Consumed. Gary spoke to the congregation about IJM’s dependence on prayer. Since then, volunteers have been meeting regularly to pray specifically for the mission of IJM in South Asia. Further, in response to the Consumed series, the people of Crossroads decided to increase their giving to IJM, specifically funding work in South Asia.
Currently, Crossroads is focused on engaging the work of justice in three ways. First, they have focused their partnership energies on improving aftercare for victims of sex trafficking in South Asia. Their goal is to see victims of sex trafficking fully reintegrated into life and work following their rescue. Second, they are seeking to use the full range of talent in the church. Artists, writers, researchers, marketers, and other professionals have all been actively involved in their work to end human trafficking. Finally, they are committed to using IJM’s mission training tools as they engage in service trips around the world. This training has prepared short-term mission teams from Crossroads to see, understand and begin to engage the issues of justice they will encounter in the countries they visit.
Crossroads has also become involved locally by establishing relationships with Cincinnati-based organizations involved in the fight for justice and engaging volunteers to participate in meaningful projects:
- Crossroads is a founding partner of the Cincinnati Rescue and Restore Coalition. One small group at Crossroads identified a victim of human trafficking and referred the victim and their family to the Coalition. They are currently one of the first families to test the support system for human trafficking victims in Cincinnati.
- Former Haitian slave Jean R. Cadet has been worshipping at Crossroads, and Crossroads congregants have been learning about the problem of domestic servitude in Haiti from him. Crossroads has partnered with the Jean R. Cadet Restavec Foundation to develop a comprehensive report on the “restavek” system of child slavery in Haiti. A team of volunteers will be traveling to Haiti with Cadet to see the problem first-hand and consider ways in which to bring hope to the lives of vulnerable Haitian children.
- In collaboration with the National Underground Railroad Museum Freedom Center’s Partnership for Human Freedom and Polaris Project, Crossroads volunteers (attorneys, researchers, social workers) are writing a comprehensive report on Human Trafficking in Cincinnati.
First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley – Berkeley, California
For years, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley (FPCB) has viewed justice as a key value in its compassion and outreach ministries. The congregation explored God’s call to justice as they sought to address needs in their community by serving the city’s homeless population and partnering with local non-profit organizations to provide for the underserved students in the public school system.
As members engaged in the work of justice locally, the congregation also desired to get involved in justice work globally. FPCB’s leadership invited IJM President Gary Haugen to speak to the congregation about the Biblical call to justice. In response to the message, a group began meeting together to study Good News About Injustice and formed a Justice Taskforce (JTF) in order to learn about justice issues, to educate their church, and to determine what actions they could take as a congregation. This group spearheaded a trip to Thailand, where they visited IJM’s field office and the staff of one of IJM’s aftercare partners. Over the next several years, the JTF began a letter-writing campaign for victims of genocide in Darfur, held a special service on justice issues, and wrote articles and held forums to educate the congregation.
Though the response to these activities was encouraging, the JTF struggled to gain broad support and participation from the larger congregation. Despite challenges over the years, the JTF remained persistent in their efforts, sending members to IJM’s annual Global Prayer Gathering in Washington, D.C., and focusing on educating the church at large. In 2008, they began work to mobilize FPCB as an abolitionist church, and they hosted a summer institute class on slavery and trafficking. This class draws upon scripture in the call to end slavery, explores ways to respond to victims, and proposes tangible steps to combat this injustice.
As the church has stepped forward in its justice journey, a constant in FPCB’s growing focus and development has been its pastoral leadership and teaching. FPCB Senior Pastor Mark Labberton’s book The Dangerous Act of Worship: Living Out God’s Call to Justice was published in 2007. In the book, Mark connects Christian worship with Biblical justice, revealing God’s desire that our worship be integrated with our actions.
The commitment and focus of pastoral leadership has led to the development of three initiatives in the church. First, FPCB highlights issues of injustice in its annual Global Church Conference. Conference themes have included “HIV and the Heart of God” and “Global Slavery and the Plague of Poverty.” These conferences keep the church congregation educated, engaged, and responding to these justice issues.
Second, the congregation initiated “Do Justice” Saturday. On this day, the community gathers to focus its efforts on local projects that are developed to address issues related to justice work. Projects include making caregiver kits for local AIDS service providers, serving underfunded public schools and building low-income housing.
Third, the congregation has added a new worship service in which congregants connect worship and Biblical justice through tangible acts of compassion and justice. Each week, worshippers are invited to engage in some activity together that has a targeted and tangible result in mind.
The River – San Jose, California
In 2002, The River was a five-year old church plant growing rapidly in expressions of compassion and mercy ministry. While this missional focus was satisfying for many, there were some at The River who began asking questions about the relationship between mercy ministry and issues of injustice. These questions led to the formation of a study group of about sixty people who read and discussed Good News About Injustice. The group was deeply impacted by the book, and many were very excited about the work of International Justice Mission. Soon after this, Jim Martin, pastor of compassion ministries at The River was able to meet with IJM staff who were in town for a speaking engagement at another local church. It was at this meeting that Jim learned about IJM’s work with a casework alliance partner in Peru. Sensing a unique opportunity, Jim approached the IJM staff about The River getting involved with IJM’s work in Huánuco, Peru.
The partnership began with a vision trip. A small group from The River went to Huánuco to cultivate relationships with staff, learn more about their casework, and investigate specific needs. During this initial fact-finding trip it became clear that qualified psychologists, medical professionals and law enforcement personnel could offer valuable training to Peruvian professionals. The issue was not so much that the field office staff did not have the expertise to offer training, but that as outsiders, particularly North Americans, The River team could draw from larger numbers of experts. In the course of offering such training, two larger needs became obvious.
First, given the challenging Peruvian legal process, consistent care for victims seeking justice in the courts had been difficult. The church initiated the formation of a cadre of Peruvian volunteer victim advocates who could accompany victims through all phases of the legal process, from initial reporting of the crime through court proceedings.
A second glaring need in Huánuco was for the equivalent of a “battered women’s shelter.” This need was particularly pressing because in the Huánuco office’s casework, perpetrators are often members of the victim’s family or household, making returning home difficult and even dangerous after reporting a crime. In the fourth year of The River’s partnership with IJM, an ideal farm/retreat center property became available. Over the course of the following year, The River worked to raise funds to enable IJM to move forward with creating a secure home for clients on this property.
Beyond this fundraising project, The River continues to give financially to IJM’s work in Peru, enabling the office to provide excellent care for its clients.
Each year, The River sends a short-term team to Huánuco. These teams provide training for local civic leaders and visit victims at the farm/shelter and in their homes. Over the years, there has also been a regular component of pastoral training for local church leaders on justice issues – sharing that injustice grieves God and that God wants the church to be involved in bringing justice to the many victims of sexual abuse in Huánuco.
Introducing members from The River to the staff and work of IJM Huánuco is a transformational endeavor. Contact with IJM staff helps professionals at The River to think in new ways about their own purpose.
The long-term transformation of the work has been impressive. Over the last five years, The River has been privileged to witness a cultural shift with respect to the issues of domestic violence and sexual abuse of children in the region. These evils, while still present, are no longer a dark secret in Huánuco. They are witnesses that even darkness as deep as this cannot overcome the dawn.