Micah Challenge UK
Encyclopedia
Micah Challenge UK is a coalition of Christian development agencies, organisations, churches and groups, mobilising UK Christians against global poverty. As one of 39 campaigns worldwide it forms part of the wider international Micah Challenge
movement of Christians seeking to hold governments to account to see that the Millennium Development Goals
are met by 2015.
, as this movement was called, was inspired by the biblical idea of the year of Jubilee. Christians were key in its birth and development and the church in the UK was the bedrock of its high-profile and successful campaigning work.
Shortly after, at the United Nations Millennium Summit
in 2000, 189 member states signed the Millennium Declaration, aimed to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. The framework to measure progress towards this was provided by a set of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Seeing Christians playing such a key role in Jubilee 2000 and recognising that the Millennium Declaration itself was, in many ways, a response to this advocacy activity, key figures within the World Evangelical Alliance
(WEA) and the Micah Network of Christian relief and development agencies discussed how this influence could be maintained. The Millennium Development Goals were considered to be a tremendous opportunity for Christians to continue to influence policy makers.
UK representatives of Tearfund
and the General Director of the UK Evangelical Alliance, put together a proposal to focus the combined strength of the WEA and the Micah Network through a global advocacy campaign. This proposal pitched to a meeting of the Micah Network in Seattle in 2003, was accepted and the concept of Micah Challenge was born.
Micah Challenge was launched globally on 15 October 2004, timed to coincide with the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Approximately 11 national campaigns were launched around the world during that year, and this number has steadily increased until by the end of 2006 Micah Challenge was present in 36 countries in both the global south and the global north.
Whilst the UK campaign was launched on 15 October 2004 alongside the international launch, levels of activity and resourcing remained low initially as the Make Poverty History
campaign was in full flow in the UK at this time. With Christians and Christian agencies playing such a full part in the campaign, the decision was taken that Micah Challenge’s time had not yet come in the UK. It was not until 22 May 2006 the Micah Challenge UK Board of Directors met for the first time.
By the end of 2006 an executive team with a number of working groups were meeting regularly in addition to the UK Board of Directors. In addition, churches around the country for the first time marked international Micah Sunday on 15 October 2006. Towards the end of the year, extra full-time staff were added to the Micah Challenge UK secretariat, and activity built towards the summer 2007 Blow the Whistle campaign, which was Micah Challenge UK’s entry onto the public stage.
prophet Micah
who challenged God’s people to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God (Micah
6:8). Micah Challenge UK is working to encourage Christians to be a prophetic voice that cries out for justice for the poor, like the prophet Micah did in his day.
Micah Challenge UK has two aims:
1. To galvanise Christians in the UK towards greater practical and political engagement with the issues and injustices of poverty
2. To unite Christians to ensure the UK honours its commitments to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015
leaders to keep their promises to the poor. The Blow the Whistle campaign focused on calling on the Government to honour its commitments set in the Millennium Development Goals, aimed to halve global poverty by 2015. The summer of 2007 marked the halfway point, so Micah Challenge made a point to assess the halftime scores.
Around 850 people took part in a worship service held at Methodist Central Hall
including representatives of some of the world’s poorest nations. The worshippers then joined The World Can’t Wait rally where people with placards lined both sides of the banks of the Thames as whistles were blown, car horns were honked and alarms went off to make a deafening signal to the government that the world can’t wait to end poverty. As a result of the campaign almost 25,000 Blow the Whistle postcards reached the UK Prime Minister’s desk.
In 2010, Micah Challenge UK led the What's Your Promise campign, where thousands of Christians in Churches across the UK made promises to live lives that remember the poor. They did this by writing on handprints, which symbolised a commitment and, like the promises made, they are unique. These promises were then delivered to local MPs who were asked to make a promise themselves. Over 11,000 promises were made, and 35 MPs were presented with handprints. Half of these MPs were inspired to make a promise of their own. A number of people said that making their promise helped change their way of thinking and their actions in the world.
Micah Challenge
The Micah Challenge is an international campaign that encourages Christians to support the Millennium Development Goals. Their aim is to "encourage our leaders to halve global poverty by 2015."...
movement of Christians seeking to hold governments to account to see that the Millennium Development Goals
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are eight international development goals that all 193 United Nations member states and at least 23 international organizations have agreed to achieve by the year 2015...
are met by 2015.
History
In the late 1990s a wide coalition of aid agencies, trade unions, churches and campaign groups grew up calling for the cancellation of unpayable developing world debt by the year 2000. Jubilee 2000Jubilee 2000
Jubilee 2000 was an international coalition movement in over 40 countries that called for cancellation of third world debt by the year 2000. This movement coincided with the Great Jubilee, the celebration of the year 2000 in the Catholic Church...
, as this movement was called, was inspired by the biblical idea of the year of Jubilee. Christians were key in its birth and development and the church in the UK was the bedrock of its high-profile and successful campaigning work.
Shortly after, at the United Nations Millennium Summit
Millennium Summit
The Millennium Summit was a meeting among many world leaders lasting three days from 6 September to 8 September 2000 at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. Its purpose was to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century. At this meeting, world leaders...
in 2000, 189 member states signed the Millennium Declaration, aimed to reduce extreme poverty by 2015. The framework to measure progress towards this was provided by a set of eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Seeing Christians playing such a key role in Jubilee 2000 and recognising that the Millennium Declaration itself was, in many ways, a response to this advocacy activity, key figures within the World Evangelical Alliance
World Evangelical Alliance
- Introduction :' is a global ministry working with local churches around the world to join in common concern to live and proclaim the "Good News of Jesus" in their communities...
(WEA) and the Micah Network of Christian relief and development agencies discussed how this influence could be maintained. The Millennium Development Goals were considered to be a tremendous opportunity for Christians to continue to influence policy makers.
UK representatives of Tearfund
Tearfund
Tearfund is a UK Christian relief and development agency which works in over 50 countries. It is a founding member of both the Micah Network and the Disasters Emergency Committee.-History:...
and the General Director of the UK Evangelical Alliance, put together a proposal to focus the combined strength of the WEA and the Micah Network through a global advocacy campaign. This proposal pitched to a meeting of the Micah Network in Seattle in 2003, was accepted and the concept of Micah Challenge was born.
Micah Challenge was launched globally on 15 October 2004, timed to coincide with the UN International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. Approximately 11 national campaigns were launched around the world during that year, and this number has steadily increased until by the end of 2006 Micah Challenge was present in 36 countries in both the global south and the global north.
Whilst the UK campaign was launched on 15 October 2004 alongside the international launch, levels of activity and resourcing remained low initially as the Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History
Make Poverty History is the name of a campaign that exists in a number of countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark , Finland, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Romania, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain and Ireland...
campaign was in full flow in the UK at this time. With Christians and Christian agencies playing such a full part in the campaign, the decision was taken that Micah Challenge’s time had not yet come in the UK. It was not until 22 May 2006 the Micah Challenge UK Board of Directors met for the first time.
By the end of 2006 an executive team with a number of working groups were meeting regularly in addition to the UK Board of Directors. In addition, churches around the country for the first time marked international Micah Sunday on 15 October 2006. Towards the end of the year, extra full-time staff were added to the Micah Challenge UK secretariat, and activity built towards the summer 2007 Blow the Whistle campaign, which was Micah Challenge UK’s entry onto the public stage.
Aims
Micah Challenge is inspired by the Old TestamentOld Testament
The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...
prophet Micah
Micah (prophet)
Micah, meaning “who is like Yahweh," was a prophet who prophesied from approximately 737-690 BC in Judah and is the author of the Book of Micah. He was a contemporary of the prophets Isaiah, Amos and Hosea and is considered one of the twelve minor prophets of the Tanakh . Micah was from...
who challenged God’s people to act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with their God (Micah
Book of Micah
The Book of Micah is one of fifteen prophetic books in the Hebrew bible/Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Mikayahu, meaning "Who is like Yahweh?", an 8th century prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah...
6:8). Micah Challenge UK is working to encourage Christians to be a prophetic voice that cries out for justice for the poor, like the prophet Micah did in his day.
Micah Challenge UK has two aims:
1. To galvanise Christians in the UK towards greater practical and political engagement with the issues and injustices of poverty
2. To unite Christians to ensure the UK honours its commitments to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015
Campaigns
In June 2007 thousands of Christians made a deafening demand for justice by blowing whistles in a call to G8G8
The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
leaders to keep their promises to the poor. The Blow the Whistle campaign focused on calling on the Government to honour its commitments set in the Millennium Development Goals, aimed to halve global poverty by 2015. The summer of 2007 marked the halfway point, so Micah Challenge made a point to assess the halftime scores.
Around 850 people took part in a worship service held at Methodist Central Hall
Methodist Central Hall
Methodist Central Hall may refer to:*Methodist Central Hall, Birmingham*Grand Central Hall, Liverpool*Westminster Central Hall, London...
including representatives of some of the world’s poorest nations. The worshippers then joined The World Can’t Wait rally where people with placards lined both sides of the banks of the Thames as whistles were blown, car horns were honked and alarms went off to make a deafening signal to the government that the world can’t wait to end poverty. As a result of the campaign almost 25,000 Blow the Whistle postcards reached the UK Prime Minister’s desk.
In 2010, Micah Challenge UK led the What's Your Promise campign, where thousands of Christians in Churches across the UK made promises to live lives that remember the poor. They did this by writing on handprints, which symbolised a commitment and, like the promises made, they are unique. These promises were then delivered to local MPs who were asked to make a promise themselves. Over 11,000 promises were made, and 35 MPs were presented with handprints. Half of these MPs were inspired to make a promise of their own. A number of people said that making their promise helped change their way of thinking and their actions in the world.