The ‘moment’ we seek to grasp is the coming together of:

Gordon Brown, the UK Chancellor, expressed the situation in these words: “I believe that ours can be the generation that builds that virtuous circle, where debt reduction is followed by poverty reduction and by sustainable development. Ours can become the generation that realises….the ancient text of Isaiah that the oppressed go free…. That is our task, the challenge to all of us working together…”

Jubilee 2000 Light the Flame Rally, December 2000.

“…when the stated intentions of world leaders…”

During the Millennium Summit held in New York in September 2000, all 189 UN Member States adopted the Millennium Declaration, which contained a group of goals and targets that have since become known as the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These goals, working together, aim to halve poverty by 2015.

“…echo something of the mind of the Bible prophets…”

The prophets in the Old Testament of the Bible tell us about God’s heart for the poor and that God requires us to live justly. The Micah Challenge logo encompasses the messages of:

•	Micah 6:8 “Pursue justice, be passionate about kindness/mercy and walk humbly with God.”
•	Isaiah 58:6-8 “…loosen the chains of injustice… then your light will break forth like the dawn.”
•	Amos 5:24 “Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream.”
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“…and the teachings of Jesus concerning the poor...”

Jesus expressed in his life and words that he had come ‘”to bring good news to the poor… to proclaim freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.” Luke 4:18-19. The Micah Call uses the words “echo something of…” to say that while the Millennium Development Goals are an exciting call on leaders and peoples they still fall far short of the teachings of Jesus and the responsibilities he gave us concerning marginalised people and the need to live more radical lives of costly change and repentance.

“…and when we have the means to dramatically reduce poverty.”

This generation has the potential to mobilise with a united voice, to distribute the world’s resources more equitably and reduce poverty, through the resources, knowledge, technologies and communications now available to us

“We commit ourselves, as followers of Jesus, to work together…”

The first (inward looking) goal of the Micah Challenge is a call to Christians to deepen their commitment to work with and for poor communities.
We are not just calling on others but are committing ourselves to pray and work together, as the Christian global family. Christians already contribute significantly at local and global level to both poverty reduction and advocacy for social justice, but we want to do more. So we are calling all of us to greater commitment and action.

“…for the holistic transformation of our communities…”

The Micah Challenge is inspired by the Bible and the life of Jesus Christ. ‘Integral mission’ or ‘holistic transformation’ is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel. We cannot separate our faith from our action. The way we live our lives declares our beliefs. The Micah Challenge seeks positive change in the whole of human life; materially, socially and spiritually.

God by his grace has given local churches the task of integral mission… Churches as caring and inclusive communities are at the heart of what it means to do integral mission….Our experience of walking with poor communities challenges our concept of what it means to be church. The church is not merely an institution or organisation, but communities of Jesus that embody the values of the kingdom. The involvement of the poor in the life of the church is forcing us to find new ways of being church within the context of our cultures instead of being mere reflections of the values of one dominant culture or sub-culture. Our message has credibility to the extent that we adopt an incarnational approach. We confess that too often the church has pursued wealth, success, status and influence. But the kingdom of God has been given to the community that Jesus Christ called his little flock.
(from the Micah Declaration on Integral Mission)

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Holistic transformation addresses the broken identities and relationships that promote disempowerment of the poor and domination by the non poor. It aims to restore:

• relationships between people and God
• our own self identity
• relationships between people, and
• relationships between people and their environment.
  (from ‘Walking with the Poor’ by Bryant Myers)

“…to pursue justice, be passionate about kindness and walk humbly with our God.”

The Micah Challenge and Call are based on biblical guidelines; the key text being Micah 6:8.
The different versions of the Bible use slightly different words, some use ‘mercy’ instead of ‘kindness’, but the message is similar. Both mercy and kindness are particular ways of expressing God’s love and goodness.

“We call on international and national decision makers of both rich and poor nations…”

This is the second (outward looking) goal of the Micah Challenge: to provide an opportunity for Christians to influence national and international decision makers to reduce global poverty.

These decision makers include governments, international bodies (such as the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund and World Trade Organisation), the G8, transnational companies (some of whom wield global power and have larger incomes than some poor countries) and others.

Corruption by any of these leaders, both in the North and South, remains a major concern. We call on them to be accountable and transparent and to operate within human rights and other agreed conventions.
The Micah Challenge also calls upon these leaders to adequately resource the commitments made in the Millennium Declaration and the 8 Millennium Development Goals.

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“…to fulfil their public promise to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute poverty by 2015.”

National Leaders met at the UN in 2000 and approved a Millennium Declaration. Click here to read the ‘Millennium Declaration’.
All leaders agreed to 8 goals. These goals together aim to halve poverty by 2015. They are:

• Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
• Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education
• Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
• Goal 4: Reduce child mortality
• Goal 5: Improve maternal health
• Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
• Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
• Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

The Micah Challenge is a movement of Christians for less poverty and greater justice that goes beyond the MDGs agenda. However, The Micah Challenge sees the MDGs as a useful framework and seeks to make a powerful contribution to their achievement.

“…We call on Christians everywhere to be agents of hope for and with the poor…”

The good news of Jesus, lived out in the lives of Christians around the world, brings hope to individuals, communities and nations. The Micah Challenge seeks to work with the poor, (irrespective of gender, culture, ethnicity, race, religion, ability/disability and nationality) empowering and enabling poor men and women, girls and boys to become agents of change.

“…and to work with others…”

We understand the power of working together, as in the Jubilee Debt Campaign. We welcome and seek to work with secular society and other faiths who share the desire for social justice, the reduction of poverty and the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The Micah Challenge acknowledges, draws on, and seeks to work with existing coalitions (both international and national). These may include people and agencies that have specific interest and expertise in various aspects of the MDGs.

“…To hold our national and global leaders accountable in securing a more just and merciful world.”

The powerful need to be held accountable. It is often only when ordinary people (‘civil society’) challenge these decision makers that change towards greater justice is achieved. Prayer,joint advocacy and action are powerful tools that we can use in securing these changes.