justice revival

Church Leaders Announce Justice Revival

BY KELLY LECKER

The Columbus Dispatch

Leaders of some of the area’s biggest churches plan to hold a three-day justice revival next month to get people out of the pews and into the city to work to reduce poverty and help people in need.
More than 30 church leaders are involved in the event, and expect up to 10,000 people to attend the revival. They hope people will then go out into the community and do everything from mentor students to paint houses.

“Scripture tells us when much is given, much is required,” said Bishop Timothy Clarke, senior pastor at First Church of God. “God loves this city. And we have the opportunity to improve this city.”

Clarke said the event, which will be April 16 to 18 at the Vineyard Church of Columbus in Westerville, will include song and fiery speeches, but leaders also will ask for a commitment to help the area’s needy.

Pastors will talk about the revival in their churches in the next few weeks, to get people focused on the service idea behind the event.

If it is successful, justice revivals will be held in other parts of the country, said Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, a Washington-based Christian social-justice group.

Wallis worked with Clarke and the Rev. Rich Nathan, senior pastor at Vineyard, to develop the idea of the revival. The event is being organized by a group representing many of the area’s evangelical and mainline churches, including the West Ohio United Methodist Conference, the United Church of Christ and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Church leaders hope to mobilize thousands of people on April 19, the day after the revival, to perform community-service projects ranging from painting houses to working in food pantries.

Nathan said the work will continue for months, and hopefully years, after the revival. Small group meetings are planned in many churches to talk about how Christians can help reduce poverty in Columbus, and they plan to work with food pantries, medical clinics and other organizations.