LIFE for Justice. Justice for life.

We are a coalition of churches and other faith based groups that are seeking to make positive changes in our community by bringing justice to broken systems.

For more than 13 years our congregations and members come together annually to vote on and address a systemic problem collectively.

LIFE’s GOAL :

Is for each congregation is to build a powerful Justice Ministry Network.

Our aim is to fix broken systems, but in order to do that, we have to organize each church.

Just as our congregations have other ministries that are foundational parts of their faith (Bible study, Youth Ministry, Mercy Ministry for food drives, etc), we want to build a Justice Ministry so that their congregants can fulfill God’s call for justice.

We look towards Biblical inspiration for building a powerful Justice Ministry in our churches:

We like to consider two scriptures in particular from the Bible.

1. In the Hebrew Bible–Micah 6:8:

“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

2. In the New Testament–Matthew 23:23-24:

“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, but have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faith. It is these you ought to have practiced without neglecting the others.”

How are we doing with these three Biblical Requirements (weightier matters)?

Faithfulness Ministry

Definition: Those things we do to encourage our walk with God (reminds us to be faithful)
Examples: weekly services, prayer meetings, retreats, Bible study, music.
We encourage each other in this ministry 52 times a year in weekly worship service.

Mercy Ministry

Definition: Programs to help meet the immediate needs of individuals. Can be at a large scale.
Examples: feed the hungry, shelter the homeless, minister to those imprisoned, tutor children
Many of our congregations have incredible mercy ministries that provide much needed help to people.

Justice Ministry

Definition: Biblically, justice is holding the King and other officials accountable for the fair treatment of all people, especially the poor, widow, and orphan.
Holding the School Board accountable to institute anti-bullying policies, holding the Criminal Justice System accountable to stop criminalizing children for non-violent minor offenses, holding the city council accountable for creating incentives for the construction of affordable housing.
We tend to do poorly on this justice requirement because the systems are big and powerful and, individually, we are not able to hold them accountable for justice. But when we come together we
can fix what is broken.

Power & Nehemiah

We don’t do Justice well because we cannot do it alone – we need power to deal with powerful systems
In our society Power comes from two sources—large amounts of organized money or large amounts of organized people.
The Book of Nehemiah provides a Biblical Example of How to Build and Exercise Power.

Nehemiah is Cupbearer to the King of Persia and in Chapter 5, he goes to his homeland, Jerusalem, to restore the people’s identity by rebuilding the wall around the city.

He discovers that his community was suffering greatly.

Because of a famine, people are forced to borrow money to buy food and pay taxes.

When the people couldn’t repay the loans, the nobles and officials took everything: their fields, vineyards and orchards and even forced people to sell their children into slavery to pay their debts.

Nehemiah was angry when he hears their cries…. and thinks it over.

He had 2 choices.

Nehemiah could do mercy ministry and open a food pantry/credit counseling,
or
He could hold the nobles and officials accountable for justice/fairness.

He chose to hold the nobles accountable.

But, Nehemiah, even with the status of the Cup Bearer to the King of Persia, knew he couldn’t do it alone: he needed power.

Verse seven of Chapter Five tells us:

He organized a “Great Assembly” of people and brought the nobles and officials before it. He knew there was power in numbers.

When pressed during this assembly, the nobles and officials agreed to restore everything they had taken from the people, and they did as they had promised.

To Do Justice, we must do like Nehemiah:

build our capacity to organize Great Assemblies so that we can hold our leaders accountable for the fair treatment of all God’s people.

LIFE believes in the power of numbers and uniting together for a Just cause. Communities, businesses and congregations holding our local leaders accountable. We bring about change in the short-term, but ensure the work is executed in the long-term. There is no other faith-based organization in Lee County that is doing true justice work

Hear What Our Members and Congregation Leaders Have To Say About LIFE!

Reverend Dr. Rickey Anderson

“Once we take on an issue, we never go away, if we address an issue look for us to come back over and over.” -Reverend Dr. Rickey Anderson

Lorna Washington

“One day I’m going to lead this world and I’m going to go out there and be a voice for the voiceless. I’m able to stand up and loudly be a voice.” -Lorna Washington

Dottie Morrison

Do you experience injustice in your own life? Do you have friends or family that have experienced injustice?” These questions strike at the heart of our mission at LIFE

News & Updates

Get Involved in Lee County!

Learn more about how you can INVEST IN LIFE today.

If your congregation is already a member of our organization, then speak to your clergy or your team leader, and ask them for the next steps.If you belong to a congregation that is not a member, please reach out to us or call our office and set up a meeting with us.

View our list of Member Congregations