Advocacy groups within Christian establishments should transcend the division between peacemaking and advocacy roles.
In a world where peace and justice are constantly challenged, the roles of peacemakers and advocates within Christian institutions become increasingly vital. These individuals strive to ensure that evangelical Christians and churches can fulfill God's calling, while respecting the rights and dignity of all citizens.
Wissam al-Saliby, President of 21Wilberforce, has called for a reconsideration of the peacemaking-advocacy institutional dichotomy. He argues that a more coherent and strategic public engagement can be achieved by blurring the lines between these two functions.
Many Christian institutions have separate commissions or departments for peacemaking and advocacy, as they address distinct but related aspects of promoting peace and justice. Peacemaking typically involves direct efforts to prevent or end violence, while advocacy often involves raising awareness, influencing political decisions, and addressing systemic injustices.
However, this separation can have potential negative implications. By institutionalizing peacemaking and advocacy into separate departments, there is a risk of fragmenting the holistic mission of Christian peacemaking. This could lead to decreased communication and coordination between efforts to resolve conflicts directly and those aiming to change underlying structural causes or policies contributing to conflict.
The team at 21Wilberforce is currently supporting churches affected by large-scale mob violence. They provide psychosocial support, equip leaders with peacemaking tools, and advocate for justice. Recently, they spoke with leaders in a country where churches had been ravaged by violence.
The concept of peacemaking is rooted in God's mission of reconciling humanity with Himself. Developed by Mennonites, Quakers, and Brethren churches and universities, peacemaking prevents religious freedom violations, while advocacy seeks justice and redress for such violations.
The division of labor between peacemakers and advocates in the same organization can lead to wasted resources, overlapping programs, and missed opportunities. By working together more closely, these institutions can create a more integrated and effective approach to promoting peace and justice.
The #OneMoreYearEF campaign, a sustainability challenge for those committed to the mission of Evangelical Focus, encourages readers to join this call to action. The article, originally published on the site of 21Wilberforce and re-published with permission, serves as a reminder that there can be no true peace without justice.
Wissam al-Saliby, who previously worked as Director of the World Evangelical Alliance United Nations Office in Geneva, emphasizes that the prophetic voice and spiritual unity in the Church’s mission can be diluted by this division, making the response to conflict more bureaucratic and less integrated with Gospel nonviolence teachings.
Sources like Pew Research support this perspective, highlighting the importance of a holistic approach to peace and justice in Christian institutions.
In summary, while distinguishing peacemaking from advocacy provides strategic focus and specialized approaches within Christian institutions, it also carries the risk of weakening integrated, holistic efforts for peace by introducing organizational silos and potential misalignment in mission and practice. By bridging this gap, Christian institutions can create a more cohesive and effective approach to promoting peace and justice in the world.
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This article was published in Evangelical Focus under the Features section.
Peacemakers and advocates within Christian institutions can foster personal growth and pursuit of education-and-self-development as they strive to bridge the gap between their distinct yet related functions, creating a more cohesive and effective approach to promoting peace and justice. A holistic approach to peace and justice, as advocated by Wissam al-Saliby, can help mitigate the potential negative implications of the current separation between peacemaking and advocacy department, ensuring that the response to conflict is more integrated with Gospel nonviolence teachings.
