Sunday, May 31 was Congo Sunday here at Antioch. The service was devoted to educating the people of Antioch about the current crisis in the DR Congo and what Antioch is doing to reach out to these people in need since partnering with World Relief.

Among the speakers were Ben Edwards, Ann Mara, and Matt Smith all of whom lent unique insights into the issue of the Congo and how we should be interacting with it.

Ann Mara said, “The Congo crisis has claimed the lives of more than 5.4 million people in the last decade.” And that, “The majority of these deaths are a result of preventable diseases such as malaria, diarrhea, and malnutrition.” This is a land where rape is used as a weapon of war. In the words of Ben Edwards, “If the earth is the Devil’s playground, the Congo his circus;” it seems obvious why we should be there as believers, but still some ask:

“Why justice ministry?” or, “Why the Congo?”

Matt Smith’s answer to these questions was, “Justice is God's thing and Africa is God's place and we are God's people so, really, it's that easy.”

However, he said that usually there are much deeper questions lurking beneath the surface, usually pertaining to either fear of the social gospel or fear that we will neglect our own neighborhoods if we pursue ministry in the Congo.

 

As far as fearing the social gospel is concerned, just because we’re involved with social justice doesn’t mean we give in to a social gospel. Ken Wytsma says that, “Social justice is at the heart of the gospel.” And in the light of James 1:27, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” It’s hard to disagree.

The Antioch staff was also very clear that their activity in the Congo was not a reflection of neglect back home, but rather was something being done in addition to current ministries reaching out to Bend as well. The missional focus of Antioch is not an either Congo or Bend mindset but rather a both Congo and Bend mentality.

As part of the activities on Sunday, Ben Edwards had photographs that he took on Antioch’s most recent trip to the Congo for sale. When all was said and done, $1210 was raised from the sale of the photographs, all of which will go back to Antioch’s active involvement in the Congo crisis.

 

 

Click here to see Ann and Ben share stories from the trip.

Click here to see Matt teach about the nature of biblical justice.

For more stories and pictures from their trip, check out the WR NEXT blog!

 

*Photos by Benjamin Edwards