why i love tearfund #1

These next few posts will focus on something I'm really passionate about. It's all aboutTearfund, a charity that I really honestly believe can (and will) change the world, and I want you to be passionate about the things that Tearfund believes in and fights for. It's worthwhile and biblical and life-changing...

Integral mission. Ever heard of it? No? Read this explanation of what it is:

"Integral mission or holistic transformation is the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel.It is not simply that evangelism and social involvement are to be done alongside each other. Rather, in integral mission our proclamation has social consequences as we call people to love and repentance in all areas of life. And our social involvement has evangelistic consequences as we bear witness to the transforming grace of Jesus Christ. If we ignore the world, we betray the word of God which sends us out to serve the world. If we ignore the word of God, we have nothing to bring to the world. Justice and justification by faith, worship and political action, the spiritual and the material, personal change and structural change belong together. As in the life of Jesus, being, doing and saying are at the heart of our integral task." -http://www.micahnetwork.org/en/integral-mission/micah-declaration

Integral mission is something that's really been challenging me lately and a cause that I firmly believe in. Why so often do we separate spiritual needs from physical needs? Why do we sometimes place one over the other? I guess for a lot of people this is a sticky subject and it raises the question of what the heart of mission should be. I've become a bit of a Tearfund freak over the past few months, and integral mission is something that they strongly advocate and practice. I guess I like them so much because honestly, it seems to me like they've cracked integral mission. They feed stomachs with nutritious food and souls with the amazing life-changing news of Jesus Christ. Yup, that's what it's all about :)