All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do." Galatians 2:10
October 10, 2010 (10.10.10). Join 100 million Christians in prayer and promise for the poor.
Micah 2010 is a special campaign to focus on our promise to the poor, ten years after nations around the world committed to halve global poverty by 2015.
As Christians we want to declare God's heart for the poor and we want to remind our leaders that action to halve poverty is worth every effort. We must remember the poor.
The Global Prayer
Imagine 100 million Christians praying for justice in the nations.
We want to affirm the importance of listening to God, seeking his wisdom and relying on his strength and guidance. The global prayer for Micah 2010 echoes the themes of Nehemiah who fasted and prayed day and night before he embarked on the mighty task of restoring Jerusalem.
The prayer will be used in churches around the globe on 10.10.10. A children's prayer will also be available.
The 24-7 Prayer movement is right behind MICAH 2010. I wholeheartedly urge you to join this global chorus of prayer for the poorest people on earth. Together we can make a little history." (Pete Greig - 24-7 Prayer/Alpha International)
The BIG Promise
Our dream is that 10 million people will actively promise to remember the poor.
10.10.10 is an opportunity to show that wherever we may be in the world we are all standing together as Christians recommitting ourselves to the pursuit of justice and encouraging action from our leaders. It's a global moment which we hope means that a church in rural France, a mega church in Nairobi and a suburban church in Lima are all crying out with one voice.
The promise is words and action. The words are simple: We promise to remember the poor. We promise to remind our leaders to keep their commitment to the poor.
As a sign of the promise, we are asking people to raise their hands in promise, then make a special handprint.
Hands mean worship, hands pledge support and we use our hands to demonstrate God's love.
The simple action of using our handprint to confirm our promise is a symbol of faith and action coming together.
The handprints are also a visible message that we pass on to our leaders that our promise to halve global poverty cannot be forgotten.
The BIG Hand-Over
Micah 2010 is an opportunity to encourage our leaders to remember their promise to bring half a billion people out of extreme poverty in our generation.
Politicians need to hear that we care and that we will hold them to account. They cannot push aside the Millennium Development Goals agreed in 2000 as "too hard" and we cannot let the promise fail because of apathy or corruption.
The Big Hand-over of 10 million handprints will remind our leaders that we have only five years remaining to meet our promise.
A church could invite their local politician to an event at the church and present the handprints or deliver their handprints to their politician. They may have a simple message, "Remember the poor" or they may have been trained in the messages of the national campaign. The more specific the message is, the more impact it will have.
A church which is not able to make contact with their local politician will send its handprints to the Micah Challenge office so they can arrange a handover with an appropriate Minister to talk about the 2 or 3 asks of the national campaign.
These meetings will take place in the month following October 10, 2010.
Together, all these meetings will contribute to our target of at least 1,000 meetings with political leaders in 20 countries.
The BIG Change
Micah 2010 could bring change in the lives of Christians as we renew commitment to the poor and it could bring change in government policies. It could also kick-start action so that in 2015 we can be proud that nations of the world acted to address the evil of poverty and injustice.
Change will come when two or three people of faith join with hundreds, with thousands and with millions around the world to proclaim that God's eternal values can shape policies and decisions.
Join with Micah 2010.
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