Seeking Justice

We view justice as a lifestyle,
not a program.

Simply put, we embrace the joy of justice as the re-making of the world in right order, re-aligning our relationships with God, others, ourselves, and creation—individually and systemically.

We are seekers of justice (righteousness) among all people in all places in every aspect of life – equitable, life-giving, empowering, and dignified relationships, institutions, policies, economics, and access to opportunity as a right distribution of power.

Justice is shalom in the neighborhood, the peace, presence, and wholeness of God, permeating local life through the love of neighbor, “Where nothing is missing and nothing is broken.” In Jesus, the world is being put back together again. We’re a people in process as we say yes to Jesus as co-sufferer with humanity, who chose solidarity with the oppressed, who offers living water right now across the dividing wall of hostility. In the words of Bethany H. Hoang, “And so, seeking justice—bringing right order and exerting life-giving power to protect the vulnerable.”

And with justice is an invitation to liberating life that begins now and lasts forever—the gospel of peace on full display.

Now that is really, really good news.

When we say “West Charlotte,” we’re referring to neighborhoods within a few miles of our building in the northeastern part of the 28208 zip code. Within these neighborhoods, there is a mixture of generational poverty and wealthy urbanites, boarded-up houses and brand-new craftsman homes, Title 1 schools and cutting edge charter schools, struggling small businesses and successful design firms. A lot is changing, but many people are getting left behind. Not only that, but we continue to be divided by race, even in our churches.

While there are many opportunities to invest and serve in our city, we are focusing right here in West Charlotte, trusting that “when the righteous prosper, the city rejoices” (Proverbs 11:10). We are committed to loving our neighbors by responding to their real needs. Our goal is not merely to provide relief for these needs, but to work together toward long-term rehabilitation and community development. This way of investing in our neighbors is an integral part of our own spiritual formation process.

We have identified three critical pathways for engaging. Read about them here.

In our globalized world, it is critical for us to pursue justice around the world as well as in our neighborhoods. As we engage and serve our global neighbors, we believe in doing so by forging long-term partnerships in which we can work together to bring the whole gospel to whole people and their whole community. Like our local service initiatives, our global service is oriented toward rehabilitation and sustainable development rather than period relief. This way of investing in our neighbors is an integral part of our own spiritual formation process.

There certainly is a time for relief, however, and particularly when an international crisis occurs, we trust the on-the-ground disaster relief experts with Samaritan’s Purse. We encourage financial investment in their work, so that they can provide quick, effective, and compassionate relief to global neighbors.