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 "And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read... 'The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, because He appointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are downtrodden, to proclaim the favorable year of the LORD... Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing'." Luke 4:16-21.

Micah Challenge Action Toolkit

Raising Awareness about poverty and justice...
...for THE WORLD WE WANT TO SEE.

Our Invitation to you...

At Micah Challenge we are continually asking ourselves the question posed by the prophet Micah almost 3000 years ago - 'What does the Lord require of us?' In a world where almost a billion people go hungry and where a child still dies every three seconds, we invite you to ask the same question.

In the year 2000, the governments of the world, including the Australia Government, committed to meet eight bold but achievable Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and pledged to halve global poverty by 2015. As we look back there is much to celebrate. We are seeing change in our world. For example, this year an extra two million children will survive to see their 5th birthday, and nine out of ten children now complete a primary education.

We have the resources to meet these goals, yet we are dangerously behind schedule in many areas. I use the word 'dangerous' because we are talking about life and death situations.

But our God is a God of justice, love and hope. Christians are called to be people who 'act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with our God' (Micah 6:8). This is what God requires of us.

For Christians, speaking out for the poor involves our whole lives: it involves our faith - hearing from and speaking with God; it involves learning about the causes and effects of poverty with open hearts and minds; and it involves action in order to see real change in our world. We hope and pray that this kit will inspire you to do just that.

Let's join together in raising our collective voices to encourage our communities, our nation and world leaders to act for justice for the global poor...
...for THE WORLD WE WANT TO SEE.

- John Beckett
National Coordinator, Micah Challenge Australia

How to use the Micah Challenge Action Toolkit

The Micah Challenge Action Toolkit is a resource for Christians who want to raise awareness about poverty, and engage in dialogue and action at several different levels:
- In your own church or faith group;
- In your wider community;
- Nationally through the political process.

>> We encourage you order the Micah Challenge Action Toolkit in hardcopy, which includes the brand new 'World we want to see' DVD with campaign videos to inspire you to take action.

Contact info@micahchallenge.org.au to place an order. Please note: Micah Challenge suggests a donation of $8 per hardcopy kit towards production costs. Click here to make a donation.

There are a few resources which we particularly encourage to use:
1. Reflect on your own personal response to poverty by taking part in the '40 Day Fast' or by running the 'MDG Prayer Stations' action.
2. Coordinate a 'Survive Past Five' 5th Birthday Party or other creative event in your community.

We also encourage you to:
- Use the DVD and written resources together.
- Let us know what you are doing and the impact it is making, so we can put it up in the feedback section of our website. We love to hear action stories and so do other campaign supporters. Your story could be just the encouragement another campaigner on community needs to get started. Send your stories and photos to info@micahchallenge.org.au.

Remember; all action makes a difference. Use all the resources in the Toolkit, or make a start with just a few. Individual resources can be ordered separately from Micah Challenge or downloaded in soft copy below.

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FAITH and LEARNING... for the world we want to see

ACTION... for the world we want to see

VIDEOS... about the world we want to see

The brand new 'World we want to see' DVD can can be ordered from the Micah Challenge office. Contact info@micahchallenge.org.au to order your Micah Challenge Action Toolkit including the new DVD (we suggest a donation of $8 per Toolkit ). The DVD includes heaps of videos to inspire you to take action including:

Main Clips:
- Feature video: 'The world we want to see' - show this short clip to introduce your church, school or group to Micah Challenge and inspire them to speak up for justice for the poor

- 'Visit your Politician' - Hear from politicians and ordinary Christians talk about the power of engaging with our elected representatives

- 'Take action in your community' - hear the stories of two groups groups who have taken action in their churches and with the wider community, and be inspired to get creative

Extra clips:
- Child and Maternal Health - learn more about MDGs 4 and 5
- Ursula's Story - learn about how climate change is impacting our neighbours in the Pacific
- Interview with Rev Dr Joel Edwards - hear from the Director of Micah Challenge International about being part of a global movement
- Heart Life VOICE - a clip about the Micah Challenge music project; about the link between worship and action


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