APCE 2019: Engaging young Christians in social justice

  1. APCE 2019: Anticipation
  2. APCE 2019: “Come to the Water”
  3. APCE 2019: The tide is changing
  4. APCE 2019: Engaging young Christians in social justice
  5. APCE 2019: How does Jesus respond to generational suffering?
  6. APCE 2019: Revived at the Water’s Edge

BY AMY SIMES AND CAROL SCHIERLMANN

(A glimpse from an APCE session with Rev. Dr. Michael Waters from Joy Tabernacle AME Church, Dallas, Texas)

According to Dr. Waters, we first must acknowledge how bad the issue really is before we can begin to bring solutions. The statistics presented were haunting. While many people in America are prospering, there are less black homeowners today than there were in 1968. The median income for a black family is in decline while it continues to rise for the average white family. White supremacist groups have increased their membership by 30-percent in the last two years. How do we equip young Christians to co-labor with God in creating a better world?

Social justice is not outreach, mission or evangelism, though these are all worthwhile endeavors. Broadly defined, social justice is an endeavor to create an egalitarian society based on principles of equality and solidarity recognizing the rights, value, and dignity of every human being. To help young people engage in this endeavor, Dr. Waters outlined his CARE technique:

Conversation  — frequent and at their level, addressing their real concerns

Action — offering means for youth to express their concerns in a tangible way

Read — the history of the fight for social justice as well as contemporary reports

Expose — to the real locations and people involved in the fight for civil rights so they can better relate to the problem at hand

Some of the specific ways we can help youth engage in action for social justice include letter or email writing campaigns to public officials, boycotting organizations that are acting in inappropriate ways in the community and participating in marches and rallies to magnify the issue through bodies in the street.

The message was clear – there is still work to be done in the fight for social justice in America. Those of us who work with youth have a unique opportunity to help them be part of the solution.

Amy Simes and Carol Schierlmann are students at Union Presbyterian Seminary.