Grasshoppers that Change Communities
“Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size... We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” (Numbers 13:30-33)
It's easy to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the current challenges facing our nation, but the ‘giants in the land’ cannot defeat the purposes of God for those living in poverty. At our Churches that Change Communities conference, Natalie Williams reminded us that we are hope-bearers called and equipped by a powerful God. In the post below, delegate Sophie Rogers, shares her reflections on our time together…
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In recent years I felt a burden, that my heart had become increasingly misaligned with God’s heart for those living in poverty. It’s all too easy to stop focusing on what’s around you when life is busy. Working in the City, I got caught up in a middle-class rat race. I also found myself becoming numb to the news, saturated with stories of the ‘permacrisis’.
Feeling a call to press in, alongside a career change into leading the kids’ work at my local church, it made sense to me to book into the Jubilee+ Churches That Change Communities conference and I’m glad I did. Partly because the conference was a day away and God always speaks to me when I’m outside of my normal situation.
Given my role at church, I was excited for the launch of the Jubilee+ kids’ curriculum, Overflow, which looks to engage kids to capture God’s heart for those living in poverty. I left the conference feeling even more excited about it. Charlie Macdonald delivered a seminar on the content and she has such a passion for kids and this teaching, it was infectious, accessible, and more importantly biblical (listen in here). I loved the challenge of seeing the kids through Samuel’s eyes when he anointed David, when David’s family didn’t even count him as an option. I left wanting to make sure the kids I have influence over grow up with the teaching of God’s favour, mercy and compassion towards the poor in their DNA, praying that we’re not still trying to convince churches of its importance in 20 years’ time.
The conference theme was ‘Responding to a Deepening Crisis’ which really carried through from the educating and envisioning of delegates, to equipping, by way of well thought out seminars, powerful keynote messages, interviews with experts and engagement with carefully selected partner charities.
The day was both challenging and refreshing. It’s hard to hear stories of injustice. Jubilee+ CEO Natalie Williams’ conviction that the UK is entering a time of deep darkness was eye opening, yet she delivered a strong reminder that within the darkness we are a people of hope. We can look to Jesus to bring light and, as Christians, we can be that light to people who are struggling to see it for themselves.
I didn’t write many notes, but I did draw a picture of a grasshopper. Natalie referred to the story in Numbers 13, where God’s people saw the giants in the land and responded, “We felt like grasshoppers. And we looked like grasshoppers to them.” Issues of poverty and injustice seem overwhelming at the moment, but Natalie encouraged us as people of hope and light, with a higher strength, to effect change. Upon reflection after the conference, it’s when we get to the end of ourselves, our own resources, that God delights in using us, equipping and strengthening us grasshoppers against what appears to be, and in fact is, a giant.
Being in a room full of people who were passionate about the marginalised, those with years of experience and those with little, was comforting. What struck me was that there should have been considerably more people gathered!
The challenge really is this… Is defending the oppressed, reaching out to the poor, embracing the marginalised, in your DNA? Or do you discount yourself from this ‘ministry’ because you feel it’s not your gift or your calling? Or because it feels too big to tackle? Throughout Scripture, God calls us to do justice and to serve the poor. We are being sanctified and our hearts are being moved in step with our Heavenly Father’s heart. Why not start by asking God to give you opportunities to press into this calling? Be proactive, delve into God’s word and definitely book into the Jubilee+ 2023 conference!
You can find audio and video recordings of all messages delivered at Churches that Change Communities here on the Jubilee+ website.
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This post was written by Sophie Rogers for the New Ground blog (read in its original form by clicking here).