The Justice Conference: An Invitation to Be Part of God’s Mission
What comes to mind when you hear the word justice? Perhaps you picture a convicted criminal behind bars, or a judge slamming her gavel in a court of law. Perhaps you envision a Ugandan widow having her property rightfully returned to her, or a child being rescued from forced labor in the fishing industry of Ghana. Perhaps your heart aches for the oppressed in your own community—the abused, the trafficked, the under-employed, the homeless… Perhaps you think of all of this and more. And then we remember God’s words in Isaiah 1:17:
“Learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause.”
All of these are good things. It’s not hard to convince someone of that. The difficult part is determining what comes next. When you think of what it means to “do good” and to “correct oppression” and more specifically to “bring justice to the fatherless” and to “plead the widow’s cause,” this is where we begin to face a whirlwind of emotion. Our hearts ache for the oppressed. We’re angered by the oppressors. We’re quickly consumed with the drive—if not adrenaline—to at least do something… But what?
This is where many hit a stopping point. The adrenaline wears off. The reality of these situations settles in our hearts and minds, and we easily fall victim to feeling overwhelmed, confused, paralyzed... There are endless ideas you could try, endless causes you could give your time or dollars to. Where do we start?
It is questions like these that helped to drive Summit toward partnering with World Relief, a global leader in the pursuit of biblical justice. They work to empower local churches around the world to serve the most vulnerable in their communities, teaching them to care for each other in a manner representative of the ways Jesus calls us to love one another.
It is questions like these that led Summit to say Yes to World Relief’s invitation to be a video venue for The JUSTICE Conference they are presenting in Chicago in June. Over the last few years, this conference has grown to become one of the leading gatherings in the world for justice-minded individuals. Whether the idea of pursuing justice is new for you, or if this is something you have engaged for quite some time, this conference will be of value to you.
A gathering of this nature helps us to realize that we are not alone in this work. It helps us to gain better clarity that this is God’s mission, and He has invited us to play a part in His ongoing rescue and restoration of everything. We don’t need to be overwhelmed. We don’t need to be paralyzed. Rather, we need to concentrate on the God of justice, who is leading this charge into the dark. As a community of faith, we rally around the common purpose of following God in His pursuit of justice and restoration.
A gathering of this nature also allows us to hear from some of today’s thought-leaders about how we might do these things together. Among many, we’ll hear from Louie Giglio, a leader challenging today’s college students toward lifestyles marked by a passionate pursuit of justice. We’ll hear from Bob Goff, a leader fighting for freedom and human rights in some of the more difficult countries of the world including Somalia, Iraq, and Uganda.
We’ll also hear from leaders pursuing justice right here in Central Florida. This will be a great time to become more familiar with some of the injustices you may not be aware of in your own backyard and how you might join their work.
Whether this marks the beginning of your own pursuit of justice or you are intrigued to add another layer to your understanding of how God is continuing to usher His Kingdom into this world, I invite you to join us for a live simulcast of The JUSTICE Conference on June 6th. It will be a great time of communal learning as we determine how we can better pursue justice together. I hope to see you there.
The Justice Conference Live Simulcast
Saturday, June 6th from 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m.
Summit’s Waterford campus: 11602 Lake Underhill Rd, #110, Orlando, Florida 32825
$10 / $16 including lunch