Frequently Asked Questions

To ignite and fuel a passion in Christians to bring about the alleviation of poverty and to speak out, with a common voice, against the injustice of poverty.

Aim1:To galvanise Christians in the UK towards greater practical and political engagement with the issues and injustice of poverty.

Aim 2: To unite Christians to ensure the UK honours its commitments to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

The basis of the challenge to us is drawn from the Old Testament prophet Micah as he answers the question:-
"And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." (Micah 6:8 NIV).

One million people: One hundred thousand steps: One single voice.

One million people committed to the aims of the movement.
One hundred thousand people having taken some active step towards the alleviation of poverty and its injustice.
One single united voice to government and to our civil society that cries out for justice for the poor.

Micah Challenge is an international Christian response to the glaring injustice of global poverty. In the UK, it seeks to build on the momentum created by the Make Poverty History campaign to continue to press the UK government to do more to alleviate poverty and deal with its causes.

But rather being a single short term campaign, Micah Challenge is more of a movement, aimed at providing Christians with a deeper understanding of God's heart for the poor and with a vehicle to respond to poverty and its injustice.

Through a series of campaigns it will draw attention to the issues and injustice of poverty and demands for the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Micah Challenge is also a platform allowing individuals to take action: to see how they can Pray, Say, Do, Give or Go.

In 2005, many Christians were involved in Make Poverty History, a campaign that has made a real difference to the lives of poor people around the world. Achievements of Make Poverty History include the cancellation of debt for poor countries and promises from richer countries significantly to increase international aid. Micah Challenge is building on this momentum and is designed to resource Christians to express their commitment to the achievement of a fairer world. As Christians we recognise that change will not take place overnight, or even over a year. We must be committed to the long haul. Micah Challenge will help to inspire and support you on that journey.

Micah Challenge has strong links with GCAP the successor to MakePovertyHistory which formally stopped as a coalition at the end of 2005.

‘The Micah Challenge’ - is the global movement of national campaigns of which Micah Challenge UK is a part.

‘Micah Challenge UK’ - is the UK coalition of organisations that form the UK movement.

‘a micah challenge’ (intentionally lower case) is the campaign or call-to-action that the movement is engaged with at that time. E.g. ‘Blow the Whistle’ was ‘a micah challenge’; over time there will be more ‘micah challenges’

Micah Challenge is a Christian initiative. Participating in the movement is an expression of an individual’s Christian faith. It is not multi-faith, or secular, but would encourage all people to explore and get behind its aims and its values.

Yes, it aims to reach the breadth of people who would describe themselves as Christians. It aims to be inclusive to all those who would agree with the common underpinning ethical basis of Micah Challenge.

The ethical basis of Micah Challenge is articulated through its core values expressed as commitments: -

• to working with the poor; to pursue justice;
• to serve Jesus;
• to be obedient to the teaching of the bible;
• to prayer;
• to integrity of good relationships and affirm God’s concern for the spiritual, physical, mental, social, economic and emotional well being of all people.

Yes, Micah Challenge UK is part of an international Micah Challenge that aims to build a global movement to mobilise Christians against poverty.

The Global movement has a focus on the Millennium Development Goals.

There are currently 31 different national Micah Challenges in existence, and a further 4 currently being formed and 10 more due to be formed in 2007.

Of these 45 countries, 16 could be described as Developed or Northern countries, 29 as developing or Southern countries.

God calls on people to speak out against the injustice of poverty and to take action to aid and defend the poor are themes throughout the bible.

The key biblical reference, which gives the movement its name is Micah 6:8

Other key verses from Old Testament prophets that echo this message are Isaiah 58:6-12. Further biblical passages include Matthew 25.34-36; Luke 4.18,19; Galatians 2.10; James 2.14-17.

In the UK, the initial audience is those Christians that participated in the Make Poverty History campaign and now want some way of maintaining the momentum developed.

The UK church is the wider audience for Micah Challenge UK. Micah Challenge UK does not actively seek to target the wider UK civil society, but welcomes its participation or independent activity addressing the same issues.

Within the UK a number of groups have been working on this initiative for some time. They include: - Tearfund, World Vision, Evangelical Alliance, Alpha/HTB, Shaftsbury Society, Faithworks, Global Connections, ACEA, Christian Medical Fellowship, New Frontiers International and BMS World Mission among others.

Leaders of these organisations have united behind this initiative.

The governance Board of Directors is made up of:-

• Matthew Frost (Tearfund) – Chair
• Charles Badenoch (World Vision)
• Paul Cowley (HTB / Alpha)
• Malcolm Duncan (Faithworks)
• Joel Edwards (Evangelical Alliance)
• Jill Garner (Shaftsbury Society)

An Executive team is in place made up of the organisations committed to this initiative. A Secretariat has been established to drive forward and co-ordinate the work The Council of Reference (CoR) is a group of people who endorse and support the Micah Challenge movement.

Their main purpose is to:-

• To act as wise counsellors to the Board of Directors and Micah Challenge secretariat.
• To publicly endorse Micah Challenge, its vision and aims.

They endorse the Micah Challenge movement, have signed the Micah Call and are willing to become participate in its activities. They also encourage others to do likewise.

The Council of Reference is just being put together but already several people have agreed to join as they are already committed to the aims of Micah Challenge.

[See the current list of Council Members]

The aim is to reach, the UK Christian church, this is necessarily inclusive. Though there may be different denominational / organisational perspectives, what will unite the group is their common belief in tackling issues of poverty and its injustice as an expression of their Christian faith.

The Micah Call is an initial expression of support for the principles of Micah Challenge.

It is also a demonstration of a readiness to be informed of how to be involved.

The number of individuals that sign up for the Micah Call may be used as part of lobbying campaigns.

Download the Micah Call Statement 2 slide narrated PowerPoint presentation (2.79MB zip file)

That Micah Challenge is seen as the most exciting expression of the UK Christian Church in matters of Poverty and Injustice. Its collective representation of over a million UK Christians reflects a large proportion of civil society which gives it greater influence at policy level to bring about the changes it seeks to address.

That the leaders of the major church and Christian faith based organisations are supporting their constituencies to address issues of poverty and injustice.

A "Blow the Whistle" campaign aimed at drawing attention to how well (poorly) the MDGs are being met. This will be geared to an event end May / Early June 2007 prior to the G8 meeting top be held in Germany (where "global poverty" is already tabled as an agenda issue). The Blow the Whistle campaign is aimed at reminding our government of the promises it made to the poor and to hold them to account for delivering these promises.

Micah Sunday in October each year will become a focal point for speaking about the aims and activity of Micah Challenge and to give people an opportunity to become involved.

No it is not exclusively about international poverty. The injustice of poverty affects people in the UK and for this reason; domestic poverty issues are ones this movement aims to address.

1. Issues of poverty have not gone away since the end of Make Poverty History.
2. Micah Challenge UK is an ecumenical movement to ignite and fuel Christians’ passion to address the issues and injustice of poverty.
3. Micah Challenge UK seeks to unite Christians to speak out against these issues with a common voice.
4. Each of us has a responsibility.
5. Micah Challenge UK will be leading a "Blow the Whistle" campaign to highlight what can and must be done about achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
6. Micah Challenge UK is united with other Micah Challenges around the world in seeking governments fulfil their public promises to achieve the Millennium Development Goals and so halve absolute global poverty by 2015.

• It is a global movement uniting rich countries and poor to hold their political leaders to account.
• It aims to galvanise Christians to speak out and take action.
• It unifies Christians to a common purpose.
• It aims to support and promote other campaigns that are in line with its goals rather than replace them.
• It encourages individuals down a gradual path of activism.
• It runs to at least 2015.
• Though it calls political leaders to account it does not attack, it seeks to work with governments to achieve its goals.

Yes, it is free to individuals.

In these early days of developing a broad involvement in the movement those organisations already committed have chosen to support the work with financial, personnel, expertise and time commitments.

As the movement gathers momentum and specific initiatives and campaigns are driven forward a firmer base will be required. Such structures will be considered over the coming months. In the meantime resources will be sought from all participants.

At least until the end of 2015. It is not a single campaign but a movement whose campaigns have a common goal.

A passion to alleviate the injustice and suffering of those in poverty does not come and go with fashion as it didn’t when Make Poverty History ended. Passion remains strong in the heart.

Participation, it is recognised, will peak and trough over time. The movement will have campaigns that raise the issues at key moments and then drop back, only to resurface again later at another key moment. It is hoped that people will be galvanised into widespread, united action and participation at these times. Between these peaks of united activity, individuals will be encouraged to support the multiplicity of activities with common goals being taken forward by initiatives being promoted by the participating members of Micah Challenge UK.

The next key focus for Micah Challenge UK is the "Blow the Whistle" campaign which will draw attention to the global achievement of the MDG as well as the UK’s contribution to this. It will be geared to a high profile event in Mid May 2007 prior to the G8 meeting. Micah Challenge UK aims to have a series of events in the run up to galvanise support throughout the wider Christian community in the UK.

Key milestones include:-

• Micah Sunday 15 Oct 2006 (just before the global White Band Day 17th Oct).
• Launch of Blow the Whistle campaign. Start 2007.
• High level Church leaders meeting with Government (Jan-May period).
• Blow the Whistle Sunday (late May).
• G8 event (between 27th May and 3rd June).

During July 2007 we will arrive at 'half time' – half way to delivering the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015 and an ideal time to put the spotlight on Governments and their performance to date. To do this, Micah Challenge will be running a global 'Blow the Whistle' campaign to scrutinise the half time scores, the performance of the players - and so encourage global, G8 and national leaders to honour the promises they made to the world. The 'Blow the Whistle' campaign will resurface periodically at other key campaigning moments on the journey to 2015.

Micah Sunday is an annual event whereby churches are encouraged to consider their personal and corporate response to issues of poverty and injustice.

• To make Christians more aware of the issues of poverty and injustice and how this relates to their personal Christian faith.
• To challenge and encourage Christians to stand up and speak out for those who live in poverty or under the oppression of injustice.
• To raise awareness of Micah Challenge the movement.
• To inform people of the campaigning activity of Micah Challenge ( In 2007 the Blow the Whistle campaign and the various events in the run up to May 2007) and encourage them to be involved.
• To enable people to feel more ready to take a small, progressive step down the route of activism.
• To provide people with information on how to get additional resources.
• To convince people that their personal participation is valid and will have a positive impact.

Micah Sunday is on

• October 15th 2006.
• October 14th 2007.
• October 12th 2008.

We are encouraging people to run a Micah Challenge event between the Micah Sunday dates shown above and the end of the year.

The 2006 materials are also available on-line without the October 15th date.

[Micah Sunday Resources]

Use the materials to engage your church in the issues of poverty and injustice.

Encourage people to sign the Micah Call (on-line ideally!).

[Participate in Micah Sunday]
[Sign the Micah Call]

Each year high quality resources will be made available.

Many are available for downloads from the website. They include:-

• "Stand up and Speak out" DVD – available upon request (email: enquiries@micahchallenge.org.uk), or download it
• Wallet/Purse reminder cards: available upon request (email: enquiries@micahchallenge.org.uk). Micah 6:8 verse and a reminder to Pray Hard: Stand Up: Speak Out (Business card sized).
• Micah Call sign up sheet (downloadable for reproduction).
• Micah Sunday – explanation and suggested prayers.

In 2006 there has been insufficient time for us to have the materials out well in advance. In subsequent years similar materials will be available in good time.

In 2000 world leaders, including the UK, committed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger by 2015. 2007 marks the half-way point to the fulfilment of the MDGs, and it’s time to Blow the Whistle to ensure our Government and others the world over honour their promises.

Since 2000, poverty and poverty-related issues have sprung up on government agendas worldwide, as the 2005 G8 meeting in Edinburgh clearly demonstrated. Yet progress has been poor and in many areas the situation is worse than before. In sub-Saharan Africa, for example, more people suffer from hunger now than in 2000.

We have a long way to go to turn this tide around but it can be done - with determination and resolve, and if citizens demand it of their governments.

Blow the Whistle at Halftime is calling on our Government and the international community to look at the half-time scores and resolve to turn this match around so that we really do halve extreme poverty and hunger for the world’s poor by 2015.

This campaign is directed first and foremost at our Government and Christians here in the UK.

We want to remind Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Secretary of State for International Development Hilary Benn that we care about the world’s poorest people. We want to hold them to account on their promises to the poor and urge them to hold other world leaders to account in also playing their parts to fulfil the MDGs by 2015.

As Christians, we want to remind ourselves that we have a part to play in delivering these promises to the poor. God cares deeply about the poor. This is a theme that runs throughout the Bible and Christians are called to accompany faith with action; all Christians should get involved with Blow the Whistle as an expression of their faith and an outworking of their inner beliefs. Not only can we campaign, but we can also pray, learn more, give and get involved so that as individuals, churches and communities we can make a real difference.

Finally, Micah Challenge is reaching out to everyone; everyone who believes that global poverty is wrong and wants to do something about it has a part to play.

There are two great opportunities to build upon at this time. Firstly, huge energy was generated by the Make Poverty History campaign – if we do not act now this energy will be lost.

Make Poverty History had a massive impact on both the G8 leaders and the wider public - 88% of the UK public were aware of the campaign. The active role of the churches was widely acknowledged in the MPH evaluation report as absolutely central to the success of the campaign. Micah Challenge UK is setting out to harness and refocus the energy, passion and commitment of the hundreds of thousands of Christians that found in the MPH campaign a way to take effective action against the injustices of poverty.

Secondly, 2007 is ‘half-time’ – the half-way point to delivering the MDGs in 2015 and an ideal time to put the spotlight on governments and their performance to date. To do this, Micah Challenge is running a global ‘Blow the Whistle’ campaign to scrutinise the half time scores and the performance of the players - and so encourage global, G8 and national leaders to honour the promises they made to the world’s poorest.

The Blow the Whistle campaign aims to ensure that the UK Government does all it can to fulfil its role in achieving the MDGs by removing unjust trade barriers and influencing other global leaders to affect change.

As part of the “Blow the Whistle” campaign we have five specific areas we want to focus on because they are urgent and because the UK government can do something to meet these requests.

The five specific areas are:

HIV and AIDS
Ensure money and plans are in place to deliver HIV prevention, treatment and care for all by 2010.

Water and Sanitation
Ensure that the G8 agree a robust Global Action Plan on water and sanitation and then work hard to implement it.

Stop Climate Chaos
Ensure that the UK’s Climate Change Bill includes an annual target of reducing domestic carbon emissions by at least 3%.

Trade Justice
Ensure regional trade agreements such as the EU's Economic Partnership Agreements help bring about trade justice.

Inclusive Education
Ensure the inclusion of disabled children within national education plans.

Blow the Whistle will be launched in the UK on 15 March as just one of a series of campaigns that Micah Challenge UK will run right up to the rally in London on 2 June in advance of the G8 meeting (being held in Germany 6-8 June).

Here’s how you can participate in 'Blow the Whistle':

• Send a “Blow the Whistle” postcard to the Prime Minister (available on our website or through your church).
• Write to your MP , Hilary Benn or Tony Blair about the injustice of global poverty (Blow the Whistle will have a particular focus on this in April)
• Sign the Micah Call – this is a declaration to join the global movement to halve absolute poverty and hunger.
• Put 20 May in your diary – this is the date when churches around the UK will be focussing in global poverty issues and praying for the forthcoming G8 meeting.
• Put 2 June in your diary – this is the date for the UK public mobilisation planned ahead of this year's G8 Summit (London)
• Keep informed : check out and bookmark www.micahchallenge.org.uk
• Get hold of a “Blow the Whistle” white whistle – let’s make some noise!

With the G8’s meetings taking place from Wednesday 6 to Friday 8 June, Micah Challenge will be a strong Christian presence at the planned GCAP rally in London on Saturday 2 June. GCAP is the Global Call to Action against Poverty and Micah Challenge is an integral member of its steering team, the International Facilitation Group.