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20.2020Project Building Bridges with Civic Leaders
12 December 2011
Why is the local church in Europe not asked to play a significant role in healing broken societies - especially when political figures from all major parties recognize that we face huge social challenges?
This was the core question put by Mal Fletcher to an invited group of church leaders in London last week.
'The answer,' he suggested, 'is partly that those in the top-tier of civic leadership have little or no direct experience of what the local church has to offer them.'
'The people who control finance and development and, to a large degree, shape culture, are not aware that the church can add value to what they do - in decision-making and dealing with the challenges they face on a daily basis.'
The 20.2020Project is a programme developed and sponsored by Next Wave International in collaboration with 2020Plus.
One of its goals is to build bridges of trust between civic and church leaders, which will enable each to bring positive social change.
The project will work with 20 carefully selected, strategic church groups in 20 cities across Europe.
Already, it is showing very positive results. (See our report on the recent 2020Plus Civic and Business Leaders events in Stoke-on-Trent, UK and developments re the forthcoming event in Norwich, UK).
Last week's meeting in London brought together senior leaders from seven highly strategic and resourceful churches across the UK.
Some of these leaders are already well on the way with the project. Mal shared the history of the project, which has been developed and trialled 'on the ground' over a period of 3 years and hosted a roundtable discussion of major social problems facing British cities.
'We're already seeing some real breakthroughs in terms of links between churches and top-level civic authorities - but there's a long way to go. Churches have so much to give that will add value to the work of key civic figures in business, education, healthcare and local government and its agencies,' said Mal.
'It's high time good churches had a seat at the top table, where decisions are made that either increase or decrease the quality of people's lives.'
Watch this space for more on the project over the coming months.
Visit YouTube.com/MalFletcher or 2020Plus.net for clips from 2020Plus Civic & Business Leaders events.
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