As we have all been taught from the first semester of our first year, addressing the injustices of our world is essential to the coming Kingdom of God. We seldom realize that if we neglect our call to fight injustice, we only allow it to prosper.
“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” eighteenth century philosopher Edmund Burke said.
We read stories, see documentaries and hear statistics, but nothing gets done. The question always lingers; how can I, a very poor, very busy college student, help free child slaves or rescue forced prostitutes on the other side of the globe?
Pray, educate, and fundraise. Quite appropriately, this is the three-fold purpose of the Eastern University chapter of International Justice Mission.
Throughout the school year, a group of about 15 students involved with the IJM campus chapter meet weekly to pray for injustices around the world, to plan fundraisers to support IJM’s operations and to educate both themselves and the community on the modern day injustices.
The importance of prayer in relation to IJM is put in perspective with the following statement: “Prayer is foundational to the work of IJM. It is the vehicle through which we draw the courage to stand for justice and the strength to serve as advocates for the oppressed.”
As a campus chapter, we believe prayer is the most beneficial way to help IJM. It is through God’s grace that brothels are raided, slaves are freed and the perpetrators are brought to justice.
Education is a crucial part of what the IJM chapter does on campus. One of the most effective ways to make a difference is to impact others by sharing the work of IJM. Stories of little girls being put into brothels can be a motivation for people to stand up and make a difference.
Eastern is a justice-saturated campus, yet so many people sit back and do nothing. Through education we hope to enlighten people, but, more importantly, to fire people up and get them passionate about justice.
Fundraising is another important part of the makeup of the campus chapter. It allows the group to see tangible results by delivering a check at the end of each school year.
It is often challenging to feel a strong connection with IJM’s work since it is strictly international in places with corrupt governments and judicial systems. The work the campus chapter does throughout the year, paired with hand delivering the check to the corporate office, builds a bridge between the corporate office and our campus chapter.
This interaction provides the group with the drive and encouragement necessary to continue activities for the next school year.
An event to look out for is Loose Change to Loosen Chains, which will be held on March 16 at 9 p.m. when IJM group members will be knocking on doors collecting change.