Campus Chapter

Tool Kit

International Justice Mission

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 Table of Contents

Introduction……………………………………………………………………………
…..2
What is
IJM?..........................................................................................................
.................................4
Injustice
101………………………………………………………………………………..5
Chapter Formation Check
List……………………………………………………………10
Chapter Leadership
Structure……………………………………………………………...12
Team
Building…………………………………………………………………………….15
Pray……………………………………………………………………………………….
16
Pay……………………………………………………………………………………...…
21
Participate……………………………………………………………………………….
...24
Promote…………………………………………………………………………………..
.26
Prepare……………………………………………………………………………………
28
Persevere………………………………………………………………………………
….35
Appendix A: Fundraising
Ideas…………………………………………………………....37
Appendix B: Devotional
Selections………………………………………………………..41
Appendix C: Justice
Scriptures…………………………………………………………….42

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Hello from International Justice Mission!

It is so exciting to us that you have decided to start an IJM Campus

Chapter on your college campus. I truly believe that God is raising up
students to be the catalysts for huge change in our world as they come
to understand His heart for justice and answer the call to seek justice
with their lives. By desiring to start a Campus Chapter, you are a
catalyst for change, and I am excited to see how God is going to use
you on your campus.

In this Tool Kit, you will get a picture of what an IJM Campus Chapter
looks like. You will also get practical tips and tools which will help your
group be successful. It is meant to be a guide and resource for you as
your team works together to seek justice. We understand that each
group is different, so feel free to structure your group in the way that
best fits you.

As you do that, I would encourage you to keep in mind these

foundational goals for IJM Campus Chapters:

IJM’s vision is that Campus Chapters will:

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 • Raise up their voices in prayer to intercede on behalf of victims
of abuse and oppression;
• Raise awareness of injustice in our world on their campuses,
churches, and communities;
• Raise understanding of God’s call to everyone to seek justice
with their lives; and
• Raise money to support IJM’s work to bring rescue to more
victims of abuse and oppression in our world.

I hope that this Tool Kit proves to be useful to you as you start out on
this journey with us. My encouragement to you as you embark comes
from 1 Timothy 4:12
“Do not let anyone look down on you because you are
young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in
life, in love, in faith and in purity.”

If you have any questions or need anything from us, please don’t
hesitate to contact me. I would also love to hear how your group is
doing and how we can specifically be praying for you. I can be reached
at 703.465.5495, or via email at ccurrie@ijm.org.

Thank you for your commitment!

Sincerely,

Cheryl Noble
Student Ministries

Why College Students?

College students play a large part in the strategy of International
Justice Mission. We believe that students are at a particularly unique
stage in their lives when they can be most open and ready to answer
God’s call to seek justice for the oppressed in our world. One of the
greatest hindrances to the biblical work of justice is fear – fear of
discomfort, fear of having to step out of our comfort zones, fear of
stepping out the current responsibilities that take up our time and
energy (see Luke 9:57-62). God calls us to a life of courage,
adventure, and abandon to His will in our lives. And, the honest truth
is that this gets harder and harder as we get older and more set in our
careers, families, and responsibilities. As students, a whole realm of
possibilities is before you. You can easily dream big with God and have
the freedom to serve him with reckless abandon.

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IJM firmly believes that today’s students are tomorrow’s heroes of the
faith that will “preach good news to the poor,…to bind up the broken
hearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from
darkness for the prisoners” (Isaiah 61:1-3, NIV). Our hope is that you
will start on this journey today, and that you will let God use you to call
others to the work as well.

What is a Campus Chapter?

An IJM Campus Chapter is a group of students concerned about issues
of injustice that desire to work together to be agents of change in a
world of suffering by raising awareness on their campuses and in their
communities of the reality of injustice, by praying for victims of
injustice, and by participating in the work of justice by raising money,
preparing for how God has called them to be involved in the work of
justice, and persevering in their efforts to serve the oppressed. These
groups come in all different shapes and sizes, as the students on each
college campus are uniquely suited to do different things. All groups
look different – some consist of two people who meet together to pray
for issues of injustice, others are large, active clubs on their campuses,
while others are parts of larger campus ministries such as InterVarsity,
Campus Crusade, etc…Whatever your group looks like, know that
showing up on behalf of the victims of abuse and oppression is the
most important step you can take. Edmund Burke said, “All that is
necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” By
starting a Campus Chapter, you have already decided to do something.

What does a Campus Chapter do?

There are six specific things we are asking you to do as an IJM Campus
Chapter, what we like to call the “6 Ps”:
• Pray
• Pay
• Participate
• Promote
• Prepare
• Persevere
The following pages will provide ideas on how to do these six things.

What is IJM?

International Justice Mission (IJM) began operations in 1997 when a

group of human rights professionals, lawyers and public officials
launched an extensive study of the injustices witnessed by overseas

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missionaries and relief and development workers. The study surveyed
65 overseas ministries representing 40,000 overseas workers and
found that almost 100 percent were aware of abuses of power by
police and other authorities in the communities where they served.
These overseas workers, however, did not have the resources or
expertise to confront the abusive authorities and bring rescue to the
victims. They required the assistance of trained public justice
professionals to meet these needs. Accordingly, IJM was established to
help the Christian community “seek justice, rescue the oppressed,
defend the orphan (and) plead for the widow” (Isaiah 1:17).

Based on case referrals from overseas workers, IJM mobilizes its

human rights experts, attorneys and law enforcement professionals to
conduct confidential investigations of the abuses. Then IJM mobilizes
interventions that bring the perpetrators to justice, provides care for
the victims and encourages structural changes to prevent these
abuses from happening again. In addition, IJM partners with local
ministries and churches to ensure effective and appropriate aftercare
for the victims that will help them heal spiritually, emotionally,
physically, mentally and economically.

In recent months, IJM has focused its operations on issues of child

bonded slavery in South Asia, forced child prostitution in South Asia
and Thailand, police abuses against street children in Bolivia, and
illegal detention of men and women in Kenya. IJM has established
eight operational field offices in South Asia (2), Kenya, Zambia,
Uganda, Guatemala, Cambodia, the Philippines and Thailand. These
offices manage the day-to-day docket of human rights cases in their
area and train local justice professionals in the investigation,
documentation and intervention practices and procedures of an
effective justice agency.

IJM is determined to bring the church into a new awareness of the

strong biblical mandate to seek justice, of the innumerable cases of
manifest injustice that exist in the world, and of the amazing
opportunities to correct these injustices by the diligent application of
professional training and expertise. IJM is determined to respond to
the call to justice by mounting successful interventions on behalf of
victims of oppression and injustice worldwide. As a faith agency, IJM is
determined to pursue this mission in humility and prayer, maintaining
a vigorous and growing prayer ministry in support of its efforts.

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 Injustice 101
What is Injustice?
“If we ask God to give us an understanding of injustice, He will grant
our
prayer and transform us in the process.”
Gary Haugen

Before we can fully understand what needs to be done to fight in

justice in our world, it is important to have an understanding of just
exactly what the problem is that we’re confronting. For a more
detailed explanation of injustice and how God is calling us to respond
to it, read Gary Haugen’s Good News About Injustice. But, provided
here is an overview of the basic components of injustice.

Injustice can be defined as when power is misused to take from others

what God has given them, namely, their life, dignity, liberty or the
fruits of their love and labor. Injustice can come in many forms, but
there are two basic components involved in each case:
• Coercion – compelling or constraining of a person to act against
his or her free will – usually by physical force, the threat of force
or the threat of some other dire consequence, and
• Deception – oppressors lying to take advantage of their victims,
or to cover up their crimes.

One example of a case in which you can clearly see both components
is that of Shama. Shama was an eight-year-old girl living in South Asia
when her mother developed complications with a pregnancy. Her
family didn’t have enough money to pay the $25 needed for medical
care, so they had to go to the local mudalali, or money lender, for a
loan. He agreed to lend them the money, but Shama’s father had to
sell her into servitude, manufacturing cigarettes for the mudalali.
Shama was required to work 12 hours a day, six days a week, rolling
cigarettes to earn money to pay back her family’s loan. At the end of
each week, the mudalali paid her the wages she had earned – about
fifty cents. Shama was required to roll a certain number of cigarettes a
day, or else be beaten

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At a moment of economic and medical crisis, the mudalali coerced
Shama’s family into selling her into servitude. The threat the mudalali
issued was this: sell Shama to him, or go without medical care. Of
course, the mudalali determines the wages, so he will never pay
Shama enough to actually pay him back. And, he used coercive force
in threatening to beat Shama if she didn’t produce the amount of
cigarettes he needed. Another catch is that the loan had to paid back
to him in a lump sum. If Shama were to save all her wages, it would
take her a year to accumulate the total amount of the loan. But, since
her family was so poor, they desperately needed that money she
earned in order to survive, so she was unable to save.

Additionally, the mudalali deceived Shama’s family by charging

hidden, exorbitant interest rates, making it impossible to ever fully pay
off the debt. As a result, Shama had spent two years of her childhood
sitting on a dusty floor, rolling thousands, possibly millions of
cigarettes for the mudalali to profit off of.

As you can see, the oppressor in this case took advantage of his power
over Shama and her vulnerable family to take her freedom and the
fruits of her labor for his own profit.

Unfortunately, there is injustice happening all over the world, in many

different ways. Other examples of oppression include:
• Abusive child labor: depriving children of health, safety, and
wholeness by forcing them to work for unfair wages or in
dangerous conditions
• Abusive police or military actions: unauthorized use of power
by police or soldiers against law-abiding people
• Child pornography: sexualized images of children for adult
gratification
• Child prostitution: forcing children to engage in sex acts with
adults
• Corrupt seizure of property: taking property from its rightful
owner by force, intimidation, or dirty dealing
• Corruption of justice and intimidation: unlawful use of
courts and governmental bodies
• Execution without lawful charge or trial
• Extorting or withholding wages: depriving workers of rightful
payment
• Commercial sexual exploitation: forcing adults to engage in
sex acts against their will
• Forced migration: unlawful eviction and relocation
• Genocide
• Kidnapping or detaining without lawful charge or trial
• Murder of street children

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 • Racial or ethnic violence: unlawful violence against persons
because of racial or ethnic characteristics
• State, rebel, or paramilitary terrorism: unlawful use of
sudden force against non-military targets
• State-sponsored religious persecution
• State-supported discrimination and abuse: legal but unjust
actions against law-abiding citizens or immigrants
• Torture: individualized cruelty and mutilation to detained
persons

The sad, overwhelming truth is that injustices such as these are

happening on a grand scale the world over. It’s estimated that there
are more than 27 million people held in slavery in the world. UNICEF
estimates that there are more than 1 million new children forced into
prostitution every year. In the developing world, it has been estimated
that 40% of women and girls have been sexually assaulted. Between
50-80% of prisoners in developing countries are being held without
charge. And, the list could go on and on as we see example after
example of the depth of evil in our world.

Coming face to face with the reality of evil in the world can paralyze us
with despair. The numbers are so large, the problem is so
overwhelming; how do we even know where to start to respond? The
good news is that we have a God who cares about injustice, and has a
plan to end it.

What Does God Say About Injustice?

The quick answer to this question is, a lot! Both the Old and New
Testaments are filled with verses and passages about the reality of
injustice, God’s feelings about it, how we are called to respond to evil
and God’s encouragement to us as we face the brutality of oppression
in our world (see injustice Scriptures in Appendix B)

The sad truth is that injustice has been a part of our world since
ancient times. Unfortunately, ever since Adam and Eve ate of the
forbidden fruit in the Garden of Eden, humanity has been living in a
fallen nature. In His great love for us, and in His great desire to be
loved by us, God gives us the freedom to choose to love and follow
Him, or to choose to sin against Him. The burden of this freedom is
that humankind has the capacity to bring great pain and oppression to
their fellow man. Once sin was allowed to enter the world, all hell
broke loose – literally. Injustice is a real part of the fallen world we live
in today. God’s word says, “If you see the poor oppressed in a district,
and justice and rights denied, do not be surprise at such things”
Ecclesiastes 5:8. The Biblical writers were moved by the Spirit of God
to write about the reality of injustice in the world:

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 “The wicked have drawn the sword and bent the bow to bring
down the poor and needy.” (Psalm 37:14)

“The people of the land practice extortion and commit robbery;

they oppress the poor and needy and mistreat the alien, denying
them justice.”(Ezekiel 22:29)

“They cast lots for my people and traded boys for prostitutes;
they sold girls for wine that they might drink.” (Joel 3:3)

“He [Ammon] ripped open the pregnant women of Gilead in

order to extend his borders.” (Amos 1:13)

The pictures created by these verses seem all too familiar to the
pictures and stories we see and see hear on the news today. Often,
after we put down the newspaper, switch the channel, or turn off the
radio, it doesn’t take too long for us to forget about the plight of the
oppressed in our world and get on with our own lives. Fortunately, we
have a God who cares desperately about the suffering of His creation,
and who is intimately aware of their pain.

Our God is a God that loves justice, and hates injustice. Scripture
shows over and over again God’s concern for the poor and oppressed.
He sees the suffering of the oppressed, hears their cries for relief, and
He cares deeply for them.
“But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take
it in hand. The victim commits himself to You; You are the helper
of the fatherless.” (Psalm 10:14)

“The LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!”
(Is. 30:19)

“For I, the LORD, love justice.” (Is. 61:8)

As we come to a deeper understanding of God’s love for justice, we will

get to know Him and His character better as a result. And, that
knowledge will lead us to a desire to join with him in pleading the case
of the oppressed.
“Let him who boasts boast about this: that he understands and
knows me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice
and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight.” (Jeremiah
9:23 – 24)

“‘Did not your father…do justice and righteousness? Then it was

will with him. He pled the cause of the afflicted and needy; then

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 it was well. Is not that what it means to know me?’ Declares the
LORD.” (Jeremiah 22:15 – 16)

“The evil do not understand justice, but those who seek the
LORD understand it completely.” (Proverbs 28:5)

Now we know that injustice is real and an important aspect of God’s

character is that He cares deeply about the oppressed. So, what is
God going to do about it? What’s His plan to bring relief to the many
who are suffering in our world? The answer is, that WE are the plan.

The questions that come as a response to that are natural: How can I
possibly make a difference in something so horrible? How is God going
to use me when I have so little to give? What good am I going to do in
a problem involving millions of people? Why can’t God just rescue all
those suffering from oppression Himself?

God’s Plan

For a reason that we won’t be able to fully understand this side of

eternity, God has chosen to have His people work with Him to bring
justice to victims of oppression. He’s been doing it forever. The truth
is that He calls all people to seek justice for the abused and suffering in
our world.
“Learn to do good, seek justice, rescue the oppressed, defend
the orphan, plead for the widow.” (Isaiah 1:17)

“I searched for a man among them who would build up the wall
and stand in the gap before Me for the land, so that I would not
destroy it, but I found none.” (Ezekiel 22:30)

“He has told you, oh mortal, what is good; and what does the
LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and
to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8)

It is incredible that the God of the Universe gives us a short list of three
things that He requires of us, and that list begins with justice. The
Bible couldn’t be more clear about God’s call for His people to join with
Him as he brings relief to the suffering.

The good news about this is that all God asks of us is that we give Him
what we have. He doesn’t expect us to do miracles. He asks us to
place the meager skills, talents, money, influence – whatever we have
– at His feet to use for His purposes. A great example of God doing just
this is the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand (Mark 6:30 – 44).

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Jesus had been preaching on the hillside all day. The Bible only takes
into account the 5,000 men in attendance that day, but we can safely
assume there were a large number of women and children present as
well, adding thousands to the total number of people there. As the day
wore on, the people naturally become hungry and the disciples advised
Jesus to send them home so they could get something to eat. Seems
like a rather rational solution to the problem. But, Jesus’ response to
His disciples was, “You give them something to eat.” One can imagine
the disbelief of the disciples as they explained to Jesus that it would
take more than a month’s wages to feed all these people.

Again, Jesus response is surprising. He turned to the disciples and

asked what they had. Sheepishly, or maybe haughtily, they responded
that all they had were five loaves of bread and two fish, not even close
to enough to make a dent in the task of feeding the throng of people
before them. But, as we know, Jesus took that little amount of food,
blessed it, and He and the disciples were able to feed everyone there
and have more left over at the end then they originally had at the
beginning. The lesson is that Jesus took the little the disciples had and
used it to perform a miracle in feeding the 5,000.

God is asking all of us the same question He asked the disciples, “What do you have?”
When we compare the vast need for justice in the world - 10 million people are in bonded
labor in India, an estimated 1 million children are trapped into the sex trade every year –
when we compare that need with what little we have to give, it looks so impossible, and
we think that there’s nothing we can do about it.

Jesus knows the problem of injustice is too big for us to fix with our five loaves and two
fish, but He wants us to give what we do have to Him, because He’s big enough to use
the little we have to make the impossible possible. He wants to use our gifts, talents, and
resources to do His miracles on this earth.

The outcome of this story in the Bible is that every single individual on that hillside was
given enough to eat. The outcome of God’s people offering what they have to Him to
fight injustice will be that individual lives will be freed from the bonds of oppression.

At IJM, our prayer is that, as college students, you will give what you
have to God and watch Him perform miracles with it. We see them
everyday at IJM. This Tool Kit is designed to provide you with practical
ways you can join with God to “rescue the oppressed.”

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 Chapter Formation Check List

By the time you receive this Tool Kit you have:

• Learned about and established an interest in IJM;

• Prayed for God’s direction in your decision to establish a campus
chapter at your
• school;
• Declared your intentions to start a chapter to IJM and, by doing
so, requested this
• toolkit.

Now you need to:

□ Register on Campus
□ New chapter groups should register with the student life or
student organization office on campus. It will then have support,
credibility and access to services that a university can offer.
□ Find a Faculty Sponsor to Support Your Chapter
□ See “Chapter Leadership Structure.” This person will play the
important roles of advisor and ambassador for your Chapter.
□ Choose Leadership Team Members
□ See “Chapter Leadership Structure.” Each position has specific
responsibilities but works closely with the others.
□ Establish Regular Meetings
□ Regular meetings provide reliable communication with all
chapter members. Time can be spent planning, educating
members, getting to know one another, and building a sense of
community surrounded by a common goal.
□ Plan Activities
□ A calendar of chapter activities should be created and distributed
to all members. Each activity should support the goals of IJM or
help strengthen the chapter. Leaders should provide specific
objectives, clear communication, and delegation of duties.
□ Maintain Excellence
□ Each chapter is expected to uphold the value of excellence in all
endeavors, conducting all business and activities professionally.
Any communication piece (t-shirt, brochure, or poster, etc. using

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 IJM’s seal, name, photograph, or story) must be approved by IJM
Headquarters. Please email chapters@ijm.org for approval.
□ Maintain Contact with IJM
□ IJM wants to know about what you are doing, any difficulties or
prayer requests that arise, and any praises and joys you
encounter. Your experiences encourage both IJM staff as well as
set an example for other chapters.

Gaining Support

By gaining support on campus, your Chapter will have more resources

available to you to help you be more successful. Below are some ideas
of how to gain this support. Talk to your Student Life Office to explore
ways your specific school can offer their support to your Chapter.

Become a recognized campus organization. This generally allows you

to use campus facilities and advertise meetings and events on campus.
It gives credibility to your chapter.
Align your IJM chapter with the student government or other
preexisting organizations on your campus. This provides you with
many resources, such as people, money and knowledge of how to get
things done at your school. Campus activity groups may even sponsor
fundraising events for you. Don’t forget about social clubs and/or
sororities and fraternities. Many groups specifically seek out service
opportunities.
Talk to professors on campus, especially in departments with interests
similar to IJM (social work, law, political science, theology,
communications), about the opportunity for student involvement.
Faculty members can provide great leverage and exposure for human
rights and justice issues to students and other faculty and staff.

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 Chapter Leadership Structure

Role of the Leadership Team

The major function of the leadership team is to develop the vision,

goals, plans and strategies to serve as change agents through the
chapter program on each campus. As change agents, this team
challenges, teaches, motivates and inspires the faculty, staff and
student body with a vision for the need and opportunity to seek justice
in the world.

By developing and implementing the plans and strategies that

encourage widespread involvement in the work of justice through
prayers, financial support, research and volunteer involvement, the
leadership team will change the way the campus and community
regard Christians as followers of Christ who live out a faith that is
active and relevant.

Leadership Team Possibilities

Your leadership team should be structured to meet the unique goals,

objectives, atmosphere and culture of your campus and chapter.
Listed below are some possible positions to include on your leadership
team depending on the size, complexity and focuses of your program.
You may include some or all the positions, and you may have one or
many students serving in each role.

President

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This position oversees and coordinates the activities of the
chapter and monitors the use of funds. The president may serve
as the representative for the chapter to the college campus
(school administration/faculty, student government, etc.), the
local community (churches, businesses, other schools) and to
IJM.

Vice President
This position assists the president in the development,
implementation and evaluation of the vision and goals for the
chapter. This position can represent the president in his or her
absence.

Secretary
This position maintains the records, minutes and details of
meetings. The secretary maintains the list of chapter members
and their contact information, is responsible for dissemination of
information to the group, and writes and distributes the chapter
newsletter, should one be implemented. Other administrative
responsibilities may be assigned as needed.

Treasurer
This position helps develop the chapter budget, develops
strategies for fundraising and maintains the chapter’s accounts.
This person must operate in full understanding of the principle of
biblical stewardship and be able to teach others about
stewardship.

Publicity Coordinator(s)
This position oversees, coordinates and implements advertising
and public relations efforts for chapter activities and recruitment.

Prayer Coordinator(s)
This position encourages individuals, small groups and the
campus as a whole to pray on a regular basis for the work of
justice and the victims of oppression, especially those served by
IJM. Working in the very heart of darkness, IJM relies heavily on
prayer support to know that God is going before, during and after
us.
Note: IJM will provide monthly Prayer Updates as a
resource.

Education Coordinator(s)

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 This position helps the chapter, the campus and/or the
community understand a) what constitutes injustice, b) specific
injustices occurring in the world, c) God’s passion for justice and
His heart for these victims, and d) things that can be done to
seek justice and rescue the oppressed.

Fundraising/Special Events Coordinator(s)

This position develops and implements methods to raise funds
for IJM, and the IJM Campus Chapter. This can be done through
special events, special offerings and budget line-item gifts.

Volunteer Involvement Coordinator(s)

This position develops ways that individuals and groups can use
their skills, gifts and talents to serve God’s passion for justice
and serve the victims of abuse and injustice in our world through
their active and hands-on involvement. The goal is to give all
members an opportunity to contribute to the chapter’s success.

Faculty Sponsor

The faculty sponsor plays two key roles: Advisor and Ambassador

Advisor: As students begin projects, the knowledge and

experience of a faculty sponsor is invaluable in guiding and
directing them to ensure success. Advice is not needed for every
detail, nor is the advisor’s presence required at every gathering.
Sponsors should be available to discuss overall goals, and some
particular efforts may require their expertise.

Ambassador: Strong chapters (as with any organization) need

strong and diverse relationships. Chapters need to develop
relationships not only with students but also with faculty and
administrators. Community contacts are helpful as well. The
faculty sponsor can play an important part in helping the chapter
make contacts and develop relationships.

Characteristics of a Faculty Sponsor

Concerned and aware about injustice. The advisor’s dedication

to your school’s campus chapter should stem from their own
passion for the rights of the oppressed and God’s mandate for
his people to care for them.

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Open Christian faith. Because the biblical mandate for justice is
the cornerstone of campus chapters, the advisor should be
comfortable expressing their Christian faith in words and actions.

Knowledgeable about the campus. The advisor is a resource to

talk to and how to get things done on your campus.

Respected by students and other faculty. The advisor helps to

build relationships between administration/faculty and the
chapter.

Team Building

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Just like any other group, your Campus Chapter needs time and care
poured into it to be successful. You are working together toward a
common goal of seeking justice for the oppressed in our world. With
that in mind, it is important to make teambuilding a priority, so that
your vision and passion stay intact.

Below are some suggestions on how you can foster team building and
growth in your Chapter:

New Members
Always get contact information from new members, especially
email and addresses.
Communication is key—make contact with new members to
encourage them to be more involved and to let them know how
important their involvement is.

Working Together
Each member needs to feel like they are contributing to the work
of the chapter. Be sure everyone has a task to accomplish—
don’t forget new members in this!
While your chapter should work hard, don’t forget to have fun! A
successful group will take the time to get to know one another
and interact other than just around the task of the group.

Have an IJM Chapter retreat once a year or semester where you

take time to pray together and do planning for the following year
or semester. Make it a productive time but don’t forget the
importance of fellowship.

Effectiveness Tips
• Set a regular meeting time and commit to being there.
• Establish the agenda and the time allotted for the meeting in
advance. Stick to your agenda and honor time commitments.
• Ask that each member arrive to the meeting prepared for his or
her part.
• Pray at the beginning and end of each meeting and as needed to
ensure God’s leading and direction.
• Focus the meetings on big-picture issues, programs or plans—not
on the details of each individual’s area of responsibility.
• Develop a calendar for the year. It is important that you take
time to plan events for the year and a calendar lets everyone
know what to expect and will make things run more smoothly.

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 Prayer

If IJM could ask all our Campus Chapters to do just one thing, it would
be to pray. We truly believe that the real fight against injustice and
oppression in our world is done on our knees.

The work of justice is difficult, and IJM staff around the world need
prayer in order to do their work. 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. The
work of justice to which God calls us is not a work to take lightly – nor
is it a work to enter into blindly. We cannot long endure the dark
places without His strength and provision. Below is a testimony from
one of IJM’s investigators, whose job is to daily confront the evils of
injustice head-on. He knows that the strength and courage to enter
the dark places of the world comes from God. And, he knows that
God’s heart is moved by the prayers of His people.

As IJM investigators, we have the best job in the world. We

get to go into the some of the darkest places on earth and
like a Jedi Knight from Star Wars, we get to shine the light
of Christ and expose the evil that lies there. This work has
inherent risks associated with it because as Jesus said,
“Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come
into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed.”

First, there is the obvious physical danger. In many cases

we operate alone, without backup or outside
communication and we carry equipment that if discovered,
could result in our bodily injury or death. The evidence we
gather represents a serious threat to the powers of
darkness and can result in their long term imprisonment
and/or serious financial loss. We can never completely
trust the local authorities and sometimes when we execute
a raid we aren’t entirely sure whether the local police are
going to help us or shoot us. Please pray that the Lord
would spread His protection over us and surround us as a
shield and that the perpetrators would be blinded to our
true identities and purpose.

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It is not uncommon for us to have to choose from a group
of victims, which ones to rescue. I ask you to imagine for a
moment that you are in a small, hot room somewhere in
South East Asia and that you are standing before 10 little
girls aged 6 to 12 years old. They have pig tails, pretty
dresses and very, very memorable faces. All of them are
being offered to you for their sexual exploitation and
abuse. You are only allowed to choose two girls. How do
you do that? What do you do with the faces of those
children that you did not choose and were not able to
rescue? This unenviable position can affect us greatly so
please pray for our mental health and wellbeing; that we
would take every thought captive to Christ and not be
enslaved by guilt or despair over those that we could not
rescue.

When an investigation is conducted in cooperation with

local authorities, we have to operate within a different
legal system and negotiate various levels of corruption.
Tip offs or some other form of collusion with the
perpetrators sometimes means we arrive at the intended
target only to discover that the victims have been hidden
away in another location. Or it can mean that, having paid
a bribe, the guilty walk free from court. Or even that some
of the victims, having been rescued from the brothels and
other places of slavery, for a number of reasons, choose to
return. Please pray for our emotional health; that we
would have perseverance, hope and courage and that we
would find our identity not through our successes but
through our obedience.

My colleagues and I spend a considerable amount of time

in the seductive and poisonous environments of brothels
and other places of exploitation and death. Please pray for
our spiritual health, that we would be equipped with the
full armor of God, remaining rooted and established in love
and that we would have great wisdom and discernment to
recognize evil in all its forms.

Lastly, please pray for our wives and our children. As you
can imagine, it takes a special woman to allow her
husband to travel half way around the world to spend time
in brothels and strip clubs befriending prostitutes. And it
is confusing for our children that their fathers would choose
to spend so much time away from them on behalf of other
children whom they have never met. Please pray that our

21
 heavenly Father would surround and care for them and
assure them of His unfailing love and faithfulness.

The needs of the victims and IJM staff are real. The power of prayer is
real. And, the God that is moved by prayer is real. By praying for IJM
and the victims we rescue, your Campus Chapter will play a part in
moving the heart of God to hear the cries of the oppressed.

The following are some suggestions on how to establish prayer as a

priority in your Campus Chapter:
• Develop a deeper understanding of prayer
• Become an IJM Prayer Partner
• Attend the IJM Global Prayer Gathering

Understand the Power of Prayer

While we will never fully understand the immense power and influence
of prayer on this side of eternity, it is important that we strive to
develop a deeper understanding of the importance and effects of
prayer in our lives and in the world. Over and over, IJM has seen God
move in miraculous ways on behalf of the oppressed, and we believe
that this is in response to the prayers of His people. IJM would
encourage you to seek out resources to help you and your group take
this journey of understanding together.

The best resource is God’s Word. It shows how God powerfully

responds to the prayers of His people for help and rescue. The Psalms
also provide beautiful examples of authentic prayers of thanksgiving,
praise, desperation, and repentance. God wants us to honestly speak
with Him about the concerns on our hearts, and it is a great privilege
to be able to come to the Almighty Creator of the Universe with all our
prayers and petitions.

The following are meditations on prayer from a dear IJM friend and
prayer partner:

A Note on Prayer

-By the late Vera Shaw, IJM Friend and Prayer Partner

As we recognize many cries for justice, we ask: “Who is sufficient for

these things?” We’re reminded: “Not by might, nor by power, but by
My Spirit, says the Lord” (Zechariah 4:6). With confidence in God, who
loves justice and answers prayer, we can reply, “Not that we are
sufficient of ourselves to think anything of ourselves, but our
sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5).

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PRAYER IS THE HEARTBEAT OF THE SUFFICIENCY OF GOD.
PRAYER IS A LIVING RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR LOVING GOD.

Our busy lives today are so conditioned to depend on impersonal,

technological instruments and “time-saving devices” to make life more
“efficient.” This attitude can spill over into our prayer life. Our prayers
can become rushed and even rote repetitions of our responsibilities!
Such rushed prayer reveals the impersonal barrenness which modern
day busy-ness brings to our prayers, changing our relationship to other
people and to God. Even as we say the right words in prayer, we’re
reminded: “These people honor Me with their lips, but their heart is far
from Me” (Matthew 15:8). God seeks and sees our heart in our
prayers!

LET US REMEMBER WHAT PRAYER MEANS TO GOD.

Often we pray because we “feel like praying,” but when so

overwhelmed that it is difficult to pray, we most need to remember
how much prayer means to God. He has asked us to draw near to Him,
to pour out the earnest needs in our heart, not so concerned for “right
words” but for the right Spirit which rests in His mercy as we draw near
to His Amazing Grace and Awesome Glory.

That His mercy welcomes us is witnessed by the place of prayer in the

temple: prayer at the mercy seat was over the ark containing the
Word of God. His Word is the sound basis on which we come to pray,
acknowledging needs and seeking His sufficiency. As we meet Him in
His Word, our heart is stilled and filled by His Spirit who prays in us
according to God’s will (Romans 8:27).

LET US REMEMBER WHAT JUSTICE MEANS TO GOD.

God’s love for justice is an integral part of the biblical message, an

expression of His character and guideline for our goals. Abraham was
blessed because he knew: “The way of the Lord is to do justly”
(Genesis 18:19). And the psalmist praised God: “Righteousness and
justice are the foundations of Thy throne (Psalm 89:14). To pray and
work for justice honors God’s will in the world.

LET US REMEMBER WHAT PRAYER CAN MEAN TO US.

The meaning of prayer in Jesus’ life awed his disciples. Like them, we
can ask: “Lord, teach us to pray” (Luke 11:1). The Risen Christ, who
ever lives to intercede, asks us to join Him: “Come learn of me…abide
in me…abide in my words…pray in my Name” (John 15:7). In death’s
dark hour, Martha said of Jesus’ prayer life: “Even now whatever you

23
ask of God, He will give you” (John 11:22). Whatever we face, we need
the even now power of Christ in us, grateful that in all these things
(Romans 8:37) we learn the sufficiency of Christ.

IJM Prayer Partners

Prayer Partners play an absolutely vital role in the life and ministry of
IJM. Day after day, thousands of Prayer Partners around the world
intercede on behalf of IJM staff and operations, praise God for the work
He is doing to bring about justice on the earth, lift up the victims of
abuse and oppression, and uphold IJM's partners in ministry. Equipped
with weekly email updates detailing specific prayer requests and
thanksgivings, these co-workers in Christ faithfully carry out a crucial
part of the work we do.

If you would like to participate in the work of IJM by becoming a Prayer

Partner you are agreeing to the following terms:
• You commit to pray daily for justice and the work of IJM.
• For the safety of the people we work to rescue, the safety of our
staff, and the success of our work, you agree to keep all prayer
requests and updates confidential.

The Confidential Prayer Update will come to you via email at the
beginning of each week as well as when urgent prayer needs arise.

If you want to sign-up to be a Prayer Partner, visit our website at

www.ijm.org.

Becoming Prayer Partners is an excellent way for your Campus Chapter

to play a vital and active role in supporting IJM’s operations. As your
team members pray daily for IJM, you will feel more connected with the
work you support.

Here are some suggestions of how to incorporate prayer for IJM into
your Campus Chapter activities:
• Include prayer as a regular part of your chapter meetings. Set
aside some time to pray through the Prayer Update together.

• Arrange small groups to pray about abuse and oppression in

specific countries and for the work of individuals and
organizations combating injustice.

• Organize weekly/monthly/quarterly prayer gatherings or vigils on

your campus or in coordination with your church to involve a
broader community in praying for victims of injustice and for the
people and organizations working on their behalf.

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 • Include “prayers for the cause of justice” in the activities of your
school or community on the International Day of Prayer.

• Encourage local churches in the community to pray regularly for

God’s justice to permeate the world and for specific cases of
injustice to be restored.

• Form small prayer groups at local churches to pray for the cause
of justice.

• Encourage students to become involved in IJM’s Ministry of

Prayer and recruit people to become IJM Prayer Partners. Simply
send them to IJM’s website to have them sign-up!

• Be CREATIVE!

IJM Global Prayer Gathering

Every year, Prayer Partners from around the country gather together in
Washington, DC to lift up their voices together on behalf of IJM and the
victims we serve. It is an amazing time of encouragement as
attendees see how God has moved supernaturally in the lives of the
oppressed. Attendees hear personal stories of miraculous rescue and
learn how God has intervened on behalf of slaves, victims of sexual
exploitation and others who have suffered at the hands of the evil and
powerful.

It is a weekend of directed prayer and worship. Guest speakers will

also join us from around the globe in person and via live webcast.

We encourage you, as you plan the activities for your Campus Chapter,
to consider attending this gathering as a group, or sending
representatives for the weekend. At the gathering, IJM will have a
special time for IJM Campus Chapter members to meet and pray
together for the work God is doing on their campuses.

More information on the gathering can be found on our website,

www.ijm.org.

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 Pay

“But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,

where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break
in and steal.
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew
6:20-21, NIV)

God’s Word says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be
also.” It flows naturally that as you commit time and resources to
something, you are automatically more connected with what you
support. Seeking justice is time consuming and expensive. It is also
eternally rewarding. IJM needs your help to meet our financial goals
and provide the rescue longed for by victims of injustice around our
world.

Without the faithful financial support of IJM supporters, we wouldn’t be

able to do our work of rescue. With this in mind, we are asking each
Campus Chapter to prayerfully consider raising $1,000 a year to
support IJM’s work. This money will effectively do two things:
• Provide the resources for IJM to rescue more victims of abuse
and oppression; and
• Provide a way for your Campus Chapter to partner with IJM in a
tangible, needed way.
•
We are also aware that fundraising can often be a scary and daunting
task. So, below are some tips, stories, and resources that can help
your Campus Chapter meet their fundraising goal. And, as always, feel
free to contact the Education Department at IJM with any questions or
needs that may arise as you start your planning.

Loose Change to Loosen Chains

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A great resource for your fundraising efforts is IJM’s new campaign
called Loose Change to Loosen Chains. According to “Real Simple”
magazine, there is over $10.5 billion in loose change lying around in
American households. This campaign is a way to get your whole
campus involved in raising money to free modern day slaves. There
are numerous opportunities on a college campus to collect loose
change – putting Loose Change cups in your cafeteria, taking a special
offering at a chapel service or Christian college group meeting, putting
cups in the student union building, etc…This campaign is an easy way
to gather a lot of money, without asking for large donations from your
classmates.

If you would like more information on Loose Change to Loosen Change,

please check out our website at www.ijm.org or email
loosechange@ijm.org.

Be Creative!

The sky is the limit as far as fundraising goes. The students on your
campus are unique and will respond to different ideas. Determine how
your classmates will be most moved and go with that idea. Look at the
“Fundraising Ideas” section in the appendix if you’re having trouble
getting started.

Campus Chapter Success Stories

IJM Campus Chapters around the country are doing amazing things to
successfully raise money for IJM. Here are a few recent success stories
to inspire you:

Abilene Christian University, Abilene, TX

In spring of 2005, Abilene Christian Univeristy’s (ACU) IJM Campus
Chapter organized an Awareness Week to provide information about
injustice to ACU students and raise money for IJM. Throughout the
week, the Campus Chapter members displayed IJM information in the
Campus Center where students would see it everyday. At the end of
the week, they had a “Jam for Justice” concert on their campus.
Attendees learned about justice issues and donated money to support
the work of IJM. The event raised over $800 for IJM.

Eastern University, St. Davids, PA

Eastern University’s (EU) Campus Chapter hosted an EU Idol contest,
modeled after American Idol. Students took on the roles of judges at
the event as their classmates preformed and hoped to be chosen as

27
the first EU Idol. Proceeds from the event were donated to IJM to help
free victims of injustice and oppression.

Lee University, Cleveland, TN

Lee University’s Campus Chapter organized a benefit dinner and
chapel service for IJM. An IJM speaker was able to travel to Lee
University to speak at the benefit and chapel service the next morning.
It was a great success as many more Lee University students heard
about God’s heart for justice and the benefit dinner raised over $800 to
help rescue victims of abuse and oppression.

10 Easy Steps to Successful Fundraising

In a world where the poor have no voice, the difference between
freedom and prison – justice and injustice – life and death can often
depend upon whether we are able to show up on their behalf. Gifts of
financial support allow IJM to “show up.” And, when we show up, we
are able to see girls rescued from forced prostitution and children freed
from bonded slavery.

As you start to brainstorm how your Campus Chapter can raise the
funds necessary to rescue victims of oppression, here are some easy
steps to get you started:
1. Recruit help. Encourage your Campus Chapter members,
families, churches, etc. to get involved in this important
fundraising effort. Give them specific jobs and get them involved.
Don’t try to do this alone.
2. Determine your potential. Think about your campus. Think about
your community and local businesses. If they all felt as
passionately as you do about helping these victims of
oppression, what could they give? How could they help? Allow
your heart and your imagination to grow for God’s passion for
justice.
3. Establish aggressive goals. IJM can free a bonded slave for about
$500 and rescue a girl enslaved in forced prostitution for about
$1,000, set some aggressive goals – based upon your potential
as determined in step two – for the numbers of victims you can
rescue. For example, if you would like to free two children from
slavery and rescue one girl from forced prostitution, you would
raise $2,000. Some larger groups may set aggressive goals of
raising $10,000, $20,000 or even $50,000. Just think of how
many victims that could rescue.
4. Develop a plan. Working with those you recruited to help,
develop a plan for reaching your goal as quickly as possible. You
might consider the following:
a) Invite an IJM speaker to visit your campus or give a talk about
injustice and collect a special offering at a chapel service or

28
 during meal times.
d) Conducting a special event such as a benefit concert, bake
sale, etc.
5. Communicate. Explore ways to clearly communicate what you
know about God’s heart for justice as you work to raise support
so people can understand the need, the call and how their dollars
will be invested to make a difference in our world for the
Kingdom.
6. Implement your plan. Make sure that you actually implement and
follow your plan with a focus on specific goals, results and
timelines.
7. Celebrate your successes. You are working hard to raise the
vitally-needed funding to help rescue children from horrific
situations. Without you, IJM would not be able to actually go and
do the work of justice. Take some time along the way to
celebrate what God has done through you. Because of your
partnership, children will no longer toil for endless hours, weeks,
months and years in slavery, and they will no longer be raped in
prisons of abuse and terror. You are making this possible. Share
the joy of what your gifts and efforts will accomplish.
8. Send your gifts to IJM. Send your gifts to PO Box 58147,
Washington, DC 20037. You should make your check payable to
International Justice Mission and be sure to indicate that this
money was raised through your Campus Chapter. The sooner we
receive your support, the sooner we can invest it to conduct
rescue operations.
9. Share your successes with others. Please contact IJM at
chapters@ijm.org and tell us what your Campus Chapter is doing
so that we can share your good news with other groups. You can
share your activities, events and results as others will learn from
what you did and may be able to do something similar within
their churches.
10. Keep the communication going. IJM is committed to keeping you
updated as to what your dollars are doing and the results of your
investment. We will post stories, pictures and updates about the
lives that you have touched and the children that have been
rescued as a result of your support. Share these with others so
they can “meet” those that have been helped and share the joy
of seeking justice and rescuing the oppressed. Please visit our
website at www.ijm.org on a regular basis to see what we are
doing.

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 Participate

By deciding to start an IJM Campus Chapter, you’ve already decided to

participate with IJM to seek justice for the oppressed. Below are some
additional ideas to become more involved in the work of justice.

The Justice Testament

Each semester, IJM interns research a topic of injustice and create a
product to distribute to college campuses. These projects provide in-
depth information on specific issues and tangible ways to get involved
and help make a difference in the world through their actions. Campus
Chapters can use these projects to help make their campuses more
aware of a specific issue and help their school effect change in the
world. For more information on “The Justice Testament,” please
contact IJM at chapter@ijm.org.

IJM Internships
God may be calling you or other members of your Campus Chapter to
take a semester to intern at IJM. IJM offers internships for
undergraduates and graduate students as well as law students.
Internships are offered during the Fall, Spring, and Summer semesters.
IJM interns learn first hand about the work of IJM and through their
work, leave a lasting impact on the growth of IJM. For more
information about internships, including qualifications and application
deadlines, visit www.ijm.org.

Other Ideas

Letter writing Based upon current human rights abuses, you

campaign can write persuasive letters to your elected
representatives urging them to take certain
action against these abuses. Sometimes IJM
will ask you for help with a specific issue they
are working on. If there is not a request from
IJM you can visit other human rights websites to
find out about letter writing campaigns
currently in progress. A couple examples are:
www.amnesty.org and www.phrusa.org.

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Research human rights Your chapter should be fully educated about
issues current human rights abuses. Take part of
your time together to bring each other up to
date on new abuses you have learned about
from newspapers and interest groups.
Conduct a justice bible Within your chapter, use your meeting times to
study investigate more thoroughly God’s heart for
justice. You can order the “Good News About
Injustice” study guide from our website at
www.ijm.org.
Volunteer with local Get involved in human rights work right where
justice-oriented you are! Find local law firms, businesses or
organizations/business non-profit organizations that are serving your
es community and volunteer with them. You can
also volunteer with local government offices
that are involved in seeking relief for victims of
injustice around the world, refugee
resettlement, etc.

Write letters of Identify missionaries and others serving

support to abroad. They may be connected to your
missionaries church or a friend/relative’s church. Contact
them to offer encouragement, and tell them
about IJM so that they can refer cases of
injustice that they encounter to IJM.
Prayer vigils Have weekly/monthly/etc. prayer gatherings or
vigils on your campus or in coordination with
your church to involve a broader community in
praying for victims of injustice and for the
people and organizations working on their
behalf.
Mission/vision trips Participate in overseas mission and vision trips
to experience first-hand the needs
encountered by people around the world and
the hope that can be provided through faithful
service.

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 Promote Awareness

In order for human rights issues to enter the consciousness of students

at your school and in your community it is vitally important to get the
word out about the oppression in our world and the good news of what
is being done about it. The following ideas for activities may be used
to raise awareness on your campus about human rights abuses or
simply act as a springboard for other activities you may want to try.

Idea Explanation
Professor Talk to professors at your school, especially in
endorsement departments related to IJM activities (Political
Science, Theology, Sociology, etc.), asking them
to make announcements to their classes about
meetings and/or endorse the mission of the
Campus Chapter. You can also encourage
professors to read Gary Haugen’s book, “Good
News About Injustice,” and to use it in their
classes.
Give a presentation Prepare an informative talk about IJM and the
to… injustices that exist throughout the world. Be

32
…local church group sure to include specific real-life stories.
…other campus Professionalism is key. If you can, use visual
group aids/a PowerPoint presentation, etc. Contact IJM
…faculty group ahead of time so they can send you brochures to
…student give the people that attend your presentation. Be
government sure to include clear information about how they
can get involved and support the work of IJM. You
might find that asking to give a presentation at
other clubs/groups on campus is a better way to
reach a large audience, rather than waiting for
people to come to you. For example, request an
invitation to give a ‘special presentation’ to the
international student group, the anthropology
group, Inter-Varsity group, Amnesty group, etc.
Table in high-traffic Get permission to set up an information table in
area your student center or on a well-traveled route on
your campus. Have display posters with pictures
of rescued victims and brochures about IJM and
your chapter to hand out to students. Or you can
use the table to feature a specific type of injustice
and have pictures/materials explaining that abuse
and what people can do about it. Be sure to have
a sign up sheet to get names and e-mail
addresses from interested students.
Letters to the editor, Submit letters to your school and community
informative articles newspapers that discuss the reality and severity
of abuses in the world. Focus on a particular
abuse, use details and individual stories to back
up your claims about the severity of the problem.
Make a call for action on the part of the
community and/or local leaders.
Debate/panel Organize a group of experts or people with first
discussion hand knowledge of certain abuses. These could
be professors who have studied injustices,
international students who have seen abuses,
lawyers, interest group representatives, your
chapter president, etc. Obtain a location for the
event. Advertise on campus and at local
churches. Prepare a specific (but not too narrow)
topic of discussion for the panelists to speak on
and questions for them to answer. Be sure to
cover details of a sound system, tables, chairs,
refreshments, etc.
Justice speaker Request a human rights expert/activist to come
speak to your school about justice. This works
especially well if your school holds regularly

33
 scheduled Chapel or has some sort of platform for
regular speaking events (such as an InterVarsity
chapter). If so, talk to the chapel scheduler or
equivalent about inviting the speaker to come.
IJM representatives often speak at universities,
churches and law schools, but other human rights
professionals or justice theologians would be
willing to speak as well.
Human rights Combination of any activities and/or fundraising
day/week activities that you would like to use. Organize
and advertise the week well. Get your student
government and/or administration involved,
especially in the planning.
Hand out Stand in a high-traffic area and pass out
brochures/leaflets brochures or leaflets to students as they pass
with a purpose to alert them of an injustice or to
tell them about a chapter meeting. These need
to be attention-grabbing and also not too
expensive.
Fliers, posters, Use all resources you have available to inform
chalking people about your chapter activities and
meetings. Post fliers and posters around campus.
Make sure to get prior approval from IJM for
anything you pass out to the public that has an
IJM seal on it. Please email chapters@ijm.org for
approval. Use chalk to write on sidewalks and
steps frequently traveled at your school.
Mass emails To have access to the entire student body at your
school, you can request the Dean of Students (or
equivalent administrator) to send an email to all
students about an activity you are holding, etc. It
will probably need to be a fairly significant
activity, such as a Justice Week program.

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 Preparing for a Career in International Human Rights

“The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when
it comes.”
-Benjamin Disraeli

Introduction

International Justice Mission receives a tremendous number of inquiries

from Christian students who are interested in a career of service in the
field of international human rights. The passion and interest of these
students is a great encouragement to us at IJM, and represents
immeasurable hope for those who suffer under injustice in our world,
and for those who are yearning to see a courageous and authentic
witness for Christ in dark places. Equally encouraging, is the thoughtful
way these students are pursuing practical questions about how they
might prepare themselves for effective service. God is glorified by
missionary doctors, famine fighters, and church planters who
demonstrate a rigorous commitment to excellence through careful,
thoughtful preparation for service. In the same way, those who seek to
serve God by bringing rescue to victims of oppression begin their
journey of excellence by thinking hard about how they might prepare
and equip themselves for their work.

Accordingly, we would like to offer a few words of practical guidance

that we hope interested students will find helpful. It is, of course,
impossible to chart the “right” course for any specific student; and in
the end, we rely upon God’s promises for direction (Pr. 3:5-6) and
wisdom (James 1:5-6). God has already given clear guidance to all
Christians that they are to be engaged in the work of justice (Micah
6:8, Is. 1:17, Matt. 23:23). For those who are exploring a career in
international justice ministry, we would like to provide the following
food for thought.

Students who are interested in a career in human rights would be well

served by an educational strategy that focuses on the foundations of
faith, professional skill and cross-cultural training in preparation for
effective service in the field.

First, it must be understood that a Christian witness for justice is built

upon a relationship with Jesus Christ the one whom Christians regard
as God and the source of all justice, compassion, power, truth and

35
goodness. Accordingly, the strength and ultimate usefulness of any
individual Christian’s witness for justice flows from the grace of God
and one’s investment in the intimacy and quality of one’s relationship
with their Maker. Accordingly, we advise those most zealous for justice
to begin their journey with a commitment to deepening their
companionship with the God of justice. For a Christian, a career in
justice ministry finds power, joy, and sustainability when it is built on a
strong spiritual foundation in Christ. (Ps. 127:1)

Knowing that engagement in human rights corresponds to God’s

command to seek justice for the oppressed, the strength of our
resistance to this evil comes directly from our complete reliance upon
God, the One who is most offended by the abuse. Sincere study, prayer
and worship are the channels through which God builds this
foundation. When we begin to understand how our heavenly Father
feels about the world we live in, we are more able to act in ways that
honor Him.

Service to the oppressed finds its unyielding determination in a life

focused on Christ, seeking His glory and following His example of love.
As Oswald Chambers writes, Service is the over flow which pours from
a life filled with love and devotion Service is what I bring to the
relationship and is the reflection of my identification with the nature of
God.

Public Justice Skills: Investigation & Intervention

Building upon a foundation of devout faith, the human rights profession

requires a highly developed set of skills that relies upon two unique
disciplines: investigation and intervention. As deception and coercion
are the tools of the oppressive perpetrator, investigation and
intervention are the tools that expose the deception and bring
protective power to bear on behalf of the victim. These concepts are
thoroughly discussed in Good News About Injustice by Gary Hagen that
also features a discussion of the various professional skills that are
relevant to the ministry of justice.

The discipline of investigation is the tool necessary to address the

deception that the oppressor uses to cover up his or her deeds.
Proverbs 37:14 affirms this principle: The mouth of the righteous is a
fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.
Vocationally, training in the legal or law enforcement professions
provide a particular focus on the hard work of exposing the truth and
finding the facts amidst confusion, conflict and lies. Lawyers and law
enforcement professionals are trained specifically in the arts of fact
finding, exposing lies, and demonstrating with proof the innocence or

36
guilt of the accused individual. Since the human rights field requires
this same skill, the student would be well served by experience and
education in the fields of law or law enforcement.

A law enforcement career should focus on active criminal investigative

experience and a high level of professional training. In the legal field,
students should gain exposure to litigation and criminal law, specialties
that engage a fight over facts and an examination of proofs. Service in
a public defender or prosecutor’s office, or a private litigation practice
are obvious examples.

The discipline of intervention relates to the oppressor’s use of coercion

to dominate the victim’s environment and decisions. To combat this
misuse of power, students must learn how to access power on behalf
of those who are vulnerable, working up the chain of power to
intervene, by authority, above the perpetrator. To do this, it is
important to develop an expertise in social, political, economic and
governmental power; to learn where power resides and how it is
exercised. From a broad perspective, the academic disciplines of
government, international relations, politics and history can provide a
strong foundation of study. More specifically, two of the most powerful
ways to equip oneself for international human rights work are through
training in law enforcement (e.g. law enforcement academies, training
in investigative specialties, and investigative experience) and/or
qualification as a lawyer.

Career in Law

For those who are interested in pursuing a law degree, we offer the
following suggestions. First, one must confront the brutal truth about
the way the legal profession allows the law schools to sort out
graduations of promising legal talent. There is a clearly understood
ranking of law schools by reputation (published in magazines and
books), and the legal profession doles out its introductory opportunities
largely on the basis of the reputation of the school from which an
applicant comes. There are exceptions to the rule, of course; but
students should not underestimate the general power and
pervasiveness of the rule. In addition, most law students will get a
better education at a better ranked law school not because the law
professors are so much better or the course content much different but
because the caliber of students will be better. Accordingly students will
be pushed to think harder and get more out of their education by the
peers around them.

Accordingly, as a general matter, students should try to go to the

highest ranked law school they can. Many schools will advertise special

37
offerings in international law, human rights, quality of student life, etc.;
but for students seeking to optimize their career options, these
advertised areas of special interest do not generally make up for the
institutions less esteemed reputation in general. Generally, a student
would be ill advised to attend a law on an altogether lower tier,
because of advertised specialties, quality of student life, or geography
(unless you know you want a job in that particular locality).

Once in law school, students interested in a career in human rights

would be well advised to take available courses that focus on 1) the
battle over facts (litigation, civil and criminal procedure, evidence,
etc.); 2) governmental institutions and processes of power
(constitutional law, administrative law, government relations,
legislative process, public policy, etc) and 3) substantive international
and human rights law. A student would be well advised to pursue
clinical opportunities for litigation service and relationships with
professors who can open doors for research, job experience, clinical
experience, or clerkships in the 3 areas mentioned above.

The final thread of preparation for a human rights career is cross-

cultural experience. The student must develop the capacity to
translate her/his professional skills into a cross-cultural, developing
world context. The ability to function, solve a problem and live in the
developing world transforms the student from tourist to a problem-
solving participant in a foreign and economically under-developed
society. This requires time spent overseas. Every bit helps, but
opportunities that extend beyond two months are generally more
significant. Specific experiences might include summer or semester
mission trips in the developing world, the Peace Corps, NGO volunteer
opportunities and business start-up in a developing context.

These experiences allow one to develop and test one’s capacity to

work and solve problems in the difficult environment where the poor
spend each day including dirt, inconvenience, sickness, bugs, risk and
physical discomfort. More importantly, they test’s one’s capacity for
the deeper and indispensable capacities such as humility, listening,
compassion, patience and faith.

As the student begins to determine his or her specific interests and

gifts in these areas, it will be important to develop a long-term vision of
a job or place of employment that is most appealing. Human rights
work is accomplished at human rights NGOs, public law institutions
(Department of Justice, Capitol Hill) and private firms (using the vehicle
of pro bono legal work). If attending law school, use the first summer
to experiment, the second to establish a foot in the door and third to
establish employment.

38
Finally, a student interested in pursuing the special joys and holy
calling of human rights service must be under girded with
perseverance and a long-term commitment to a vocational vision of
seeking justice. It is important to understand that the gifts of advocacy
are extremely valuable. There will be many bidders for your service,
and you must find a way to retain a commitment to the kind of
clientele you want to serve with your gifts. The poor and the oppressed
overseas will have the least to offer you in terms of the compensation
normally tendered to the profession the least money, the fewest perks,
less professional status, and less renown. So, what will sustain you in
your commitment as the offers of the bidding war increase as your
training makes you more valuable? Only one thing: a clear
understanding, in advance, of what you want in exchange for your
services.

It is not unlike a student who heads to medical school with a vision of

becoming a missionary doctor in the developing world. Over time, his
or her training makes the student very valuable and a bidding war of
opportunities ensues. Generally, anything a doctor does is good and
noble but there definitely is a spectrum of need, both in terms of the
urgency of the suffering and the availability of those who can meet the
need. There are those who need surgery for a gunshot wound in the
inner city, those who need a cure for their cancer, those who need
knee surgery to play next season, those who need a tummy tack and
those who need an abortion. There will be aggressive bids made for
the medical students service from various clientele. What will sustain
the medical student in his or her vision for overseas ministry among
the poor?

Likewise in the legal profession, there are a variety of perfectly

honorable opportunities, but they exist on a spectrum of moral and
monetary urgency. There are those who put violent criminals behind
bars and keep the innocent free in America, those who help a business
play by the rules, those who give an offending corporation its best
argument in court, and those (very few) who actually lie and cheat for
whoever will pay. It will be easier, more lucrative and safer for the law
student to offer his or her gifts of advocacy to serve these clientele,
than it will be to go and serve the victims of oppression overseas those
who are, nevertheless, the most in need of a witness of Christ’ love
and God’s justice. What will sustain a student in his or her vocational
vision to the least of these?

It will only be a clear, advance conviction that the reason the student
set out to equip themselves with the tools of advocacy in the first place
was to follow Christ in service to those most needy in our world, and to

39
receive the unique compensation that Christ alone offers – joy, peace,
meaning, love, holiness, and a treasure that is eternal.

Career in Law Enforcement

For those interested in pursuing a career in law enforcement, we offer

the following suggestions. A law enforcement career should be well
rounded to include all aspects of policing. This would be tremendously
helpful in future interaction and understanding of victims that have
suffered various types of crimes. This kind of exposure will also allow
for you to better understand and work with the government officials
that you will most probably encounter as well. Focus on active criminal
investigative experience and a high level of professional training.

Most law enforcement agencies will not allow you to join their ranks
until you attain the age of 21. There should be course study that will
involve the police sciences to build a foundation of understanding that
will serve you in the understanding of how investigation and reporting
will impact the enforcement of the law through adjudication. In
addition courses in technical writing, psychology, and sociology with an
emphasis in the international arena and travel to include techniques in
public speaking. There are programs available at the local level that
will allow you to experience law enforcement as an observer. There are
common programs such as explorer posts, ride a longs to include
citizen neighborhood watch organizations. If you are interested in
working at the state level, most agencies will maintain similar
programs. If at the federal level there are employment options that will
allow you to interact with law enforcement in a capacity not directly
associated with investigations but on a track where you may be
involved in portions of an investigation. All of these will allow you to
look at the inner workings and see how the systems of law
enforcement function in reality.

There is a need for law enforcement professionals that would want to

work at either the federal, state or local level. It is important for IJM to
maintain the capacity and ability to interact with the various facets of
the communities that we have been called to work in. This will involve
you personal preferences, adaptability and ultimately God’s will in your
life.

Other Career Connections to Global Justice Ministry

Though you may not be pursuing a career in law or law enforcement,

you can play a vital role in global justice ministry. Consider how the
following undergraduate college majors relate to global justice
ministry:

40
Pre-Medicine and Pre-Nursing: Providing medical care to rescued
victims.
Psychology: Providing counseling and mental health services to
rescued victims.
Political Science: Leveraging political systems and infrastructures
around the world in order to create strategic alliances for efficient and
timely human rights casework.
Journalism: Going into the world to see the reality of oppression and
rescue first hand and telling the story to others.
Public Relations: Organizing a system of Christian human rights
activism that exposes U.S. Transnational Corporations who contribute
to injustice and oppression in the world, but that recognizes and
rewards U.S. Transnational Corporations who are doing the right thing
in their business ventures around the world.
Bible/Theology: Creating church educational curriculums for children,
youth, and adults about the biblical foundation for seeking justice, and
the need for global justice ministry.
Foreign Languages: Serving as an interpreter when volunteers are sent
into the world to be involved in global justice ministry.
Social Work: Establishing a plan of community organizing and
development to help curb some of the systemic problems relating to
injustice and oppression.
Business: Identifying and establishing strategic credit and income
generation initiatives to empower rescued victims of oppression.

Getting Started

Here is a specific plan on how you can get started on preparing for a
future human rights career:

• Invest yourself in a season of exploration to learn more about

God’s passion for justice and need for global Justice Ministry.
Read Good News About Injustice by Gary Haugen and investigate
additional resources recommended in IJM Justice Resource Guide.

• Excel in your studies with the aim of becoming the best Lawyer,
Doctor, Pastor, Journalist, Public Servant, Psychologist, Urban
Planner, Social Worker, Business executive, etc. Whatever you
are studying, prepare to be the best.

• Americans are used to solving most problems out of our excess.

Fighting injustice and oppression in the world is not one of those
problems. It will require sacrifice. It will require hard work. It will
require downward mobility in which you choose to serve the poor
at the expense of becoming rich. It will require our best people

41
 serving as multi-disciplinary experts in our world. Consider
excelling in your studies to be your primary way of serving and
glorifying God as a student.

• Go overseas. While in college, there are many opportunities to

go on short-term overseas experiences or to study abroad. Get
out in the world and see what’s going on for your self.

Recommended Readings:

Ishay, Micheline R. ed. The Human Rights Reader: Major Political

Writings, Essays, Speeches, and Documents from the Bible to Present.
New York: Routledge, 1997.
The Human Rights Reader explores the changing concept and practice
of human rights through the writings of religious humanists, classical
and modern thinkers, and political speeches. It is comprehensive in
both its scope and depth of coverage, as it traces the debate about
human rights back to its biblical origins by including passages from the
Old and New Testament, the Koran, and early Buddhist writings.

Hannum, Hurst. Guide to International Human Rights Practice. 2nd ed.

Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1992
This guide is a thorough edition of what has become known as the nuts
and bolts of international human rights law and practice. Hurst
Hannum and the contributors to this volume describe, in detail,
regimes and procedures developed during the past decade and
evaluate the effectiveness of those procedures

Stott, John. Decisive Issues Facing Christians Today. London:

HarperCollinsReligous, 1980. 149-159.
In his book, Decisive Issues Facing Christians Today, Stott clearly
outlines in chapter eight why Christians cannot divorce social action
from Christianity. Christianity, in its essence, is both a means to obtain
eternal life as well as a call to action while here on earth. Stott outlines
this concept in his book while providing Biblical knowledge that can
help to equip Christians in embracing the issues of today with a Biblical
frame of mind and foundation.

Haugen, Gary A. Good News About Injustice: A Witness of Courage in a

Hurting World. USA: InterVarsity Press, 1999.
Accounts of child prostitution, state-sponsored religious persecution,
racial violence, torture and genocide often make us wonder what we
can possibly do in response. And certainly they make us wonder where
the God of justice is. Gary Haugen sees the truth of Jesus’ claim

42
vindicated throughout Scripture, which portrays a God who rises up
against injustice. The good news about injustice is that God is against
it. God is in the business of using the unlikely to perform the holy. In
this book Haugen not only offers personal testimony and stories of
courageous witnesses both past and present, but also calls the body of
Christ to action. He offers concrete guidance on the ways and means
the church can rise up to seek justice throughout the world.

Persevere

“Danger and oppression are never too much for faith. They were not
too much for Job,
they were not too much for Jeremiah, and they were not too much for
Jesus.

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 Evil is always temporary… Nothing counter to God’s justice has any
eternity to it.”
-Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction

While there is great joy in doing this work of justice, it takes a great
deal of perseverance. There are many things that frustrate our work.
By deciding to be aware of injustice and to take action to do something
about it, you are deciding to confront some of the darkest things that
happen in our world. As you seek justice, you will learn about and
marvel at the depth of evil in our world. As Christians, our faith and
hope are challenged as we face the evil of naked injustice. Yet we do
have hope as the God of all hope has called us to work on behalf of the
oppressed. And, that those He calls, He empowers! Jesus promises us
that He will overcome, “I have told you these things so that in me you
may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I
have overcome the world!” John 16:33.

One of the blessings God gives us is the promise that He will not forget
the cause of the oppressed (see the Justice Scriptures in this section.)
It can be so easy to sit in despair as the work become hard, and
tedious, and we become discouraged that we have been working for so
long and there are still millions suffering under oppression in our world.
BUT, remember that God empowers us to bring His freedom and
rescue to these victims and to have an impact in the world. We are His
plan!

The greatest tool you have to persevere through the discouragement

and despair that will meet you as you learn about injustice in the world
is prayer. Consider this story from God’s Word that is a great
illustration of how our persistent prayers move the heart of God to act
on behalf of the oppressed.

Now He (Jesus) was telling them a parable to show that at

all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, saying,
“In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God
and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city,
and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Give me legal
protection from my opponent.’

“For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to

himself, ‘Even though I do not fear God nor respect man,
yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal
protection, otherwise by continually coming to me she will
wear me out.’”

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 And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge, said:
now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry
out to Him day and night, and will He delay long over
them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them
quickly.”

Luke 18:1-8 (NASB)

That is good news – both for the victims of oppression in our world, and
for us to know that God will bring justice to the suffering. And, we
have it under good authority (God’s Son) that he will “bring about
justice for them quickly!” Let us persevere in prayer and hope.

Also, in order to have a sustained conviction, which enables us to

persevere, it is essential to have the work of justice deeply rooted in
Scripture. See the devotional guide and list of justice Scriptures in the
appendix to help guide, encourage, and strengthen you as you
persevere.

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 Appendix A:
Fundraising Ideas

One of the most concrete ways you can contribute to the work of
justice is by helping to provide the funds that make it possible for the
IJM staff to show up on behalf of victims. Here are several ideas that
you can tailor to your school and chapter to help you with your fund-
raising efforts.

Art auction
Request donations of pieces of art from local artists and students.
Secure a location (auditorium, meeting room) on campus to hold the
auction. Advertise the auction around campus and/or in the
community. Include a booth or informational display about IJM so
people know what they are supporting through their purchases.

Bike race
Find/get approved (city/county/park authorities) a course on which to
hold the race. Request local businesses to donate prizes for winners.
Make sure you have an official to judge the race and volunteers to run
the check-in process and provide water, etc. Advertise for participants,
charging an entry fee to each or ask them to secure sponsorship
support for the miles that they will ride.

5K run
Find/get approved (city/county/park authorities) a course on which to
hold the race. Request local businesses to donate prizes for winners.
Make sure you have an official to judge the race and volunteers to run
the check-in process and provide water, etc. Advertise for participants,
charging an entry fee to each or ask them to secure sponsorship
support for the miles that they run.

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Spaghetti dinner
Ask a local church to let you use their kitchen/dining facilities. Have
Chapter members sell tickets at school/church. Advertise to school,
churches, and/or the community to contact members to purchase
tickets. Purchase or secure donations of food products and
utensils/plates/cups based on number of tickets sold. Serve food as
people come through line. Include a short presentation that provides
an overview of IJM so people know what they are supporting.

Sports/game tournament
This can be held for nearly any sport or game from basketball to pool
to spades. Secure the use of facilities (gym, fields, etc.). Request that
local businesses donate prizes for winners. Advertise for participants,
charging appropriate fee based on number of people per team. Make
sure the tournament itself is organized efficiently and you have enough
competent judges/referees. Include an awards ceremony where
winning teams are presented with trophies and prizes. Include a few
words about IJM so people understand what they are supporting and
why it is important.
Car wash
Find a local business with a large parking lot on a well-traveled street
corner. Ask for permission to use it for a car wash. Make sure you
have access to faucets from there. Pick a day and advertise with
posters

Talent/fashion show
Find a location on campus with stage and seating. Advertise on
campus for groups to perform or participants to join in, as well as for
students to attend as observers. Consider having a justice theme to
the show and encourage participants to incorporate this theme into
their acts. Have Chapter members sell tickets at church and school.
Ask businesses to donate prizes for winners as well as refreshments.

Bake sale/concession
Get permission to set up a table in student center, in front of a high-
traffic business, or at an event. Have members donate bake goods.
Request donations of baked goods from friends/faculty. People will
then purchase these goods. Include brochures and information about
IJM at the table so participants can understand more about what they
are supporting.

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Garage sale
Choose a date—the closer to summer the better. Find a high-traffic
location to hold garage sale. If no Chapter member has a home in a
good location, ask a local business or your campus to use the edge of a
parking lot. Have each member donate items to sell. Ask for
donations from friends/faculty/etc. Advertise well—posters, newspaper
ad, etc. Price all items before the day of the sale. Be ready for
customers early in the morning. Have a specified cashier to avoid
confusion.

Bingo night
Request local businesses to donate prizes. A large number of prizes
are needed, but they do not need to be expensive individually. Obtain
permission to use a classroom or meeting room for the event.
Advertise for the event around campus, at church and/or in the
community. Charge $2-$5 per bingo card. Players keep the card
throughout the evening. Make sure you have enough cards and chips
to go around.

Gift wrapping
Get permission to set up a gift-wrapping table at your local mall,
Barnes and Noble, etc. during the pre-holiday shopping season.
Choose a good location for people to bring their purchases to your
table on their way out. Have a variety of papers, bows, ribbon, etc.
that has been donated to or purchased by the chapter. Chapter
members will wrap people’s gifts for tips. Be sure to display
information and brochures about what the funds are supporting and
why it is important. Be ready to tell people about IJM while you are
wrapping their gifts.

Used clothing sale

This is much like the garage sale idea, but a little different. Students
gather unwanted clothes from fellow students and sell them at low cost
“thrift store” prices to other students. The center quad area of campus
(high traffic area) is a great place for a used clothing sale and a great
way to raise money, get rid of old clothes, and buy used clothes at
cheap prices!

Care packages
Coordinate with your school to set up a Care Package fundraiser.
During exam week at the end of the semester, direct-mail each
student’s parents telling them they can purchase a Care Package for
their child and what it includes. (Usually a small box is used and will
include snack foods and candy.) Include a form they can return with
their child’s name and mailbox number or address, the number of
packages they would like sent, and the method of payment on it. They

48
should also be directed to include payment with the form. Distribute
slips to student mailboxes telling them to claim their package at
designated location. Include information about IJM in the letter to
parents and in the gift boxes so people know what they are supporting
and why it is important.

Haunted house
Find a location in which to design a haunted house around Halloween.
Decorate/build the design. This can be time consuming so start ahead
of time! Advertise in the community and on campus. Charge
admittance fee.

Yard work sale

Secure yard-work tools. If your chapter members do not have them,
ask teachers/friends if you can borrow them. Establish Work Days that
you are going to dedicate to doing the yard work. Go to
neighborhoods around your school as well as to faculty and staff
homes and ask residents if they want you to do yard work for them.
Be sure to explain what the funds will go to!

Penny weigh
Have your student government or administration approve this idea
(best for use during homecoming week.) Get four big water jugs or
jars and label them Freshman, Sophomore, Junior and Senior. (You can
also use labels that represent any groups on your campus that are in
competition with one another—social clubs, fraternities, sororities, etc.)
Set them out in the Student Center and include information about what
the money will go towards. People then put pennies in their class, to
earn "points" and put silver coins or paper money in other classes to
deduct points" so if they put a quarter in the Freshman jug the
Freshmen were just deducted 25 points. Give a daily tally so that the
groups know if they are behind or ahead. At the end of an allotted
time period, the group with the most points is the winner and should
be given either a donated prize or a symbolic “spirit” prize. All the
money could go to IJM or to the chapter.

Gift world
Before Christmas and summer holiday begins, set up a booth in the
student center for selling “alternative gifts.” Students can purchase
assistance to a victim of injustice for a friend or relative. ($10 for a
Bonded Labor victim and $25 for a Forced Prostitution victim.) The
student will give the money and contact information, and the chapter
will send a card saying that STUDENT’S NAME has given them the gift
of participating in the rescue of a child from BONDED LABOR/FORCED
PROSTITUTION. Sufficient explanation of IJM and situations of
oppression need to be included.

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Temporary tattoo sale
Talk to administration/student government to approve the idea. Have
a local printer make temporary tattoos with your school
symbol/mascot. Sell them at sports games, during Homecoming week,
etc.

Coupon sale
Find a company that sells coupon books. Order an adequate number
based upon the number of chapter members participating. One such
company is www.abcfundraising.com. Chapter members will sell the
coupon books to students/teachers/church members, informing
purchasers of what they are supporting by participating. The price to
sell the coupon books at is predetermined by the company they are
purchased from, and is less than the price purchase. Proceeds could
go to IJM or to the chapter.

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 Appendix B:
Devotional selections

He who passively accepts evil is as much involved in it as he who helps

to perpetuate it.
–Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

There are many passages of scripture that are worthy of study. Below
we have compiled a short list that may be useful and impacting when
you are talking about justice. Take time to read the passages and
consider the questions that are raised to understand more about God’s
character, His passions, and His view of justice.

Psalm 10

• What does oppression look like?

• What is the attitude of the oppressor?
• What is God’s attitude towards injustice?

Exodus 3:7-12

• What does this passage say about the character of God?

• What is His plan for dealing with injustice?

Amos 2:6-8, 5:6-15, 5:21-24/ Isaiah 58

• Are justice and worship connected?

• What does God say about worship and fasting?
• What type of worship does God accept?

Matt. 25:40, Matt 22:37-40

• How do these passages apply to justice?

Matt. 5:14-16/ II Cor. 5:20

• What is our role as Christians in the world?

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 • How does this affect our actions?

Appendix C:
Justice Scripture Verses

It is exceedingly strange that any follower of Jesus Christ should ever

have needed
to ask whether social involvement was their concern.
- John Stott

Although this is in no way an exhaustive list, these verses from the

Holy Scriptures (NIV) should be helpful in studying the meaning of
biblical justice and the reason why God requires His people to seek it.

Job 40:6-8 - Then the LORD spoke to Job out of the storm: "Brace
yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.
Would you discredit my justice? Would you condemn me to justify
yourself?”

Psalm 9:8 - He will judge the world in righteousness; He will govern the
peoples with justice.

Psalm 9:16 - The LORD is known by His justice; the wicked are
ensnared by the work of their hands.

Psalm 11:7 - For the LORD is righteous, He loves justice; upright men
will see His face.

Psalm 33:5 - The LORD loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full
of His unfailing love.

Psalm 36:6 - Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your

justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast.

Psalm 37:6 - He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the
justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

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Psalm 45:6 - Your throne, O God, will last forever and ever; a scepter of
justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

Psalm 58:2 - No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands
mete out violence on the earth.

Psalm 64:6 - They plot injustice and say, "We have devised a perfect
plan!" Surely the mind and heart of man are cunning.

Psalm 101:1 - I will sing of your love and justice; to you, O LORD, I will
sing praise.

Psalm 103:6 - The LORD works righteousness and justice for all the
oppressed.

Psalm 106:3 - Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly
do what is right.

Psalm 112:5 - Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely,
who conducts his affairs with justice.

Psalm 140:12 - I know that the LORD secures justice for the poor and
upholds the cause of the needy.

Proverbs 18:5 - It is not good to be partial to the wicked or to deprive

the innocent of justice.

Proverbs 21:15 - When justice is done, it brings joy to the righteous but
terror to evildoers.

Proverbs 29:7 - The righteous care about justice for the poor, but the
wicked have no such concern.

Isaiah 1:17 - Learn to do right! Seek justice, encourage the oppressed.

Defend the cause of the fatherless, plead the case of the widow.

Isaiah 9:7 - Of the increase of His government and peace there will be
no end. He will reign on David's throne and over His kingdom,
establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that
time on and forever. The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish
this.

Isaiah 30:18 - Yet the LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to

show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all
who wait for Him!

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Isaiah 42:1 - Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in
whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him and he will bring justice to
the nations.

Isaiah 51:4 - Listen to me, my people; hear me, my nation: The law will
go out from me; my justice will become a light to the nations.

Isaiah 51:5 - My righteousness draws near speedily, my salvation is on

the way, and my arm will bring justice to the nations. The islands will
look to me and wait in hope for my arm.

Isaiah 56:1 - This is what the LORD says: "Maintain justice and do what
is right, for my salvation is close at hand and my righteousness will
soon be revealed.”

Isaiah 58:6 - Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the
chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the
oppressed free and break every yoke?

Isaiah 59:15 - Truth is nowhere to be found, and whoever shuns evil

becomes a prey. The LORD looked and was displeased that there was
no justice.

Isaiah 61:8 - For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity.
In my faithfulness I will reward them and make an everlasting
covenant with them.

Jeremiah 21:12 - O house of David, this is what the LORD says:

"Administer justice every morning; rescue from the hand of his
oppressor the one who has been robbed, or my wrath will break out
and burn like fire because of the evil you have done-- burn with no one
to quench it.”

Jeremiah 22:13 - Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness,

his upper rooms by injustice, making his countrymen work for nothing,
not paying them for their labor.

Ezekiel 34:16 - I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will
bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the
strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.

Hosea 2:19 - I will betroth you to me forever; I will betroth you in

righteousness and justice, in love and compassion.

Hosea 12:6 - But you must return to your God; maintain love and
justice, and wait for your God always.

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Amos 5:21-24 - I hate, I despise your religious feasts; I cannot stand
your assemblies. Even though you bring me burnt offerings and grain
offerings, I will not accept them. Though you bring choice fellowship
offerings, I will have no regard for them. Away with the noise of your
songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps. But let justice roll on
like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream!

Micah 6:8 - He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does
the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk
humbly with your God.

Zechariah 7:8-10 - And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah:
"This is what the LORD Almighty says: `Administer true justice; show
mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or
the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of
each other.'

Matthew 12:18 - Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I

love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim
justice to the nations.

Matthew 23:23 - Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you
hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cumin. But
you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice,
mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without
neglecting the former.

Luke 11:42 - Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of
your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect
justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter
without leaving the former undone.

Romans 3:22-26 - This righteousness from God comes through faith in

Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by His
grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God
presented Him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in His blood.
He did this to demonstrate His justice, because in His forbearance He
had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- He did it to
demonstrate His justice at the present time, so as to be just and the
one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.

Revelation 19:11 - I saw heaven standing open and there before me

was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice
he judges and makes war.

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