In the midst of a hurting world, where injustice robs people of opportunity, the church can be a powerful movement for lasting change. In partnership with Tearfund, local churches around Australia are responding to poverty not just as a project – but as an expression of love for God and our global neighbours.
When the youth community at Glen Waverley Anglican Church gathered for an I Can Make a Difference experience with Tearfund, they encountered a powerful truth: Change starts here – when we stand in the gap to love our neighbours.
Guided by the Tearfund team, GWAC youth spent an evening imagining how adjusting our everyday rhythms can fuel justice today, and into the future. We began by opening Scripture, drawing a line from the Old Testament prophets to the ministry of Jesus. We saw clearly that God’s vision for a flourishing world isn't just a distant hope – it’s an invitation to act.
Through hands-on creative learning and "design thinking" games, we dived into the stories of communities in some of the hardest places around the world. We moved from being observers to partners, discovering that when local communities are supported to lead their own change, real-life solutions to poverty begin to take root. Change started in our imaginations as we glimpsed what a thriving community actually looks like.
The momentum moved beyond the room, as we brought the learning back home to Glen Waverley, mapping our own suburbs to understand how we can follow Jesus’ footsteps to care for people experiencing poverty and marginalisation in our own local community.
Finally, we turned our prayers into action. After lifting up Tearfund’s partners and their communities in prayer, we chose items from the Useful Gift Catalogue – tangible seeds of change for the communities we’d learned about.
Understanding grew. Faith deepened. Action was sparked. We left with fresh conviction that God’s call to live missionally can shape every aspect of our lives. Change starts here – as we follow God’s call to be a church that partners in God’s work of restoration and transformation.
