Racial Reconciliation & Equality

OBJECTIVE

At Liberty Church, around the world we envision a future where honor, inclusion, and celebration of all God’s people is infused into every aspect of our culture and that we acknowledge and actively work against racism and prejudice. We acknowledge, lament, and repent of the Church’s complicity in racism, and are committed to the continual work of reconciliation and healing that reflects the fullness of Christ on the earth.

 

We define reconciliation as an ongoing spiritual process that involves forgiveness, repentance, and justice, that restores broken relationships and systems to the way God intended them to be.

-Brenda Salter McNeil, Roadmap to Reconciliation 2.0

 

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OUR COMMITMENTS TO RACIAL RECONCILIATION

Service

We commit to outreach opportunities and partnerships that serve people in underserved areas in our communities brought on by systemic racism. (Isaiah 1:17)

Empathy

We commit to suspending judgment and opinion when engaging in conversations around race, and instead choose to feel with people, seek to understand their suffering and lament as we heal from racial injustice. (1 Corinthians 12:26-27)

Learning

We commit to seeking knowledge and understanding about issues that affect different people. As a church, we will provide opportunities for people to be educated about the realities of personal prejudice and judgment, and systemic racism and oppression. (Proverbs 18:15)

Connection

We commit to fostering genuine connections with those different from us. As a church, we will foster ways people from marginalized communities can gain access to opportunities and resources.(1 Corinthians 12:21-27)

Honor

We commit to celebrating a diversity of cultural expressions, affirming the dignity and equality of all, and honoring those whose sacrifices have afforded us greater racial equality. (Romans 12:10)

Generosity

We commit to financially investing in and supporting organizations and communities who are actively fighting racism and fostering greater racial equity. (Psalm 112:5)

OUR 2020-2021 ACTION PLAN

Amend Making Liberty Home documents and curriculum to include our stance on anti-racism, our commitment to reconciliation, and God’s heart for the whole body of Christ.

Equip our Staff and local Liberty Church teams with tools, education and training on racial trauma and subsequent healing methods so that we can guide every person to a more connected and safe environment.

Introduce to our current and future staff our new Commitment to Unity, where we commit together as staff to embodying our core values and pursuing racial equality in our day to day interactions, creating an organizational culture where inclusion and diversity are celebrated.

We acknowledge the ways in which predominantly white, western styles and sources of worship caters to that audience and their musical preferences. We commit to embracing a wider genre of music styles and sources that reflects our diverse communities both on and off the platform at a local level.

Our Liberty Next Generation Team will strive to embody and celebrate diversity in our curriculum selection and in each environment and gathering we host, while also providing parents with resources to disciple their children with a biblical approach to racial reconciliation and equality. We commit to building a spirit of inclusion in all of our Liberty Kids & Youth experiences; from a welcoming atmosphere to a diverse representation in our books, resources, curriculum and team.

As a staff, we commit to building genuine connections beyond racial lines, having uncomfortable conversations to address prejudice as needed, modeling racial reconciliation, and leading with vulnerability. We commit to embodying Liberty Church’s commitments to racial reconciliation in our personal lives.

Seek outreach opportunities that support people who have been marginalized by systemic racism and various injustices resulting from systemic oppression and participate in these personally as staff members.