Ade Omooba on how public policy affects church run projects

Ade Omooba

In the past few Parliaments, many groups disproportionate to their size have had major influence on politics in this country and the political process. Now is the time, in the run up to the General Election 2010, for Biblically-minded Christians to let the Government know that we have a voice and that we want to be heard. 'Christians and Candidates' provides a forum for the Christian voice to be heard, by gathering Prospective Parliamentary Candidates together and asking them what they believe about key issues, such as: the sanctity of life, the importance of marriage and the need for religious liberty. It has received support from a number of Christian leaders.

Pastor Ade Omooba of the Christian Victory Group and CCFON has worked with churches in over seventy social action projects for more than seventeen years. In Brixton the church has started a nursery to provide for the needs of the local community. Ade shares here how public policy affects projects like this.

Ade: Community is at the heart of what the church does. We're driven all the time to express the love of God practically in our communities.

There's a project, the nursery in the Brixton area. It's so impressive the way it was birthed; it was birthed within the local community by Christians in response to the local need. What this particular provision did, was incorporate parent care and staff care. It says if we're going to be parents for twelve hours a day to these children, we must bring the parents along, as well as staff along. Parents have the opportunity to come in to receive counselling or pastoral care if they need it and also staff, to ensure that the provision to the children is holistic and is well balanced. What is happening at home, what is happening in the nursery is all working hand in hand and complimentary, so that young people get the best at all times.

It's a joy in my heart when the young people come in for their graduation. They're only 0 - 5 year olds, coming for their graduations; coming as it were to their first level of education. I see parents with joy in their hearts; having gone through so many challenges. Through the two or three years the children are here we've been able to support them to come through those challenges and at the end of the day impact the children in the way that they can now move on to primary education. It's a tremendous fulfilment. To know that we provide it to anyone, any race, people of faith or no faith, and it's all coming out of our conviction in Christ. It's all coming out of that uniqueness, that Christ is at the centre of all we do and it's our lifestyle.

It's always a challenge financing such initiatives and I'll be looking at ways in which churches and Christians engage, contesting parliamentary candidates in this next election on the issue of our funding Christian initiatives. The whole criteria around that as well as some of the issues around the provision itself. We do not want public policy to infringe or limit the scope of work that we do as Christians. We don't want to be told to leave our faith at the door when we want to access funding. That doesn't help our situation at all. The uniqueness of our provision is our faith. It's not just a belief for us, it's a lifestyle. The services are available to anyone who wants to benefit from it; but it's important that those who want to deliver it are people who subscribe to the ethos. If and when this legislation comes in and what it does, it's to weaken the fruit of our expression to show God's love practically, that will not promote cohesion, it will only promote tension.

I want to challenge us as Christians as we go to these coming elections - please, your vote is your right, it's your influence, it is your authority and you must use it well. We're asking you to now engage individually and collectively as a church with every contesting parliamentary candidate within your constituencies. Go to their surgeries as groups or as individuals and bring these issues before them, which concern you. Let them communicate with you how they will help you in serving your communities and making you contribute your own quota to society as a Christian. Write to them if you have to. Also be part of the local electoral hustings that some of churches might be holding bringing these contesting parliamentary candidates together. Be part of that; take the opportunity to be informed, so that when you engage, you engage with clarity, you engage with conviction you engage with courage. We must seize this moment, we must seize this opportunity.

The project here is for the early years. There are other projects within this community that Christians are providing to do with youths; from ethnic minorities; initiatives to help with unemployment; initiatives to help with depression; initiatives to help with the challenge of drugs and alcohol. All these things come out of churches and Christian led organisations. We need to be bringing them forward to the parliamentary candidates and ask what are you going to do to help us continue to serve this people who are in great need of help and support, without the provision being threatened by public policy, by legislation?