Introducing ‘Help Project’ – the what and why 

What is this ‘Help Project’?

Help Project is a media effort purposed to will promote what churches are doing to help people is their communities.

• It will involve a specific promotional period (September)
• It will also involve year-round ads like ‘google search ads’ – that pop up when people search for information or help in a particular area.
• It will include a website at which people can search to find help in a range of areas near them – listing various things churches are doing and offering.

This is purposed to achieve two key outcomes.

(1) Firstly, more people will be connected to things churches are doing, to receive help where it is available. Helping people is why we all do what we do!

(2) Secondly, for the Church as a whole, it will address something of the negative stereo-type (or prejudice) we’re facing due to the way public media and education talk about us.

• Our ‘bad’ stories are consistently told but not the positive – while there are genuinely thousands of untold positive stories for every negative one.
• Because this has been a cultural trend for a few decades, it’s built a culture of negativity (a prejudice) toward us and our message. No one is going to speak up for us. If we do not tell our own story, it will not be told.

To highlight a couple of cultural points:

(A) Most NZers today have little clue regarding the significance of the Christian faith in their heritage, and to their everyday values, freedoms and prosperity.

• Many even think our values (like regarding care, charity and doing good) are the same as those of most other nations and religions – as if these values we hold were somehow global.
• They are therefore genuinely uninformed and unaware of the religions, their differences, and the way that this can affect nearly all of a persons values, prejudices and actions – including their own.

(B) How significant (or ‘big’) are our good works today?

• The Christian Church is unquestionably the largest charitable organisation or ‘body’ our nation has. What churches do in communities is simply amazing! (What we do globally is unparalleled too!). Christians are generous in both giving and volunteerism – globally. How generous?
• In a study by Victorian University of Wellington, the ‘very religious’  (who I am told were mostly Christians) represented about 5% of those interviewed. This subgroup gave 5.7 times as much to charity, and 2.3 times as much time to volunteerism.
• The efforts of Christians are found in all manner of charities too.
• Additionally, the existence of many so-called  ‘secular’ charities is the direct result of Christian effort and values – including healthcare for all, scientific method, education for all, and a huge myriad of organisations like the SPCA and Red Cross – but that’s another story.

We are sitting inside a culture that has failed to teach about religion, it’s own religion, and it’s own cultural heritage and history.

• Meanwhile our nations amazing levels of prosperity, equality and charity are directly attributable to our Christian heritage, and we have these at a level that has rare comparisons in the world today, let alone in all of history prior.

When media, Government and education tarnish your name, and will not to tell your positive stories to represent you fairly, what do you do?
You need to tell your own story!

1 Peter 3:15 tells us to always be ready to give the reasons for the hope that we have – but with gentleness and respect.

Jesus stated in Matthew 5:6. “In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

Three media efforts

As articulated half a dozen year ago, we have proposed three annual media efforts as one small part of a solution. These are purposed to highlight the help and hope we offer.

1. Hope Project Easter (Started 2014)
2. Hope Project Christmas (Started 2019)
3. ‘Hope Project Family’ – now beginning, rebranded as ‘Help Project.

The ‘Help Project’ will therefore

1. …bring a measure of glory to God for things his people do – by giving profile to those amazing things that are helping people in communities. [WORSHIP]
2. …help people – as they discover services in their communities that meet needs that they have. [SERVICE]
3. However, we’re now unaware that this might also challenge negative stereo-types we’re suffering under, and that this has value. [WITNESS]

People’s perspective of who we are as Christians are unavoidably the starting point for the ‘God conversation‘.