Evangelical Creation Care Service Projects

For evangelicals, following Christ means furthering Christ’s work of reconciling all things to God. Creation care is part of this ministry of reconciliation. It serves God’s sustaining and healing purposes for the world by:

• Preventing environmental degradation;
• Protecting the poor and children from its effects; and
• Finding ways for people and other creatures to live together sustainably.

“Missionary Earthkeeping” is a term that has been coined for Christian service that witnesses to Christ’s lordship over all things through practical efforts to care for creation. For example:

• A Ph.D. student brought the message of creation care to Tangier Island, a deeply religious Chesapeake Bay community, helping to defuse a bitter conflict between environmentalists and those who make their living from the sealife in the Bay and;
• Brackenhurst, a Baptist mission conference center in Kenya, raises and plants trees through its indigenous forestry program while spreading the message of creation care to churches and schools.
  

Devastated by poverty and environmental degradation, a desert community receives the gift of fresh, clean water.

Evangelicals are actively caring for creation in many other ways and in many other places, both here and abroad:

• The Evangelical Environmental Network’s campaigns and accomplishments include:
  
  • Providing recycling at “Creation Fest,” the largest Christian rock festival in the U.S.;
  • Working with the Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas to provide clean water to a community in Mexico; and
  • Educating families about how to protect themselves from toxic substances in their homes, neighborhoods, and schools.
• Habitat for Humanity International’s Construction and Environmental Resources Department provides low-cost houses that conserve energy and resources and are healthy for the families that live in them. Habitat ReStores raise money to build houses by diverting quality used and surplus building materials away from landfills and into use.
• Relief and development organizations promote sustainable livelihoods and economies for the people they serve:
  • AERDO, The Association of Evangelical Relief and Development Organizations, reported on a study of environmental initiatives among its member agencies, “The Stewardship of Creation in Service with the Poor”;
  • Floresta teaches and promotes agroforestry, reforestation, soil conservation, and other sustainable techniques to help farmers in Haiti, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic become self-sufficient; and
  • Christian Reformed Church World Relief Committee recognizes that sustainable solutions to poverty require caring for the physical creation;