The strategic role of the church in advocacy

The church can play a number of very strategic roles in the work of advocacy. It also faces a number of challenges.

This section explores the role and challenges of both local church congregations and church structures, such as denominations.

Local church roles

Local church congregations bring particular strengths to advocacy and can play a number of key roles. 

For the full list, click here.

For individual strengths and roles, click on the links below:

1. Local influence
2. Ability to mobilise others
3. Local information gathering
4. Sharing information at community level
5. Acting as a mediator and peace-broker
6. Prayer 
7. Experience

There are a number of key factors that affect local churches' willingness to engage in advocacy and their effectiveness in doing so. Click here for an assessment of these challenges.

Church structure roles

Church structures, such as denominations, also bring particular strengths to advocacy, and are suited to playing particular roles.

1. Credibility with many national governments
2. Ability to influence and mobilise hundreds of thousands of people
3. Links to wider networks
4. Access to the media
5. A conduit for information
6. Ability to act as international advocates 
7. Representing the views of the church
8. Collaboration in wider alliances 

For more detail, click here. 

As with local church congregations, there are also a number of challenges that face church structures in engaging in advocacy. Click here for more.

This page was last updated on 04 June 2008