History
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival represents the culmination of more than a year of work by more than two hundred members that included major spiritual, social, political, civic, and corporate leaders that have being praying, studying God’s word, and seeking an answer for the healing of our city.
More than one thousand churches, non-profits, and organizations from Greater Dallas would be represented in the effort which was launched in a three day meeting held in October of 2009 at the Dallas Market Hall. The event begin with nationally noted Rev. Zan Holmes, pastor emeritus of St. Luke United Methodist Church preaching an inspirational message on Tuesday evening, climaxing the following night with a rousing message by the Rev. Samuel Rodriquez, President of the Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and concluded on Thursday night with Sojourners founder Jim Wallis offering a challenge to the listeners.
Passionate worship was led by Grammy Award winning artists that included Fred Hammond, Israel and New Breed and Jaci Velasquez and Salvador.
An integral part of the three day event was IGNITE Greater Works that held a day and half seminars and workshops. It was a vital component to helping achieve the goal of establishing 25 formal organizational collaborations by providing 9 months of extended coaching and consulting with non-profits, churches and ministries. It was sponsored by Faith & Philanthropy Institute, a nonprofit organization located in the Dallas-FortWorth Metroplex with the mission to guide and develop churches, donors, leaders, and organizations throughout the world for the transformation of local communities.
As a key part of putting faith into action, nearly one-thousand volunteers gathered the following Saturday after the three day event, and volunteered in ten projects across Dallas. These outreaches were aimed at addressing the needs of five different low-income neighborhoods throughout Dallas. These projects helped serve the Justice Revivals’ commitment to increasing the quality of Dallas’ education system while addressing chronic homelessness that many people in poverty face. Volunteers also joined in the March for the Homeless on the same day of outreach to bring attention to the need for churches to take the call for biblical justice and homelessness more seriously.
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival is appreciative to those leaders in the ecumenical and evangelical movement in the Body of Christ who supported this effort. We are greatly appreciated to Sojourners founder Jim Wallis and National Field Representative Aaron Graham who partnered with Foundation for Community Empowerment and Chairman Emeritus Don Williams of Trammel Crow for their vision and heart for our city to help launch this effort. Without the support of our Mayor Tom Leppert, this event would not have succeeded. We also are deeply appreciative to our sponsors of this movement who are Sojourners, Foundation for Community Empowerment, World Vision International, Twenty-Ten Mission, Dallas Baptist University, and Central Dallas Ministries.
Why this movement is more than Social Justice?
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival leadership acknowledges that we will never address the great social injustices of our time without a true spiritual awakening that transforms hearts. Desiring more than just a reviving of our community, we desire that reformation takes place such as in the First and Second Great Awakening which abolished injustices such as the abolition movement. We believe that God’s word is grounded in scriptures that call for justice, equity, and righteousness that began in the Old Testament and culminates with the words of Jesus who said, “The “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me and has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.”
What is Biblical Justice?
The Greater Dallas Justice Revival applauds all efforts toward social justice (correcting social ills or systems), but we believe that we are called to live and preach the words of Jesus who said: “Your Kingdome come on earth as it is in heaven”, or rather God’s shalom or peace in our community. Our desire is not to simply improve our communities, but rather “create a beloved community” in the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
We believe that the body of Christ can come together and as faithful followers of Christ we can become better neighbors, thus transforming the public face of Christianity here in the Greater Dallas area. It is our prayer that a new definition of Christian disciple is birthed where all believers will be committed to Jesus’ agenda which includes feeding the hungry, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, giving care to the sick, and visiting the prisoner (Matthew 25:35-36).
We believe that as the church returns to the “parish” practice, that disillusioned believers will come back to faith after many years of alienation, while other seekers discover the power of faith for with a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
It is our heart to link the tradition of Billy Graham with the tradition of Martin Luther King Jr., thus transforming the homes, schools, and communities of our region.