58: unites major anti-poverty organizations, leaders, and churches around historic goal

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO – Today, ten leading Christian anti-poverty organizations announced the launch of “58:”
– an unprecedented alliance of global Christians, churches and
faith-based poverty-fighting organizations working together to end
extreme, global poverty by 2035. To achieve this ambitious goal, 58: aspires to become the largest, most unified effort ever
by the global Church to help the 1.4 billion people living on less than
$1.25 a day – a revolutionary, worldwide response to the call of Isaiah
58.

The 58: Initiative is founded on the Bible’s call to
care for the poor and the shared conviction that the global Church has
the capacity to relegate extreme poverty to the history books. Uniting
under the common banner of 58:, the ten international
organizations provide a conduit to support thousands of small, local
organizations and churches doing work in more than 50 developing
countries. Collectively they represent more than $800 million in annual
operations.

The organizations, together with major churches, leaders, ministries,
and committed Christians, believe that a return to the biblical call to
care for the poor, a unified vision within the Church, and compelling
evidence of progress provide a historic moment for the Church to lead
the way in ending extreme poverty.

The evidence includes:

• The percentage of people living in extreme poverty has already dropped from 52% to 26% in a span of only 24 years
• A 50% drop in child mortality rates in the past three decades
• 600 million people gained access to clean drinking water since 1990
• Rapid and broad declines in malaria rates
• Expanded use of vaccines that are saving hundreds of thousands of children
• Significant declines in HIV infection rates and AIDS-related deaths

To build upon this momentum and finish the work of ending extreme poverty, 58:
points to the staggering resources already in the hands of Christians.
Conservative estimates record 138 million church-attending Christians in
America alone, with a collective annual income of $2.5 trillion
dollars. Economists estimate that – with economically-sound investments –
even a slight upward nudge in Christian generosity or reallocation of
church budget priorities would provide sufficient resources to bring an
end to extreme global poverty within 25 years.

In fact, there is a growing sense that churches and Christians are already shifting those priorities.

“In the last ten years we have witnessed an incredible shift in the
American Church as millions of Christians are now engaging with the
issues of poverty and injustice,” explains Peter Greer, President of
Hope International. “It is a groundswell of serious new intentions that
will radically impact extreme poverty.”

Dr. Scott Todd, Senior Advisor at Compassion International and one of the architects of 58:,
is seeing the momentum: “The question now is not, ‘Can we end extreme
poverty?’ The question is, ‘How fast?’” We are half-way there.
Generosity and new engagement by the Church can propel us to the finish
line. We believe 58: will unleash the Church’s massive potential for action.”

The ten organizations that form the “58: Council” are:

• Christian Reformed World Relief Committee – focused on the strategy of community development
• Compassion International – focused on the strategies of child and leadership development
• ECHO – focused on the strategy of food security
• Food for the Hungry – focused on the strategy of food security
• HOPE International – focused on the strategy of microenterprise development
• International Justice Mission – focused on the strategy of justice for victims of violent oppression
• Living Water International – focused on the strategy of safe water
• Micah Challenge – focused on the strategy of aid and policy
• Plant With Purpose – focused on the strategy of environmental stewardship
• World Relief – focused on the strategy of disaster relief

Three years in development, 58: and its Council
members are also introducing new platforms and content to equip churches
and individuals for action. These include:

• LIVE58.ORG (www.live58.org), an online action-based global portal that
  invites individuals and groups to directly impact those living in
  extreme poverty
• FAST LIVING – HOW THE CHURCH WILL END EXTREME POVERTY, a new book by Dr. Todd releasing on September 1^st.
• THE POOR WILL NOT ALWAYS BE WITH US, a compelling ten-minute film
• 58:, a feature-length documentary film slated to be released on television, iTunes, DVD, and direct to churches this October.

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