Race & Justice

A Letter from the Pastors of the HP Pres Family of Churches

In Jesus Christ, we believe that God is making all things new. He is renewing us to himself through the death of Jesus. He is renewing us in our own selves into the image of Jesus. He’s renewing us to one another in the body of Jesus (i.e. the Church). He is renewing this world by the power and the Spirit of Jesus. Therefore, the work of renewal not only includes us, but it also involves us. The Gospel of all things new in Jesus calls us to reimagine our lives and our city in light of God’s good design, which is the flourishing of all creation with goodness, truth, beauty, and justice. In the everyday arenas of work and play, family and relationships, mercy and justice, God calls us to long for and labor toward his renewed world, which is guaranteed to come, secured in Christ.

But if we are to seek the flourishing of our city and beyond, we must also bear witness to the kingdom of light over and above the kingdom of darkness. In our present cultural moment, this means we are expected to align our hearts with God’s deepest desire to push back against the sin of racial injustice in all its forms. We must also recognize that the injustice of racism, apathy, etc. is not merely a result of the broken world we live in but a sin that lives within each one of us and the institutions we inhabit. At the same time, the Gospel enables us to confess our sin and respond to ongoing convictions without having to bear the guilt of condemnation. This is the Good News: Jesus Christ suffered once for sin, the righteous for the unrighteous so that he might bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18). This eternal work of reconciliation, accomplished by Christ on our behalf, enables his people to pursue the just efforts of reconciliation between fellow image-bearers of God from every race, class, and generation.

We believe this cannot be a short-term or fleeting effort, but the kind of core commitment that requires a long obedience in the same direction. It will involve the difficult work of learning and reading, repenting and uprooting, befriending and empowering. Toward this end, we have created this resource page that will aid in the initial steps of educating and equipping in the pursuit of racial equity. While this may seem like an insurmountable task before us, take heart! The Spirit of Christ won’t leave or forsake us in the pursuit of every good endeavor.

Signed by our Family of Churches,