Inspiring Faith: American Actions, Global Blessings

Two thousand years after Jesus offered his followers instructions for how to live out the greatest commandment, faith communities around the globe and here at home are doing their part to love their neighbors as themselves in new and innovative ways that address today’s most pressing challenges.

Faith-based organizations are joining forces with businesses, individuals, and governments around the world on a unified project to improve life on our planet. By working toward the goals that are intended to improve the lives of people and the planet, faith-based organizations across America are helping to usher in God’s kingdom here on Earth as it is in heaven.

What Are the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)?

Begun in 2015 with the hope and anticipation to make a better and more sustainable future by the year 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are a collection of 17 global goals designed to address a range of pressing issues such as poverty, inequality, climate change, and peace and justice.

Many of the SDGs align with core Christian values. In some way, shape, or form, all 17 of the SDGs directly or indirectly care for the poor and vulnerable. The SDGs aim to uphold the dignity of every person, just as our faith affirms that every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Jesus’ ministry emphasized care for the poor, feeding the hungry, and healing the sick. God’s compassion for the overlooked and marginalized is most plainly on display in the Sermon on the Mount and in Matthew 25:35-40. Our faith also promotes the pursuit of peace, justice, and reconciliation in places like Micah 6:8 and again in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5). 

Six of the SDGs emphasize the importance of caring for creation:

• Goal 6: Clean Water and Sanitation
• Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
• Goal 12: Responsible Consumption and Production
• Goal 13: Climate Action
• Goal 14: Life Below Water
• Goal 15: Life on Land

From the very beginning of our creation story all the way through to the end of Revelation, our responsibility to care for the environment and planet is explicitly given, over and over again. God cares about our planet. He doesn’t just invite us to take care of it, he instructs us to do so.

The SDGs are an invitation to people and communities everywhere to join forces for the common good in a spirit of solidarity and love for our global neighbors to make the world a better place. That seems like a cause the big-C Church can get behind, right?

Turns out, it is!

Faith in Action in the United States for Global Good

To provide a larger picture of how faith-based organizations are working toward these global goals, the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology started an ever-evolving online database of projects. To date, Faith Action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals has cataloged 89 different faith-based projects that are working toward the environmental SDGs. Every quarter, the Yale Forum adds more submitted projects to the database. To have your project considered, submit your materials here.

In an effort to mobilize the Catholic Church in America, the Catholic Climate Covenant and GoodLands have initiated projects to help congregations make more sustainable energy decisions and make strategic decisions about their land use.

The Mennonite Creation Care Network has launched the Generation Z Energy & Spirit Challenge, which focuses on inspiring intergenerational climate action at the community level to develop green congregations, including the installation of solar panels, car charging stations, and other renewable energy projects.

Farming God’s Way is an organization serving 20 countries including the United States to provide a biblical and technological solution for the agricultural domain with the goal to help those in poverty learn principles that can sustain their lives and feed their families.

This is just a sampling of the kinds of projects faith communities in the United States are actively pursuing to help achieve the SDGs by 2030. Explore the Yale Forum’s Faith Action on the UN Sustainable Development Goals database to learn more about the efforts of the church in America. Collectively, we can make a difference in our local communities and around the globe.

If you have a story to share about your local congregation, we’d love to amplify it! Message us on Instagram or put a note in the comments. We are each given the power of personal testimony to share the good news of what God is doing in our lives and in our communities, and that testimony has power to inspire, motivate, and change the world. So let’s hear it!