Northern Ireland: can we reimagine a good news vision for our nation?

We are living in an extraordinary time for our nation. Since February 2022, Northern Ireland has had no functioning Executive in our devolved government at Stormont. This has resulted in no assembly debates, no committee scrutiny of legislation and no decision making at a time when Northern Ireland needs strong leadership. The general feeling amongst the people in Northern Ireland is one of frustration and despondency. The low turnout in the latest council elections in May 2023 hints at a nation that has turned off from politics.

In this time, we have faced a cost of living crisis leaving too many people living in poverty, many of whom are not even able to afford essentials like toilet paper and hot water to bathe in. In April, we marked 25 years of the Good Friday Agreement. What should have been a celebration of the success of a hard fought for political agreement that ushered in a new era of peace for Northern Ireland, was a bit of a damp squib.

Without a functioning government and clear leadership, celebrations were understated and were set against a background of rising tensions and fear in the community given the shooting of a senior police officer in Omagh. We thought the days of these kinds of attacks were in the past. And now we are dealing with the fallout of a draft government budget that’s affecting every government department and the funding of public services, and will inevitably adversely affect the vulnerable and poor the most.

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It all sounds like such bad news. According to Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2023, more than a third of people across the globe say they actively avoid the news – surely that figure must be higher in Northern Ireland!

What is our hopeful vision?

That is why the Evangelical Alliance Northern Ireland recently launched Reimagine – a good news vision for Northern Ireland. Reimagine is a short booklet that is meant to stimulate a conversation about what vision Christians across NI have for our nation.

Our hope is that it will be a catalyst for conversation and transformation in the church, in the public square and with policy-shapers. Reimagine is a call to action for evangelical Christians in Northern Ireland to reimagine a gospel vision for our people and our place, so that, together, we can speak with a prophetic voice and bring about transformation at every level of society, government, communities, families, and individual lives. If Christians in Northern Ireland do not have a hopeful vision and speak with a hopeful voice, then who will?

A celebration of good news

On Monday, 13 June, we hosted a launch event at the MAC, Belfast, gathering with a roomful of faith leaders from para-church organisations, faith-based charities and faith-inspired social enterprises. These are the organisations, policy officers and charity workers that we see working hard to serve the church and our local communities with a good news vision for a range of issues – such as the environment, valuing children in care, welcoming refugees and helping people become debt free. They inspired the writing of Reimagine, and the event was a celebration of all their hard work and an opportunity to share our hopes, dreams and plans for a future flourishing Northern Ireland.

As the public policy officer for the Evangelical Alliance in Northern Ireland, I will be found working across these areas of interest in the months and years to come. But on my own I can’t achieve anything that’s meaningful across all the important issues all of the time. Reimagine is a call to all Christians to play their part. As Christians across Northern Ireland today, do we believe that the gospel is still good news for our people and our place? We each have a voice that matters deeply, that can help bring the life, hope and change that is desperately needed in our society. Proverbs 29:18 tells us that, ​“where there is no vision, the people perish.” Surely, we all want to play our part to reimagine a good news vision for Northern Ireland.

Your invitation to reimagine

If you want to find out more about a good news vision for Northern Ireland, download your copy of Reimagine here. If you are a Christian in Northern Ireland reading Reimagine and can see how your work, ministry or organisation relates to that hopeful vision, we invite you get in touch to share your good news vision and to work with us to reimagine all that Northern Ireland can be.

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We are an alliance dedicated to sharing a wealth of resources with the church, representing the church in politics, media and civil society, and building strong relationships across the church – all because we know that together we can achieve much more than we can ever achieve alone. Together, we make Jesus known. It’s quick and easy to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance.