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Jubilee Fund
Jubilee: In the book of Leviticus a God presents a radical idea to His people that every 50th year the mercies of God would be manifest through His people in an undeniably way: debts would be forgiven, property would be returned to its owners, and slaves would be set free. Unfortunately, for thousands of years this proclamation existed in word only and was almost forgotten. When Jesus comes on scene though, the first official act of his ministry was to re-enact this lost proclamation. He tells us in Luke 4:
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… the year of Jubilee.
The year of Jubilee is all about giving people a second chance and a fresh opportunity to rise out of poverty and oppression. Four times in Luke 25 God says: “If any of your fellow Isrealites become poor….” God established a system and structure such that the despite anything that may have happened in someone’s life there was always this hope of jubilee- a hope for redemption and a chance to be made whole again. When Jesus stepped into ministry on this earth- this was his plan for ushering in God’s Kingdom.
The vision of Mountain Area Jubilee is to discover and make manifest God’s original plan of Jubilee here in the Mountain Area. Because the world we live in is no longer defined by property rights and slavery as it was in the agrarian society of early Isrealites over two millennial ago- we must take those foundational principles and define what it looks like in today’s culture. How can we release people from poverty and restore them to an equal place in society?
Foundational to this understanding of Jubilee to the Israelites is the idea that everyone has a right to land- that each person has the opportunity to work their land and make a living for themselves. Some people may squander this opportunity, sell their land for short-term gain, or make enough bad choices in their lives that they lose their land and the opportunity they have to make a living. Jubilee though offered this underlying hope of redemption- that one day their land would be restored and they would be given another opportunity to succeed. This gave people hope and something to focus on and work towards.
Mountain Area Jubilee captures this vision in giving people the opportunity to work who for whatever reason have lost the opportunity otherwise. Individuals could find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own because of injury, layoff, or family emergencies, or their joblessness could be a symptom of poor choices and bad behaviors related of incarceration, addiction, or lack of motivation. Mountain Are Jubilee seeks to demonstrate and advance the transformational love of Christ, the vision of Jubilee, through coming alongside individuals in need so that they have the opportunity for receiving the hope of Christ, establishing stable housing, and acquiring the skills, experience, and opportunity for employment.
You can get involved with Jubilee by joining the team as a Jubilee Volunteer by working alongside employees to develop skills and build relationships, by consider hiring Jubilee workers for your next project, by giving financially to fuel the vision of Jubilee and providing work for those in need, and by praying for Jubilee workers, volunteers and leaders as we follow God's direction, and that lives would be transformed.
Interested in joining the team? Have questions? Contact Matt Mellon, matt@sierravistachurch.org
The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor… the year of Jubilee.
The year of Jubilee is all about giving people a second chance and a fresh opportunity to rise out of poverty and oppression. Four times in Luke 25 God says: “If any of your fellow Isrealites become poor….” God established a system and structure such that the despite anything that may have happened in someone’s life there was always this hope of jubilee- a hope for redemption and a chance to be made whole again. When Jesus stepped into ministry on this earth- this was his plan for ushering in God’s Kingdom.
The vision of Mountain Area Jubilee is to discover and make manifest God’s original plan of Jubilee here in the Mountain Area. Because the world we live in is no longer defined by property rights and slavery as it was in the agrarian society of early Isrealites over two millennial ago- we must take those foundational principles and define what it looks like in today’s culture. How can we release people from poverty and restore them to an equal place in society?
Foundational to this understanding of Jubilee to the Israelites is the idea that everyone has a right to land- that each person has the opportunity to work their land and make a living for themselves. Some people may squander this opportunity, sell their land for short-term gain, or make enough bad choices in their lives that they lose their land and the opportunity they have to make a living. Jubilee though offered this underlying hope of redemption- that one day their land would be restored and they would be given another opportunity to succeed. This gave people hope and something to focus on and work towards.
Mountain Area Jubilee captures this vision in giving people the opportunity to work who for whatever reason have lost the opportunity otherwise. Individuals could find themselves in this situation through no fault of their own because of injury, layoff, or family emergencies, or their joblessness could be a symptom of poor choices and bad behaviors related of incarceration, addiction, or lack of motivation. Mountain Are Jubilee seeks to demonstrate and advance the transformational love of Christ, the vision of Jubilee, through coming alongside individuals in need so that they have the opportunity for receiving the hope of Christ, establishing stable housing, and acquiring the skills, experience, and opportunity for employment.
You can get involved with Jubilee by joining the team as a Jubilee Volunteer by working alongside employees to develop skills and build relationships, by consider hiring Jubilee workers for your next project, by giving financially to fuel the vision of Jubilee and providing work for those in need, and by praying for Jubilee workers, volunteers and leaders as we follow God's direction, and that lives would be transformed.
Interested in joining the team? Have questions? Contact Matt Mellon, matt@sierravistachurch.org