What is Advocacy?
The most frequently asked question The Luke Alliance receives is, “what is advocacy?” It’s sometimes easier to define advocacy by what it is not. Advocacy is not lobbying the government and crafting legislation. It does not engage in regime change or any political system. Instead, Advocacy is any action that builds coalitions of support, spotlights and educates on human rights violations of religious liberty and freedom, and creates solidarity that stands against evil in the world.
Advocacy recognizes that we have relationships with people who suffer from injustices that negatively impact their basic human rights to freely and peaceably live their lives. If we can speak into that issue in the spaces God puts us in, why wouldn’t we?
Advocacy tells people’s stories
Advocacy begins with listening to the thoughts and situations of others who are in dire need and then asking the question, “What can I do about that?”
My advocacy work began with my relationship with Chinese Pastor Wang Yi, a former human rights attorney, who found himself in a complicated situation. He's in prison. He cannot advocate for himself or other prisoners. His own lawyer has little access to visit or consult with him. My wife knows his wife. In our sadness and grief, we asked ourselves what we could do, and we started to seek answers through prayer and conversations.
“Advocacy recognizes that we have relationships with people who suffer from injustices that negatively impact their basic human rights to freely and peaceably live their lives.”
Scaling Advocacy
On an individual level, advocacy can take many forms. Calling congress members, writing letters, talking to faith and civic leaders about a cause that matters to you is advocacy. Praying alone or in groups is advocacy before God. As individuals and people of faith, we have many ways to advocate that matter and can lead to other ways to serve people through advocacy.
Socially, advocacy can take the form of speaking on behalf of the voiceless in conversations. Private conversations initially allowed the Luke Alliance to build coalitions of support and prayer for people such as Wang Yi in tenuous situations. It helped us make connections that give us latitude to carry these stories to the diplomatic community.
In Washington, we tell people’s stories to bring awareness to their cases to ask for just treatment in their judicial cases, prison terms, or other tenuous situations. Our relationships with influential leaders have brought about impactful and meaningful change for persecuted Christians. So, while advocacy can take many forms, at the end of the day, it's really just giving a voice to people who are voiceless and raising their concerns before other people.
Solidarity is the end goal
Finally, for people of faith, advocacy is one of many ways the church can withstand evil in the world. When we advocate for people in the midst of crisis, we’re living out our calling to bear one another’s burdens, love the Lord our God with all our heart, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Advocacy is just a tiny part of this united effort to glorify God in the world.
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