“An ounce of practice is worth more than a tonne of theory” – Q&A with Steve Chalke MBE

A Manifesto for Hope: Q&A with Steve Chalke MBE

Q - How do you see A Manifesto for Hope inspiring collaboration between civic leaders and faith groups?

A - “A Manifesto for Hope is written for politicians, policymakers, charity leaders, faith group leaders, and anybody who wants to create a manifesto for hope. It’s a book for church leaders, but it's also if you're the local mayor, it's just as relevant to you.

“I’m speaking at the moment with a local council about how to create inclusion for young people. It’s such a big issue for them and they can’t get there on their own. It’s very obvious that they need to work with the voluntary sector, with grassroots organisations, with churches, with other faith groups, with little local charities, because local charities have an energy, and they're on the ground and have a circle of trust that no council can achieve on its own. So that's my message to them - get using these people, and the message for churches is the same. But pull your finger out because the moment is here.”

Q - You mention the importance of seizing opportunities in your book—what inspired you to write A Manifesto for Hope?

A - “The reason I wrote the book is because I knew there was going to be a general election.
“There’s a story I tell: ‘Before the concrete dries.’ It’s about when I was a kid, I was ten, and I was with my friend called John Dean. We were walking home through the park, and the pavement in front of us had just been redone. There was a sign that said: ‘Keep off. Wet cement.’
And John Dean said: ‘This is our opportunity!’ And we ran all the way through this path. Of course, it set, and until the day I left South Norwood, our footprints were left in the path.

“The point is this: when a new government arrives, in a transition, the concrete is wet, and it's a chance to make our mark, because the policies aren't set. But if we don't get on with it and do it now, the concrete will set, and we'll be left behind.”

Q - How can the principles of A Manifesto for Hope be applied by faith groups to address social challenges?

A - “Oasis now employs 6,000 people, we run 54 schools, we run an alternative to a youth jail – it’s a highly secure unit and it's all based on Jesus’ teaching. It's the first of its kind ever in the country; they had to change the law for us to do it. We run supported housing, we run a whole network of churches as well. And it's all rooted in theology. It’s all rooted in church.

“I’m a Baptist minister, and I’m committed to the only prayer that Jesus ever taught us to pray. He said: ‘When you pray, pray like this.’ He didn’t mean pray these exact words. He meant let this be a model of how you pray: ‘Our Father who is in Heaven. Your name be honoured, Your Kingdom come. Your will be done on Earth, like it is in Heaven…’

“And I would say everything Oasis does – all the houses we run, every volunteer we have, every child we work with – we educate 32,000 children every day, we run youth clubs, we work in the emergency departments of hospitals. If a child tries to take their life or is stabbed or shot, we work with them in that moment and then ongoingly… It's all the Gospel.

“That, I think, is what Jesus was asking us to do when he asked us to pray. He didn’t mean pray these words parrot-fashion. He meant live out these principles.”

Q - What are the key messages contained in A Manifesto for Hope?*

* ‘A Manifesto for Hope – Ten principles for transforming the lives of children, young people and their families’, outlines ten key principles for transforming lives. They focus on creating inclusive communities, providing support for the most vulnerable, and encouraging collaboration across sectors to ensure no one is left behind. The manifesto calls for a shift in the way society addresses its most pressing social issues, emphasising the importance of compassion, justice, and practical action in building a more hopeful and inclusive future.

A - “The Manifesto for Hope is ten principles. I wrote it after one of our students in Croydon was stabbed to death, on December 30th 2021, and then twelve hours later, one of our young children from one of our primary schools was murdered by his mother. She's now in prison. It was during the pandemic, and she was a mum on her own.

“I wrote A Manifesto for Hope because realised that all the systems around us were failing. They were failing to support children. We talk about ACEs (Adverse Childhood Experiences). Well, they should be ASEs: Adverse System Experiences. That's the problem. The systems don't work.

“When I became a Christian, I knew that I had to work to build God’s Kingdom because that's what Jesus said. I'm not very smart. I just knew I was supposed to do that. I decided that when I grew up, I should be a church leader, and I should start a school worth going to, in a house that offered you hope and love, and a hospital. And I just set out to do all that.

"These ten principles are ten principles of how to do that, what I've learned along the way. These are the ten core principles, as best I can articulate them.”

Q - How can local faith groups use these principles to transform their communities?

A - “The strapline of the book is ‘Ten principles for transforming the lives of children, young people, and their families’… you could add to that: ‘and whole communities.’ The first principle is that; ‘An ounce of practice is worth more than a tonne of theory.’ Our society loves writing reports, but you really learn by doing, don’t you?

“So to every church who’s asking, ‘How do we involve society?’ if I say to them: ‘Start a school,’ they might ask, ‘How can I?!’ My advice is: just get going. Choose the low-hanging fruit, pick the easy things to start with, but take action. That’s the first principle. Then, the other nine principles build on that practical approach. Whether you’ve got five people in your community group or you are the city council, these principles will help you get started. They’re all actionable, and they all apply.”

Q - What advice would you give to a small faith group looking to engage with civic leaders or start a social action project?

A - “My tip is to read the local newspaper or turn on the local radio and find out what's missing. Right now, a big story is that double the number of primary school children are being excluded from school. That’s 84,000 primary school children, and it’s shot through the roof in the last five years because of the pandemic and kids not recovering. So you’ve got endless parents in any community who are really worried that their child isn’t attending school. There’s a great opportunity for trusted adults."

“I share a story about a church I visited on a Monday. The headteacher told me ‘nobody will come and work with these children, no-one will run the gardening club, nobody comes and reads with them, and we haven’t got any mentors for them, they’ve not got anybody older in their life to guide them.’ That was on the Monday. Then the Saturday, I was booked by the church which was just across the road, to open their new hall. The vicar told me: ‘the congregation have all got grey or silver hair, we’re all old, and now we’ve got the hall, we just need to fill it with young families, but we can’t find young families’… And I said, ‘Look out of the window!’So on the one side of the road you’ve got a school saying, ‘We need some retired people to come and help,’ and on the other side of the road they’re saying: ‘We want to welcome children and families!’ The answer to that, I say, is go and see the headteacher, and work out what’s needed.”

Q - Why is it important for faith groups to build relationships with civic leaders?

A - “If you are the director of education for a council, their big question at the moment is: ‘How do we create mentors for young people? How do we keep young people in school?’ Councils are crying out for people to step forward and help.

“The answer is to get engaged with one another. For councils, that’s about engaging with faith groups and community groups in the area and harnessing those connections. They're on the ground, they have traction, pulling power, and community knowledge.
“And for churches, realise what you’ve got, and reach out. And as I say, have another read of the prayer Jesus taught us to pray. Then ask: ‘Now what are we going to do about it?’”