“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it,” (1 Peter 3:15, NLT).

The June protests in Hong Kong against the proposed extradition law brought much attention in the media. Something unique about this protest is how the church has stepped up her role as peacemakers.

On 12 June 2019, during a potential violent clash between protesters and the police force in Hong Kong, Christians came out in droves to declare peace. Sandwiched between the two groups, our brothers and sisters sang the chorus “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord” to defuse the tension. They also condemned the unnecessary force police used toward the largely peaceful tactics of the protestors. 

Responding to the church’s call to be a conduit for social justice, 16 June 2019, more than 500 brothers and sisters gathered in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, to worship and pray together outside the Chinese consulate to show our support and solidarity with the peaceful protesters in Hong Kong. 

Discipleship is about declaration of Jesus’ lordship in our life. Redemption is personal, but also carries a public dimension. Theologian Leslie Newbiggin reminds us that our faith is a public faith. 

Christ is our ultimate source of hope. The church’s role is to witness through the hermeneutic of the gospel through acts of social justice. 

Jesus commands us to be “in the world, but not of the world” (John 17:13–19), so our witnessing is grounded, relevant and contextual to the society of which we are part. 

When the church speaks up against injustice, we declare peace. By singing “Sing Hallelujah to the Lord,” we declare that the peace of Christ triumphs over any fear, oppression and injustice.

— Lawrence Cheung, spiritual care practitioner and member of Killarney Park MB Church, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

This testimony is part of the Anabaptist World Fellowship Sunday worship resource for 2020. Click here to see more.