“In a time of division, we want to model the unity present in the Body of Christ,”

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

Three leading Christian international development organizations have come together to stream a two-hour free benefit concert that they are calling Unite to Fight Poverty. The event features 21 major Christian artists, including Michael W. Smith, Toby Mac, and Hillsong Worship. Canadian viewers can watch the August 28 livestream on Facebook and YouTube, starting at 8:30 ET.

“Our three organizations [World Vision, Compassion International, and Food for the Hungry] are focused on similar work in international community development and child-focused transformation,” says Melanie Olfert of Food for the Hungry. “We thought, let’s do this together as a united front with the artists that represent us, working to bring greater impact.”

“In a time of division, we want to model the unity present in the Body of Christ,” adds an event factsheet provided by Compassion Canada.

While COVID-19 dominates headlines, rarely mentioned is the devastation in the developing world, caused by the economic closures. During the two-hours of Unite to Fight Poverty, viewers will be invited to donate $10 by text. The money will be divided evenly by the three organizations and used for COVID responses, like providing clean water and hygiene supplies, sanitation stations, and helping families in extreme poverty.

The current economic closures have already caused more than 110 million more children to go hungry.

“We hope to create awareness and raise funds to help families in extreme poverty who have been devastated by the COVID pandemic,” says Jordan Westman of Compassion Canada. “There are tens of millions of children at risk of hunger, malnutrition, violence, and neglect who need support.”

In fact, the current economic closures have already caused more than 110 million more children to go hungry. The hardships in the developing world are expected to worsen with delayed education and other harms.

“We recognize the secondary impacts of this global pandemic will push some developing countries even further back into extreme poverty,” says World Vision spokesperson Holly Frew. “Our hope through Unite to Fight Poverty is to bring the Christian community together to respond to God’s call to serve the vulnerable children.”

Olfert adds that the artists wanted to give Christians a free concert where they could worship together and the organizations wanted to find a way of blessing the Church while bringing awareness.

“We wanted to do something different. The more we can work together, the better,” she says. “[Unite to Fight Poverty] is really taking the focus off of our organizations’ specific methods and giving the broader message of helping the vulnerable. We hope North Americans will take time to consider the global impact of COVID-19 in areas of the world where there are no safety nets or security.”