Six months later Hopkins learned that Lowery was to be paroled. He knew Lowery had no family, friends, or contacts anywhere. Lowery was the only child of beach hippies, had been bounced around in numerous foster homes, and served several prison terms for a long list of criminal activities, from selling drugs to armed robbery. He was now 30 years old, trusting Christ for his future, but with no one but Hopkins to care about him.

Hopkins sensed that God wanted him to find a home and a church for Aaron. He went to the local library to scour the yellow pages for churches in the town of Victorville, California, where Lowery was to parole, and started making phone calls. He called one church and the secretary said, “Don’t send him here!” Hopkins tried other churches. No interest. He continued to pray, tried one more church, Desert Rock, and spoke with the minister. This minister said that Hopkin’s phone call was an answer to his own prayer and offered to take Lowery on the spot. Hopkins agreed to meet with the minister in his office on the morning of Lowery’s release from prison.

An Unexpected Homecoming

At that meeting Hopkins found that Desert Rock had already prepared a place for Lowery to stay in the church building. Hopkins bought Lowery new clothes, prayed with him, gave money to the minister for Lowery’s expenses, and left to return home. But his interest in Lowery didn’t end. The two men continued to write to each other, and Hopkins traveled to Victorville to visit Lowery a few months later. “At least 15 people in the church came up to me and thanked me for sending Aaron to our church,” Hopkins said. Not only had Lowery joined several prayer and house groups, he was asked to lead an outreach program. An elder of the church had given Lowery a job.

It gets better.

A year later, Lowery met his future wife, Lisa, in the prayer chapel in the church. At the wedding, Hopkins stood by Lowery’s side as best man.

To everyone’s astonishment, Lowery’s errant father came to the wedding, too. So astounded by the love of the church for his son—whom he had considered to be a loser—Lowery’s father became a Christian and started life anew.

Lowery is now a homeowner, he and his wife recently had their first child, and he has a business in which he employs men whom he disciples in the Christian faith.

And it began at Dick Hopkin’s kitchen table. A simple interest in writing letters to an inmate who had become a Christian turned into a ministry of advocacy for more than 20 newly paroled inmates. “There are few people as poor as a homeless person getting out of a prison. He is out in the cold,” said Hopkins. Without being consciously aware of it, Dick had developed a series of steps for becoming an advocate to protect someone who couldn’t speak for himself.

Why should anyone consider advocacy? Because it matters to God. Throughout Scripture, we see God as a champion of the poor, the needy, and the voiceless. Christ had a passion for the poor. As our example, he not only identified himself with the poor and disadvantaged, but acted on their behalf.

Hopkins shared his story in a class called “Make Poverty History,” a course on Christians and the poor led by Dr. Roberta Hestenes of World Vision, in which she described strategies for advocacy.

Getting Started

So how does one get started as an advocate? Here are a few recommendations made by Hestenes, gleaned from her experience in this field:

Pray, worship, study the Bible, and maintain involvement with a committed church. Then look for God’s entry point for you. Consider your interests, spiritual gifts, abilities, opportunities, and resources as you decide. It might be a country that you feel a particular interest in; it might be a compelling local concern.

Lisa Marquardt of Lutherville, Maryland was a young mom when she first stepped out of her comfort zone to confront the city council about protecting forested land near her home. Quiet and reserved by nature, Lisa’s brave efforts were in vain; the city steamrolled over neighborhood protests. But Lisa discovered one important strategy in fighting city hall: she noticed that those who were effective in making a difference were lawyers.

Ten years later, after three arduous years in law school and two attempts at the Maryland Bar (the latter one successful), as her two daughters left home to pursue college and career, Lisa became an attorney.

Lisa’s entry point began as a desire to protect a tiny corner of God’s earth from over-development. She sensed God’s direction to speak up and she analyzed what worked. Through prayer and her husband’s support, she developed a plan and saw it through. After gaining knowledge and credentials in law school, she earned the right to speak. But her dream doesn’t stop there. “I just couldn’t let this November approach without seeing my name on the ballot,” she said. “That was the vision God gave to me.” So this fall, Lisa will be running for a seat on the County Council.

Prioritizing Your Concern

Learn about and stay informed about your area of focus. Simplify or change your lifestyle so you will have more to give—through time, monetary gifts, and sharing your abilities.

After reading the secular yet brilliant book The End of Poverty (Penguin Group, 2006) by Jeffrey Sachs, Karen Jones couldn’t ignore the pull she felt toward AIDS orphans in Uganda. After learning more about the country, she researched a credible and effective ministry and decided to adjust some easy-to-change habits in her life to send money regularly to that ministry. This summer she is planning to travel to Uganda with her 14-year-old daughter and volunteer in that ministry.

Speaking Up and Speaking Out

Hestenes believes that human structures are meant to work out God’s plans for earth. With a great heart for those who have no representative voice, Hestenes regularly e-mails the White House, Senate and Congress, her governor, state legislators, and corporate executives with her concerns about legislative actions that injure the poor. “The Senate and Congress believe that Americans just don’t care about those who are overseas and who are impoverished. They think we just don’t care. And they’re wrong.” So she shoots off e-mails to let them know otherwise. “It might just be one message but it does get counted,” she says. Hestenes encourages others to write letters to the editor, attend public forums, hearings, town meetings, even stockholder meetings. “Your voice matters. Change starts with people’s voices being heard.” One person who bothers to write a letter or e-mail counts for thousands who don’t bother to write but share the same opinion.

And, Hestenes added, stay focused, stay encouraged. It may feel as if you’re pushing a boulder uphill in your efforts to create effective change in a system or in an individual, but take heart. Change takes time. One person can make a difference. Just ask Aaron Lowery. |L

Suzanne Woods Fisher is a freelance writer in Alamo, California.