Jonny Baker
(Photo: © Jonny Baker)
When one person has an idea to join in with God’s mission it’s a good thing. But when they connect with others sharing a similar vision of what’s possible the world can really change for better. This is the power of network, says Jonny Baker
A friend of mine, Si, had a concern about sex trafficking – in fact more like a raging anger following visits to bars where girls were visibly being picked up. He got to know a few sex workers in his local area, built friendships and helped them as individuals. But it didn’t take long to realise that the problems were pretty broad ranging.
Chatting with a few friends he got connected with a few other people who were involved in care for sex workers or political campaigning. A few emails, Google searches and coffees later, he begin to build up a picture of the scene and the various economic, immigration, political and cultural factors at play. Crucially he also connected with some others who caught the vision for doing something and a small team was formed with Aimie and Shannon picking up the baton.
Beer mats
The team quickly found themselves part of an informal network of brilliant people working on their own projects but also collaborating together. An idea began to form – no one seemed to be working at the customer demand end of things, with men who pay for sex. Via a few networked connections, a design agency got involved and a beer mat and poster campaign was born called The Truth Isn’t Sexy.
One side of the beer mat has a seductive image and phone number but flip the card over and the message is about sex trafficking with the story of the sex worker. Shocking but brilliant! The goal was simple – to get these into pubs around Britain. Another network was needed – in fact ideally other networks.
Through informal relational connections, a website, emails, friends blogging and yes more coffees and conversation, money was raised, the printing done and groups found through the different networks to go on pub crawls in their cities to persuade pubs to join in the campaign.
I am involved in an alternative worship community, Grace, in Ealing. We are in both formal and informal networks with other alternative worship groups and emerging churches so we were contacted and did a pub crawl through Ealing.
The campaign launched in spring 2007. Two hundred thousand beermats have been distributed in city centre pubs and NUS bars. Fashion shows and film nights have been organised; national radio shows and newspapers have broadcast the TTIS message; policemen have used the campaign in their “on the ground” work; Black Rebel Motorcycle Club rocked the Bloomsbury ballroom for a benefit gig; MPs across the parties have praised The Truth Isn’t Sexy in the House of Commons; the minister in charge of this area is now publicly stating the importance of addressing demand – the main political objective. The team are currently evaluating the campaign’s success and will be self-publishing an activists’ handbook for others wanting to embark on something similar.
Several things are interesting about this campaign. Aside from printing, the campaign cost virtually nothing. It wasn’t spearheaded by an organisation. Volunteers made it happen as networks of people shared the idea, cooperated and joined in collective action. This network of people is not a club you can join – it was much more organic and invisible.
So simple you could miss it
It wasn’t something that was led – at least not in any traditional sense – though the people involved had a high level of skill at getting people connected and participating. The technological tools that are available in the world of digital media, all free if you have a computer – email, websites, blogs, social networking sites and so on, were absolutely crucial to the process.
This process is so simple that you can miss it. It’s particularly easy to miss if you are looking for success with an organisational or old paradigm pair of glasses – measurable outcomes in organisational strategy achieved by professionals supported by systems of hierarchy and control. At its heart CMS is a network of people wanting to join in with God’s mission – probably more like a network of networks.
The chances are if you are reading this you are part of it. Only a small percentage of the network are paid staff. The organisation is simply part of our network and community. In Europe we hope that CMS will be a network environment that enables like-minded people to connect and self-organise to change the world as they share, cooperate and get involved in collective action. Where you would like to participate in the mission of God? Maybe we can introduce you to a few other like-minded people?
For further info see
www.thetruthisntsexy.com
Shannon (Hopkins) is part of the CMS Mission Leadership and Community team. She facilitates NET, the Network of Entrepreneurial Talent which CMS helped catalyse – see
www.networkofentrepreneurialtalent.com
Jonny Baker blogs at
jonnybaker.blogs.com