“Sustainable change, sacrificial living and spiritual revolution,” headlines Relevant Media Group’s new social justice magazine and website: Reject Apathy. The new publication is taking a literal spin on their three core foundations by inspiring young adults to live out Matthew 28:19-20 and go into all the nations. Relevant Media Group, publishers of the college-aged magazine RELEVANT, launched Reject Apathy in early July after recognizing a restless generation desiring to put action to their faith.
Young adults are passionate about social justice
Publisher Cameron Strang noticed how passionate many 20 and 30-year-olds are about standing up against injustice and set out to give a voice to the movement.
“Simply knowing and caring wasn’t enough anymore,” Strang told Breaking Christian News. “We have to commit ourselves to making a difference. Our faith dictates it.”
This mission is well reflected in the content of the magazine, which contains featured articles, weekly columns and focal issues written by people all over the world. These people come from all different backgrounds and walks of life, each writing about their own experiences with injustice or the stand they are taking for various causes.
Mission of Reject Apathy
The first issue of Reject Apathy has a current circulation of 150,000 and is included with subscriptions to Relevant Magazine. The magazine reported to Breaking Christian News that this is the largest circulation to date for RELEVANT Media Group and has opened its subscription up to college campuses for free.
Apathy is “the inability to feel passionate human feelings or to respond emotionally,” according to dictionary.com. This publication sets out to reject that trend and embrace the generation that is ready to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.
Reject Apathy’s mission is to be the voice of a generation desiring to authentically live out a radical faith — to live differently through service, simplicity and sacrifice, as stated on the website. The mission focuses on five key points: poverty, defense of innocents, creation care, preventable disease and violence. Reject Apathy’s magazine and their accompanying website forum represents each of these points and is highlighted by a holistic view of social justice issues, the barriers that stand in the way of justice and the solutions to overcome them.
The website describes their five key points as each representing a part of their “whole-life ethic.” This ethic asserts that every life is created by God, has a purpose and should be given an opportunity to live fully. The opportunity to live fully is at the foundation of the fight for social justice and an issue that our world undervalues.
Magazine promotes organizations that make a difference
Not only does the magazine and website focus on bringing social justice issues to the forefront, but it also succeeds in its desire of promoting organizations that are making a difference for the sake of social justice. This success is shown in the forums and feature columns in which individuals are able to dialogue about their experiences and challenge one another to work toward issues both locally and globally.
Locally, the primary goal of the magazine and website is to not just spark the fire but also fuel the flame by promoting involvement in local organizations. Those desiring to become more involved have the opportunity to join social justice ministries around campus and similar organizations that are sprinkled throughout the Los Angeles area.
Being involved in an organization that is fighting for justice not only fulfills the purpose of the publication but also, what they believe, answers the call given to Christians.
This calling as Christians is made clear on the Reject Apathy website, “To have our priorities line up with the heart of God, which, Scripture shows us repeatedly, is his creation, his children and the ‘least of these.’” The statement reflects the heart of the publication and the burdens they feel all Christians should carry.
“Our prayer for Reject Apathy is that it will open eyes and activate our generation to a new level of sacrificial living, sustainable change and a spiritual revolution,” Strang said to Breaking Christian News.
