Their mission is to change their community beyond the church and temple -- and to do it together.

On Tuesday, 25 church leaders, a rabbi and 400 members of religious congregations in Broward packed All Saints Episcopal Church in Fort Lauderdale to launch their third year as a consortium.

The alliance, called Broward Organized Leaders Doing Justice, or Bold Justice, focuses on specific social problems, spends months researching workable solutions, then takes the findings to elected community leaders and social service agency directors to demand action.

``We are called upon not to do the easy thing, not to do the convenient thing, but to do the right thing,'' said the Rev. Simon Osunlana, of St. John United Methodist Church in Fort Lauderdale, and co-president of the group.

Temple Dor Dorim in Weston, Mount Calvary Baptist Church in Pompano Beach and Mount Hermon AME Church in Fort Lauderdale are among the religious groups represented.

About 50 meetings are held each year at the homes of members.

The gathering is called Nehemiah Action.

The Rev. Keith Spencer, of Trinity Lutheran Church in Pembroke Pines, who led the unemployment issue, said progress is proof that Bold Justice is making a difference.

Workforce One, a clearing house for the unemployed but separate from the state's Unemployment Compensation Program, was previously not permitted to correct hundreds of simple clerical errors for people trying to collect unemployment payments.

After pressure from elected officials, all Broward Workforce One offices are manned with a full-time worker dedicated to fixing unemployment application errors.

``Folks, it's working,'' Spencer told the group Tuesday. ``When 1,500 people gather for the sake of justice, people listen.''

Members voted Tuesday to address a new issue: crime and police community relationships. Affordable housing and dental care will stay on the table.

The Rev. Rosa Rosa Lindahl-Mallow of All Saints Episcopal Church said the dental issue is making strides.

``Last year, we reported that about 18 percent of Broward residents did not have a tooth in their mouth because of the lack of dental care and that there is no strategic plan in place for comprehensive dental care for low income residents,'' Lindahl-Mallow said.

This year, under Broward Health Planning Council Director Michael DeLucca, several entities, including Memorial Health Care System, North Broward Hospital District, Nova Southeaster University and the American Dental Association, are finalizing a plan that will open up dental care to uninsured and low-income families.

For affordable housing: Broward County Administrator Bertha Henry last year ensured that $2.4 million went toward low-income housing development. Since then, three complexes with 350 units each have been built and an additional 263 units are under construction. While the county plans to make 1,800 more housing units available to low-income residents, it lacks funding. Bold Justice suggests that Broward cities kick in 10 percent of the cost.

``Our work is not over . . . We will engage leaders in every city to help, and we'll continue to ask Bertha Henry to use her influence,'' said Janean Baumel, of Trinity Lutheran, who served on the housing committee.

The organization, established in Broward in September 2007, meets under the umbrella of the Direct Action and Research Center. DART helps 400 congregations nationwide organize similar social action groups.