Christian Conscience
CHURCH LEADERS: A Prayer of Protest for the Church — Thy Kingdom Come
The current refugee crisis (the 65 million around the world, and the current discourse in the U.S.) has brought to the surface one of the hardest things about following Jesus—at least for me. As Christians, we believe that Jesus has already defeated evil, sin, and death. As Christians, we also know that evil, sin, and death still persist in the world. We often don’t acknowledge evil, but the scriptures are rife with passages about it—our battle is not against flesh and blood but against every evil thing we could imagine (Eph 6). As Christians we know that while Christ is victorious over evil, His victory over these things has not yet been fully realized or implemented at the present time. This is the classic question asked to pastors all over the world: ‘why do bad things happen to good people?.’ You can easily argue that refugees are good people fleeing the worst evil humanity has to offer.
Our answer as pastors usually goes something like this. We know and believe that one day Christ will rule the new heaven and the new earth. He will wipe away every tear from our eyes. There will be no more death, mourning, crying, or pain. But we also know that this just rule has not yet started, that there is still suffering, pain, and injustice. In heaven, there will not be a refugee crisis. In heaven, the sanctity of all life will be protected. In heaven, those who are suffering will have their burdens put to ease. But that is not the case today.
When Jesus taught us to pray, He took this hard reality head on. He taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” It is a prayer acknowledging that things on earth are broken. It assumes the Christ follower will be up against some pretty evil things, and in light of this evil, be forced to pray that God would intervene. With this acknowledgement, Jesus teaches us to implore God to bring about His kingdom—to literally bring heaven into our midst, in our day. Jesus taught us to pray, “God, things here are not right, they are not of you, please let there no longer be a discrepancy between what you want your Kingdom to look like and what the current realities are.”
This is of course a prayer. But it is a prayer of protest. Protest is simply to cry out against something that is wrong and to advance what is right. God invites us to call out the things that are not right in the world—to let our light expose darkness—and to declare in prayer and in our public acknowledgement: God, lives are not being protected, born and unborn. God, people are fleeing their homes and not being protected. God, there are 65 million people that don’t have basic safety. God, make this right, bring your Kingdom right now.
Regardless of political views, it is safe to say that any follower of Jesus who does not see the problem of 65 million displaced people as evil in some way—and something the Church should address—is seriously lacking in understanding of what God has done for them and of God’s purpose in the world.
However, we know that the people of God in the Old Testament had to constantly be reminded that this was in fact something they should care about. In the Old Testament, God called His prophets to speak directly to this suffering, pain, and injustice with boldness. The prophet Jeremiah was called by God to literally stand at the gate of the temple and declare that the Israelites change their ways and stop oppressing the foreigner, fatherless, or widow(Jeremiah 7:5-7). Zechariah issued the same call during the reign of foreign King Darius (Zechariah 7:10), and Ezekiel powerfully called out action that oppressed and mistreated the poor, denying justice(Ezekiel 22:29).
In the current climate, it is the role and responsibility of the Church to pray prayers of protest—pointing out and crying out about anything that is not of God’s Kingdom, and calling on Him to make it right.
CHURCH LEADERS: A Call to Prayer for Refugees and Immigrants
For the better part of my life in ministry, churches, including that ones I have served in, have taken the very reasonable view that they should not dive into politics. Politics are divisive. Political rhetoric eschews with “alternative facts,” and our role as church leaders is to extend welcome to anyone seeking the grace of Christ—we do not want to alienate based on party. Pragmatically, this makes sense.
But what is the role of the Church when politics and clear Biblical teaching collide? How do we respond when the explicit commands of Scripture—to respect the sanctity of life, to welcome the stranger, and refugee, and care for the poor, but up against discourse in the public square?
For many church leaders, including myself for many years, we choose to direct attention elsewhere, avoiding the thicket of these issues, citing with resolute pragmatism that we do not want to be a stumbling block. This has weakened our voice and done a disservice to our congregations.
When politics and the Bible collide, it is an opportunity for discipleship.
I do not think that it is the role of the church to endorse politicians or political parties. But the Church must teach the Scriptures and provide practical ways for its community to reach the lost and hurting in the world. In this way, many of us have failed. I have failed.
Take the recent crisis with refugees and immigrants. Right now there are more people forcibly displaced from their homes than at any other time in recorded human history. The Bible speaks clearly to the issues of human suffering, welcoming the stranger, and the role of the Church to provide relief. But a recent survey by Lifeway Research shows that only 21% of American Christians have been challenged by their pastors to explore the Scriptures and to reach out and serve refugees and other immigrants in our midst.
Let’s take the most uncontroversial thing that a church can ever do—pray. A survey conducted at the end of 2016 by World Vision, found that only 19% of committed Christians prayed for Syrian refugees in the previous 12 months. Only 1 in 5 people from the most well-educated, most well-resourced group of Christians to ever live, took a moment and prayed for the world’s most needy and violent areas last year.
This is a crisis of discipleship.
This is thorny, it’s complicated and like almost everything in life, there are many shades of grey. But what is clear, is that the Bible is clear.
Church leaders—your job is hard and the number of things you have to navigate is astounding. So, we are going to make our call simple. Will you sign this letter saying that you will commit to praying for refugees and immigrants during your services over the next few weeks? If you want to teach further on this—GREAT—and we have resources below for it.
We cannot stay silent and abdicate our responsibilities as leaders of the Church to deepen discipleship in our congregations by addressing issues that the Bible clearly and unequivocally addresses—even if those issues have political dynamics.
Sign on now!
Additional Resources:
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Livestream Recording with World Relief’s Jenny Yang, Matthew Soerens, and James Misner
Changemakers in South Sudan — Establishing a Place of Peace and Love
This month, we’re sharing stories from our work around the world. It is our hope that these stories will inspire, encourage, and enrich your lives. The following post was written by Darren Harder, Country Director for World Relief South Sudan.
“Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me;
Let there be peace on earth, the peace that was meant to be.
With God as our Father, brothers all are we,
Let me walk with my brother, in perfect harmony.
Let peace begin with me, let this be the moment now;
With every step I take, let this be my solemn vow
To take each moment and live each moment, in peace eternally.
Let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me.”
The lyrics to this beloved Christmas hymn seem to ring truer with each passing year.
Peace. Something that has too often seemed unattainable in 2016. A year that has been difficult, contentious, and violent both here in the U.S. and around the world. A year that has challenged us all as individuals, as parents, spouses, friends, colleagues, even as Christians. Now, as we draw near to the end of the year, we long for a more peaceful 2017, one filled with love and with hope for a better tomorrow.
Amidst this darkness, what better time to look to stories of incredible hope where peace can indeed triumph against the odds? Stories that encourage and inspire us. Stories that show us we can rise above our doubts. Stories like the one of the Church in war-torn South Sudan.
Though pushed from international headlines by the tragedy of Syria and the horrifying images streaming almost daily out of Aleppo, few places have more tragic histories or precarious futures than South Sudan. After decades of civil war with North Sudan, the world’s youngest country was born to great fanfare and hope in 2011. But that hope did not last long. In 2013 violence broke out, between supporters of the President and former Vice President of South Sudan. Over the last three years, ethnic-based killings have taken place on all sides, accompanied by growing demands for vengeance. According to the U.S. Institute for Peace, nearly 4 million South Sudanese face severe food insecurity, and more than 2 million have been displaced by the war.
The stories circulating in international media, paint a bleak picture of South Sudan and its immediate future. Even bleaker are the suggestions from the diplomatic community that the situation could get worse before it gets better. Despite multiple efforts to broker peace, South Sudan, like too many other places around the world, now faces impending catastrophe. Militias are mobilizing along ethnic lines, hate speech is circulating on social media, and international human rights groups are now documenting widespread human rights abuses.
And yet, against this dark canvas of suffering, fear, and forced displacement, one area stands out, determined to be a place of peace and love. This place is Ibba, a county in Western Equatoria State, where World Relief South Sudan is partnering with Church leaders, determined to become a light amidst the darkness.
In Ibba, World Relief is working in collaboration with local Churches to build homes for the elderly and the sick, run agricultural trainings to increase harvests in order to feed the hungry, and start savings groups. We are training women and young mothers in fostering peaceful family environments and in other life skills. Above all, we are focused on working together to organize spiritual activities that help build the unity of the Church, enable them to share each other’s burdens and challenges, and share in peaceful solutions.
On November 20, 2016 a joint prayer service was held at St. Charles Lwanga Catholic Parish of Ibba, which brought together more than 3,000 people from across the region for over eight hours of prayer and worship. It was the first time that four Christian denominations, namely ECSS/S, Roman Catholic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church, and Seventh Days Adventists, have come together to worship in Ibba. Church leaders preached messages of peace, unity, and collaboration. Many announced it was the first time in their lives that they’d seen such unity, and challenged the congregation to take the message of peace home to their neighbors.
As I watched the church come together as a unified body of believers, to pray for their communities and to serve the most vulnerable, I reflected on how much we can learn from our brothers and sisters in South Sudan who are doing the hard work of peacemaking each day. Even though insecurity exists in neighboring counties, Ibba has remained calm, and I have no doubt it is due to the leadership shown by the local pastors in Ibba. I thank God for them daily and pray that they will continue to find their voice as they become beacons of light in their suffering communities.
Now and in the coming New Year, let us stand up for change. Let us join together with these peacemakers. Let us come alongside them to learn from them, to stand with them, and to give to them, so that they may increase their capacity for peace in South Sudan and beyond. Let us find peace on earth, and let it begin with you.
How Much Is Enough? Thoughts from Jeff Shinabarger
“It’s better to give than receive.” In a world that’s commercialized and in a season that’s oftentimes defined by excess, it’s important to get back to the heart of what the season is all about: Christmas is always a great time of the year to think about giving to others, to both family and friends, and to vulnerable people around the world.
In the book More or Less: Choosing a Lifestyle of Excessive Generosity, author Jeff Shinabarger shares practical stories of people who combat personal excess with heartfelt and generous giving. Jeff is a social entrepreneur, a designer, and a creative director. He is the founder of GiftCardGiver.com and Plywood People, an innovative community addressing social needs.
At this time of the year, many of us want to do all we can to stand with the vulnerable. But it’s also easy to feel like we can’t do as much as we’d like—or anything at all. But what if, as Jeff suggests, our ability to make a difference could be impacted by asking ourselves the question, “What is enough?”
Out of our excess we can address needs. But it begins with defining what is enough. What is enough?
It’s a subjective definition that we all have to ponder at some point in life. Unfortunately we’ve diminished the idea of generosity to money; too often we think we are generous only when we are giving money.
But what might you have in excess that has nothing to do with money? Excess clothes? Excess social capital? Excess amount of square footage?
We can ask the question, “What’s enough?” in every aspect of life. And if we choose to live with less, we gain the opportunity to give more.
Consider these easy moves:
- Look into your kitchen pantry or cupboard and set aside five cans of food. Deliver them to the nearest food bank in your area, and have a conversation with the person receiving your donation. Chances are, you will learn something new, and it will make you think differently about your next meal. Share your experience with a friend. Food is a basic and essential need for survival, and it’s one of the best things you can distribute to those in need. In Africa, there is a concept known as ubuntu—the profound sense that you are human only through the humanity of others; that if you are to accomplish anything in this world it will be in equal measure due to the work and achievement of others. Part with your surpluses and overloads, and feed your soul.
- Go to your closet and drawers and pull out every piece of clothing that you own. Count the items. Sort them. How many days could you go without wearing the same thing twice? Are you satisfied with your number, or do you have excess? If you feel you have too much, then decide what is enough for each category of clothing. Then pare down your garments to meet your reasonable number, and donate the rest to a charity or sell them at a resale shop and use that money to make a donation to help the vulnerable. Kelsey Timmerman says, “The people who make our clothes are poor. We are rich. It’s natural to feel guilty or apathy or reject the system that does nothing to help. This quest is about the way we live; because when it comes to clothing, others make it, and we have it made. And there’s a big, big difference.”
- Dump all the change everyone in your family has accumulated. Count it up, organize it roll by roll, and give it to an organization that’s working to help lift someone out of poverty today. G.K Chesterton wrote, “There are two ways to get enough: one is to continue to accumulate more and more. The other is to desire less.”
- Keep an ‘excess bin’ in your house. Keep it for anything that you are not actively using anymore, and that could contribute to fill the needs of others. This bin can then be used for garage sales to raise money for orphans or charities. Committing to a place to gather your excess on a consistent basis will challenge how you live regularly. “If we value things of the world, we will miss the things of true value,” Kim Biddle says.
Generosity is a chance to experience freedom in a world obsessed with gaining more. And as we near the end of the year, let’s consider how making a few simple changes can increase our capacity to stand with the vulnerable, and to be changemakers in our world. As we bring significant change to others, we’ll be changed, too!
For more from Jeff, watch his TEDx talk and follow him, @shinabarger.
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Join a community of Changemakers—ordinary people who step out in faith to do extraordinary things. Visit worldrelief.org/change to double your impact during the month of December, and join us at World Relief as we stand with the vulnerable.
Changemakers in Haiti — Who is the Hero?
If the last year has taught us one thing, it is the importance of searching for truth and meaning, amidst the over-saturated, 24-hour news cycle. Our attention moves on to the next breaking story, and we do not pause to listen to the deeper stories; the less sensational ones, which are often the most inspiring ones. And yet, those are the stories we want to see, and the ones we need to hear. Stories of lives transformed, stories of hope and radical solidarity, stories that speak deep and meaningful truths to our existence. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be sharing these stories from our work around the world. It is our hope that these stories will inspire, encourage, and enrich your lives.
The following post was written by Joseph Bataille, World Relief’s Country Director in Haiti.
When people think of Haiti, they often think of incredible poverty, disaster, dependence, and despair. But there is another story. It is one of the church stepping into communities as beacons of light and agents of change, offering help and hope to struggling families. For the church in Haiti, there has never been a more vital time for us to share our truth and to stand up as the Body of Christ, shining the light of hope in our corner of the world.
In the past, we in Haiti, have seen the frequent cycle of disaster and relief as if it were the script of a theatrical tragedy. Haitian churches and leaders have often seen others—not themselves—as the protagonists, which means they have often settled into more passive roles, stepping back and making way for others to bring aid from abroad. In doing so, our churches’ leaders have (knowingly or unknowingly) excused themselves from the Great Commission—to share the gospel and to live as Jesus lived, in service to others and with unconditional love for all. World Relief has been actively working for years to transform this mindset, and when Hurricane Matthew hit, we began to see a new level of change take place.
Things have been very different this time. The voice of the narrator has changed; now a Haitian voice is expressing a renewed understanding of the importance of local solidarity. In this context, the church has stepped into its rightful role, fulfilling its calling to care for and shepherd the most vulnerable, in a way that is much different from what I remember witnessing after the 2010 earthquake. From the moment that Hurricane Matthew passed, churches all over the country began taking up collections, and continued to do so for many weeks. I personally took part in a meeting with over 200 Haitian church leaders, who agreed to pool their next Sunday offering together to make a more tangible impact. I am witnessing ordinary people stepping out in faith to do extraordinary things.
World Relief’s ongoing partnerships with churches in Port-au-Prince, helping leaders and churches build capacity to meet the needs of their own communities (core to World Relief’s Church Empowerment Zone model), helped us support a church-centered response to the hurricane, unlike anything we have done in the past. By collaborating with more than 150 Haitian churches, we have been able to mobilize a powerful and collective response.
Dozens of volunteers from our partner churches in Port-au-Prince and elsewhere, sacrificed days and hours to organize locally procured resources, to bring help to the regions where the suffering was greatest. Because of established pastor networks in the lower regions of Pichon and Mapou, we learned about the needs of the people “behind the mountain.” Churches from the capital organized and sent teams to help communities with clean up and rebuilding. Other churches purchased medicine with their own resources and sent doctors and nurses from their own congregations to care for the sick. Even in the hardest hit areas, churches are actually working together to take care of the needs of their entire community, not just their own congregations. Haitian believers are stepping up to bear the greater part of the weight of compassion for their neighbors who are in need. And the truly vulnerable are being sought out. The blind, disabled, elderly, and extremely poor; the least, the last, and the lost among them.
As we continue to engage the church in each region, our hope is that if (God forbid) another disaster were to occur in the same region in the future, these leaders would immediately look to each other, mobilizing more quickly to respond to the needs of the community.
I believe that the Church is central to God’s plan for changing the future of vulnerable people. But for this to become a reality, we, the global Church, must focus on building the capacity of our churches and their leaders, not just fixing short-term problems. Since Hurricane Matthew, we have joined together to face our growing challenges with courage, strength, and unity in Christ—because when changemakers partner together, we can transform the world.
A Unique Moment for the Church
Since the presidential election in the United States on Tuesday, we’ve received many questions from church leaders and other concerned friends regarding the path ahead for World Relief’s work with refugees and immigrants. While this aspect of our work is only one part of our larger global mission to empower the local church to stand with the vulnerable—including our aid and development work in communities throughout Africa, Asia and the Middle East—we believe that this is a unique moment for the Church.
Tuesday’s election concluded a presidential campaign season that was uniquely divisive. That division is being felt within the U.S. Church as well. Despite differing on political issues, however, what can and needs to unite followers of Jesus is our commitment to living out His commands and the teachings of Scripture. While we respect and collaborate with governmental authorities, our ultimate trust is in God, who “watches over the foreigner and sustains the fatherless and the widow” (Psalm 146:9 NIV). Throughout the Old and New Testaments, followers of God are repeatedly called to “do what is just and right; rescue the oppressed from the power of the oppressor, [to not] exploit or mistreat the refugee, the orphan, and the widow” (Jeremiah 22:3 CEB).
The Church is called to “practice hospitality” (Romans 12:13 NIV)—literally, to practice loving strangers—mindful that Jesus Himself was once a child refugee, forced to flee from a tyrannical genocide. Whenever we welcome one of “the least of these” in Jesus’ name, we welcome Him (Matthew 25:40).
That’s why—even as we anticipate the impending Presidential transition in the U.S.—World Relief’s mission remains to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable, including the displaced and the persecuted.
As has been the case for decades, today teams of World Relief staff and volunteers from local churches in cities, suburbs, and small towns throughout the United States will be gathering beds, sofas, and household items to furnish new apartments for arriving refugees. At airports across the country, our teams will welcome newcomers who are weary from their travel and nervous as they arrive in a country and culture they have never known. Our staff and volunteers will walk alongside these newly arrived refugees, helping them to rebuild their lives.
Many refugees and other immigrants feel uniquely vulnerable right now. We believe that this represents a unique moment for the Church. Today, local churches have the opportunity to demonstrate moral courage by standing with the vulnerable in new and unprecedented ways—offering a warm welcome, a reassuring smile, practical assistance, and consistent advocacy for more compassionate policy towards carefully vetted refugees and their families.
We deeply value our longstanding relationship with the U.S. State Department, and we look forward to working with the new administration to welcome and resettle refugees, just as we have with the past six presidential administrations. And regardless of the course the new administration sets, World Relief’s mission remains the same—to empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable.
President Reagan once called the U.S. “a shining city on a hill” for those searching for freedom. On one hand, we ought to be proud of our country’s history as a beacon of refuge for those fleeing persecution, and we pray that the brightest moments of our national history of welcoming refugees and immigrants are still ahead of us.
But we must also remember that when Jesus first spoke of “a city on a hill” (Matthew 5:14), he was not speaking about the United States. Rather, Jesus was addressing His personal followers, those who would become the earliest Church.
In the face of the greatest global refugee crisis in recorded history, World Relief’s prayer is that the Church—the largest social network on the planet—will seize this unique moment, letting its light shine like a city upon a hill, so that millions of displaced people around the world will find great love and compassion—both of which are at the heart of God.
Please donate today to help us seize this unique moment to serve refugees, immigrants, and the vulnerable around the world.
How Do We Help Our Kids Stand with the Vulnerable?
At World Relief, it’s in our DNA to stand with the vulnerable. With school back in session and all of the dynamics that come along with this season, how do we teach our kids to stand with the vulnerable?
This week, as many children in America start a new school year, I can’t help but think of the thousands of immigrant and refugee children starting the academic year at a new school, in a new country, learning a new language and adjusting to a new culture with the hopes of making new friends.
These kids may be scared, excited, happy, sad or—at times—all of the above. But, like all kids, they mostly want to feel included and welcomed in their new environment.
As a parent myself, the start of the school year always proves to be chaotic as we go from a free-for-all summer, to trying to assemble some sort of routine that will carry us through the day—from the morning mayhem to the afternoon witching hours of homework, hungry bellies, and dinner—before doing it all over again in Groundhog Day-like fashion.
As caregivers, we want the kids in our lives to do their best in school. We also want to raise children who help the world be a better place. And as engaged parents, even during this chaotic season, we can do this. We can envision our children to help those around them who may be vulnerable, so that their school is an environment where they and their peers can experience hope, confidence, possibility, growth and opportunity.
At World Relief, we talk a lot about standing with the vulnerable. In kid language, I would define a vulnerable person at school as someone that is being picked on or left out.
Amidst the chaos of a new school year, how do we help our kids think bigger than themselves as we try to raise global citizens? We pause the whirlwind—if only for a brief moment—to circle the wagons over dinner or pre-bedtime routines, to engage in intentional conversations with our kids. We help them understand how to identify a peer that may be vulnerable, and ask them if they’ve noticed anyone in their classroom or school who seemed vulnerable today. We ask how they can help make their classroom or school an environment where they and their peers can experience hope, confidence, possibility, growth and opportunity.
We know life is busy. So to help, we’ve created a free, downloadable, ready-to-print coloring page that we hope serves as a conversation starter for you and your kids. Together, we can help our kids not only be more aware and welcoming to the thousands of kids new to school in America, but also have the courage to stand with anyone who is vulnerable by simply being kind to them.
Who knows? Maybe plopping a few coloring pages and crayons on the table before dinner will help turn the after-school chaos into a meaningful evening, if only for a few moments.
I’m going to try this at our dinner table tonight.*
*Provided there isn’t too much homework.
In Remembrance of Alan Kurdi
[WARNING: The blog post below contains images that some readers may find disturbing.]
Alan Kurdi died one year ago today.
On September 2, 2015, three year old Alan’s lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey. The photo of Alan appeared on the homepage of just about every media outlet in the Western world. And perhaps for many, that day marked the first time we collectively mourned the senseless loss of a Syrian refugee’s life.
But, is the option any better for those who choose not to flee, who make the difficult decision to stay in their homes?
Just two weeks ago, the world was stunned as the photo of young Omran Daqneesh showed up on our computer and phone screens. We were forced to confront again that the Syrian civil war— and the refugee crisis in the Middle East—is far from over.
Photos courtesy European Pressphoto Agency
For Syrian families, it seems there are no good options. If you flee, your child’s life is at risk. If you stay, the bombs continuously move closer until one day they drop on your family.
Above all else, we continue to mourn Alan Kurdi on the anniversary of his death. We mourn for Omran,his family, and for the loss of Omran’s older brother, Ali.
As we mourn, we also double down on our commitment to stand with the vulnerable, in Syria and throughout the Middle East. Since there is often no good choice for these vulnerable families, World Relief has chosen to stand with those who stay, and those who flee. We’re providing immediate aid, resettlement assistance, long-term economic development, and advocacy on behalf of those affected by war and violence.
We’re tired of seeing pictures that break our hearts. We know you are too. But we must continue to let our hearts be broken and be moved to act, until the day that pictures like Alan’s and Omran’s no longer appear on our screens.
The (Bloody) Face of Violence in Syria
If you haven’t already, take a moment and watch the video below. It’s not easy to watch. It shouldn’t be. It’s horrific, startling and heartbreaking.
It feels all too familiar. We are two weeks away from the one year anniversary of young Alan Kurdi’s death. Seeing the photo of Aylan’s lifeless body washed up on a beach in Turkey was—for many—the first realization that something truly horrific was happening in Syria, and for those fleeing Syria.
This morning, these images of Omran feels like a second realization—that the Syrian conflict is far from over. That countless lives are being lost and destroyed by the civil war there. That children are literally being bombed out of their homes. While it’s not clear yet about the full circumstances of this incident in Aleppo, what is clear is that no child should be made to suffer in this way. Instead of finishing their summers wiping water from their faces after swimming practice, children are wiping blood from their faces. Instead of wearing smiles on their faces while playing with Legos, there are vacant looks of shock, as their homes and family members are lost.
Watching the video of Omran, it’s so easy to feel helpless. But each of us can help. YOU can help.
Donating to World Relief is not the solution to the Syrian civil war. We get that. But we truly believe that we can all offset human suffering, as we become change-makers. Your donation to World Relief allows us to continue investing in the lives of refugee children, like providing child-friendly spaces where kids like Omran can once again play, learn and grow.
Because this crisis continues every day, our commitment to Syrian refugees and others displaced in the Middle East MUST continue. We can not—must not—”grow weary in doing good.” (Galatians 6:9)
VITAL STATS:
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More than 300 people killed in and around Aleppo in the last two weeks. (source: ICRC, 8/18/16)
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One out three killed were women and children. (source: ICRC, 8/18/16)
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Currently 4,812,278 registered Syrian Refugees. (source: UNHCR, Government of Turkey, 8/16/16)
In Celebration of Courage and Leadership
Messengers at the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention cast ballots for a resolution during the afternoon session Tuesday, June 14 in St. Louis. Photo by Chris Carter, Copyright © 2016 Baptist Press, Southern Baptist Convention
As we in the United States look towards next week’s celebration of Independence Day, we are mindful of the millions around the world whose daily experience does not include many of the same rights and freedoms we enjoy. As we remember them, we recommit ourselves to standing with these vulnerable people groups. We also celebrate those who are working to bring hope and help to so many vulnerable people.
We are especially grateful in this season for the commitment recently expressed by the Southern Baptist Convention in their resolution to welcome refugees who are resettling in the United States. As the largest denomination in the United States, we know that the effects of their resolution will echo not only throughout their own churches, but throughout countless U.S. churches of many denominations. We are grateful for, and celebrate the moral courage and leadership the Southern Baptist Convention has shown in this area.
We also celebrate the ongoing work of Preemptive Love—an organization of individuals who continue to risk their lives to deliver food and aid to Iraqi families caught in the crossfire of the operation to liberate Fallujah from ISIS control. This week, Preemptive Love team members encountered more danger than at any other time in their organization’s history. We are inspired by their courage to risk everything in order to meet the essential needs of those in and around Fallujah.
Finally, we are grateful for and celebrate each of you. At World Relief, we know that you not only faithfully support our work to stand with the vulnerable around the world, but that you also faithfully stand with the vulnerable in your day to day lives. We remember Jesus’ words that as you serve “the least of these,” you serve Jesus himself. For the many ways in which you work to bring freedom, hope, health and love to the lives of those in your churches, schools, places of work, and neighborhoods—we celebrate your courage and leadership.
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