Church & Volunteer Mobilization
Becoming a Friendship Partner
Read the powerful stories of Melanie, a Friendship Partner with World Relief North Texas, who obeyed God’s call to love and serve the most vulnerable.
The Beginning
Melanie Lemley has served as a Friendship Partner with World Relief North Texas for several years now. She is currently a friendship partner for two different families. She was placed with one family by World Relief, and the other she personally “adopted” after meeting them at English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
Six years ago, Melanie and her husband started volunteering by filling gaps wherever there was a need, such as buying groceries, setting up apartments, enrolling people’s children in school, etc. But, when COVID-19 hit, it changed things for them.
Melanie made the hard decision to stop teaching full-time at a private school during COVID-19. As she tried to decide how to fill her time, she determined to get an online TEFL degree – Teaching English as a Foreign Language. After this, she was introduced to ESL at World Relief and knew this is where the Lord was leading her to serve.
At the same time, she and her husband decided to become Friendship Partners through World Relief and were placed with a family. While they have been matched with a few families throughout the years, she has been deeply touched by the two she currently serves.
Christina
Melanie was paired as a Friendship Partner with Christina from South Sudan, a sweet woman with 8-year-old twin boys. They have become very good friends that go out to lunch and the boys enjoy ice cream outings. When Christina first arrived to the U.S., Melanie helped furnish their first apartment and regularly takes them grocery shopping. Melanie even arranged for Christina’s sons to attend a week-long day camp this summer so they could have some fun and experience summer camp!
She spent hours helping Christina apply for jobs, work on her resume, and additional encouragement and support in the job hunt. “I told her, if you need to go to an interview I’ll stay and watch the boys. Tell me when you need me and I’m there.” Christina recently found an affordable apartment in Dallas and a job assembling cell phones, and is very excited about it. Melanie is excited to see Christina start to become self-sufficient and provide for herself, just as anyone is when someone they love succeeds. “She’s like family to me. I love her and I love the boys.”
Katima and Nooria
Katima and Nooria are two young Afghan girls Melanie met one day at ESL. They came to ESL a few times and told Melanie that they did not know how to use a computer but they needed to get a job. When Melanie heard this, she decided to “adopt” these girls, proclaiming herself their Friendship Partner. Melanie had an old computer to bring them and helped them fill out job applications.
Katima then got a warehouse job loading boxes at Best Maid Pickles. When Melanie asked Katima how she liked her job, the response was, “it’s very long and tiring, but I’m learning English!” Melanie was blown away at Katima’s positivity in such a physically taxing job and her love of learning English as she interacts with her American co-workers.
Melanie has assisted this family with broken TV’s, sourcing furniture for their apartment, and grocery shopping with the family while they do not yet own a car. Melanie’s husband helped Katima and Nooria’s father, Abdul, look for a car, as that was an important goal for Abdul. The girls have even started taking online driver’s ed so they can learn how to drive, but have to do all of their lessons through Google Translate since they are not yet fluent in English. When the girls wanted cell phones, Melanie showed them how to find used iPhones that were not expensive, explained what a sim card is, and how to get on an affordable phone plan based on their monthly budget.
When the girls wanted to shop for modest American-style clothes, Melanie invited the girls and their mother on a shopping trip to thrift stores as a way to buy nice clothes inexpensively. The girls and their mother had such a fun time and were able to find affordable clothes!
Melanie and her husband had the whole family over for dinner one night and grilled out. Abdul bonded with her husband over grilling and decided that Melanie and her husband have to try Afghan Kabobs. The real joy of becoming a Friendship Partner is that while it does entail many questions and teaching moments, it also entails building a lasting friendship where men bond over grilling for their families and girls enjoy shopping sprees together!
Reality…
Katima and Nooria have three brothers who are still in Afghanistan with their wives and families. The girls worry about them often. They are desperately trying to find a way to get their brothers and their families to the U.S. and have many questions for Melanie on how they can make this happen.
“For people who think friendship partners are simply for taking clients to doctor’s appointments and school registrations, it actually can be a little bit of everything, and it can be a lot of fun! Go to their house, go to their apartment, meet at Starbucks…go anywhere. Take them to get ice cream and do ESL. But the best thing is to go to their home. When you go into their home you are accepted and they know you care.” – Melanie Lemley
What Does it Really Mean?
Melanie’s husband always teases her about spending so much time with these families. Sometimes when Melanie thinks about it, she even asks herself if it’s too much! But she challenges herself by asking, “are they really asking too much of me? They really are not asking for too much because they have had to start from nothing. They have lost so much.”
It is sobering to reflect on what Katima and Nooria’s family has gone through. In Kabul, Afghanistan they lived a normal life where they hung out with friends, went to school, and spent time with their family. Life for them has completely changed. However, to see how quickly they have adapted to a completely new life is encouraging. Thanks to a welcoming community and their own determination, their lives are transforming. “I think…this is something I can do. This is not hard for me, especially when I remember what they have overcome.”
Living as His Ambassadors
“We are His ambassadors, and an ambassador embodies everything that is about who they represent. If we have to be everything that Christ is, does that not mean sacrifice? If in fact we are His ambassadors, should we not be like Him and be totally sacrificial?” When these families ask her for help, sometimes it is an inconvenience, but it never hurts. It will always make a difference. In what she first viewed as sacrificing her time, she has now learned that she is abundantly blessed by knowing these families.
Melanie reminded us of Romans 10:14-15, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’” Melanie has been challenged in many ways, and mutually transformed alongside these families. Sacrifice and service is never one way, and Melanie’s radical change is simply a testament to this.
How will you tell people about Jesus if you never go and be with them? She has had many conversations about faith with these families, and that would not be the case if she did not go. “How will people know how much God cares about them if we do not live like Christ?” We simply have to go, and God will do the rest.
She was reminded of the Henry Blackaby quote: “Watch to see where God is working and join Him in His work.” God opened the door for Melanie and these families to develop a friendship, and grow together. Now, no matter what changes Melanie or these families go through, they are walking alongside it together.
Learn how you can become a Friendship Partner with World Relief North Texas HERE.
Faithful Immigrants
A Familiar Passage
There’s an important lesson I learned recently when reading through a passage a lot of us are familiar with in Hebrews. When I was growing up we called the passage the “Hall of Faith.”
I won’t take the time to write it all down here, but it’s located in Hebrews 11:4-40. When you read through it, you’ll immediately see the author mentioning name after name of people in the Bible who all did incredible things during their lives “by faith.”
And I love that – that God, via this author of Hebrews, would take the time to celebrate the faith accomplishments and the journeys with Him of normal people who lived lives on the same planet you and I do.
It’s encouraging to know that God pays attention to our struggles and accomplishments down here and can use those stories to encourage others to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely,” and to “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” (Heb. 12:1-2)
But today, as I sat in a coffee shop in downtown Davenport, something caught my attention about many of those folks mentioned in the Hall of Faith…
Some of them were immigrants and refugees.
Immigrant and Refugee Experiences
Did that catch you off guard? Yeah, me too. It’s not something we typically think about in those terms. But that doesn’t make it any less true. Think about it, Abraham (11:8-9) “went out, not knowing where he was going…in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob…” Sarah, Abraham’s wife is mentioned there too.
Moses (11:23-29), the man chosen by God to lead the nation of Israel out of slavery and into the Promised Land, started his life off as a foreigner in a country that wasn’t his home. And even after growing up in Egypt, he left what had become “home” to him to go back to the Promised Land – a place he had never been before.
Later in Hebrews 11 it mentions Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego (11:33-34), guys who were all immigrants from the land of Israel in Babylon.
But Hebrews 11 isn’t the only place in the Bible we run into these kinds of “faithful immigrants” either. Though not mentioned in the Hall of Faith, people like Hagar (Gen. 21:14), Ruth (Ruth 1:1-6, 16, 2:10), and even Jesus (Matthew 2:13-15) are all spoken of as sharing an immigrant/refugee experience of seeking better, safer lives in places that were not their home.
An Invitation to Welcome
So what’s the point? World Relief works diligently and daily to serve the most vulnerable, and we invite churches all over the Quad Cities to partner with us to do the same.
And when we do – when we agree to serve and love the wanderer, the foreigner, the immigrant and the refugee – we find that we’re serving and interacting with people who are a lot more like people in the Bible than we are.
This is the thing about refugees and immigrants in our community – each and every one of them, because of their unique experiences, can help us see a little more of the movement of God and the kinds of lives He often uses to accomplish great things here on Earth.
So today, I invite you to welcome them, love them, and get to know them. I promise, your life will be enriched as a result.
Blessings, friends, on this wonderful Monday.
Feeling inspired to get involved? Schedule a conversation with Spencer. Or, request a guest speaker at an upcoming event.
Spencer Conner is the Church Mobilizer at World Relief Quad Cities. He is originally from Atlanta, GA and has served as a Student Pastor in several churches between North Carolina and Kentucky over the past decade. Spencer is married to Beth, World Relief Quad Cities’ Community Engagement Manager, and they live in Davenport, IA with their golden retriever, Tuck.
Road-Runner Rodney
What is one of the biggest challenges refugees face when they come to Memphis?
Transportation!
Access to reliable transportation is crucial for refugees as they are attending English classes, important appointments, and other vital services during their integration journey. The World Relief Road-Runners program exists to serve families and individuals through providing transportation and building friendships along the way!
Rodney has been a road runner for almost 4 years, and I recently had the opportunity to interview him about his experience working as a Road-Runner. Rodney first heard about World Relief when a staff member came to speak at his church, and he decided to attend a volunteer training to learn more about refugees and immigrants. Before volunteer training, Rodney was unsure how he wanted to get involved, but he went into the meeting praying: “God, I want to be open to you. I want to be the person that you want me to be. I want to experience everything you expect me to experience!” When he learned about the Road-Runner program, he felt like God was calling him to participate, so he signed up.
Rodney drives a 15-passenger van to pick up clients for their regular English classes with the Connect Language Center, and it hasn’t come without its set of challenges. Sometimes he drives students that do not speak any English. Rodney poses the question “How do you love somebody that you really can’t communicate with?” While language is definitely a huge barrier in relationships, he is not discouraged, “I pray every day that God’s love will be conveyed through the way that I greet them in the moment and the way that I talk to them.” Rodney says that he relies on very animated expressions and a translation app to get to know the people he drives.
At the end of each class cycle, Rodney takes the students he drives on a fun outing to celebrate their time together. They have done everything from eating a meal at Rodney and his wife’s home, going out for pizza, or even riding go-karts together! “The Bible says: ‘they’ll know we’re Christians by our love,’ and I’ve tried to love the ears off every last one of them that comes through here. To be a friend, to laugh with them, to make them feel comfortable around here.”
I’ve tried to love the ears off every last one of them that comes through here. To be a friend, to laugh with them, to make them feel comfortable around here.
When asked to reflect on his time as a Road-Runner, Rodney said “This one most worthwhile things that I’ve ever done in my life…It’s been good for me because it helps me to understand more the people I see in the world: the homeless person, the person on the corner asking for money and stuff like that. I can at least pray for every person that I see like that, and ask God to work in their life, and to draw them to Himself. Because if all is said and done and today is the last day, have I done everything that I could? Be the person that God wants me to be and say the things that He wants me to say, and love the people that He wants me to love?”
World Relief Memphis is so thankful for Rodney, his faithful service to our clients, and for his clear love of God!
If you have been wondering what you can do to help refugees and immigrants, we are in urgent need of 10 more Road-Runners for the current ESL class cycle. Please consider providing a much-needed service for clients as they integrate here in the Memphis area. Along the way, you will develop relationships that transform lives for all involved!
For more information and next steps, reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator, Lydia Milton
LMilton@wr.org
Author: Grace Elder
Mobilization Intern at World Relief Memphis & rising Senior at Covenant College
Attend one of our monthly volunteer orientations to find out next steps for Road-Runners or one of our other volunteer opportunities:
Feeling called to make an impact but can’t donate your time? Learn more about joining our monthly giving program The Path.
Mobilizing the Local Church – Fort Worth Edition
Very soon, it will be the 1-year anniversary of Kabul’s fall to the Taliban. If you’re like us, you remember feeling helpless as thousands of Afghan families fled for their lives, separating from their families at the airport and cramming into military aircrafts to be evacuated. And yet, so many of you did not allow that feeling of helplessness to immobilize you. Rather, so many families, churches, and groups jumped at the opportunity to help our Afghan neighbors. Northwood Church in Keller Texas is one such church.
Northwood heard about a training on how to serve Afghans after the crisis and knew they had to join in creating a sense of belonging for Afghan families. They encouraged as many church members who were interested to attend and nearly 80 people showed up! The evening was a catalyst that started the beautiful relationship between Northwood Church and Afghan families who arrived in North Texas.
“This was the catalyst that caused us to get involved. It was just the right moment.” – Niki Roberts
As Uyen Holdman, Missions Pastor at NorthWood, was looking for ways to serve the community, World Relief’s training provided the tools they needed to get involved in refugee ministry. Volunteers came together and formed teams based on specific needs of families arriving from Afghanistan. Uyen mentioned that her job “is to mobilize, serve, and engage, and World Relief provided us with a platform to do that as a church.” World Relief helped supply what they needed to serve refugees and they now work together to learn how to mobilize volunteers, gather resources, and fundraise.
Recognizing Commonalities
Niki Roberts, a member who helps lead the refugee ministry, shared with us that the first Afghan family they met was a young single mother. Niki watched young mothers from their church surround this Afghan woman with love, empathy, and encouragement. She couldn’t help but see this as a picture of how the church should love everyone. These women jumped at the opportunity to love her in the midst of her pain. “That was one of the biggest factors to mobilization, our body recognizing that they have commonalities with these people.”
In being young mothers as well, they understood an aspect of this Afghan woman’s life that not many could. One of the biggest stumbling blocks to loving others is the chasm we feel when someone is different from us. While there are differences in culture and religion, there was a deep bond in the commonality the women shared in life experience. The members of Northwood gave resources as well as time to that family.
When the second Afghan family arrived, they saw volunteers come forward to help enroll the children in school, help them receive their immunizations, and adjust to life in the U.S. Those serving with Northwood have been blown away by the kindness and hospitality they have received from Afghan families. Uyen beautifully put it, “one family says they always want to cook for us and serve us. I always say “no, no, we are supposed to be serving you.” Inevitably we believe we will be changing others by how we serve them, but it is in fact us who are changed by the process of serving.
“When you serve them you want to bless them, but you can’t deny that the blessing you receive from them is so much more abundant.” – Niki Roberts
Uyen, as well as the members of Northwood serving these families, love helping their Afghan neighbors. They believe it is not always easy, but it is worth it. “This is a learning process for our church. We learn from them as they learn from us.” As the church has learned more about how to love people, they are deeply impacted by how they in return are so loving and grateful.
Mobilization
Uyen and Niki desire to see their church mobilized to serve. “Our goal is to empower as many people as possible to share the blessing of serving others. We want to pull in our people to serve.” Niki mentioned they have a saying at their church “to live and love like Jesus.” She truly believes that serving the most vulnerable is one of the best ways to learn how to live and love like Jesus. It is not always convenient, as it requires putting other people above your own desires. This service requires dying to yourself to love like Jesus.
They shared that it is rewarding to see when they have become independent. The end goal for refugees is self-sufficiency, and it is edifying to see them stand on their own feet. It is amazing to see how the church can assist in this process when they are mobilized.
Reflections
Both Uyen and Niki reflected that it is a rewarding and humbling experience to serve refugees alongside their church body. It also challenges them to be good stewards of the blessings they have received. They know where their next meal is coming from. They have not been forced to flee their homes. They instead desire to serve those who do not have these same luxuries.
It is truly transforming to work with people who are different from you. It changes one’s understanding of how the world works around them. It has been amazing to see how their church body has worked together and given so many resources.
They both agreed that they want their people to not simply come to church, but to be the church. That is when people transform. Niki shared that it was a special blessing to see the families at Northwood with small children invest in Afghan families. “We are training the next generation to live and love like Jesus while serving these families. Exposing them to serving others is more impactful than having a lesson about it”.
The most important aspect of serving refugees is to remember God is in control and to not be afraid to allow Christ to transform your faith through serving others.
If you would like to learn how your church can be involved in serving the most vulnerable, like Northwood Church, click below to head to our website!
Introducing Co-Sponsorship
Here at World Relief Memphis, we believe that entering into relationships with refugees and immigrants are mutually transforming opportunities to bring lasting change to our world. One of the ways we are seeking to foster these relationships is through our new volunteer opportunity: Co-Sponsorship teams. Teams are made up of a group of volunteers who will intentionally walk with a newly arrived refugee family as they navigate their new lives here in Memphis. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Sam about his experience with a Co-Sponsorship team.
Sam and his family are originally from Afghanistan, but they lived for a few years in another country of asylum. When his family moved to the United States in April, they were given the option to choose to work with a Co-Sponsorship team, and after consulting with World Relief staff, they chose to work with the team of volunteers.
Sam recalled his first introduction to his Co-Sponsorship team when they met his family at the airport at 12am and did not leave until 4am. They made sure he and his family were settled into their home and had everything they needed. Since their first meeting, their Co-Sponsorship team has assisted the family with various things such as acquiring their state IDs, other paperwork, packing their belongings and moving from temporary housing into a permanent house, and providing consistent and reliable transportation to various doctors visits and other appointments for the whole family.
Now after a few months, their relationship has grown into a flourishing friendship, much more than just accomplishing tasks. When asked about his Co-Sponsorship team, Sam says, “We feel them like our own family…We are grateful for the country. For the American people.” They have been able to explore the Memphis area by doing things like going to Shelby farms and other fun outings thanks solely to their new family, the team.
Sam says that he is thankful for the ways that the Co-Sponsorship team has been available to come alongside his family. “Every time we need them, they showed up, and they helped us,” Sam recounted. “So, if any other family from Afghanistan or from other countries, I would suggest them to choose a co-sponsorship team.”
As we are welcoming more and more new refugees into the United States, World Relief Memphis has a growing need for a variety of volunteers including Co-Sponsorship teams.
If you are interested in learning more, reach out to Laura for more information about being a part of a Co-Sponsorship team!
Author: Grace Elder
Mobilization Intern at World Relief Memphis & rising Senior at Covenant College
Attend one of our monthly volunteer orientations to find out next steps for Co-Sponsorship or one of our other volunteer opportunities:
Feeling called to make an impact but can’t donate your time? Learn more about joining our monthly giving program The Path.
Confronting our Comfort Zones: Q&A with Victor Wallace
By Nathan Spencer // Sometimes, God pulls his servants in directions they are not expecting, often without warning. In these moments, God insists we put aside our fears and lean on our faith in him to direct our steps.
After his home church made the difficult decision to dissolve, Victor Wallace and his wife felt called to a new church that would push them to serve their community — an area Victor felt his former church failed to focus on. Though they did not know which church would become their new home, this mission and call to serve others was unquestionably on their hearts.
“I believe God ended that church for our benefit and his glory,” Victor said. “In 2008, we arrived at Summit, and through people there who were already connected, we heard about World Relief. We had no prior engagement with refugees before asking to become volunteers, but we took on that responsibility and owned it.”
Quickly after becoming Friendship Partners with World Relief, Victor felt the weight on his heart pulling him lift away. This was the mission he and his family were called to take part in.
“Right away, we were partnered with our first refugee family, the Tamangs, in October 2010,” Victor said. “We are still friends to the day. A few weeks ago, their son emailed me, and we had a video chat just talking about life.”
Victor continues his mission in all walks of his life. At his business, he currently employs five refugees on his staff and is looking to hire more in the next few months. He has also assumed the lead World Relief volunteer role at the Summit Church in Durham, NC where he shares his story and encourages more members to act on God’s call to serve.
Read the rest of our interview with Victor to learn more about his journey with World Relief and his passion for service.
Do you have a favorite story from your partnership with World Relief?
What immediately comes to mind is a special moment with the Tamang family. The mom, dad and youngest son came to America first. The oldest, Vijay, arrived over a year later in 2011 with his wife. They had a baby a year or two afterward, and they gave us the honor of naming their child. We called her Grace Tamang. That was a mind-blowing experience for us and illustrated just how important our friendship with the Tamangs was both to them and us.
Another story that comes to mind is about a refugee who came to stay with us at our home for a couple of weeks. He was a Buddhist monk. I casually invited him to Summit, and he was vehemently opposed. We were okay with that and didn’t push. Eventually, he moved and settled elsewhere, but we continued to visit him.
His wife at the time spoke no English, but she met some other Vietnamese immigrants who worked at a hotel and got her job. One night, my wife and I went to visit them in their home. I had been trying to figure out how to engage with the man about the gospel. He was opposed to talking about it, and I didn’t want to push. So, I bought a pop-up book as I felt it was the most accessible thing I could get.
That night I brought the pop-up book to give it to him, and I noticed he had a Bible on his table, and he had a shirt with John 3:16 written on it embroidered on the shirt. I made a joke in my ignorance, “Oh, the irony. You don’t even know what you’re wearing, right?” This sparked a conversation.
He told me, “Well, my wife met these people and invited me to church with them. I received the gospel, and now I’m a born-again Christian. We are brothers.”
The women his wife worked with were Christians preaching the gospel through their work. Their pastor lives in Greensboro, so they drive from Durham to Greensboro to go to church.
I looked down at my little pop-up book and laughed, “Well, here’s a gift for you, anyway.”
It was so encouraging for me to be a witness to how God is active and sovereign in all things.
How have you experienced personal transformation?
You’re not going to engage anybody different from you unless you get out of your homogenous neighborhood. I’m not saying living there is terrible, but unless you do something very intentional, you will never engage people who are different than yourself. It was a significant change to move neighborhoods, but it is something we do not regret in the slightest.
It took many nights of prayer, but my wife and I have been blessed by the Lord laying this challenge on us. You make your plans, but God directs steps ultimately.
Beyond being a volunteer, we have committed to employing refugees at our business – a car wash and detail service – since 2010. Currently, we have five Sudanese people working there, and we’re looking to hire more as well. Typically, we have three to seven refugees working with us at one time. Currently, my wife and I are partnered with Sami Ali, who lived in Sudan, as Friendship Partners.
What is your hope or vision for your community or the world, and how is your partnership with World Relief leading you towards that vision?
God changes us over time as we engage with his word and light. Ezekiel and Isaiah look up and see God in this perfect light, and it changes them to serve. His light is not condemning; it’s life-giving. That should be a pattern for all believers. If you’ve genuinely seen God, you should be changed to want to serve others. Offering ourselves as a living sacrifice hurts, but we can get over that.
Moving Forward with World Relief Durham
This fall, a few of World Relief Durham’s partners shared why they serve with World Relief and what it looks like for their community to move forward together. Here are some of their thoughts:
Why World Relief?
“They not only serve [the international community] well, but they love it well, and they do it from a biblical perspective and they do it holistically, which is very, very important to a person who has no idea what to do next.”
Raven Fox, ServeRDU Associate Director of Community Training, The Summit Church
“World Relief is great access to finding people that we can support as a church, and it’s also a place that gives us the tools with the training before people enter – that’s really helpful for them to be culturally sensitive and ready to help in a good, kind way!”
Andrea Tshihamba, World Relief Durham Volunteer
“I think it’s a great organization that combines our love for Jesus with love for people. I think keeping those things together is really important for us, as God’s people, and as a pastor, I’m excited that this is an organization that really shows us how to do that.”
Dave Dunderdale, Associate Pastor, Blacknall Memorial Presbyterian Church
How have you seen your community “move together” to create lasting change?
“I think Durham represents a lot of history and a lot of grit. And I feel like World Relief Durham is part of that community and when, for example, with the Afghanistan crisis, the amount of outpouring to […] donate money to help World Relief Durham to be able to serve the refugees coming in, was completely – we were all just blown away by the support of the community.”
Naoshi Yamauchi, World Relief Durham Board Member & Volunteer
“We’ve seen more and more people thinking through what skill set or what gifting they have and how they can leverage that. […] One [example] around housing: some people who own a variety of rental units, and have been thinking how could they make them affordable; make them affordable especially to refugees who are just getting here. Maybe you have no credit history; maybe you can’t afford market rate. So they’re able to offer them at affordable rates, and be able to work with them to build credit and to be able to eventually move towards owning their own homes.”
KJ Hill, Pastor of Community Development and Outreach, The Summit Church
Interviews collected by Karen Spencer, U.S. Marketing Partner, World Relief, and Rachel Clair, Content Manager, World Relief.
Servant: Caring for the Immigrant and Refugee
This discipleship video from one of our church partners, The Summit Church, discusses the Biblical command to “welcome the stranger” and offers some practical steps believers can take to follow God’s call, including giving, volunteering, and advocating alongside World Relief Durham.
“God commands his people to care for strangers and foreigners, along with the poor, the widows, and orphans. It’s important to recognize that these passages are not simply proof-texts free of context. Rather, compassionate and just treatment of foreigners is a core ethical principle, rooted in God’s covenant with his people. Just one representative example is Leviticus 19:34, ‘The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God.’ As God cared for his people when they were oppressed strangers in Egypt, his people were to demonstrate his faithfulness and compassion by welcoming strangers into their community and treating them justly.”
“Servant – Caring for the Immigrant & Refugee” – The Summit Church (00:49-01:43)
HERE TO WELCOME SERIES Part 2 – Rebuild of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program.
On May 18th, World Relief Chicagoland continued a two-part series, “Here to Welcome”! You can watch the replay above about the rebuild of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. After bearing the cost of being forced to leave their homes, refugees encounter a rigorous and lengthy security process often lasting years. With the previous refugee admission ceiling at the historic low of 15,000, the length of that process was extended for many. With the recent increase to 62,500, World Relief is here to guide you as we rebuild communities of love and welcome together.
HERE TO WELCOME SERIES Part 1 – Asylum Seekers and the Crisis at the Border.
On May 11th, World Relief Chicagoland started a two-part series, “Here to Welcome”! Watch the replay above to hear an update about the migration crisis at the U.S./Mexico border from World Relief’s Matthew Soerens. You’ll also learn how you and your church can connect with asylum seekers, refugees, and other immigrants right here in Chicagoland in the panel discussion that follows. Join us for part two of the series on May 18 at noon to learn about the rebuild of the U.S. refugee resettlement program. Register for this free virtual event here!