by Rev. Dave Manske, North Central District missions mobilizer
Whether you live in rural Nebraska or an urban center in California, you live near people of different nationality, language, and customs. According to the latest data from the Refugee Processing Center, nearly 760,000 refugees have resettled in the United States since 2003. This is their new home, and you are their new neighbor.
God watches over the foreigner (Psalm 146:9); how would He have us join Him?
1. Pray.
Throughout Scripture, God includes all nations and peoples to be recipients of His—and our—love. Often times, we need to ask God to soften our hearts to be aware of and compassionate toward those different from us.
Waymakers publishes annually a 40-day prayer guide called Seek God for the City. It focuses on international visitors and on refugees. World Relief also has a daily prayer list, directing our intercession on the behalf of refugees around the world.
2. Know your neighborhood; engage your neighbors.
The Alliance has partnered with World Relief to offer immigration-law training classes for churches that want to help newcomers living in their communities. Contact Rosilio Román III, assistant vice president of Multicultural and Multiplication Ministries, at romanr@cmalliance.org or (719) 265-2053 for more information.
Many churches offer ESL opportunities. That’ss great! But let’s turn the table: how many of our churches host “cultural awareness” classes so that longtime residents and church members can learn about their new neighbors? This type of course is required in some local businesses, and it might be something your church should consider offering.
In the United States there are more than 1 million international students. Eighty percent of them never enter a church while in the United States. International Students, Inc (ISI) has been an ongoing friend and partner in ministry to the Alliance family. Working with ISI, you can minister to students from a specific country where your church or district has international workers or a ministry partnership.
3. Prepare and engage wisely.
Americans get easily caught up in “feel-good” activities that perpetuate dependency or diminish the dignity of those they are trying to help. The most valuable resources I can recommend to avoid these pitflls are When Helping Hurts by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert and “Helping Without Hurting,” a Web training course.
Welcoming and engaging refugees is a tangible way to love our neighbors in alignment with Jesus’ great commandment (Luke 10:27). I am convinced that every Alliance church, regardless of geographic location, can compassionately engage its new neighbors in ways that resonate with God’s heart and honor our missions heritage.