Jorge Rodriguez’s young church is engaged in one of its city’s most urgent ministry needs. Buses of asylum-seekers are arriving in Chicago—people looking for safety, peace, and a chance for better lives. These new arrivals are the most recent sojourners in Rogers Park, the church’s densely populated and highly diverse neighborhood.
“We all know what it’s like to be a foreigner,” the pastor said. “When we were strangers and foreigners to the covenant promises of God, he drew us. And he’s made us citizens of a kingdom that we got ushered into by faith.” The gospel is the impetus for the church’s care for the foreigner.
The U.S. government set this year’s ceiling for refugee admissions at 125,000. The same ceiling in 2022 resulted in just over 25,000 admissions, but the higher cap signals a desire to return the refugee resettlement program to higher numbers.
The resettlement of refugees in Illinois is not a new phenomenon. Since 1976, the Illinois Department of Human Services reports 129,000 refugees relocated here.
Recently, in addition to Central American migrants bussed north from the Mexico border, and Afghanis and Ukranians escaping war, the state has received refugees from Congo and Myanmar, among other countries. With 1,531 people in 11 shelters in December, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot asked the state legislature to give the city $53.5 million to fund its refugee and migrant support.
In many places, the church feels the need to step up.
A Lifeway Research survey found 86% of pastors in the U.S. believe Christians have a responsibility to sacrificially care for refugees and foreigners. But 44% said their church has a sense of fear about global refugees coming to the United States. Still, another Lifeway Research study found nearly 4-in-5 evangelicals (78%) would support changes to immigration laws that both increase border security and establish a process to earn legal status and apply for citizenship for those currently in the U.S. unlawfully.
For Rodriguez’s Grace Family Church in Chicago, refugee ministry looks like helping collect and deliver winter coats to a refugee center. It’s inviting neighbors to dinner. It’s recognizing they’re called to not only love foreigners new to the city but also foreigners who have lived in their neighborhood for decades.
Examples nationwide
The Afghan-American Church in Fremont, California, launched in 2018 to share the gospel with the Afghans in the Bay Area. Mike, who’s originally from Afghanistan, and his wife, Hannah, lead outreach to refugees.
“They believe America will be the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey,” Hannah said. Instead, new arrivals face scarce housing, few job opportunities, mountains of paperwork, and unfamiliar systems that are difficult to navigate.
In 2021, the Taliban overtook Afghanistan’s government, leading to an influx of Afghan refugees in the U.S. The church received many calls asking for assistance. “They tell each other, ‘Go to the church,’” Hannah said, recounting how members of the community have learned to turn to churches and Christians in the area. “They know we want to help people, and they know we are Christians.”
The church helps refugees complete paperwork and find housing. They operate an English program, offering classes in person and online. They organize Easter and Christmas events and reach out to kids through a backpack drive and an English camp.
Serving in Afghanistan’s special forces, Mike experienced a devastating military mission in Kandahar province. In the aftermath, he had the desire to read the Bible. He soon had a dream in which a voice told him, “Share the gospel with your people, my son.”
Eventually he put his faith in Christ. Later he began to minister to Afghans through a virtual class on the basics of Christianity.
“We love the Afghan people,” Hannah said. “It’s because of our love for them that we are going to share what we believe to be good news, that they don’t have to worry about the future, that there is hope in Jesus.”
On the opposite side of the country, three things align to make Clarkston, Georgia, a good fit for refugees: affordable housing, job availability, and public transportation, said Trent Deloach, pastor of Clarkston International Bible Church (CIBC).
“They’re fighting for a better future for their children, more than anything,” Deloach said of the refugees who come to Clarkston. Reportedly 60,000 refugees have lived at least temporarily in Clarkston over the last several decades.
To meet the needs of its diverse population from 60 countries, CIBC practices “new neighbor care.” The church offers a host of ministries: English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, welcome events, holiday gift baskets, diaper giveaways, driving lessons, and the Refugee Sewing Society—a micro-business enterprise involving 20-25 artisans.
A partnership with the North American Mission Board has increased the church’s outreach. The Atlanta Send Relief Ministry Center assists refugees with job placement, medical care, and summer camp.
“We dream of the day when every one of our neighbors has a Christian friend who can point them toward Christ,” Deloach said. “We love our diverse neighbors unconditionally because God loves them unconditionally.”
– By Meredith Flynn, read the full story at LifewayResearch.com