Refugee sponsorship
Last week the elders of the church agreed to enter into a new area of ministry for our church that reflects our core values of reaching out to and serving our community. As of this week we have partnered with World Vision Canada to become a sponsoring church for refugees who are seeking religious and social freedom in Canada.
Our first act of sponsorship has been to offer ourselves as the sponsoring body for a Christian Iraqi family living in Syria who have been forced out of their country due to death threats by militant Islamists. Their family here is able to support them but need a church to agree to officially sign as their sponsors. Eventually we'd like to see this ministry develop into a more hands-on initiative whereby we would fully sponsor a refugee family - including covering all their expenses for a one year period and helping them integrate into Canadian society.
I am very proud of the elders of our church for the compassion and interest they have demonstrated in this awesome ministry opportunity! As with our recent sponsorship of the African Children's Choir on Sept 5-7, refugee sponsorship positions us well to extend the love of Christ, in tangible ways, to a world increasingly skeptical of those who adhere to biblical Christianity. While we are very much concerned about proclaiming truth regarding the eternal matters of heaven, hell and salvation, we are also very much committed to living Christ-centred lives by alleviating the suffering that others experience through acts of social justice.
Praise God for the chance to be used in ways like this!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from
the world." James 1:27
the world." James 1:27
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