Thursday, October 18, 2018

Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage Five: Being and Doing


Introductions

To intentionally do faith-based ministry with and for refugees and asylum-seekers requires God’s initiation of the ministry. This ministry requires God’s heart in each person seeking to help them. Throughout the Old Testament, God tells His people to care for the alien, orphan, and widow. In the New Testament, Jesus Christ told people to love their neighbors as themselves. When asked who was his neighbor, Jesus replied to the lawyer in Luke 10:25-37 with a parable. The answer to the lawyer’s question to Jesus came from the lawyer in verse thirty-seven. The lawyer said the neighbor was the one who showed mercy to the beaten man. This parable was about the Good Samaritan. The Samaritan did not know the beaten man laying on the side of the road, but he recognized him as a person who needed care.

Neighbors, sojourners, and aliens are people. These people whom God created and cares about are the ones He means for us to care about, too. Since God does not show partiality among people, we should not either. Since He “executes justice for the orphan and widow and shows His love for the alien” (Deuteronomy 10:18) and commands His people to show love for the alien (Deuteronomy 10:19), we must care for the people of the world whether or not we have a personal relationship with them. This understanding is the basis for any ministry to people. God initiates the ministry.

How do we get from God’s command to care for the alien to doing ministry? How do we understand God wants us to do this ministry specifically? God gives the vision/inspiration. Conception: Empowering to Serve Refugees[1] teaches about the different aspects of conceiving/envisioning a ministry from God. It also explains why we should enwrap each stage and phase of the ministry in prayer.

After conception of the ministry, many stages of inception occur. The question of “How do I get to know refugees” deals with seeking to meet the people and learn of their needs through interacting with them. Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage One: Getting to Know the Refugees[2] discusses this stage. By relating to individual refugees, one builds trust with them. With this trust bridge built, they will more willingly share about their troubles and needs. Additionally, they will trust your input and help as genuine, not self-seeking.

After meeting and beginning a relationship with the refugees, we the person/people to whom God gave the vision to help refugees and asylum-seekers must begin organizing and founding a faith-based ministry. Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage Two: Founding a Faith-based Ministry[3] helps us walk through the steps of establishing a ministry. We must recognize the importance of prayer throughout the process. This article helps us realize the need to decide between organization types, too. For an effective ministry organization, we must set up a vision statement, mission statement, goals, and objectives.

An organization can survive without connecting with other organizations and people for a while. Eventually, connection needs to occur for the organization to be relevant and to get resources. Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage Three: Connecting[4] tells us why connecting with others in the community, city, state, and nation are important for the refugee ministry to which God called you. We connect with others to get volunteers, funding, enlarge the ministry, get more expertise, and to advocate for refugees and asylum-seekers.

Having received God’s vision, met the refugees, created an organizational plan, and connected initially with the refugees and asylum-seekers, the ministry is ready to begin. Inception: Working with Refugees, Stage Four: “On Your Marks”[5] guides in the practical work of starting the ministry. The ministry organization must find a place in which to house the ministry program(s). It must acquire resources. Funds must be on hand to buy the basic supplies for the ministry, i.e. paper, pencils, pens, books, blankets, food, etc. We must cast a vision, so volunteers will join to help refugees so more than one set of hands-yours-work at the vision God gave you. Advertising in the community about the refugee assistance ministry must happen so the “neighbors/aliens” God wants you to help will realize help is available.

With each of these phases and stages accomplished, “day one” can occur. What happens with “day one”? What steps are involved? Is it more than just performing the ministry task? This article will answer these questions and others.

Being and Doing

The beginning of the faith-based ministry can literally consider just day one of the program or the first week, first month, or first year. What is important in any of these time frames is the effective being and doing of faith-based ministry to refugees and asylum-seekers. Planning and founding the ministry is often long and involved. The first day of actual ministry is exciting and sometimes exhausting.

Prayer

Prayer is still the vital necessity for faith-based ministries. It keeps us connected to God. Prayer reminds us who initiated the ministry and called us to join Him. It keeps us focused on God and His call so that when days are difficult, we remember the basis of the ministry. It also helps us as we prepare for each day and, at the end of the day, assess and adjust the material or the ministry itself. Prayer must continually enwrap each step, stage, and phase of the faith-based ministry. Without it, we lose connection with God, minister in our own strength and way, and lose focus of the purpose-to love our neighbor as ourselves.

Prepare

Obviously, you have spent weeks and months preparing to start the faith-based ministry to refugees and asylum-seekers. It became an exciting part of your daily life. When day one, the opening or starting day, is tomorrow or this week, ministry-specific actions must happen. These actions can include:
1.      Ensuring the venue is ready for use-chairs and tables are available and set up, floors are clean, the doorway is not cluttered or blocked, etc.
2.      Prepare the lessons if you will teach English
3.      Train and prepare volunteers for day one
4.      Make copies of intake forms or registration forms
5.      Make sure supplies are easily accessible
6.      Pray with volunteers and other supporters the night before or day one of the ministry.

Present

As day one or week one arrives, the actual ministry occurs. One needs to make sure everything is ready including one’s self. This includes heart, spirit, mind, and body, and the practical ministry. People receiving help can perceive when the person assisting them is condescending, uninformed, prejudiced, or not prepared for that ministry. What needs doing for day one’s ministry?
1.      Prayer-make sure you and each of the volunteers are “being” the ministry vision which God gave. People can sense when an “act” is being put on. Make sure your heart and spirit are in tune with God’s and you “love your neighbor as yourself.”
2.      Make sure you understand very well the ministry you are offering. Know the English lesson. Know the amount of food according to organization policy for a family or four, five, etc. Make sure the food nutrition tables are easily available, so you can get the food without faltering. Ensure the clothes are clean and organized. Make sure the rules of behavior are visible and known to everyone who enters the premises.
3.      Make sure you understand the ministry’s goals, objectives, and policies well, so you can explain to the person receiving help what you can and cannot offer.
4.      Keep a sensitive heart so you willingly and actively listen to the refugees’ stories, pray with them, and cry with them.
5.      Take a break so you can process what has happened, can pray about people, pain, and fear. This prayer break brings yourself to God for refreshing and healing after dealing with traumatized people.

Assess

After day one, the first week, the first month, and the first year, assessment of the ministry should occur. Assessment is important to make sure the purpose of the ministry is being done. This assessment will determine if the ministry you perceived and heard was necessary is the one being expressed most by the refugees and asylum-seekers when they seek help. It will also include determining if you are meeting needs accurately and appropriately.
1.      Do the people really need clothes for an interview or rather do they need to learn how to look for jobs and how to interview?
2.      Is the greatest need of this refugee population English or is it rent help or food or counselling?

Assessment will include looking at the way the work is being done by each member of the team.
1.      Is the plan of ministry being done in the way the team leader or ministry board wants?
2.      Are each of the team members helping refugees with a servant heart?
3.      Do any of the team members seem prejudiced or have complaints arisen against one of the team members?
4.      Is more training necessary for team members?
5.      Do team members need counselling/debriefing after hearing refugee stories?
6.      Do we need a trained professional to join the team in a particular area?

Adjust

With answers to these and other questions, the team leader and members should adjust the ministry, what they do and the way they do it, for it to be more effective for refugees and asylum-seekers. If the real need is counselling, seek one or two counsellors in the city or community who would volunteer their time. Alternatively, seek training for trauma healing counselling for the ministry team members. If the need is something else, seek ways to meet that need, after you have prayed asking God’s wisdom. If the need is more than what you perceived, seek more funding so the ministry can provide other necessities.

If the assessment determines a need for change among the team members, speak to the team about the issue and need. Address any specific team member whose attitude hinders the ministry. Help him or her see what is happening. Offer ways to help that person be more effective in the ministry role. Decide if more training for the team is necessary and set up that training time. Include in each day of ministry time for team members to debrief individually and collectively. As the team leader, you will need to make time to minister to the team members. The team members are an important resource and their needs are important to the ministry, too.

Prayer

Finally, at the end of day one, week one, month one, year one, the team leader should set aside a time of prayer. This time will be time to reconnect with God more intently about the ministry to refugees. It will be a time of reflection with God and a time of opening your own heart to Him for readjustment to His will and way. This time with the Lord will also be a time of resting with the Father and preparing for the race ahead. The prayer time will guide you on how better to minister to the refugees and asylum-seekers and where God wants to expand the ministry.

Conclusion

The arrival of day one brings excitement and trepidation. Are you ready? Are the team members ready? Have you heard from the Lord correctly? Have you heard correctly when talking to refugees and asylum-seekers? These questions each can weigh you down with worry or can lift you with excitement depending on from where you received your guidance-God or people. Day one should be exciting. Meeting new people. Helping them. Sharing God’s love. Seeing lives changed. Day one should also provide insight into whether changes need to occur to make sure the ministry focuses on the need God wants met. It brings with it assessment and adjustment for the team, too. More than anything, day one brings the opportunity for you and the team members to join God in the work He is doing. It’s a chance to know God better and to grow in your relationship with Him through prayer and obedience.

Through it all, we should remember what Jesus told the people by answering the Pharisee’s question. In trying to trick Jesus, the Pharisee asked, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” We recall His famous reply. Jesus said,
“’You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it. ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:35-40 [NASB])
Putting these two great commandments into action requires a relationship with God. A relationship with God draws us closer to Him to love Him more dearly. John put this relationship of our love for God and obedience into a more understandable statement in 1 John 5:2-3. He said,
“By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.”
We need to ask ourselves these questions and seek God’s will. Are we loving God with our whole being? Are we loving our neighbors as ourselves? Day one, week one, year one, and year one-plus requires absolute obedience to God and His vision of ministry to refugees and asylum-seekers.