Ministry to Refugees - Especially Muslims

For this month’s programs, we’re considering various types of ministries in our nation and to our culture. The goal is to inform you of what’s “out there”, but also to challenge you to get involved in your own area doing things that help further the Kingdom of God in the lives of men, women, boys, and girls. While the number of refugees coming to the United States has declined in recent years, our nation still has a huge refugee population – and, with those refugees, is an opportunity to bring the Gospel to many nations without ever leaving your own community!

Refugees are people who have fled their home countries because of famine, civil war, and persecution. They can’t (or won’t) return to the land of their birth and upbringing until and unless those conditions change.

The leading large cities with significant refugee populations are Chicago, IL, San Jose, CA, New York City, San Francisco, CA, and Washington, DC. But many mid-sized cities offer an easier transition to a new land and a new culture and better job opportunities: Cities like Indianapolis, IN, Louisville, KY, Troy, MI, and Minneapolis, MN have become quite attractive for refugees.

Among those mid-sized cities known for its welcome of refugees is Boise, ID. In the early 1970s, the city of Boise, ID began a refugee re-settlement program that attracted many people from southeast Asia. Since then, the refugee population has grown so that Boise has one of largest “refugees per capita” of the total city population in the United States. People from Iraq, Somalia, Afghanistan, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Afghanistan find a home in Boise, ID after fleeing their own war-torn countries. Like all refugees, they need help beginning with transportation from the airport, train station, or bus terminal to the place they’ll live as they begin their time in the United States. From there they need help with learning the language, acquiring job skills – and acquiring jobs, learning about the laws of their new country, and learning about its culture and how to function in it.

All of these things give rich opportunities for bringing the Gospel to others. It’s foreign missions in reverse: Instead of you packing up and going to another country to serve, others pack up (usually with very little) and come to places in which they need to be served. And you have the opportunity to represent the Great Servant Jesus to them as you serve this special group of pilgrims and strangers. I’ve been fascinated to learn of the ministry that Naghmeh Panahi has with the refugee community in Boise, ID. Born in Tehran, the capitol of Iran, Naghmeh moved to the USA with her parents when she was 9 years old. After living in San Jose, CA for a year, she and her parents moved to Boise, ID. In her youth, she learned what it was to be a “stranger in a foreign country.” She moved back to Iran in the early 2000s and lived there for about a decade before moving back to the United States. During her time in Iran she developed many ties with the house churches there. Today she keeps those contacts, and also works with Iranian refugees and many others. From her special background she knows very well the kinds of things necessary to effectively bring the Gospel to people of other cultures. And that ministry has been amazing.

Naghmeh Panahi is my guest on today’s A Visit to the Pastor’s Study. As you’ve guessed, our topic is Ministry to Refugees. And, in the minutes ahead, you’ll get lots of good suggestions for having the same kind of ministry in your own communities.

Naghmeh Panahi, welcome to A Visit to the Pastor’s Study….

Here’s a link to the full program: 

Yours in the Great Lover of refugees,

Pastor Bill