How refugee sponsorships are helping build the Church

Craig Macartney
Spur Ottawa Writer

As the one-year mark of the government’s big refugee initiative approaches, many challenges remain. Although many refugee families are still struggling to learn the language and find jobs, much of the government support and programming expires at the one-year milestone—leaving families struggling to manage the adjustment.

While the public funding runs out and services may become harder to find, many churches involved in refugee sponsorships are committing to walk with the refugees until they can stand on their own. Kanata Baptist is one of those churches.

“The story is not over, we’re only at chapter [month] 13,” says Laurel Andrews, Kanata Baptist’s refugee coordinator of operations. “It’s a transition, but it’s not the end of the story. Our church isn’t going to abandon them. We are here to help them find their way.”

Because of some complications with government bureaucracy, Kanata Baptist isn’t sure exactly when the public funding will dry up, but they always planned to be in it for the long haul.

“Churches have looked passed their differences and are working together and supporting each other on this.”

“It’s one of the reasons we celebrate the idea of private sponsorships so much, especially through churches,” says Ted McGregor, team leader for Love Ottawa’s refugee response. “In the government sponsorship, you’re more likely to have a case worker who all of a sudden disappears. Private sponsorship opens the door for more long-term relationship building.”

But working with refugee families has also built relationships between churches. Andrews even credits the challenges of public funding drying up with bringing together local congregations and helping build unity.

“The Church has really come together. We’ve looked passed our differences and we are working together and supporting each other on this. Churches are organizing training together. They’re pooling resources to bring 10 refugee families together so the [programs] that are available will bring a course to them.”

As the programs begin disappearing, both Andrews and McGregor agree there are so many ways churches and individual believers can make a difference. For anyone interested in helping out, Andrews says the biggest thing you can do is get your vulnerability check with the police.

“Being qualified often just means showing them a picture of a house and saying, ‘house.’”

“Finding drivers is a real challenge because they need a vulnerability check. The refugees often need to be driven around and sometimes services are a long way from where they live. [They need] help with translation and teaching them the language. Being qualified often just means showing them a picture of a house and saying, ‘house.’”

McGregor adds, “One of the biggest reasons we celebrate the idea of private sponsorship is that when people see how easy it is to help people, it spurs them on to do more. What we’ve seen is that churches who have tried to get involved in sponsorships have also been looking elsewhere. We’ve seen people get involved in food banks or clothing drives and various things in their communities.

“What we have seen in the last year and a half has been really encouraging to me. Churches have been able to step into something really significant,” he says. “In a city that is turning more and more international, it is very important for the Church be active in places we don’t think about. In serving parts of our city that are often unreached, God’s love will not come back void.”