We believe in your church!
Welcome Churches are launching a Welcome Network, a national network of churches committed to welcoming refugees and asylum seekers into their communities, reducing the isolation of thousands of refugees each year:
‘Before I found the church I was really struggling. All my family was gone. I felt so lonely and lost. I remember the first time I visited my church. I felt so welcome and I found a new life. I was really encouraged, especially when people prayed for me. I had lost my whole family, but with my church I have found a new home and a new family.’ Abbas — Kurdish refugee.
We want to profile your church in our Welcome Network, showing that you are ready to welcome refugees into your town and community.
There are two ways to join the Welcome Network:
● Be trained and equipped by Welcome Churches to run a Welcome Project to intentionally welcome refugees in their area. Our Welcome Projects include: Welcome Boxes, Welcome Holidays, Welcome to Resettlement. By running a Welcome Project, you will become a Partner Church of Welcome Churches and be supported to take the first steps in welcoming refugees as a church.
● Profile the work you are already doing to actively welcome refugees by becoming an Associate Church. This option is open to churches who have been welcoming refugees for a while and have experience and understanding of working cross-culturally and the challenges refugees face in the UK. You can become an Associate Church for free by signing up by the end of July 2019.
Both Partner Churches and Associate Churches can refer refugees to other churches in the Welcome Network if they have to move within the UK, and will potentially receive referrals through the Network too.
