I met Jesus in a refugee camp many years ago. Later I became a pastor of a refugee church. Since then, my family and I have relocated to the U.S., where I consult with refugee pastors one-on-one and in groups. As they seek to care for their congregations far from their home cultures, issues we discuss include leadership standards and structures, transparency and credibility, legal requirements surrounding church registration and officiation of weddings and funerals, and church integration.

I didn't expect so many barriers.

Last September, a pastor friend from Iowa visited my home with his family of eight children for a long weekend. Over breakfast on Saturday morning, we discussed the challenges he faces.

"I didn't know when I came to the U.S. that my ministry would face so many barriers. I expected them in the cultural sense but not in the church context. In my home country, I was a respected community leader. Here I have found that even though I attended a church for two or three years, I never got asked to preach a sermon or pray in a service."

I nodded. "I agree that credibility takes a long time to build, and it's easy to become discouraged. I often tell pastors to find a way to volunteer. If they are willing to contribute in this way, the congregational leaders can get to know them and see their skills in action."

"I think most of us have settled with just pastoring our small African congregations in a rented classroom of some larger church. It's easier than being overlooked and misunderstood. It seems the church sees refugees as people who need something, not people with something to give. The sad part is that I never even talk with the church pastor from whom we rent a classroom. It feels like a business transaction, not a community of faith."

How will refugee churches flourish?

"The isolation of refugee churches concerns me, too," I agreed. "Unity is the heart of God, and it's essential for the long-term well-being of your congregations that they have connections beyond their small group gatherings. How will refugee churches flourish, integrate, or last if they have no connection to the culturally established body and no resources to continue growing and building a future?"

"The challenge is bringing people from other backgrounds together," he admitted.

"Have you ever asked someone outside your group or ethnicity to minister in your church?"

He chuckled, shaking his head no.

Bringing Unity to Diversity

"Your church can't flourish if you remain isolated. The issues of segregation and status were alive between refugee pastors and host church pastors in Kakuma when I pastored there. Similar challenges face the refugee pastors here in America. Refugee churches need the mainstream church to come alongside them to welcome them in. They need the American church to walk with them so they can flourish in ministry and integrate well. But we must take the first steps to invite them to see us." I advised.

"You should bring all those scattered small refugee churches together in Iowa. Then you need to find a way to invite leaders from the mainstream local churches to see what you are doing and express what you need so they can see how they can partner with you. I know this is outside your comfort zone. But it's important to study our new culture and see how things are done."

Seeing he was receptive, I invited him to a diverse gathering of ministry leaders I was attending in Oregon later that fall.

A Network of Hope

Since then, this pastor attended the gathering in Oregon with me as well as a European conference of Christians serving refugees. Now he is organizing training for other pastors in his area. We also established a network with monthly meetings for refugee pastors to discuss our challenges and encourage each other's growth in ministry and integration. I can see motivation and hope as these pastors learn from each other and seek to connect with the larger church.

My passion for connecting the refugee church with the mainstream church is rooted in the understanding that unity is essential to well-being and community is critical to integration. It's my prayer and the heartbeat of my ministry to continue building bridges between cultures and churches so the whole church of Jesus can flourish together as a church for all nations.

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