Arrive Ministries is blessed to have two special $90,000 and $25,000 matching grants! Give now through December 31st for you gift to be matched!
All gifts will be matched up to $90,000 for Refugee Life Ministries!
*$10,000 of the $90,000 RLM grant applies only to FIRST-TIME RLM donors or if donors exceed their 2016 support of RLM.
All gifts will be matched up to $25,000 for SALT, RAJO, and Refugee Resettlement and Immigration Legal Services!
Please designate your gift accordingly.
Thank you for responding to the nations at our doorsteps.
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In President Ronald Reagan’s farewell address to the nation 25+ years ago, he borrowed a line from Jesus, describing the United States as a “shining city on a hill.” He called our country a place for those fleeing loss, persecution and trauma, a place “teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace” whose “doors were open to anyone with the will and heart to get here.”
These words perhaps do not as accurately reflect the sentiment of some in our nation today, as our government has lowered the annual number of refugees who can come to the USA to a record low of 45,000 and has put further restrictions on which refugee families can be reunited with loved ones already here. Yet, these words should still ring true for followers of Jesus who have been commanded to “love the stranger” to “care for the widow, orphan and the prisoner” and to “do justice and walk humbly w
ith our God.” This is especially salient as we consider the 22.7 million refugees around the global, 66.5 million displaced people, including 12 million Syrians, and 250,000 women and children (70% of the total) who were refugees and arrived in the U.S. since 2011 after rigorous security vetting (Source: US Department of State).
Today, Minnesota is 13th nationally for the number of refugees who call our state home, but is consistently ranked first or second in the number of refugees per capita (Source: Star Tribune, Sept. 2, 2016). Anyone living in the Twin Cities has experienced this significant population change as Burmese, Iraqis, Ethiopians, Nepalese, Somalis and Liberians now join our children in schools and shop where we shop. The changing demographics are also significantly felt in places like Willmar, St. Cloud, Moorhead, Faribault, Rochester and dozens of places in-between.
In the midst of the greatest displacement of people in the history of the world (surpassing even World War 11), we are thrilled how Christ-followers and our local congregations are making an impact right here as they respond to those who on average have spent 17 years as refugees before coming to Minnesota.
Arrive Ministries believes that God has blessed us with a plethora of refugees and immigrants because he knows that his church is up to the task of loving and celebrating our new neighbors just as Christ accepted and loved us. As a result of the outpouring of volunteers, we have expanded our outreach to refugees who are already here, as we also continue to welcome new refugee arrivals through dozens of new teams and training activities with our Somali Adult Literacy Training (SALT), Refugee Life Ministries (RLM) and New Neighbor outreaches.
As we approach Thanksgiving, and the Wonderful Season of All Seasons as we celebrate Christ’s advent, we are grateful for the many practical ways our friends are helping us to respond to the nations at our doorstep. Yet, we need your help for this important work to continue and expand as we mobilize churches in the Twin Cities, as well as St. Cloud, Willmar, Rochester, Marshall, Worthington and Faribault.
Thank you in advance for helping to shape the future as you stand with us and the refugees God is entrusting to us. I know that your involvement makes you feel good as you serve God and make a huge difference right here in Minnesota and beyond.
