Christian Service
Christian Refugee Ministries
Christian refugee ministries welcome the stranger: helping refugees and immigrants find housing, work, language, and friendship in a new land. Scripture returns again and again to the call to love the sojourner. If you are a newcomer in need, help exists. If you want to help welcome others, these ministries make it possible.
If you are a refugee or newcomer in need
Find help near you now
If you have recently arrived and need food, housing, legal help, or support, you can find it. In the United States, start here, and ask specifically for refugee or immigrant services.
- Dial 211 or visit 211.org. Run by United Way, 211 connects you to local food, housing, rent, utility, and other assistance. It is free and available across most of the United States, day and night.
- findhelp.org. A free search for local aid by ZIP code, food, housing, money, clothing, health, and more.
See more free ways to find help near you, gathered in one place.
What refugee ministries do
Welcoming the stranger is one of Scripture’s most repeated commands. Christian refugee ministries help resettle refugees, furnish apartments, teach English, navigate paperwork, find work, and offer the simple gift of friendship in an unfamiliar place.
Well-known Christian refugee and resettlement ministries include:
- World Relief. The humanitarian arm of the National Association of Evangelicals, one of the major refugee resettlement agencies in the United States.
- Church World Service. A faith-based organization that resettles refugees and advocates for immigrants and the displaced.
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service. A long-standing refugee resettlement agency, now operating as Global Refuge.
- Catholic Charities. Local Catholic Charities agencies across the country provide refugee resettlement and immigrant services.
These organizations are named for information only. Details are accurate to the best of our knowledge, but they may change; please confirm on each group’s own website. Being listed here is not an endorsement, and none of these organizations are affiliated with The Living Bread.
How to help welcome refugees
Newcomers need welcome teams, furniture, rides, tutoring, and friendship. Many churches partner directly with resettlement agencies.
Find a way to serve in the Living Bread app, where local needs and volunteer openings are posted by real people and verified ministries. You can also find a church near you and ask how to join its outreach, or explore the directory of churches to see who is already serving in your area.
Frequently asked questions
- What do Christian refugee ministries do?
- They help resettle refugees and support immigrants, providing housing, furniture, English classes, help with paperwork and jobs, and friendship, following the biblical call to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35).
- What are examples of Christian refugee ministries?
- World Relief, Church World Service, Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (now Global Refuge), and local Catholic Charities agencies are well-known examples. They are described factually and are not affiliated with The Living Bread.
- I am a refugee who needs help. Where do I start?
- Dial 211 or search findhelp.org and ask for refugee or immigrant services, which can connect you to housing, legal aid, and support. Local resettlement agencies and churches can also help you settle in.
Why Christians serve
Underneath every soup kitchen, shelter, and relief truck is a Person. Jesus said that whatever we do for the hungry, the sick, the stranger, and the prisoner, we do for him. Service is not how Christians earn God’s love; it is how they answer it. If you want to know the One who first loved us, you are welcome to come and see, in your own time and with no pressure.
Come and seeWhy Jesus?Freely ye have received, freely give.