Perhaps you have never considered sponsoring a refugee to resettle in your community; or perhaps you have wanted to bring a displaced family to Canada for a long time now. Whatever your experience, this is the place to take a first look at Canada's Private Sponsorship of Refugees program to see if this is something you and your church could undertake on behalf of another; to put hands and feet to God's call to care for strangers, and to loose the cords of injustice.

Stage 1 – SAH process

Getting Started:

As you consider whether you and others in your church could sponsor a refugee person or family, interested persons will:

• learn about the distinct types of sponsorships
• speak to the church leadership about their interest in refugee sponsorship
• form a team with a minimum of 5 people
• begin fundraising as needed

There are two other sources of excellent information and material that are available to anyone interested in learning more about the Private Sponsorship of Refugees.

Yes!

Use this one-page resource outlining 10 practical ways former refugees are good for Canada to inform the people in your circles.

Are-Refugees-Good-For-Canada-poster.PDF

Statistics show that refugees not only benefit from safety in Canada, but they also embrace the opportunity to build a new life. Over time, they make important contributions to the country's economy, and to their communities.

Former refugees are hardworking people and contribute to Canada's economy. They have an unemployment rate of 9%, close to that of Canadian citizens by birth (6%).

How exciting that finally after months or years of planning & preparation, the time has arrived to meet the family at the airport.

The SAH will have received and forwarded to the CG the Notice of Arrival Transmission (NAT) from IRCC about 10 days prior which includes the refugee(s) specific travel itinerary, the names, birthdates, and gender of family members. The NAT notification also includes languages spoken, any medical needs that have been identified, if there are family/friends of the PA already in Canada, and of course the SAH and CG details.

This documentary published by the BBC in 2016 describes living conditions and the situation that many  Pakistani Christians have encountered as they looked for refuge in Thailand after being falsely accused of blasphemy at home.

Although it was created several years ago, the situation has not improved. In fact, many refugees in other countries find themselves in similar situations. Having been forcibly displaced by violence or persecution from their homeland, they have sought asylum in another country - often nearby, and often inhospitable.

For those who want to inform and position themselves to be a voice for truth in refugee crisis conversations, there are Bible studies, books and documentaries available.

This listing will be updated as new material is discovered. If you are aware of something that may be useful to others, please let us know and we will add it to the site.

Bible Studies

Women of Welcome: Whether we’ve noticed it before or not, God’s redemptive story is one of migration. Sometimes it was a journey to a promised land, other times an exodus or an exile. This six-week study will help you reconnect to God’s faithfulness through the history of his people’s migration. The hope of this Women of Welcome Bible study is that each of us will look into these stories with fresh eyes and open hearts because so many of God’s people are still very far from home.

This six-week study explores some of the most beloved stories of the Bible, taking to heart their connection to present-day migratio narratives and realities. Comes with a leadership resource for hosts that includes a week-by-week discussion guide! 

Download here.

The BVOR Program is designed to resettle refugees identified by the UNHCR and submitted to Canadian Visa Offices abroad. It is only the families or individuals who are most in need of resettlement that are referred under this program. Click the image to the right to watch "Four Steps to BVOR Sponsorship" now.

In 2019, IRCC created a Minimum Support Calculator that sponsoring groups must use to generate their budget. 

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to receive a template specific to your province and family composition. In your email, please include:

• the name of your community, and
• the names & birthdates of each member of the family you are sponsoring.
• any other information that would affect the budget - i.e. pregnancy, health concerns, etc.

Once you have formed your core team, chosen the sponsorship type, and have begun to assign team member roles with at least the Representative (Team Lead) and Treasurer in place, you are now ready to approach your church board.

The sponsorship does not become 'official' and legally binding until you sign and submit the required documents for the Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH) and the forms required by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Some people in North America have interesting albeit ill-informed ideas about refugees. Once someone hears that we are working on behalf of refugees, it is not uncommon to hear a comment like the ones below. Perhaps you have heard or been asked about some of these same issues. The following are a compilation of common myths regarding refugees from IAFR, RSTP and our own conversations.

By guest author Lorne Meisner, Associate Regional Director - AGC West

Compassion has become a buzzword in our evangelical circles, and it has gained even more prominence during the pandemic of this past year; legitimately so, I might add. Compassionate churches is one of the 3 emphasized “ends” of our AGC movement of churches:

“COMPASSIONATE CHURCHES…assisting churches in engaging believers and non-believers in our communities with mercy, kindness and compassion ministries.”

The very term, “compassion”, has various nuances depending on what tugs at our hearts, such as offering hope to those struggling with addictions or sponsoring refugees . And yet there is a very real risk in reducing “compassion” to a project or such a specific expression. While I agree that compassion should be associated with such expressions, it is so much more than any or all of these expressions.

Formerly called, "Preparing For and Transitioning to Month 13," this monthly webinar is required training by your SAH. Every member of the Core Team must take this webinar.

To register for this webinar click here.

If this timing is not convenient, check back here at the end of the month for the date and time it will be offered again next month.

At this point, a Core Team will be in place, the Church Board will have given their approval, and fundraising has begun. Once the church has signed the "Church Letter of Support" it is time to select a refugee family if that hasn't been done yet, and complete the application forms.

Now that the sponsorship is moving forward in an official capacity, this is a good time to send an introductory email or message if you have not already been in contact with the refugee. If you have already connected with them, consider a weekly skype or WhatsApp call. One of the challenges for refugees is losing hope. By making a point to stay connected, you have the opportunity to keep that hope alive, to begin the friendship while you're still on different continents, to be a voice of encouragement as your team keeps abreast of the difficulties they continue to face as they wait for the application to be processed.

As the Core Team meets together to plan and prepare for settlement, part of your preparation responsibility is to take time to learn about the refugee(s) country of origin and culture in preparation for their arrival. Choose the best resource for your team, and then review the cultural basics presented there. You could read through a segment when you meet together, and then discuss any questions or issues that are raised, or one person could present to the team. 

Whatever means you choose, your SAH will ask the Team Lead to confirm the sponsorship group has done some cultural sensitivity training prior to the refugee's arrival.

Culture Crossing Guide covers basics of greetings, communication style, personal space, eye contact, views of time, gestures, gender roles and taboos for a number of different cultures.

EveryCulture.com is another resource that may be good for your group.

If you find other helpful links or resources, please contact us. We will add those links that may be helpful for others too.

Jean-Nicolas Beuze, UNHCR Representative in Canada, has written an article recently published in the Toronto Star (Tuesday, July 17, 2018).

He addresses a number of people's fears, including that the number of people crossing our Canadian borders are alarmingly high. The truth? The number of asylum seekers last year is barely more than those who arrived in 2001.

Some Canadians are fearful that the number of illegal crossings are getting out of hand. The truth? Neither crossing at an official border crossing or at nonofficial points is an illegal act. People crossing at nonofficial points are not illegal - they are irregular crossers. 

It is important that we stay informed to be a voice of calm and truth in the conversations we have with others in our communities, among our neighbors, quite likely even within our families. Here is a perspective from someone who knows, someone with a global perspective, and someone who is in the thick of it.

Read the full article here.

As we get further and further along in this humanitarian crisis of displacement and people forced to flee for their lives, more and more have come to Canada and are resettling into a new life here.

This month, we would like to high-light the story of 22-year-old Hany Al Moulia who fled Homs, Syria a year after his youngest brother was born in March of 2011. After graduating high school he knew "he would be conscripted into the army. And then his cousins were murdered in their homes. It was time to get out."

Click on "Events" above to see events currently available in our communities or on-line.

Once it has been determined that a group would like to pursue the sponsorship of a refugee family, one of the first things to be done will be to assemble a Core Team.

Each sponsoring group must function with a minimum of five members who will oversee the sponsorship commitments for both pre-arrival and the one year settlement support of the refugee family. The core team will discern together who is responsible for each task, and together recruit additional volunteer helpers for a larger support network.

A well-staffed team usually has a Sponsorship Group Representative, treasurer, and a team leader representing each task area involved in resettlement: housing, transportation, furnishings and clothing, homemaking, education, medical, employment, finance, etc.

You can access the How to Structure a Sponsorship Core Team template here.