Many members of our church, especially those who have attended the annual Willow Creek Leadership Summit, have asked about our heart for the Refugees of the world. Their plight is the single biggest humanitarian crisis on the planet, with over 20 million people driven from their homes, jobs, families and roots, often with no notice, now packed into huge, subsistence level camps. This weekend at our Worship Services we want to make a small dent in this huge problem. We are teaming up with World Vision, the largest Christian refugee relief organization in the world, with an excellent track record, to dedicate ourselves to understanding “the least of these” in the face of those, who like Jesus, had to flee for their lives and live as a refugee because of a repressive ruler or regime. For the first time in our history, we are going to ask you to participate in two offerings in one service: the first is your (I hope and pray) regular systematic giving back to God to support all our ministries and missions as a community of Christ. The second is a one-time, special (please make it as big as possible) offering that will go 100% to the World Vision Refugee Fund. This is who we are—people who actually believe Jesus that it is more blessed to give than to receive, that have been given much and who follow Him in the way of service.
