Faith and Work: How Our Christian Values Inspire Refugee Employment Initiatives
It’s a deeply Christian calling to serve others, and refugees are among the most vulnerable of people: men and women uprooted from their native lands, often fleeing war, persecution or natural disaster. Scripture is rife with injunctions to welcome the stranger and care for the oppressed, so refugee employment falls squarely within the calling of many Christian organisations to bring hope, dignity and independence to those in need.
Biblical Foundations for Supporting Refugees
Scripture is rife with lessons on the care of strangers and the marginalised. ‘I was hungry, and you gave me food; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.’ The parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:35-40 speaks volumes: ‘For I was hungry, and you gave me food; I thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.’ The care of the ‘stranger’ is part and parcel of what it means to lead a Christian life. The refugee – a stranger both alienated from their homeland and new community – is precisely the sort of stranger this verse envisions.
In the same way, in Leviticus 19:34 we read: ‘The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt.’ The experience of exile, the need for help and the duty to help bring out the universal aspect of Christian values: charity, generosity and justice offer a clear choice in regard to refugees reconstructing their lives in their new country.
Connecting Faith to Employment
At its heart, Christian faith is an act of service, of being kind, of respect. Christian organisations try to live this out by providing a dignified source of work to refugees who might have lost their homes, their livelihoods and even their very identities. Employment provides refugees with a means to become self-reliant, to support their families and to offer something back to their new communities. By providing jobs, Christian organisations demonstrate their vision to serve others and build a more just and compassionate world.
Like initiatives helping refugees find employment, these efforts draw upon a fundamental Christian social concern with justice: by having no job qualifications, little English proficiency and limited familiarity with the local work culture, refugees face enormous obstacles in accessing employment. Christian organisations can help to even the playing field by providing job training and mentoring so as to maximise their employers’ ability to succeed in their new country.
The Role of Christian Businesses
In addition, Christian businesses can open up an important new front holding out hope for the employment of refugees. Hiring refugees is a way of following Jesus that is at once potentially beneficial to the needs of a business, and that is in harmony with a work life more in keeping with the values of Christian faith. Building a Christian workplace oriented towards Jesus means providing meaningful work to people in need, welcoming strangers, and practising God-honouring justice.
Following a Christian ethic of love, kindness and regard creates successful workplaces where refugees feel welcome. More than upskilling, it creates a community and sense of belonging, making workplace culture more fulfilling for all staff.
Faith-Based Advocacy for Refugee Employment
Furthermore, Christian organisations, apart from employing refugees directly, may also serve as vital actors in promoting policies that facilitate refugee employment and integration. These entities could collaborate with government bodies, private businesses and other in creating livelihoods for refugees, for instance, to enable and support them access work opportunities and similar social or economic advantages.
Advocacy is integral to faith-based work in the wider arena. As a means of upstream action, advocacy is pivotal to responding peacemakingly to injustice and promoting the comprehensive wellbeing of refugees. Christian organisations are well placed to lead this work, leveraging their voice to promote justice, equality and opportunity for all.
Conclusion
Work, this is not only a human concern, but also a Christian one, and in fact Christian businesses and organisations amongst the refugees will be more faithfully bearing witness to the gospel than a simple existence waiting for money and food. They will stop being beggars and become human beings with dignity and independence.
From compassion and service to justice and empathy, Christian groups can play a vital role in helping refugees re-establish lives, beginning to rebuild communities that will make them part of – rather than apart from – their new environments. With this work, they are following the teachings of Christ, and creating the kind of inclusive, just and compassionate society in which we all ought to live.
