Our Story

One time a friend of mine said: “It seems people don’t care anymore. A lot of people feel that no one in this world really cares about what happens to them...” He had a point, but I didn't agree with him totally. Why? Because I believe there is a difference between true followers of Jesus Christ and those people my friend was speaking of. I know and believe that the Christian faith is a caring faith. Christians care and have concern for others.

We cannot have a loving and caring attitude without first seeing people. As followers of Jesus Christ, we must have Jesus’ attitude toward strangers. When Jesus ran into people in human need and suffering, He always saw them before He did anything else. Secondly, He always had compassion on them. He loved them, and as He loved them He moved beyond that to care for them. That is the caring attitude that we are to imitate.

In Luke 10:25-37, when the Priest and Levite passed by, they saw the same man. They saw the same suffering and need, but they did not have a loving attitude or a caring compassion for him. They had knowledge. They were well-trained and well-learned in the things of religion. They were religious, but it didn’t make any difference. When they saw a man suffering, they passed by on the other side of the road. Care is love that looks with compassion and leads to a ministry of caring action. That’s what true care is!

I believe in planning and budgeting; but sometimes we need to be open and responsive to God's interruptions and unplanned expenses. The Good Samaritan didn’t plan to do a good deed that day. This is not something he learned or trained for. It is not something that he could possibly prepare himself for. It is great when someone can come up with some good deed to do for someone else and plan it out and act upon that plan. But this is not the situation that is before us in this parable. No, the Samaritan was wandering down the road, minding his own business, when a situation arose before him. He needed to decide on the spur of the moment and he chose to help the man. The Samaritan gave himself (he came), he gave his time and he was not too busy to help. He gave his treasure because he had the courage to help.

At our church, Bethel Christian Fellowship, we always say that we are “a place where a stranger becomes a friend, and a friend becomes family.” That's true! Now, who is the STRANGER? Those who are different are the strangers among us. There are many ways of being different: one can be different by virtue of values, culture, race, language or religious or political orientation. And while most of us can find it stimulating or at least interesting to meet a stranger for a short while, it is a very different thing to truly open up and allow a stranger to become a friend.

Yes, more strangers are on the way! And your hospitality is needed.

Being hospitable is: welcoming the living God into our lives, building real relationships with people in tangible need, providing communities of support to those who have lost their homes and building relationships within our communities, strengthening our homes, congregations and communities.

That’s why I helped to start an organization called CEEDS (Center of Employment & Education Development Services) which seeks and plans to help some 5,000 to 7,500 Congolese families who will be arriving in Minnesota. These are part of the 50,000 Congolese that the State Department is planning to resettle in the USA through World Relief, Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities.

CEEDS is working in close cooperation with refugee camps throughout Africa and with Congolese and immigrant communities here in Minnesota, local religious groups, and officials for the purpose of enhancing the integration of immigrant and refugee youth and others into American society.

Resettling is the phase in their lives when beginning recovery and healing become a possibility. Resettlement itself brings new traumas and challenges which also need to be overcome. Refugees need communities to assist them in coping with, and recovering from, the traumas they have experienced. They require relationships with people who embrace them and foster and nourish wholeness and health. Simply knowing that other people are aware of their situation helps to alleviate fears of isolation and can signal the start of a recovery process which will last for years.

Your hospitality will make a huge impact in these refugees’ lives. You can extend hospitality by giving an invitation and a warm, personal welcome as a sister or brother created in the image of God and accepting them into your world – with the understanding that it is unconditional. There is no expectation of a return.

This requires: trust, risk, openness, humility, sincerity, suspension of pre-judgments, and a willing heart. And it can involve: sharing a meal, teaching someone how to drive, collecting clothing for someone in need, tutoring a student, driving someone to the doctor, listening, or simply sharing one’s self with another and letting them into our lives.

When trust is built between refugees and assisting communities, refugees are free to accept not only material assistance from these communities but also offerings of love, friendship and a sense of belonging. Romans 15:7 “Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.”

It has been a blessing being part of a mission-minded family and the BCF families of churches, and ministering alongside kingdom-minded leaders. The Bible tells us that God is building His Kingdom where His reign is acknowledged and His intentions are fulfilled. Our part in that is to proclaim the good news of salvation found in Jesus alone, and to make room for God’s blessing to flow into lives, families, communities and nations!

If you are interested in exploring your place in what God is doing in CEEDS and ICF, we’d love to talk with you! Feel free to email me at justin.byakweli@ceedsusa.org.

In Christ,

Justin Byakweli

Pastor of International Christian Fellowship & Executive Director of CEEDS