Practical Mobilization: Sponsor Circles for Afghan Refugees

By Shane Bennett

Some things are more valuable due to their rarity. For instance, solar eclipses are cool at their present rate. If they happened daily, we’d be annoyed. You may value people who exemplify Proverbs 31 because you don’t see them very often. (I mean the first seven verses, of course. Most women I know check the boxes on the second part of the chapter!)

An opportunity of exquisite rarity has just been offered to us. Last week the US State Department launched a program called Sponsor Circles that allows five American citizens to band together to help an Afghan family get going in the US. Not just give them a winter coat and a phrasebook, but enough to take them the whole nine yards from being a precarious and mystified stranger to being a productive community member.

The website for Sponsor Circles exuberantly reads, “No matter where you are located in the United States, you can welcome a newcomer and provide them with the practical support they need to get settled by serving as a certified sponsor circle. As a sponsor circle, you and your neighbors will take on tasks like finding initial housing, stocking the pantry, connecting children to school, providing initial income support, and helping adults to find employment.”

This amazing opportunity is not unprecedented. Americans could privately sponsor refugees under a short-lived program President Reagan initiated in 1986 called the Private Sector Initiative. While it was active, 16,000 refugees entered the US via private sponsorship, including thousands of Pentecostal Christians fleeing persecution in the Soviet Union.

It should be noted that, as in many efforts like this, Canada has led the way. Over the past 50 years, private sponsors have welcomed more than 350,000 refugees to Canada. Way to go, eh?

By now you may be wondering some of the same things I am:

Is this safe? What if we mess up?

Like first-time parents, we wonder, “What if we drop the baby?” The good people behind Sponsor Circles promise to help with the application process and training. Once you’re approved, they’ll link you with an agency that will help with tricky questions and challenging bureaucracy.

Jesus’s words from Luke 14 also apply, “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

This isn’t a mobilization challenge you execute over a weekend, take a victory lap, and be done. This calls for careful prayer and consideration. And some money!

How much does it cost?

Groups of five sponsors commit to raising $2,275 for each member of the Afghan family to be hosted. This money will be used for the initial setup and care of the family.

In terms of time, Circles commit to preparing for the family’s arrival, then helping with their adjustment for at least three months.

What does the Sponsor Circle need to actually do?

According to the website, Sponsor Circles are responsible to support the Afghan newcomer(s) with the following:

• Secure housing
• Provide basic necessities
• Provide time-bound income support
• Assist in completing required changes of address
• Connect to legal assistance
• Support in obtaining a Social Security card
• Support newcomer in selective service registration as appropriate
• Support in accessing medical services
• Support in accessing available benefits
• Enroll children in school
• Provide English language support
• Provide job search advice and support
• Provide community orientation
• Complete 30-day and 90-day reports

Does that list feel a little daunting to you? Me, too. This effort qualifies as radical hospitality. At my little church, we have nearly an apartment’s worth of stuff we’ve collected over the past few weeks to help set up an apartment for an Afghan family. It’s one thing to gather the material for a house. It’s a whole other deal to help a family establish their home in the US.

Can we take our family to church?

Proselytizing is not allowed. The guidelines are similar to those of other refugee resettlement agencies. At the same time, when a family asks you why you’re doing this, you can share what the Bible says and what Jesus has done for you.

OK, I’m intrigued. What’s next?

Pray. Give God a chance to say, “No, this astounding opportunity I’m giving the Church is not for you.”

1. Ransack the website sponsorcircles.org. Start the signup process.
2. Ask God who he might want to link you up with for this adventure.
3. Start asking people to consider joining you.
4. Pray together and get the green light from God.
5. Start raising money and working on your Welcome Plan.

My head is still spinning thinking what an amazing door God has opened up for us. This is an opportunity to do the right thing, extend care to people whose lives have been turned upside down, and offer hope and home to people who’ve had little of either lately.

Can I ask you to do one more thing?

Forward this email all over the place: to your pastor and others pastors you know, to missions directors, to people who might have interest and money but no time to give, to people who might have time but no money, to friends who are just now retiring and wondering what to do with themselves, to young people ripe for a challenge, and to that sweet, old lady at church who you just know knows how to pray.

I’d love to hear your response to this. Please tell me what you’re dreaming, so I can be your biggest cheerleader.