Immigration and Refugee Resettlement

NAMB Refugee Resettlement

More than 17 million people around the world have been uprooted from their homes and communities by war, poverty and natural disaster. Over one million of those people are refugees because they fled to another country. The North American Mission Board partners with World Relief to provide refugee assistance, helping Southern Baptist Churches that desire to help these refugees make a new life in the United States.

There are two ways that Southern Baptist Churches can get involved:

1. Assist with reuniting refugees who are settled in the U.S. with family members left behind. Churches within 100 miles of a World Relief affiliate can contact their local affiliate by clicking here for assistance in helping with a family reunification case. 

2. Sponsor a refugee trying to come to the U.S. who has no family already here. Churches must be within 50 miles of a World Relief affiliate to sponsor a refugee through World Relief. 

Churches may choose to join with other churches to resettle a refugee or a refugee family. This is an especially good option for small churches or for churches who have never resettled before. It gives limited involvement and allows the church to have a good first time experience. The local affiliate is always available to assist when there is a problem so the church is not left on its own to resettle.

Q: What is the difference between an immigrant and a refugee? 

A: Immigrant: 

A foreign-born individual who voluntarily leaves his/her country of origin and has been admitted to reside permanently in the U.S. as a Lawful Permanent Resident (LPR).

Refugee (Legal Definition): 

According to the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who "owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country." 

Refugee (Simplified Definition): 

A person in flight from a desperate situation. 

The key difference then, is that an immigrant chooses to leave his/her country of origin. A refugee, on the other hand, is compelled to seek asylum in another country.

To view the  Refugee documents below (in pdf format),  you will need  the free Acrobat Reader. Just click on the Get Acrobat Reader button to download the latest version.

Web Resources:  American Refugee Committee, Immigration and Refugee Services of America, Refugees International, Refugee Service Center, United Nations High Commission for Refugees, US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants

Refugee Resettlement Statistics through SBC Churches in 2003

2003 Immigration and Refuge Resettlement Report

Refugee Resettlement Statistics through Southern Baptist Churches in 2002

For more information about Immigration and Refugee Resettlement, please contact Dr. Robert Ndonga at (770) 410-0653 or submit an inquiry through this form.