Serving people

on the move

People are on the move. They’re fleeing war, conflict and persecution. They’re looking for work. They’ve been trafficked, abused or cast out. For any number of reasons, they are in a new place. They’re seeking a new life and their needs are many.

Interservers are on the move. We’ve been moved by God to respond to these needs, and we’re moving across continents to bring loving hands and loving hearts. The ways to serve are as numerous as we are, and there is always more to be done.

Here in Australia, the church is on the move. As God brings new neighbours into our communities, we have the opportunity to become people of peace to them. CultureConnect is helping Australian Christians come alongside migrants to share journeys of joy and pain, faith and hope.

We are looking for people to join our overseas and Australian teams.

Would you come along?

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There are many ways to serve people on the move, both overseas and in Australia. It takes purpose, sacrifice and ingenuity.
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Visiting detention centres and supporting refugees in Adelaide

CultureConnect workers in Adelaide are visiting detention centres, providing personal support and friendship to newly-arrived refugees, and mobilising local churches to respond more effectively to newcomers in their midst. By intentionally living a simple lifestyle in an area of town where many refugees live, they are able to share life and offer friendship, representing the love of Jesus. Their friends have experienced God revealing himself in visions, speaking to some in their language. Some have decided to follow the Lord at great personal risk, because it gives them such hope.

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Helping churches reach out cross-culturally in Melbourne

In Melbourne, CultureConnect workers are partnering with a network of churches in reaching out in the local multi-cultural community which includes many resettled refugees. They are also discipling and encouraging key people in reaching out to others from their own ethnic background.

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Refugees become part of the community in regional NSW

CultureConnect workers in NSW were invited to lead their church in welcoming refugees in their community. They run Bible Studies in easy English, connect families with one another, involve young people in youth groups and offer assistance in practical matters. The friendship of this church has made a tangible difference to many re-settling families, and as a result of their witness, a number of people have chosen to follow Jesus.

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Creating opportunity for marginalised migrants in East Asia

Members of a migrant community in East Asia are often marginalised and restricted to low-paid labour work. Interserve Partners have moved to the area and hope to start a business providing alternative employment opportunities. At present they are visiting families, running a homework club, playgroup, and teaching a course called “Story of Hope” to children in the village school. The course empowers children to be authors of their own life stories, making healthy choices, and affirming their uniqueness, value and purpose.

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Empowering outcast women and children in South Asia

An Interserve worker is leading a school that helps women and children with disabilities to gain an education and meaningful livelihood. Because of the shame associated with their disabilities, many have been abused or forced to leave their homes and villages with nowhere to go. The school is part of a larger ministry offering not only education but also counselling, health care, and a loving community, empowering women and children to lift themselves out of poverty.

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Building bridges of peace in the Arab world

Interserve Partners in the Arab world are working in key projects that facilitate inter-religious understanding and tolerance. They are targeting the causes of extremism and violence by building bridges of peace between hostile groups. They are also working in local projects that serve the needs of refugees who have fled from war-torn nations in Africa.

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Serving refugees in West Asia

The Interserve team in West Asia is working alongside the local church to minister to the thousands of refugees who have fled from Syria and Iraq. Each day the church provides food aid, counselling, language support, and empowers new immigrants to start their own programs to meet self-identified needs.

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Keeping families together in South East Asia

In Thailand, one in five children don’t live with their parents due to internal migration. Men and women are moving from poverty-stricken rural areas to become the blue collar workforce of cities. They work long hours and live in basic conditions while their children remain in the care of relatives or orphanages.

In partnership with local community leaders, NGOs, the Thai government and the church, Interserve Partners are proactively working to keep families together through education, income generation assistance, health care, psychosocial support and spiritual care.

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Advocating for victims of trafficking in South East Asia

An Interserve Partner manages a cafe as part of an organisation that provides safe accommodation and meaningful employment for women who have been victims of trafficking. Together with local leaders, he is also part of an advisory board that is seeking to influence policy and legislation so that the country may better respond to and help reduce human trafficking and exploitation.

Get involved

In Asia and the Arab world...

Interserve is a global community of ordinary Christians taking action in faith. We serve among the most marginalised peoples of Asia and the Arab world, wherever possible alongside the local church.

Serve with us overseas using your skills and experience to meet needs and build local capacity. Placements range from 6 weeks to 20 years.

In Australia...

CultureConnect is a ministry of Interserve, equipping the church in Australia to reach out cross-culturally in our own neighbourhoods.

Serve with us in Australia by teaching English, visiting detention centres, running a playgroup or simply befriending your neighbour. We can help your whole church learn how to get involved.

Read their stories

In this edition of Go, we share with you some of the stories about our work among people on the move and what it’s like to be an Interserve worker on the move in mission.

We hope to encourage and challenge you to consider what it might look like to allow yourself to be moved by God as global events bring new opportunities for us to join His activity in the world.

Get equipped

Why Changing Lanes? As Christians and churches in Australia face the cultural changes taking place in our cities and towns, there’s a need to learn appropriate and effective new skills, and change approaches and directions in how we do ministry. This book will aid Christians and churches as they undertake the crucial, challenging but very rewarding process of changing lanes in an increasingly multicultural environment.

Get on the move in your own neighbourhood. Learn more and order here.

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“We’re all migrants here, a collective, multicultural citizenry of an otherworldly kingdom.”

David Platt