World Relief Refugee Pastor Lay Counselor TrainingWorld Relief, an organization committed to standing for the vulnerable, approached Soul Care in the fall for their input on a new mental health grant the organization had received. The challenge before World Relief was how to care for the mental health needs of the immense refugee communities that they serve. The mission of World Relief is to empower the local Church to serve the most vulnerable. Soul Care fit perfectly into that mission because the main thrust of Soul Care is to equip the saints for ministry. Soul Care was able to help by suggesting that we train the refugee pastors that are already in the communities of refugees and already speak the language of these groups of people. Every second and fourth Thursday since February, Soul Care has been hosting the pastors and some of the world relief staff for the How People Change and Helping Others Change classes. The Heart and Discipleship The main emphases of the class has been the ideas of the heart and discipleship. The purpose of helping them understand the idea of discipleship and also the heart model was twofold. First, the pastors that come to the classes are overburdened with the needs of the people. There are so many to help and their needs are great. Many times they feel pressure to meet the needs of their flock whether it be to find them a car, a job, translate, or listen to their past traumas. Helping the pastors understand that to truly help someone for permanent change starts at the heart. The pastors might not be able to provide many of the material needs their congregation has or change the “heat” if you are familiar with the metaphor. What they can offer is Christ and his power in their situation. The second main emphasis on the class, discipleship, has been eye opening for many in the class. The problem is that the pastors expected to provide jobs, money, and guidance to so many. It is nearly impossible for these pastors to be able to minister to all that need it and in a quality way. To help the pastors with this burden, much of the time spent in the class has included an emphasis on how the pastors can train others in their people group that can eventually counsel and guide even more refugees. The third generation of counselees or care receivers can then be trained to help others. This is not unlike the model of Soul Care where we want to equip those that have been cared for and restored to help others. Highlights from the class This class has been a great opportunity to collaborate with brothers and sisters from different backgrounds and pasts. The beautiful aspect of this class has been that no matter what the differences are; Christ is the central component. It has also been an opportunity for some of the Soul Care volunteers to teach the material and interact with the group. It seems like the World Relief staff is also walking away with some great training to apply tonot only their own lives, but in their relationships within the organization, and to the many people that they serve. |
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