Refugees
Who We Are
“Team Welcome” is the Refugee Support Ministry of Resurrection. This group of Resurrection church members and friends from the community are passionate about welcoming “Newcomers” who are legally known as Refugees, Asylum Seekers, Immigrants, and those with Special and Irregular Immigration status. Team Welcome meets quarterly to learn, share, and care with each other to be equipped and inspired to volunteer with newcomers in the community.
What We Do
Stay Informed & Serve
Team Welcome sends out an informative newsletter filled with Serve Opportunities, meetings, news of the great local work happening, and transformational stories. Sign up by sending your name and email to Adam using the button below.
Leadership Team
- Gina Bowman – KC Chamber
- Julie Doane – Jewish Vocational Services
- Sally Harter – KCPS International Welcome Center
- Brian Nowotny – Della Lamb
- Mark Schlicht – Mission Adelante
- Linn VerMeer – At Large Leawood
- Adam Kisler – Director of Local Missions
Agencies we Serve
We support the following local organizations with grants and volunteer support to welcome refugees in our community. Check out their websites to learn more about them and to plug in directly with them if you’d like.
Team Welcome Serve Saturdays
KC Chamber Welcoming KC Plan
Leaders from within the Team Welcome community form teams of around 10 people who care for families over a six-month timeframe. Each agency calls these teams something unique. Community Co-Sponsorship at Della Lamb and Ambassadors at JVS. People with daytime availability are in high demand to help with transportation and accompanying Newcomers on their visits to get health checkups, enroll in school, acquire legal documents etc.
Safe Spaces School
The Syrian civil war continues to create a humanitarian crisis of unprecedented scale. In Lebanon, the on-going crisis is sharply evident, as the small country is home to more than 1.5 million refugees, many of whom are school-aged children.
In partnership with Resurrection, the Safe Spaces School in Saida, Lebanon held its grand opening on October 2, 2018, to serve more than 200 children — providing both educational and psycho-social support. Living up to its name, the school truly is a safe space where all are welcome and where a future with hope is made possible.
UNICEF
UNICEF is on the front lines of many crises around the world, serving its most vulnerable children. Resurrection donates funds to help in their efforts to provide education, health care, clean water and nutritional support to refugee children and families.
Support Women & Children in Afghanistan
As the Afghanistan crisis continues to unfold, many of us watch the news and wonder, “What we can possibly do to help?”
Resurrection is partnering with several organizations to respond in Afghanistan as well as here in Kansas City. In the past few years, we have supported UNICEF in Lebanon to support education for Syrian refugees. UNICEF also has a presence in Afghanistan and has been there for the past 65 years working to promote and protect the rights of children and women.
UNICEF was at the airport when the bombings occurred working to unite displaced children with their families. They’ve recently reunited 7 children, and will continue to do so as long as is needed. Since January, more than 390,000 people have been internally displaced in Afghanistan – over half are children. UNICEF is working to get access to safe water, hygiene products, food, and tents to these displaced people. While they’ve had to make a few changes to ensure they keep their staff and those they help safe, they continue helping children and families and have no intention of leaving.
With the support of our generous congregation and visitors, we are sending funds to support the work UNICEF is doing in Afghanistan on behalf of children and women.
Locally, Resurrection is looking into ways we can help resettle refugees in the Kansas City area. If you are interested in possibly helping in the future, please reach out to Adam Kisler
