Beyond Stories: World Relief Update

A few weeks ago, we shared an update on an emergency situation with one of our Beyond partners, World Relief Western New York, a Christ-centered non-profit helping to resettle refugees in the Rochester area. We support World Relief because we share in the belief that as Christians, we are called to love our neighbor, care for the poor, orphan, widow, and welcome the stranger.

Due to an abrupt change in funding streams, our local World Relief office was facing the reality of an immediate and significant reduction in operations by up to 80%. They shared with our church and many others in Rochester who support their work that without the church stepping in to provide a funding gap of $150,000, they would not be able to resettle the 212 people who had recently moved to Rochester and were counting on World Relief for help.

Our church family was blessed to be able to send a gift of $75,000 to help families with basic needs of housing, clothing, food, transportation, and health care while they are settling in.  

World Relief shared, “The very last refugee family we were able to welcome through the resettlement program is a beautiful Venezuelan family of nine people. After they safely arrived in the U.S on January 24th, 2025, they shared that as Christians, they had desperately prayed to be like Israel and make it to the promised land. Thanks to your generosity, we have been able to ensure their rent is paid, allowing them secure housing and the time to find jobs on their road to self-sufficiency.”

In addition to our Church’s contribution, many other churches and individuals from our christian community stepped in to help!  In the past month, World Relief has raised over $250,000 in total, and 20 good neighbor teams have signed up to walk with families as they settle into life here. 

To learn more, sign up to serve with refugees in Rochester, or give personally, you can go to https://worldrelief.org/western-ny/.