Cornerstone, the WEC Bible College for Mission Training in The Netherlands, has announced the launch of Doorstep: a new training programme focused on preparing Christians and churches to work with refugees and migrants. The one-year programme, due to start in August, offers participants spiritual and theological input, alongside practical skills to reach out to people of all nationalities, coming to Europe.
Doorstep will draw on teaching expertise from mission practitioners, experienced in outreach to migrants. The curriculum includes content on working in a multi-cultural environment, cross-cultural communication and world religions. Students will be involved in weekly ministries with migrants and refugees and will complete a certified Integration Assistant course. In addition, a number of placements within Europe and beyond will give the students hands-on experience and practical ideas to develop in their home churches.
“There are now 65.6 million people displaced worldwide. As we see so many on the move, we also see God giving us opportunities to reach out to them on our doorstep.”
One of the brains behind Doorstep, Michael Eijgenraam, describes it as an answer to the current situation in Europe. “We are aware of the changes in the world, and in the mission world. We have been praying and asking God how we can respond to this new reality. We have a vision to train those who want to take out a year to grow spiritually and who then want to return to their own home country, equipped to reach out to refugees and migrants.”
Doorstep is an opportunity to grow spiritually and train to meet the needs of migrants and refugees in Europe
Tiago Fonseca, Director of Doorstep, expands on those thoughts: “There are now 65.6 million people displaced worldwide. As we see so many on the move, we also see God giving us opportunities to reach out to them on our doorstep. We’ve seen so many ministries throughout Europe, reaching out with great intentions and so much love for their new neighbours, but lots of struggles because of lack of training and cultural understanding. We hope Doorstep will send graduates back to their home churches to either start a new ministry to migrants or help to better equip an existing ministry.”
Click here to find out more about Doorstep. There are still a few places available on the course starting on 21 August. If you want to be a part of it, you can apply online here.
