The Open Doors Christian ministry is working with local partners to serve refugees, who had been displaced by violence in Iraq, with the hope that by helping them they could revive their faith in Jesus Christ.
The ministry, which is dedicated to serving persecuted Christians around the world, is providing both physical and spiritual support to the displaced people. The support includes: food, shelter, housing help, and spiritual counselling.
Carl Moeller, the USA President of the ministry, gave a bleak assessment of those who had escaped saying they had lost everything. Even though Christians are fleeing Iraq, Mr. Moeller continued, the ministry hopes to preserve a remnant church and Christian identity within the country.
"To be completely dislocated is so horrible for them. They've lost their jobs, they've lost their homes, and they've even lost their church. So we're actually working to bring Christian communities together in small groups - local churches of these refugees where people can find others that have fled as well," Mr. Moeller said.
He hoped that by offering aid to them, this opportunity could also be used to revive their faith in Christ after feeling 'frustrated' with religion because their spiritual leader didn't care for them, reported the Mission Network News (MNN).
Finally, Mr. Moeller called on everyone to reach out to those who are suffering, as Christmas is fast approaching, and asked everyone to pray for God intervention so the violence would decrease in the country.
"During this season when we celebrate the birth of Jesus, we need to reach out to those who are suffering as many of the IDPs are in Iraq," says Moeller. "We're just praying that God would intervene in these violent areas so the violence would decrease, and that not only physical relief would be provided for these, but a spiritual relief."
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said last month the number of IDPs now stands at 2.3 million. OCHA reported an additional 60,000 people per month are now being displaced in Iraq – a rate of 2,000 a day.