About Gave Foundation

Gave Foundation is an interdenominational organisation aimed at working among refugees and asylum seekers in the Netherlands. Gave wants the refugee who comes to our country to be seen and loved. On this page you will find our English information.

Mission and Vision

Gave makes churches and Christians aware of the biblical calling to receive ‘the stranger’ in a hospitable way. Gave inspires, trains and supports volunteers to build relationships with asylum seekers and to show them Gods love.

Gave believes that local Christians and churches located in the close proximity of asylum seekers are the first responsible for receiving refugees in a hospitable way. Therefore, the primary focus of Gave is on these local Christians and churches. Furthermore, Gave is a centre of knowledge for questions regarding asylum seekers and Gave stands up for the rights of Christians refugees. Moreover, Gave organises and supports projects that are relevant for refugees (for example, the Youth Camps).

God’s heart beats with love for the refugee. A refugee is in need of being loved. By people who care about him, approach him hospitably and want to pass on God’s love to him.

How we work

Regional work

Gave can deploy employees locally to support and guide the work of churches among refugees. These are employees with various specialisms.

Relations managers

The relations manager is the connection between local churches/volunteers and Gave. Each region has its own relations manager. Every church or volunteer can contact the relations manager. This goes for working with refugees at an asylum seekers center or in behalf of refugees that received a status and are newcomers in a neighbourhood.

Equippers

In order to support the local work, local working groups can appeal to the Gave equippers. They offer support during the start-up and progress of activities and working methods. Their support can take the shape of information, courses, training and practical support.

Service desk

If you have questions about working among refugees or about what our equippers can mean to you, our service desk in all her expertise will serve you a suitable answer.

Resources

Gave gathers and shares knowledge about (working among) refugees. Gave incorporates relevant themes like traumas, language course and sharing the gospel, in easy accessible materials and courses. For example, a wide range of brochures has been developed. These, and other background documents, can be found in the online library. Gave also offers various trainings and online courses. Some of our materials (such as a multilingual songbook) are also available in English. English, German or French copies (only digital) of our materials can be ordered for free at servicedesk@gave.nl.

Legal support

Do you have questions about the asylum procedure of someone you know, do you want to discuss what the possibilities are for an asylum seeker that has exhausted all procedures or are you in contact with a Christian who is in danger of being sent back to a country where he will be in danger of being persecuted because of his faith? Our legal support team will answer your questions. Furthermore, they advise churches how to support an asylum seeker during his asylum procedure in the Netherlands.

Projects

To support local work among refugees, Gave organises various projects, for example the Pray for Refugees day, Mother and Child weekends, and youth camps.

National

Besides practical knowledge, Gave has also a vision about the church in relation to refugees, or about politics and refugees. For that reason, Gave employees are invited to speak at various (church) meetings and we give advice to Christian political parties.

International

Internationally, Gave is part of a network, the Refugee Highway Partnership (RHP), to support the work among asylum seekers in various countries with the knowledge and experience accumulated in the Netherlands.

Since 2013 Gave liaises with the European Evangelical Alliance, Open Doors and the partners from the RHP-network to come to a better assessment of asylum applications of Christians that are at risk of being persecuted because of their faith in case they have to return.

History

In 1992, a group of young Christians responded to the call to show Gods love to refugees . It was a time when many refugees came to the Netherlands and there was a niche to be filled as many refugees were not reached by the gospel. In many places, churches were in an apparent need of help and advice in this area. The group of young Christians used their own experience to advise these churches and within a few years, this developed into the interdenominational Gave Foundation.