Hands-inside-heartDr. Timothy C. Tennent, President of Asbury Theological Seminary, announced Thursday that the Seminary has offered to house a Syrian refugee family. The Seminary has not been assigned a family yet, but has expressed interest to Kentucky Refugee Ministries.

“I can’t just say be warm and well fed and do nothing about it,” Tennent said, referring to James 2:16. “As a school we believe in prayer and that prayer is effective. But we want to do more than just pray. We want to show compassion in whatever way God would ask us. In the face of a refugee, we see the face of Jesus Christ, who was himself a refugee in Egypt.”

Although recent events in Paris, Baghdad, Beirut, and Mali have incited terror around the world, the Seminary still chooses to follow the biblical command found in Matthew 25:40. This verse states that whatever you do for “one of the least of these,” you are doing for Jesus. The Seminary is committed to serving all people with the same mercy, forgiveness and reconciliation extended by God.

Currently, the Seminary is in contact with a couple of refugee agencies to discern how we can best seek to love those displaced by violence.