Our Name

In 1 Kings 19, we read Elijah’s story of fleeing for his life in the wilderness and ultimately finding God.

Utterly exhausted, tired of fighting and running for his life, Elijah’s hope has run dry as he finds a place to rest under a broom bush, or the juniper tree. There, in verse 4, “he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life.”

In his rest, however, the Lord sends an angel to provide His sustenance. Twice, the angel of the Lord gives enough food and water so that Elijah can stand back up and keep going. 

In the wilderness the Lord sent an angel to meet Elijah in his desperation. The Lord could have stopped the army chasing him. He does not solve Elijah’s problems. If anything God directed Elijah towards situations that complicated, and repeatedly compromised, his life. 

In God’s infinite plans our grief, sorrow, and loss are somehow used to bring about an eventual beauty. Christ himself showed us this in his own life, death, and resurrection. 

In our moments of sorrow, despair and deferred hope, God promises His nearness to us. Experiencing the fullness of joy now through the hope of Christ, we can share the beauty of nearness that God offers to us. As recipients of that nearness, our response as the hands and feet of Jesus is to bring with us the very presence and spirit of God’s nearness to those around us. 

That is our hope at Juniper Refuge: when people meet through our ministry they share and experience the loving nearness that empowers the sorrowful to keep going. Just like Elijah’s story under the juniper tree.

Our Values

We believe all of our Christian mandates are relational and work to shape us into people who live more rightly with one another and God.

We look to the EXAMPLE OF JESUS as we interact with refugees in our city by living holy, humble, and honest lives individually and corporately.

We see the LOCAL CHURCH as a necessary and active agent of compassion and love in a broken world, living the integrated “word” and “deed” components of God’s mandate.

We see PEOPLE whether staff, volunteers, donors or partners as important actors in bringing peace, love and justice. As we seek to better the world around us, we recognize that we, too, are changed, by those we serve.

We pursue PARTNERSHIP by seeking and facilitating collaboration and coordination among the local Church, other non-profits, and the business community, recognizing connectivity as essential to accomplishing any great task.

We value FLEXIBILITY by providing a safe space to create, adjust and mold ourselves that we may serve needs that are as diverse as the population.

We see PRAYER as the priority and foundation to accomplishing our mission.