refugees

This is Our Time


This is Our Time

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director



Mission Adelante, like the rest of the world, is digesting the results of the U.S. presidential election.  Given our experiences during the previous Trump presidency and the rhetoric and policy statements that have been made regarding immigrants and refugees during the recent campaign, we are anticipating a challenging season for our community and a disruption in the government programs for refugee resettlement and support.  

Nevertheless, Mission Adelante is resolute in our commitment to serve the immigrant and refugee communities in Kansas City.  We have been swimming against the cultural current for 19 years and we have been forged in the fire of unfavorable political policies and harsh public rhetoric for much of our history as a ministry.  And yet, our passion for “loving people from all places” grows only stronger when those we are called to serve are marginalized.  The ears of our hearts become even more attentive when we hear Jesus say, “I was a stranger and you welcomed me”.  Mission Adelante exists, in part, to stand in the gap for vulnerable people whose worth others may not recognize.

We are not alone in our conviction and commitment to compassionate action.  We have seen churches, schools, businesses, organizations, and individuals throughout the metro area and the region rise to the occasion and join us in serving, sharing life, and sharing Jesus with our neighbors from all places.  When our resilient and courageous community of immigrants and refugees is joined by Americans who are serious about “loving our neighbor as ourselves”, a powerful “new we” emerges that challenges the “us vs. them” narrative. 

Friends, this is our time.  And when I say “our time”, I mean a collective “OUR” that includes YOU.  This is our collective time to shine and we need YOU to be part of the WE.  Over the coming weeks, we will be rolling out some new and timely ways for you to engage.  Please stay tuned!  Whether through praying, serving, or giving, we invite you to join us in loving people from all places.

Be part of our programs!

We are so excited for everything that is happening in our programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us next trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

Year 19: Crazy Growth!


Year 19: Crazy Growth!

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director



There have been many exciting seasons at Mission Adelante since our launch in 2005. The initial launch phase was a thrilling adventure, engaging new volunteers, connecting with neighbors, and developing brand new ministry programs.  Five years later, we were exploring a ministry to Bhutanese-Nepali refugees and expanding our impact.  In 2015, we launched Adelante Thrift, a major milestone in sustainable entrepreneurship. This year, 2024, is another year of unprecedented growth and new endeavors at Mission Adelante.

Refugee Resettlement: It’s safe to say, we didn’t really know what we were getting ourselves into when we said,”yes” to resettling refugees, but secretly, we had a hunch it would exceed our expectations.  Indeed, the refugee resettlement journey has been an exhilarating challenge that has doubled the size of our ministry impact!  As we approach the end of September, we will have received 103 individuals, orienting them, housing them, getting them medical care, enrolling the kids in schools, and caring for their critical needs during their first months in the the U.S.  Our Refugee Services staff has grown from 1.5 to seven team members, we’ve engaged over 50 new volunteers, and our overall budget has nearly doubled.  The real noteworthy part of this is that we’ve accomplished these impossible feats, building the team, creating the systems, and doing the work, in the first nine months of the year!

Core Ministry Programs: Our core Ministry Programs have seen more qualitative growth through 2024 than growth in numbers.  Leadership development through our kids and youth ministries has produced a crop of youth interns and an a couple of young adult apprentices who demonstrate the kind of gifts and character that we dream about seeing in our young people.

Transitions: A few weeks ago, our staff team got away for a day for a staff retreat.  As we were sitting around the room sharing about our Gallup Strengths Finder results, I was keenly aware that our team has many new faces.  In addition to adding a whole new refugee services team, another part of this year’s craziness has been transitions other in key roles.  From Michelle Simbaqueva and Rachel Yeargin joining our team in important operations roles, Yanelis López switching out of her Associate Director role to serve on our Refugee Team, and more recently, Luis Magaña’s transition, in a lot of ways, our team is being re-built for our exciting future. 

Construction: In January we acquired the commercial building adjacent our main property.  Early in the year we worked hard with architects and engineers to put together an awesome plan for our new refugee welcome center, which will house staff offices, classrooms, and storage space for our refugee services ministry.  After submitting our plans to the city, we’ve been in a long holding pattern as we’ve awaited the proper permits to begin our work.  In the meantime, we’ve hired Tate Williams’ CoBuild, Inc, as our General Contractor, and we’re preparing to launch another fundraising campaign to raise $550,000 for this project.    

In short, 2024 has been a year of exhilarating growth and all the challenges that come with big, new endeavors. As we look toward the last quarter of the year and forward to our 20th Anniversary next year, we invite you to pray with us for God’s favor, His energy, and His guidance to walk faithfully in the opportunities He is laying before us.

Be part of our programs!

We are so excited for everything that is happening in our programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us next trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

Catch a Ride on the Whirlwind!


Catch a Ride on the Whirlwind

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director



The year 2024 has begun with a spinning, whirling, blizzard of blessings at Mission Adelante. “Spinning and whirling”, because it has been CRAZY. “Blizzard”, because it has been blinding (and because of the alliteration, which I happen to love). “Blessings”, because there’s no other way to describe the joyful new things the Lord is doing at Mission Adelante.

As 2023 came to a close, we were praying and working on raising $500,000 for the purchase of the adjacent commercial building and a residential house which would serve as our Refugee welcome center. It had all come together surprisingly quickly, as we learned about the opportunity to purchase those properties during the first week of October. It would be a Providential moment in our newest project- the launch of a Refugee Resettlement program at Mission Adelante. Donors from far and wide stepped forward- church partners, business partners, generous individuals- and we witnessed what seems like a miracle- our campaign total reached $500,995 by the end of January, allowing us to purchase the properties and begin work on plans for a complete renovation of the commercial space. In the meantime, we’ve done some cosmetic work to the “welcome house”, and it is set to begin being used to welcome newly arriving refugees in the next few weeks! I’m astounded at the provision of God and His perfect timing!

The new properties are not the biggest thing happening at Mission Adelante right now. Indeed, the refugee resettlement program itself lifted off the last week of January, as we received our first family, a couple from Nicaragua. The “good neighbor team” that we assigned to this very first family was from Mission Adelante’s own Spanish-speaking church community. With tremendous generosity and love, our own community of “people from all places” set the standard for hospitality, welcoming this new Refugee family to the United States and also into our church! Then, in a chain reaction of hospitality, this first refugee couple helped us welcome another new arrival, who, in turn, helped yet another family with their first steps in the U.S.!  This is what happens when agency, community, and church collide in one organization!  To date, we’ve received 12 families from different countries and continents. We’re building new systems, figuring things out as we go, and leaning on the support of partners in our community and city. God is so good!

As if this weren’t enough, in late January, we received news from the Kansas State Office for Refugees that we would be awarded additional grant funding to expand our programming. The kinds of expansion opportunities they had in mind went far beyond what we had imagined. It has allowed us to supercharge the development of our Refugee Resettlement team, which has gone from Kristen Maxwell, as the lone team member back in the fall, to include five full-time staff members by early March. Needless to say, the addition of these programs, which target employment services, medical navigation, public benefit navigation, expanded English classes, and more, will allow us to serve our new friends in a much more comprehensive way. Of course, this kind of rapid expansion of programming and staffing requires new systems and more operation support, which have stretched our team and infrastructure — a blinding blizzard of blessings!

Friends, this is an exciting time of expansion at Mission Adelante. The Lord is expanding our reach and our capacity as a ministry, and we’re so very thankful for this whirlwind of new things. Even as we lean into these new opportunities, we continue to see and celebrate fruit in our legacy programs and enjoy the fun and encouraging team environment among our staff and volunteers. We don’t stop giving thanks for those who serve as volunteers, give as donors, pray as partners, and love our community with us. Let’s do this! Let’s spread our wings and catch a ride on the whirlwind!

Our Refugee Resettlement staff: Kristen, Caleb, Marian, Veronica, Amy and Yanelis

LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES?
JOIN US FOR VOLUNTEER ORIENTATION - may 18TH

Join our team of volunteers for the summer trimester and be part of "loving people from all places." Attend our volunteer orientation on May 18th, 2024 and find your place serving kids, youth, or adults in the immigrant community in KCK

For more information about volunteer opportunities visit: https://www.missionadelante.org/orientation

Be part of our programs!

We are so excited for everything that is happening in our programs and we are grateful for all our volunteers who make everything possible. Would you consider partnering with us next trimester?

How can you help?

  • Pray for our program participants would create an impact in our community and grow with their walk with the Lord.

  • Volunteer – Come to our Observation Nights. For more information visit: http://www.missionadelante.org/serve

  • Donate to join us in building a multicultural community of disciples making disciples.

Overlooked | How Immigrants Are Saving Our Cities from the Inside Out

Introduction by Jarrett Meek, Pastor/Executive Director/Founder, Mission Adelante, Inc.

Are immigrants a blessing or a burden?  That’s one of the more contentious questions being tossed around our current cultural moment.  As Christ-followers, we’ve been shown how to recognize the value in people others have rejected.  Jesus saw something special in Levi while he was still sitting at his tax booth—it wasn’t long before Levi’s friends were sharing a meal in his home with Jesus.  When he spoke with a Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well, Jesus saw into her heart and beyond; his vision included fields ripe for the harvest. It wasn’t long before this unlikely woman would lead an entire town to Jesus.  Our Lord has a habit of making heroes out of marginalized people.  

Viewing immigrants through this lens has led us to tell a different kind of story about our neighbors from other countries.  Even beyond seeing these newcomers as people in need of compassion, it became clear to us that our friends from all places were bringing something of incredible value to our inner city neighborhood: revitalization.  Over the last fifteen years of doing ministry in this community, I have seen this neighborhood transformation with my own eyes. The people I came to serve are serving and changing lives. They are becoming leaders in churches.  They are starting businesses and fixing up homes. Our neighborhood is safer and more vibrant because they are here.  

When you’re up close, the human stories are powerful and plentiful, and the community impact is notable.  Even so, I was surprised when the story revealed by the data from my research matched so consistently with what we are seeing in real life; immigrants are saving our city from the inside out.  “Overlooked” is our attempt at telling this story in a way that will challenge others to see immigrants from a new perspective—not as a burden, but as a blessing.

Have You Ever Met a Dreamer?

by Jarrett Meek, Pastor/Executive Director, Founder

Mission Adelante takes seriously the biblical mandate to speak on behalf of vulnerable people who don't have a voice.  In our case, some of those voiceless people are our neighbors and friends.  In these strange times, when a lot is being said about immigrants and refugees, we, as a ministry and community, have embraced all the more our slogan, "loving people from all places."  From undocumented immigrants, who form a large part of the very fabric of our neighborhood, to legal permanent residents and citizens who are hoping to be reunited with aging parents through a family reunification visa, to refugees who are displaced, without a country to call home, many members of our community are directly impacted by our country's immigration laws.  At Mission Adelante, we find ourselves with beautiful opportunities to serve, share life, and share Jesus with people from all places who are often looked upon as outsiders by the world around them.  As we live out our mission to make disciples, we find special significance in the disciple-making ministry of Jesus that emphasized serving the vulnerable and marginalized as a hallmark of those who would be His followers.

Open your mouths for the mute; for all those who are destitute.  Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.  Proverbs 31:8-9

We know that many of our partners and friends look to Mission Adelante for information and leadership in issues related to immigrants and refugees.  This, for us, is a solemn responsibility that we don't take lightly.  We are standing in a unique place, at the nexus of current issues that have deep biblical, social, and political significance.  By following the Lord we follow, by living where we live, by serving whom we serve, and loving whom we love, we have become part of a "new we" that includes people from different countries, backgrounds, races, and cultures.  As a part of this new we, we look with special interest at the question, "who is my neighbor?".  In light of our unique context, we marvel at the parable of the Good Samaritan, which demonstrated that an outsider, a foreigner, a person of a different race or religion, might just be the neighbor God calls us to love.  You, as a friend of Mission Adelante, are also part of this "new we", and we are honored to be part of this journey together.

Maybe you are aware of the ongoing push for legislation to provide a permanent solution for "Dreamers", young immigrants who have grown up in the U.S. without proper immigration documents.  There are new developments nearly every week on this front, and we continue to pray for a compassionate solution for these young friends and neighbors.  The video at the top of this post will give you a glimpse into some of the realities facing the Dreamers. Recently, World Relief led the way in drafting a letter to Congress and to President Trump in support of the Dreamers and other vulnerable groups.  This letter was published in the Washington Post on February 7th, along with the signatures of 100 prominent Evangelical leaders, including Beth Moore, Bill and Lynne Hybels, Ann Voskamp, and Max Lucado.  Thousands of other Evangelical leaders and organizations, including Mission Adelante, signed on to the online version of the letter, which called on Congress and President Trump to give consideration to four groups of vulnerable people including, Dreamers, Refugees, Persecuted Christians, and Families awaiting reunification.  I encourage you to read the letter here.

If you are interested in staying up-to-date with good information and thoughtful, Christian responses to issues related to immigrants and refugees, two of our trusted sources are World Relief and The Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission (ERLC), led by Dr. Russell Moore.  Recently, Mission Adelante's board adopted the ERLC's Evangelical Leader Statement on Dreamers as our own position.  If you are so inclined, we invite you to join with us and others across the country to pray for Dreamers, specifically on Monday, March 5th over the lunch hour.  World Relief has put together a prayer guide for Dreamers that many will be using on this day.  Thank you for walking with us and standing with our beloved community through all the challenges we face together.

dreamers_ap_photo-alex_brandon.jpg

Invest in Immigrant Leaders Making Disciples!

We are praying the Lord would provide $60,000 this year-end to support our "Community Leaders". www.missionadelante.org/give

We are praying the Lord would provide $60,000 this year-end to support our "Community Leaders". www.missionadelante.org/give

by Jarrett Meek, Founder/Pastor/Executive Director

When we set out to start Mission Adelante, I didn't fully appreciate the potential for immigrants and refugees to play a critical role in transforming a community and a ministry.  Now, I'm continually amazed and inspired to by leaders from all places and the impact they are having in our neighborhood.  From entrepreneurs to ministry leaders, our community is full of courageous people who are cutting new pathways through the thick brush of cultural and language barriers to realize their dreams and be a part of transforming individual lives and the entire community.

Yanelis López, Gissell Vázquez, and Laxmi Gurung are three of these leaders.  As new arrivals to the U.S. each of them has had to overcome challenges and forge a trail through what sometimes seems like an overgrown jungle.  Their perseverance, faith, and vision inspire me and all those who are close to them.  Mission Adelante is blessed to have them as part of our staff!

As we approach the end of 2017, I'm looking back at the impact our immigrant staff members have made over the last year and anticipating what the Lord will do through them in 2018.  Laxmi, as an apprentice, is learning ministry with us and has launched our new Refugee Kids Club, which is already including kids from Nepal, Burma, and Latin America.  Gissell has integrated worship into nearly every corner of Mission Adelante, from our staff meetings to our Kids ministry and beyond.  She has transformed our Latino worship team and is preparing a new program called Adelante Arts Community that will develop and disciple young through music and the arts.  And Yanelis has made tremendous contributions on the senior leadership level, walking our team through transitions, creating healthy dynamics on our staff ministry team, and accepting an increasing level of leadership responsibility in our organization.  The impact of these leaders is only just beginning as they continue to adjust to life in the U.S.  As people, they are cherished, and as leaders they have the ability to take our ministry to new places.

This year-end, we are praying the Lord would provide $60,000 to help support the 2018 salary and benefits of Yanelis, Laxmi, and Gissell, through what we call our Community Leader Fund.  As you pray about your own giving this year-end, I invite you to consider making a special contribution to our Community Leader Fund.  If you already give monthly, maybe the Lord will lead you to make an additional year-end gift.  If you give annually or occasionally, we encourage you to jump in again with us.  Or maybe your are looking for new ways to make an impact with your resources.  Investing in Yanelis, Laxmi and Gissell is at the heart of our mission as they are all involved on the front lines of disciple-making with people from all places.  I have every confidence that supporting their work through Mission Adelante will produce Kingdom fruit in ways that will glorify Jesus! 

Giving online is easy at www.missionadelante.org/give.

You can give online at: www.missionadelante.org/give

Leaders from All Places on the Playing Field

Staff and interns from "all places" getting on the ministry playing field in KCK. 

Staff and interns from "all places" getting on the ministry playing field in KCK. 

by Jarrett Meek, Pastor/Founder/Executive Director

In the midst of life and the ups and downs of ministry, the Lord is quietly carrying Mission Adelante through important milestones.  For some years now we have been focused on mobilizing volunteers and raising up leaders from within the immigrant and refugee community in KCK. In 2011 we began measuring the number of ongoing immigrant volunteers that were serving in ongoing, defined roles in our ministry.  At that point the number represented about 14% of all of our volunteers, a modest, but decent start for a ministry that had initially emphasized recruiting volunteers from suburban churches.  Slowly, each trimester we've made progress.  In 2013 we shifted the focus of our summer internship to equipping youth from our community.  We experimented with different leadership team models that were meant to provide a place at the table for people from other places.  And, with two steps forward and one step back, we began to see fruit.  

Mobilizing "community leaders" for the mission field in our own backyard is not just a strategy, but it is value that comes close to the heart of our mission.  We are convinced that to truly live out our mission in this community, we must do it together!  Not as "us" serving "them", but as a new "we".  Every day I see evidence that we still lack a lot in this regard, but I also see that the Lord is moving us forward.  While we still have a long way to go, this summer trimester marks the first time that more than 25% of our 130 ongoing volunteers are immigrants or refugees.  And, if patterns remain consistent, we might expect to make another significant jump in September.

There is another important and related transition taking place at Mission Adelante;  half of our staff Leadership Team are from other countries, and, during the summer, with our summer interns included, almost half of our staff (46%) are first or second generation immigrants.  These statistics may not break any records for urban ministries, but they represent significant fruit from our efforts at becoming "a multicultural community of disciples making disciples where immigrants and others are thriving and using our gifts together to impact our neighborhood and world for the glory of Jesus Christ. "

Important Dates:

  • Mission Adelante will be on break next week, July 4th - 7th.  There will not be any programs that week so that our staff and volunteers can enjoy the holiday with their family and friends.
  • Observation Nights are coming soon!  If you have ever wondered what goes on during a night of programming at Mission Adelante you can join us on Tuesday July 11th & 18th from 6:30 - 8:30 to observe our Refugee Ministry or on Thursday July 13th & 20th from 6:30 - 8:30 to our observe our Latino Ministry.  We are located at 22 S 18th St. Kansas City, Kansas 66102. Visit our website at: www.missionadelante.org/serve/