On a recent Sunday morning, the congregation of First Church of the Nazarene in Moscow, Idaho, USA, was treated to an unusual service: a Skype video interview with Khalil and Randa Halaseh, pastor couple for the Al-ashrafieh Church of the Nazarene in Amman, Jordan.

The live interaction with the couple, who live and work nearly 11,000 km (6,700 miles) and nine time zones away from Moscow, Idaho, led to a deeper understanding of what the church only hears in the news regarding the Syrian refugee crisis. They also learned how Nazarenes in the Middle East are supporting the refugees who have moved into their communities.

Afterward, the church gave an offering of more than $7,500 toward the Amman church’s refugee ministry.

“The refugee situation and Europe’s problems with dealing with it is big news here, so most people in our church were interested in the refugee situation,” said John Merrick, a member of the Moscow church’s Nazarene Missions International council. “Jordan is about half the size of our state of Idaho here in the USA, and I thought about what it would be like if suddenly 1.5 million people suddenly came into our state who did not have any means of support or place to live.  I knew there were Nazarene churches in Jordan and wondered if our congregation could be involved in supporting any effort those churches were doing in supporting the refugees.”

For the rest of the story, see Engage magazine.