Italian evangelicals gathered in Milan to reflect on the reality of imprisonment faced by refugees—both physical and metaphorical—at a special Refugee Sunday event hosted by the Elim-affiliated Sorgente di Vita Church in Sesto San Giovanni.
The June 22 gathering, co-organized by the Italian Evangelical Alliance (Alleanza Evangelica Italiana, or AEI) and OASI Ministry, served as a time of prayer, testimony, and reflection on the suffering of displaced people seeking safety in Italy and across Europe.
A July 2 update from the AEI reported that the event centered on the theme of “prison”—not only as a place of confinement, but as a broader symbol of the physical, spiritual, and emotional struggles many refugees endure. Through Scripture, testimonies, and prayer, participants were reminded that the gospel offers freedom in every form of captivity.
“The good news is that Jesus came precisely to break the chains of oppression and bring freedom to every situation of imprisonment,” reminded the AEI [translated].
Two former refugees who fled their original country to find safety in Italy gave their personal testimonies during the morning. Both stories involved an inner search for God and “the powerful response of Jesus Christ who brought salvation into their lives; not only, and not least, both found a new family in Christ by arriving in Italy.”
“The task of the Evangelical Church in Italy is still today to pray for refugees, for those who live in captivity, but also to be able to open the doors and welcome these people, whom God is sending, from every people and tribe, so that they can be supported and so that they may know the good news of the Gospel,” added the AEI news update.
Preaching at the event by Rev. Samuele Pellerito, pastor of SDV church and President of Elim Churches in Italy, reminded attendees about the theme of Jesus coming into the world to bring deliverance, saying, “I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:36b) and Luke 4:18, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, therefore he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he sent me to announce the release of the prisoners and the recovery of sight to the blind; to set the oppressed free..."
The story of Paul and Silas was also recounted as showing the power of God prevalent in such situations, as in Acts 16:25-26: Around midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, while the prisoners listened to them. Suddenly there came an earthquake so strong that the foundations of the prison were shaken; immediately all the doors opened and the chains of all were loosened.
“Pellerito recalled that it is not always possible to reach certain places, to understand certain prisons, but one thing we can do: pray for those who are in prison, for those who are oppressed, for those who do not have what we have,” recalled the AEI. “Those in need, they need to hear the message of freedom found in Christ Jesus.”
A time of prayer and intercession at the event focused on the situation of refugees by praying for those fleeing from their country because of war, violence, calamity and persecution. Prayers were also lifted up for the Church in Italy and in the world, for Christians to be prepared to both evangelize and welcome refugees and lastly, for those detained because of their immigration status.
The event involved attendees sharing news about missionary projects, with Michele Recupero from CRIVOP, a voluntary association supporting prisoners, established in 2008, recalling his evangelistic work inside and outside prisons. He reported about alleged smugglers imprisoned because they were framed by human traffickers.
This served as a reminder, added the AEI, that “we therefore speak of injustice, but the focus of the mission is to rehabilitate, but above all to bring hope and true freedom to those who have lost it.”
The event concluded with a group of refugees supported by the OASI association arriving at the church late afternoon where they were warmly welcomed with Arabic sweets and donations of clothes. A friendly five-a-side football match also happened between the guests and members of the SDV church “with the aim of allowing these young people to create moments of relationship.”
