Can your church host refugees for a short break in an interesting place? 


A Welcome Holiday is a chance for a refugee to have a short break hosted by a UK church and to see another town or city in the UK; a chance to meet new people and perhaps enjoy the countryside, or the sights in a different city. For the church, it is an opportunity to host refugees for a short time, providing an opportunity to be kind and generous and to demonstrate hospitality to those who have arrived as strangers in the UK. 

Supporting your Welcome Holiday coordinator(s)

We will work with you to decide what your church can offer as your Welcome Holiday. We will give you advice on recruiting a team of Hosts and Welcomers from your church and how to support your team. We will supply the paperwork, data protection and safeguarding information you will need and will include cultural considerations, as well as the process of advertising your Welcome Holiday to potential Guests within our Welcome Network.

Training for your hosts and other volunteers 

Our training will equip your team of Hosts and Welcomers who will be joining in with welcoming your guests. Our Welcomer training includes: thinking through your role on the Welcome Holiday, challenges faced by refugees in the UK, thinking about other cultures, sharing our faith, boundaries and safeguarding during the Welcome Holiday.

For the church, it is an opportunity to host refugees for a short time, providing an opportunity to be kind and generous and to demonstrate hospitality to those who have arrived as strangers in the UK. 

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Yes, if you are not in the Network already, then in your partnership with Welcome Churches to run a Welcome Holiday, you will need to join the Network.

  • Yes, this is a Partner Project. Please speak to the Welcome Churches team about costs.

  • The ‘host’ church offers accommodation to the guests in their own homes. Our support of your Welcome Holiday coordinator will help you think this through and make sure everything is in place.

  • Once you have finalised your Welcome Holiday offer, we will speak with other churches in our Network to find suitable guests for your particular holiday. They will be refugees or people seeking asylum living in the UK. We have an application process for guests, and require a reference from someone in their church.

  • We are very happy to talk through other ideas you have for accommodation, however part of the benefit for the Holiday guests is that they get to stay in a Christian home and learn more about British culture during their stay.