When was the last time you heard about immigration on the news? It's everywhere: a lot of people have a lot of very strong opinions about this complex issue that is the subject of much political debate. If you listen to the news long enough, it's easy to believe that it's all about laws and policies and to forget that it's also about the family living down the street.
When was the last time you heard about immigration in your church? Too often churches ignore the reality of how immigration impacts their community and the people both inside and outside the walls of the church, and in doing so not only miss out on the opportunity to serve those who have great need—they dismiss the biblical call to "welcome the strangers" in their midst.
Damon Schroeder wants to help churches engage that call and live it out well. This is the central purpose of his work, both as Director of U.S. Church Mobilization for World Relief, as well as Executive Director of the Immigration Coalition, a group of organizations and denominations that are committed to "welcoming the stranger" and to equipping local churches to serve and reach under-resourced immigrants through immigration legal ministry. He spoke with BuildingChurchLeaders.com managing editor Laura Leonard about his work, why it's so important for the local church to engage immigration issues, and how churches can better reach and serve the immigrant populations in their communities.
Tell me about your work with World Relief and Church-Based Immigrant Ministry Coalition (aka Immigration Coalition).
As a former missionary kid now planted in the North American mission field, one of my greatest passions is to see Christians build cross-cultural relationships for the gospel. World Relief's mission is to "empower the local church to serve the most vulnerable." My role at World Relief is to equip and guide our U.S. Ministries leaders and staff into that mission. The emergence of the Church-Based Immigrant Ministry Coalition in the last year and a half is a natural extension of World Relief's mission and commitment to see the local church in the U.S. "welcoming the stranger" in word and deed.
Why is it important for church leaders to prioritize this issue?
Because God does. Ultimately, our guidance on immigration comes from Scripture. Among other significant biblical evidence, God used the Hebrew word ger ninety-two times in the Bible; we know he has a significant concern for the "sojourner."
Beyond this, church leaders care about people and the local church. Immigration is much more than an issue. "It" has a face and a name; it lives in our neighborhood—1 in 8 Americans are immigrants—and it sits in our church seats. According to Timothy Tennent, missiologist and president of Asbury Theological Seminary, "86 percent of the immigrant population in North America are likely to either be Christians or become Christians … . The immigrant population actually presents the greatest hope for Christian renewal in North America."
Unfortunately, recent Gordon-Conwell Seminary research reports that 60 percent of those from non-Christian religious traditions in the U.S.—most of them immigrants—say they do not know any Christians. This may be because only 20 percent of Protestant Christians (and 16 percent of white evangelicals) have heard about immigration from their pastor or other clergy.
What does it look like for local churches to "welcome the stranger?" How can churches best serve the immigrants in their communities?
The word hospitality in the Greek is philoxenia: literally, the love of strangers. A powerful illustration of "welcoming the stranger" comes from a pastor-friend of mine who was sent with his family as a missionary to Indonesia (an 88 percent Muslim country) just six weeks before 9/11. The attack on America and subsequent U.S. invasion of Afghanistan brought angry crowds into the streets demanding the expulsion of foreigners (especially Americans) from Indonesia. Understandably shaken, housebound, and unsure of how to respond, my friend received a knock at the door from Muslim leaders in their community who proactively came to them to assure them that they were honored guests who had nothing to fear and would be protected, and that they wanted him and his family to remain in Indonesia. Sometimes Americans need to look eastward to the best examples of hospitality and welcome.
The best examples I have seen of churches serving first generation immigrants in their community are those committed first and foremost to building relationships. With first generation immigrant communities, there are often important physical, educational, and economic needs, but the emotional and relational needs are typically underestimated on both sides of the "service equation."
How have you seen local churches responding poorly to the immigration issue?
Fear is the most problematic response to immigration among church leaders and members. This is not because it is unnatural, but because it is so unbiblical and fuels so many other unfortunate—and often destructive—outcomes. Let's just call it what it is: xenophobia is in our churches. Fear of immigrants leads to myriad issues: negative stereotyping, ethnocentrism, isolationist mentality, rejection of facts that contradict that fear, unwelcoming churches, racism, discrimination. And fear begets fear. As church leaders embrace a biblical response to immigration, they often fear dramatic resistance on the part of congregants who may disagree strongly with their perspective or teaching on immigration.
The on the flip side, immigrant church leaders and members fear hostility and rejection, even by other Christians. This is normative for immigrant communities. Those who are undocumented most dramatically fear deportation and the separation of their families. Although their own congregation may be a safe place, unfortunately the rest of the Body of Christ often loses out on their invaluable gifts and abilities, because, even in the church, they are hidden "in the shadows."
What are the first steps a church should take to begin engaging?
Typically churches start their process with demographic research, needs assessments, and planning meetings. Although noble, I actually think in general these are not the proper places to start. Prayer, networking, and discernment of God's direction toward others already involved in immigrant ministry is the paramount starting point.
Immigrant congregations are numerous and spread throughout the United States, often hidden inside other church buildings. For a non-immigrant church, the place to start is building relationships with immigrant believers: pastor to pastor, elders to elders, members to members. This does several things. It personalizes the issue of immigration. It helps people from different cultures work out natural conflicts that occur within the context of Christian love. It builds a relational foundation that is the basis for any kingdom work. It helps the non-immigrant church recognize that in cross-cultural mission, the language, culture, and leadership capabilities of the immigrant congregants overshadow the value of a facility, finances, and capacity.
Another key engagement step is to connect with church or parachurch leaders in your community who are already involved in immigrant-focused ministry. Coming alongside ministry efforts that are already in motion will accelerate your church's learning curve and also build important kingdom bridges for collaborative mission.
What are the biggest challenges churches face in engaging this issue and this population?
With cross-cultural relationships come cultural conflict, schedule disruptions, religious disagreements, faith-stretching experiences, and often a disconcerting end to life as usual, on both the individual and corporate level. Confronted by different values, by suffering, by circumstantial messiness, by vibrant faith, by opposing faith, and by a myriad of other differences, our American cultural system gets disoriented in a way that changes and grows our faith.
Proactive church leaders committed to spiritual formation will both initiate and walk through these life disruptions with their parishioners. They will seek counsel on how the inclusion and integration of immigrants into the life of their church need also change their corporate business-as-usual. A Rwandan member of my church who was forced to find refuge in the U.S. believes that God has intentionally sent him to our country as a "prayer missionary." The suffering that he has experienced in his life is humbling. And the vibrancy of his faith and the power of his prayer life confronts our often "safe Christian" sensibilities.
How does discipleship look different when it comes to immigrant populations? How can a majority-white church best approach this?
Similar to what has been demonstrated in maturing international mission work, American missionaries have learned to strip away the cultural trappings of their own faith in order to contextualize the young believer's discipleship journey. Where possible, they have also learned to defer to indigenous leadership.
One day I talked this through with a handful of pastor friends. Each of them was leading a majority-white congregation and was a part of a network of churches I facilitated focused on ministering among immigrant populations living in an apartment complex within a mile radius of their churches. These guys had moved far beyond being afraid of "sheep-stealing," and we were talking about discipleship in the context of immigrant ministry. One of the pastors spoke for the group when he said, "We need to commit to finding the best possible congregation for this person to be discipled in. It very likely will be in an immigrant church where language and culture similarities trump our role in their lives." Thankfully, these leaders had met other immigrant pastors who were a part of our network and knew how crucial those leaders' role was in discipling these young believers.
A majority of white evangelicals say that immigration represents "a threat to American culture and values." Where do you think this idea comes from? How can pastors and church leaders speak into this?
White evangelicals living in the U.S. need to be careful not to confuse our national identity with our primary identity. Peter refers to the people of God as "strangers and aliens." Our Christian identity transcends national and cultural origins. As my friend and professor at North Park Theological Seminary, Soong-Chan Rah, says, immigration does not represent the "de-Christianization of American society but the de-Europeanization of American Christianity."
As humans, it is natural to fear those who are different than us, but God is actually inviting us to enjoy, not fear, those differences. Our Revelation 7, every-ethnos, throne-room-future is prayed for by Jesus: "here on earth as it is in heaven." We should not be surprised when the Father answers this prayer! Church leaders must initiate biblically-rooted conversations and teaching around immigration that address fear-rooted concerns. Unconfronted fear leaves our churches impotent and uninvolved in God's mission in our communities.
What is your vision for the church when it comes to this issue?
The "quartet of the vulnerable" found repeatedly throughout Old Testament Scripture is the widow, the poor, the alien, and the fatherless. The New Testament church did not just minister to these vulnerable groups. They were these vulnerable groups. The early church was the church on the margins, not the mainstream. In today's church, I long to see a God-initiated uniting of class, race, and legal differences that lead us to two things: unity and mission.
What God is now doing among evangelicals with immigration parallels what we've seen over the last 20 years with the HIV/AIDS crisis. In the 90s, talking about AIDS from the pulpit was taboo among evangelical churches and leaders. By the end of the 2000s, it was thought to be uncool if your church was not doing something to care for people infected or affected by AIDS. More important than shifting public opinions, however, was the heart-change that God brought about among churches that learned to look beyond an issue into the eyes of a dying mother and her soon-to-be-orphaned children. We learned that in God's eyes, the equally important impulses of justice and mercy are not in contradiction with one another. Based on testimonies of pastor friends, I believe that God is using immigration similarly to bring about the reformation of our hearts and his church.
How does current or upcoming legislation on immigration reform impact the work of the church? What should church leaders be watching for?
The hope of new, just, and compassionate immigration laws captures the imagination of millions of immigrants in our nation. Believers not directly affected by immigration laws must understand and walk alongside those experiencing the suffering and pain caused by the current immigration system. These believers and their leaders must also advocate for laws that embody biblical guidance about how this nation should treat immigrants.
Should new laws be enacted (similar to the 1986 reform), there is a coalition of evangelical denominations preparing to be on the front lines of the legalization process. Imagine a missionary sent overseas being told that there was a ministry tool that he could be trained and certified in by which people from that nation and all over the world would line up each day outside your door to seek your counsel and advice. This scenario will be played out in hundreds of churches across the U.S. once new immigration laws are enacted.
Are there any legal issues church leaders need to be aware of when it comes to undocumented immigrants in their church?
Contrary to the excessive vitriol in our country towards undocumented immigrants, being present inside the United States without a valid immigration status is not considered a criminal act, but rather a civil violation. This would be on par with other laws that many Americans break routinely such as littering or speeding.
There is a fair amount of fear and misunderstanding around what a church can or cannot do when it comes to how to relate to undocumented immigrants. Membership, volunteering, and leadership roles are wide open to undocumented immigrants in a church-context. The only legal restriction is that churches cannot employ undocumented immigrants. There is no obligation on the part of church leaders to report undocumented immigrants to authorities. Church-provided programs, services, or transportation provided to undocumented immigrants is not problematic under federal law. In some extreme cases, states have adopted restrictive laws that may limit church's ability to provide some services and transportation, but most of those laws have been struck down or banned. If there is a doubt about your state's immigration laws, you should check with local authorities.
What resources are out there for church leaders looking to get serious about "welcoming the strangers" in their community?
Hot off the press is a new 85-page manual, "Church Leaders' Guide to Immigration," published by World Relief. This highly accessible guide is designed around pastors' frequently asked questions. Our website, www.WelcomingTheStranger.com, offers many other church-based resources: training materials, videos, multi-lingual discipleship resources, Bibles (including audio) in different languages, sermon samples, talking points around immigration, etc. I am also spearheading a growing Evangelical coalition of immigrant and non-immigrant churches in which we "envision the Spirit of God equipping every church to intentionally embrace amp; holistically empower every immigrant." To learn more about joining this coalition, go to www.WelcomingTheStranger.com/Coalition.
