Given that most refugees resettled to the U.S. already profess to be Christians—including, as a recent report from Open Doors US and World Relief notes, many persecuted particularly because of their faith in Jesus—whether we are churches of welcome or of apathy also speaks to whether we are truly in solidarity with the persecuted church and really believe in religious freedom.
What does it say about our “religion” (James 1:27) if we ignore the plight—or worse, believe and spread false narratives—of the world’s most vulnerable arriving in our communities, regardless of how long their stay?
This may be the canary in the coal mine for evangelicals in America.
In our lead up to Nov. 5, it’s good to be reminded of three biblical and theological calls, not necessarily just to inform us how to vote in this Presidential election, but to remind us how Great Commission Christians are to be the hands and feet of Jesus the other 364 days of the year.
Honor the Imago Dei (Image of God) in All People.
Regardless of the election results, now is a good time in our sermons, cultural celebrations, Sunday schools, and our mission conferences and activities, to be reminded that God created cultures, global diversity and our differences to reflect Him and his vast glory. Every people group, and every person is a carrier of the image of God. However, sin has marred us, and others.
Instead of being fearful and paranoid about those who are different, as we lift up Christ, not in triumphalism but as a humble King, nations will be drawn to him. He will be the balm of healing both for immigrants who have come to the United States as needy and broken, and he will be the healing for Americans as we confess our neediness and brokenness.
Teach the Missio Dei (Mission of God) to Our Members.
Rather than obsess over the results of the presidential election, church leaders should take this time to refresh their appreciation and commitment to the work of “the Elect,” here and around the world, and how we are to engage the nations on God’s mission. The Great Commandment, the Great Commission, and the Great Collaboration (John 17:20-21) are our greatest realities and our greatest filters for those arriving in our communities. In reality, they have always been our greatest filters.
The mission of God does not ignore modern nation-state boundaries, and in fact requires our observance and respect for governmental laws and leaders. And even then, the history of God’s mission reminds us that the world, as it is currently drawn, is neither how it always existed nor how it will always be. How God accomplishes his global mission transcends human engineering of borders and boundaries.
Welcome the Motus Dei (Movement of God) in Our Generation.
For decades, missional leaders and scholars have talked about a need for a theology for a world in motion, since God is certainly working through “people on the move.” In addition, a large number of immigrants, including refugees and asylum seekers, are already Christians.
As Steven Warner has pointedly stated it, “The new immigrants represent not the de-Christianization of American society but the de-Europeanization of American Christianity.” He certainly isn’t talking about “the great replacement” of religion in the United States, but rather a shift from a Jerusalem paradigm for the church, which is monocultural and local, to the church in Antioch, which was multicultural and global. The church in Antioch was formed because of people on the move, and it was there that the global mission enterprise launched throughout the known Hellenistic world (Acts 13:1-3).
