“For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great God, mighty and awesome, who shows no partiality and accepts no bribes. He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.'"
Deuteronomy 10:17-19, NIV
Dear Praying friends,
From Genesis 1:28 to Acts 8:1, migration has always played a part in God’s plan. We live in a time of unprecedented numbers of displaced people, and God continues to work through the migration of people. All of these displaced people have unique stories, and these stories usually tell of immense suffering. The nations are coming to our city, and God’s plan is unfolding through these immigrant neighbors.
One of the pieces of evidence of God’s plan unfolding is the number of new immigrant churches in our city. There are new congregations forming, including Latino congregations, Congolese and various other African congregations, Nepali congregations, and other congregations of ethnic and national backgrounds. Often these congregations have many new believers.
Their stories of displacement have taught many of these immigrant believers to value prayer. Attending the worship services of these immigrant churches can be a wonderful blessing, even when the language is different.
While the Christian population in the US is declining, these immigrant churches are growing. Is it possible that the revival we have been praying for could come through immigrant churches?
How do we love and serve these brothers and sisters, and at the same time, how can we learn from what God is doing in their congregations? How do we have unity but not crush their beautiful cultures?
God is moving through the movement of people. Let’s join in with what God is doing. Join us in lifting up the immigrant church and the nations all around us.