Matt, can you tell us a little bit about who you are and what you do?

I work as the Church Training Specialist for World Relief, which is the compassionate service arm of the National Association of Evangelicals.  In that capacity, I help to train church leaders to think through the complexities of the immigration issue from a biblical, fact-based perspective.  I'm passionate about seeing the Church - and particularly the evangelical tradition with which I identify - welcome immigrants into our country, faithfully responding to Christ's call to compassion, justice, and hospitality both in our personal interactions and in the ways that we inform public policy.  

The issue of immigration was not necessarily a natural fit for me - until just a few years ago, I'd scarcely thought about the topic much at all - but God has used a variety of circumstances to show me how He loves the immigrant and to convict me of the responsibility I have to do the same.  I really started thinking about the issue of immigration while volunteering with a missions agency in Costa Rica, where most of the folks we served were poor (and often undocumented) Nicaraguan immigrants.  As I came back to the Chicago area, I moved into a neighborhood where, within 120 apartment units, we have counted people from more than twenty countries of origin, allowing me to wrestle with the question of what it means to love my neighbor when my neighbor, quite literally, might be an immigrant, possibly living here without legal status.

My work at World Relief has allowed me to understand how our nation's current legal system works and convinced me that it is a rather dysfunctional system, not good either for immigrants or for our national security, economy, and social cohesion.   My work has also exposed me to the exciting ways that immigrants are joining and contributing in a plethora of ways to the mission of the Church in the United States.  I'm grateful to be able to help other churches learn some of what God has been teaching me.  

Can you give some advice or encouragement for those who may be struggling with how we as Christians should think about immigration?

The most important advice I would give would be to be listening both to God's Word and to the stories of the immigrants within our churches as we think about the issue.  Too many Christians in the U.S. are like I was just a few years ago: voicing strong opinions about immigration, but never having thought about the topic through the lens of Scripture, and without actually knowing any immigrants.  The Bible will not specifically answer all of our policy questions, and friendships with immigrant brothers and sisters will not eliminate all of the ethical challenges posed by this issue, but they give us a helpful framework to ensure that we are viewing this issue first and foremost through the lens of our faith.  

I think that, particularly as it relates to immigrants present in the U.S. unlawfully, a lot of Christians feel themselves caught in the tension between the biblical commands to welcome and love the immigrant (Levitcus 19:33-34, Mattnew 25:35) and the call to submit to the governing authorities (Romans 13:1).  I think it's important for Christians to recognize, though, that showing compassion to immigrants - regardless of legal status - is not illegal (at least not yet), nor is it unlawful to advocate for changes in policy.  Many evangelical leaders have spoken up in recent years to encourage our legislators in Washington to fix the problems in our immigration system in a way that restores the rule of law and integrates immigrants into our society.  

These leaders recognize that, for the Church in the United States, immigration presents an exciting missional opportunity.  Many immigrants enter our country with a vibrant faith, breathing new life into churches that might be dying off without them, and demographers will tell you that immigrant churches are the fastest-growing segment of evangelical churches in the U.S.  But many other immigrants enter the U.S. without a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, presenting an exciting mission on our doorstep, a chance to "go and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19) without ever crossing a border.  We see more and more local churches recognizing this opportunity, befriending the immigrants arriving in their communities, and, in the process, often having their views about immigration policy transformed as well.  


Do you have any book recommendations for those who may want to read more about how Christians should think about immigration?

My World Relief colleague Jenny Hwang and I co-authored a book entitled Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2009), which we hope is a helpful primer for Christians trying to wrap their minds and hearts around this complex issue.  Another book that I think serves as a complimentary read, focused primarily on what Scripture has to say about the immigration issue, is Christians at the Border: Immigration, the Church, and the Bible (Baker Academic, 2008) by Dr. Daniel Carroll R., an Old Testament scholar at Denver Seminary.  Also, Dr. Soong Chan-Rah's The Next Evangelicalism: Freeing the Church from Western Cultural Captivity (InterVarsity Press, 2009) is a helpful and convicting text on how our churches might need to change as more and more immigrants (and their children) join our ranks.  

Vineyard Columbus will be hosting a seminar called, Welcoming the Stranger: A Conversation on Immigration" on Monday, February 14, 7:30-9:30pm.  Immigration is one of the most complicated issues of our time. Voices on all sides argue strongly for action and change. Christians find themselves torn between the desire to uphold laws and the call to minister to the vulnerable. We invite you to join us as we explore God’s heart for immigrants and learn about and discuss this pressing issue for the Church. The format will be an intimate, warm atmosphere with a Q&A style discussion between Rich Nathan and Matt Soerens.

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