December Prayer Partner: What I Told the U.S. Senate This Week about Jesus…
Dear friends,
This week, I had the unique opportunity to testify before the U.S. Senate subcommittee focused on immigration policy as Congress considers how U.S. refugee policy could help support Hong Kong’s pro-democracy movement. It was an important moment – just a week before Christmas – to remind our elected officials that Jesus Himself shortly after he was born became a refugee, fleeing to Egypt to escape the persecution of Herod. Jesus didn’t choose to distance Himself from those who suffer in the world, but directly entered into it.
I’d like to ask you, as you celebrate Christmas this year, to join me in drawing near to those who suffer around the world and pray for those from Hong Kong and various other parts of our world who have had to flee their homelands because of the threat of persecution.
I’d also ask you to pray about how you and your church might be a part of offering Christ-like hope to those who have been displaced in 2021.
A great first step would be join me and evangelical leaders from throughout the country each Thursday in January (at 1 PM ET/12 PM CT/11 AM MT/10 AM PT) for our 2021 Evangelical Convening on Immigration. This series of virtual conversations will bring together pastors, thought leaders, business leaders, elected officials and immigrants themselves for a series of virtual conversations exploring how our Christian faith should guide our response to immigrants and immigration. Here’s a quick preview:
- January 7: Discipleship in Politically Polarized Times – Join us for a conversation with Christian scholars exploring what research tells us about how evangelical Christians think about immigrants and immigration, then hear from pastors and church leaders to consider what the Bible says and how churches can engage these important but contentious topics from a distinctly biblical perspective.
- January 14: The Mission on Our Doorsteps – As immigration to the U.S. seems likely to increase in the coming years, the church has an opportunity to obey both the Great Commandment and the Great Commission through ministries to and with immigrants. We’ll explore new opportunities for churches to engage through refugee resettlement, fostering unaccompanied children, church planting and evangelism and a host of other ways, then have a conversation on how U.S. Christians can help address the root causes leading many to make the difficult decision to leave their homelands.
- January 21: Evangelical Priorities for Immigration Policy – As a new president and a new Congress are sworn in, we’ll hear from evangelical leaders who work in D.C. about where they see opportunities for public policy changes consistent with biblical principles – you can see a sneak peek of those priorities in this policy agenda the Evangelical Immigration Table released last week. We’ll then hear from a bipartisan lineup of policymakers, responding to our concerns and discussing how their own faith informs their approach to immigration policy.
- January 28: Faith, Work, Economics & Immigration – While immigration is certainly a biblical concern, it’s also an economic issue, and as the U.S. struggles to emerge from a pandemic-fueled recession, many within our congregations are asking how immigrants fit into the U.S. economy. We’ll explore that question with economists, theologians and business leaders.
We’d love for you to join us for all four conversations, but if you’re just able to join one or two, that’s okay, too. There’s no cost, but you do need to register in advance, and we have limited capacity, so I’d encourage you to please register and put these events on your calendar today.
Wishing you and yours a merry, Christ-centered Christmas,
Jenny Yang
SVP for Policy and Advocacy, World Relief
