“America’s Single Greatest Comparative Advantage”

Dear friends,

I’m writing this email from Nashville, Tennessee, where earlier this week I got to gather with other evangelical Christians from across the country for our annual Evangelical Convening on Immigration.

We had the privilege of hearing from immigrant pastors and lay people from countries like Mexico, Iran and Haiti about how recent changes to federal immigration enforcement are affecting individuals within their congregations. We got an update on public policy shifts and their impacts from policy experts, local advocates here in Tennessee and a former Member of Congress. We were challenged by church leaders, wisely and courageously leading their congregations and communities, to think biblically about complex and controversial topics in the deeply polarized moment in which we find ourselves as Americans. And many of us also heard from business leaders, sheriffs, police chiefs, national security leaders and economists gathered by our friends at the Forum, whose annual convening took place earlier in the day.

We’ll be posting videos of parts of the Evangelical Convening on Immigration in the coming weeks, but for now, I wanted to share with you all some of what I heard that I’m still thinking through — and letting shape my prayers. I’d encourage you to join me in these prayers:

Pastor Ara Torosian spoke of the asylum-seeking Iranian families from within his congregation in Los Angeles who have been detained, for whom he has tirelessly advocated. Pastor Ara lamented that the refugee resettlement process that allowed him and his family to come lawfully to the U.S. several years ago has been entirely closed off, leaving persecuted Christians from Iran with no lawful option to seek refuge in the United States.

• Please pray for persecuted Christians in Iran and around the world, and for others persecuted in countries without religious freedom, that God would protect them from harm and move those in positions of authority to reopen refugee resettlement as an avenue to offer refuge to those fleeing persecution. 

Pastor Luis Sura spoke of the fear that many Latinos — immigrants and citizens alike — are living with in Middle Tennessee in light of a spike in immigration enforcement. Many are reluctant to leave their homes, even to go to church. Another speaker, Pastor Gabriel Salguero of the National Latino Evangelical Coalition, estimated that church attendance in Latino churches is down 20 to 30 percent across the country.

• Pray for pastors leading in difficult contexts, for immigrant families who have been separated when one member of a family has been detained or deported, and for this mission of the Church to continue even in the midst of these challenges.

Former U.S. Representative Reid Ribble, who represented a congressional district in Northeast Wisconsin as a Republican from 2011 till 2016, lamented the bipartisan dysfunction of Congress over many years in failing to advance immigration reform policies that would benefit the U.S. economy. He also invited fellow evangelicals to recognize how God is at work through migration, noting that while we rightly spend resources to send missionaries to the world, God spent nothing to bring the nations to the United States.

• Pray that churches would recognize that, contrary to the narrative of immigration as a threat that has become common, immigration can actually present a remarkable, divinely-orchestrated opportunity for the Church to live out God’s mission.

Earlier in the day at the Leading the Way event, Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore made a persuasive case that immigration is “America’s single greatest comparative advantage,” presenting a vital means of economic growth at a time when countries around the world are facing demographic challenges.

• Pray that the Church would lead the way in affirming immigrants’ dignity and contributions as individuals made in God’s image, expressing gratitude for their labor at a time when some have scapegoated immigrants as responsible for our country’s economic challenges.

My friend Bri Stensrud, who leads Women of Welcome, noted that the large majority of church leaders have not spoken about immigration in the context of their church — even though surveys show that most evangelicals in the pews are eager to hear a biblical perspective on immigration.

• Pray for pastors and church leaders seeking to faithfully disciple their flocks through the minefields of our current cultural moment, that they would courageously proclaim the whole counsel of Scripture on this and other topics with significant ramifications for the Church. 

Thanks to those of you who were able to join us in Nashville — and to those praying along with us from around the country.

Blessings,

Matthew Soerens
National Coordinator, Evangelical Immigration Table