The Journey From Alien to Citizen: Part 2

The second half of this blog is my reflection on how my immigration journey and how the lessons I learned can impact the church and Christ-followers. I spoke of the lens I use to view my fellow immigrants, in whatever state of naturalization they are in currently. WHAT IF all Christ followers took the viewpoint that I have espoused? That view looks like this:

1) I know as a white, English speaking male I have the most power in the room wherever I go, but I want this to change to make it equal footing.
All to often when new people arrive on the scene in our churches we treat them as "greencard" holders or maybe even as illegal aliens. Now I do think it is prudent to have a bit of a training period for people and of course to exercise caution in letting just anyone work and lead in the church without a basic background check. But I think once all of the legal hoops have been jumped through (matters which are handled by one or two people who are designated to do these things, usually a Staff member or Trustee), are these people fully functioning members? In the USA, once I became a citizen, I had all the rights that those that were born and raised in this country have. Do we as a church extend this same value system to new people in our congregation? I think we too often let them "lead with a leash". That is we tell them they can lead some small upstart ministry or they can help by doing some jobs no one else wants. Or worse still if we give them a real job, we micro-manage it like we are teaching a teenager to drive. Now I agree that the discipling process is important, but many, dare I say most, new people already have the skills needed to lead or they wouldn't have volunteered. Its a trust factor on our end.

2) People have incredible stories that are more than likely better than mine, how can I get them to share and than use the information for the profit of everyone. (Helping to provide equal footing by listening).
The best church growth strategy that is most poorly used is not paying attention to the changing demographics of your ministry area. People that have just come to the faith have been living outside of the the friendly confines of the church and thus have a much better grasp on how to reach those who don't know Him. All too often the church functions like a government agency. The same people from the same background are making all the major decisions and strategizing on how to most effectively reach out to those in the community and sphere of influence that are not like them. The "target audience" if you will. This is like asking a senior citizen how to most effectively bring in children and teens to the church. But this is what we do. If we want to reach teens, talk to and mentor teens. If you want to diversify your membership, talk to those who have diverse backgrounds and come up with a strategy. We cannot just leave it to one demographic, or our church will mirror that demographic. Sound familiar?

3) After observing the special type of leadership personality it takes to venture out from your country and attempt to start new in a foreign land, I realized the foundation of that person is hope. How can the church harvest the seeds of leadership these people have and then teach those qualities to others, so the church can learn more effectively how to grow in this changing culture?
As Christians hope is what drive us. The hope of things to come, heaven. As Christ followers we should be living sacrificially, but all too often we live in great abundance. The drive it takes immigrants to set out from a foreign land is similar to the story of Abram. God told him to go to "a land which I will tell you". He didn't give him a compass, GPS, or Google Earth app, God just said GO, and I will tell you when to stop. For the immigrant, the "GO" feeling is similar to what Abram must have had. Anticipation, paired with fear but nurtured by hope. That "GO" feeling is what can change the course that most American churches are driving. Following God's call, even when we don't know where He is leading or what the end game will be. Immigrants have made that step of faith, and that confidence needs to be tapped into and mined. Hope should be pushing all of our ministry. Hope of rescuing people from troubled relationships with themselves, and others. Hope that God can fill any void and has a path for them to follow, and hope that despite the bumps and bruises we take from the journey, the end of the trip will be worth it.
To many of us have forgotten about hope. Not only is it not driving us, it's in a bag at the bottom of the trunk! Allowing people to lead who are in this country because of hope can lead the Church to new places. Because part of hope involves dreams and visions of things that are better. Isn't that why we "do church"? To make life better for everyone but showing them the pathway to heaven. To grow our churches the right way. To include everyone in leadership and include their ideas and God's plan for them too! Restore hope in your church by including everyone and their stories and passions. Put hope back in hearts of His people.