A Resolution about Welcoming Immigrants into Our Church

Over the last few years as we have sought to become a truly bi-lingual and mulit-cultural church, it has come to our attention that there are few churches, in our denomination anyway, who have any official written statements that welcome Hispanics (yes, even people without documents) into their churches. There is a fertile and strategic mission field right here in our city!


I know we are stepping into a hornets nest, but since we have many immigrants in our church membership and we want to reach more, we realized we need to start thinking and writing about this issue from a pastoral perspective. The recent Georgia law House Bill 87 (HB87) and the heated argument about immigration and deportation has only sped up the process for us. 


Scripture has much to say about immigrants, sojourners or aliens. So this resolution starts with a 16-point summary of what the Bible says about immigrants. The nine resolutions are our attempt to address some key issues first in our church, Crosspoint Encuentro Church.


I would be interested in talking with others who have or want a similar statement about welcoming immigrants into their churches.
_______________________

May 25, 2011

A Resolution from Concerned Pastors and Elders of Crosspoint Encuentro Church

Regarding Welcoming Immigrants into our Church

Whereas 

1. God is the Sovereign King over all the earth and all governmental authority is subject to His authority and rule,God, after the Fall, subjected Adam and Eve to an immigrant status upon removal from Eden, (Genesis 3:23) and,
2. God sent Abram to be an immigrant with his family (Gen. 12:2) sojourning in a strange land, then made His covenant with Abraham while he was an alien (Genesis 17:9),
3.  the children of Israel, through God’s divine providence, were immigrants in Egypt for generations (Gen. 50:22-26), were led out of Egypt by Moses, an immigrant (Ex. 2:22) and celebrated the first Passover in Egypt with converted strangers and sojourners (Ex. 12:43ff) who were led out of Egypt with Israel.
4.  God audibly and repeatedly commanded His people to give aliens/sojourners with them Sabbath rest (Ex. 20:10; 23:9, 12), identified them as former aliens and commanded His people to not mistreat or oppress sojourners/aliens among them (Ex. 23:9),
5.  God commanded His people to maintain the same regulations for non-native born people as native-born (Num. 9:14 and Num. 15) and required equanimity in temple worship (Lev. 17 and 19),
6.  God charged the courts of His people to judge righteously between fellow countrymen and aliens living among them (Deut. 1:16) and promises to defend aliens along with the fatherless and widow because He loves the alien and provides for them through the generosity of His people both directly and through the tithes of His people (Deut. 10:18, 24:14-21, 26:12-13),
7.  God curses the man who withholds justice from the sojourner, as well as the fatherless and widow (Deut. 27:19),
8.  Christ Jesus immigrated to earth from heaven,
9.  in His humanity Christ was an immigrant, persecuted by his fellow countrymen,
10.  we were all alienated from God and strangers to the covenants of promise without hope except through God’s grace by faith alone (Eph. 2:12)
11.  through Christ’s sacrifice in our place, He became our peace, made all believers one, broke down the dividing wall of hostility, created in Himself one new man, and by His reconciling work on the cross will make all things new in heaven and on earth by His blood (Eph 2: 14ff, Col. 1:20-22)
12.  his people are and will be from every nation, tribe, tongue and people united in Him, heirs and sons – neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female (Gal. 3:26-29),
13.  all of God’s people are citizens of heaven first and citizens of a nation on earth second (Phil. 3:20)
14.  there is no human governmental authority outside of God’s sovereign will and all government is established by God (Rom. 13:1-7) but does not supersede the government of God,
15.  legal status is not a requirement for salvation or church membership,
16. ministers and elders of God’s church have a moral duty to speak against injustice.

We Resolve…

1.      We resolve to pray for immigrants and their families out of concern for their souls and well-being. We will pray as well for our US governing authorities – local, state & federal – who are responsible to God for their personal, legislative, executive (including enforcement) and judicial decisions in regard to justice and mercy for all people.  We will urge people to pray for the US electorate to consider immigration issues according to God’s Word so that His Word is exalted and obeyed as US immigration policy is debated and decided.  And equally important, we will pray for other nations’ governing authorities who will also one day answer to God.        

2.      We resolve to welcome all immigrants into our church for relief, assistance, development and the hearing of the gospel.

3.      We resolve to accept anyone who meets the requirements of faith in Christ alone by faith alone, they shall be welcomed into full membership in our church, regardless of legal status before the US government or any state in the Union.

4.      We resolve to disciple and train immigrants to ‘glorify God and enjoy Him forever’ and treat them with dignity as image bearers of God.

5.      We resolve to prepare all church members and attenders, whether immigrants with status or without, or citizens of the US, to live as missionaries wherever God may, in His divine providence, send them to live, work and worship Him.

6.      We resolve to protect and teach all children, regardless of status or citizenship, to love God, receive Christ by faith and follow the doctrines of our holy religion.

7.      We resolve to work for the protection of the weak, oppressed and alien during legal proceedings and to urge our political representatives to develop a just and equitable means for immigrants whose status has expired to be reconciled and/or acquire legal status according to the laws of the USA.

8.      We resolve to educate English-speakers in our church about the issues, challenges, problems and struggles for immigrants and to educate Spanish-speaking congregants about their rights and duties as a sojourner in the USA.

9.      We resolve to prepare any immigrants under our care who are not currently under proper status to comply with the laws of the US and if they are unable to rectify their status, prepare them for the potential return to their home nation and accept these consequences peaceably and with grace.

Under the Grace of God and to His Glory Among All Nations,

Jim Moon, Jr. – Pastor, Crosspoint Encuentro Church Smyrna GA

Hector Guzman – Pastor, Crosspoint  Encuentro Church Smyrna GA

Jim Payne – Pastor, Crosspoint Encuentro Church Smyrna GA

Gordon Hwang – Elder, Crosspoint Encuentro Church Smyrna GA