JAC Online

Intentionally Including Illegal Immigrants through Incarnational Ministry
by Jason Pope

Revolutionary Mission

Living in the United States of America, I grew up hearing stories about the American Revolution. We take pride in the way we stood up to the unjust taxation policies of the British Government. We took pride in the way we created a society that would allow us to worship God freely and not be forced into worshipping under a state governed church. On July 4, our independence day, we celebrate the words of the Declaration of Independence that all men were created equal and thus were entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We paint that statement with broad strokes of limited colors. We apply it of course applies to those of European heritage but not quite as much to those of African heritage and maybe not at all to those “illegal immigrants” who have crossed the border from Mexico.

Although the majority of those “illegal immigrants” or even as they are derogatively called sometimes, “illegal aliens” are peaceful, we fail to see that they have only broken the same law that the original settlers overturned for the sake of providing a better life for their families. As Commissioner Philip Needham says in the December edition of Officer South, the church, realizing this, should remember the woman caught in adultery and resist the urge to pick up a stone.

Perhaps “illegal alien” is the right term for them. They have been alienated from that which we claim that all men are eligible for, namely life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. This injustice is deepened because they have no voice in the power structures that govern them. Their role in society and possibility of being sent back home limits their visibility and access to local established churches. They will not step inside a church building where someone may report them back to the government. Thus they are alienated once again from the established Christian churches in America. And since the majority of The Salvation Army’s spiritual ministry is conducted within a corps building, The Salvation Army isn’t in the best position to offer the hope of Christ in these situations.

Perhaps we should remember that we were once alienated from God and strangers but by the blood of Jesus we have been brought near to Him. How could Salvationist allow for a total population of people to be alienated from Christ simply because we haven’t thought about how to create ministries that allow for anonymity and intimacy at the same time?

The place where I live…Atlanta and Immigration Policies

Perhaps when the leaders of our nation touch the poverty of those living in Mexico they will have a better perspective and more compassion for those who are crossing the border. If more of our leaders, both government and army, were able to take short term mission trips to Mexico, I believe they would have a different perspective on how we address the illegal Mexican population in our cities.

It is important to note that no country in the world has been able to stop illegal immigration all together. Aquiles Martinez, an associate professor of religion at Reinhardt college, says this is because, “The causes [of immigration] are varied, and complex…Poverty, violence and the lack of possibilities” for jobs are some of the reasons. He states that some would estimate that there are up to 11 million illegal immigrants in the country. Churches cannot simply throw up their hands and wait for the government to remove all immigrants from our country. It will not happen. Since immigrants will be here, churches must make deliberate plans to minister to these populations.

In an Atlanta Journal article it is said there are close to 700 apartment complexes in the Buford Highway area that house close to 20 percent of the immigrant population in this city. Tim Cummins, director of Whirlwind Missions facilitates members of various churches getting involved in these communities by arranging short term trips, recruiting ESL teachers and starting after school programs. A leader of one short term trip, Randy Rainwater had this to say, “It was the best mission trip I’ve ever been on and we didn’t go anywhere…the world is coming to us.”

The problem is that in America there is a large amount of fear regarding immigration because of the war on terror and the events of 911. The time has come for us to realize that Mexican immigration and terrorist immigration are totally separate categories. Mexican immigrants are family focused communities who have challenges and need the help of the church.

For instance Elizabeth is an immigrant mother living in an apartment complex on Buford Highway. In an interview she states her concerns are for her four children. She came from a city in Mexico. She described life there as very difficult. She said she was a school teacher when she was there but work was very hard to find. She came to America to find a better life. However, she talks about her new situation in America as lacking something she had in Mexico. In the community she came from in Mexico, the people all shared with one another and helped each other make it. The people in the community in America struggle with trusting one another. She fears her kids getting caught up in some of the social issues in her neighborhood, which include gangs, drugs, prostitution and teenage pregnancy.

Each of these issues has deep personal and spiritual implications. A recent Atlanta Journal constitution picked up on the topic of teenage pregnancy. In Mexico, being a mother is a sign of adulthood. Mothers play a very important role in Mexican society. In some areas of Mexico which were undeveloped, the Mexican government actually gave incentives to Mexicans to have children in order to populate the country. For these reasons and more many of these immigrant teenagers were used to a pattern of women having babies when they were only sixteen or seventeen. Now, however having a baby at this age is detrimental to becoming engaged in the society. Some of the girls will actually become pregnant so they can feel better about themselves. This makes them vulnerable to gang members and guys who are not interested in committing to family life. Doesn’t this sound like the perfect context for The Salvation Army’s ministry?

The Salvation Army

The international mission statement for The Salvation Army is to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and meet human needs without discrimination. This means we should love and minister to the illegal immigrant as well as to the American citizen. The mission statement of the Southern Territory of the Salvation Army is “To love inclusively, serve helpfully and disciple effectively in the communities where we live.”

In Officer South, Needham attempts to clarify what is meant by “love inclusively.” In it Needham writes, “We are a permanent mission to the marginalized.” “For us, it is a matter of obeying a God who simply will not allow us to draw lines of exclusion with respect to any particular class or race of people…the inclusive love of a God who longs for all His human creation to be reconciled to Him and one another in Christ.”

Commissioner Paul Du Plessis, who is responsible for the World Evangelization department, echoes Commissioner Needham’s thoughts through an email he sent me when he says, “..A culture of love, expressive of the presence of God, must permeate our thinking. That love is translated into a non-negotiable commitment to all people, but especially the marginalized and socially excluded, creating an environment of inclusion where they may experience the fullness of all God intends for us.”

Needham traces The Salvation Army’s calling to minister to immigrants as far back as the Old Testament. He points out the similarities between Israel rejecting its call to minister to the whole world and turning in on itself to protect its own culture. He finds this pattern happening over and over again throughout the history of Israel as well as the church. He says, “[Israel] mistakes election for selection and forgets they are set apart by God for a mission: to be a beacon of hope and holiness in the world.” The whole history of the church could be defined as the church forgetting its calling to the world and then being reformed to get back outside its own culture in light of God’s purposes in the world. It seems to be a call for all who are part of the Southern Territory (and the Christian church) to be on their guard not to turn in on themselves but to remember they were made to be witnesses to the world and yes, even illegal immigrants.


Below is a copy of a model of ministry used by Commissioner Paul du Plessis which would fit equally well with a building based or community based ministry:

Begin at the section titled “Mission Defined.” For my immediate context the mission is to bring the love of Christ into the Buford Highway community. This results in two actions represented by the arrows leaving the left side of the term “Mission Defined.” The one action is “Social Ministries” and the other “Evangelism.” “Social Ministries” results in a change in the social status of those helped. “Evangelism” results in a change of individuals spiritual lives. These both combine to result in a better world. You will see that “Evangelism” leads to “Growth” and then to “Social Holiness” and finally back to “Mission Defined.” It ends back at “Mission Defined” because those ministered to become part of the ministry team.

Tim Cummins says the people in these communities are more likely to listen to the church when the church comes to them than if the church tries to get them to the church building. This type of ministry can be defined as a pre-Christendom approach as the following chart used by Commissioner Paul du Plessis shows:

Evolution of the Church

The Vision

This pre-Christendom, taking the church to the people approach, is what is needed in communities with illegal immigrants. This church will not be based on a building. Rather small groups will infiltrate the apartment communities on Buford Highway to provide a voice for the voiceless, a living witness of Christ and the hope of better community and a better world. We must avoid the temptation of only pursuing the form of ministry that “has always been done” and look first to answer the question of defining the ministry. The ministry in the case of illegal immigrants is to discretely bring the unalienable to those who have been alienated from it. It is to participate with Christ in communities where Christ is incarnated outside the corps building.