Multiculturalism,Immigration and the North American Church

Abstract

Missiologists have recently debated the extent to which missions in North America should attend to the culture of newer immigrant groups in efforts to create culturally particular congregations. While congregations composed of a single linguistic or ethnic group may be appropriate in some cases, the idea of mission work based on ministry to distinct “people groups” represented among immigrants in North America ignores critical dynamics of power and change in these communities. Instead, missiologists should focus on preparing the wider North American church to minister to immigrant communities with radical hospitality, compassion, and justice, responding to cultural change and the social diversities present in most North American immigrant communities.