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No Longer Strangers

Transforming Evangelism with Immigrant Communities

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

What does evangelism look like at its best? 

Evangelism can hurt sometimes. Well-meaning Christians who welcome immigrants and refugees and share the gospel with them will often alienate the very people they are trying to serve through cultural misconceptions or insensitivity to their life experiences. In No Longer Strangers, diverse voices lay out a vision for a healthier evangelism that can honor the most vulnerable—many of whom have lived through trauma, oppression, persecution, and the effects of colonialism—while foregrounding the message of the gospel. 

With perspectives from immigrants and refugees, and pastors and theologians (some of whom are immigrants themselves), this book offers guidance for every church, missional institution, and individual Christian in navigating the power dynamics embedded in differences of culture, race, and language. Every contributor wholeheartedly affirms the goodness and importance of evangelism as part of Christian discipleship while guiding the reader away from the kind of evangelism that hurts, toward the kind of evangelism that heals.

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  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      March 22, 2021
      Reverends Cho and Page collect essays on the value of Christian evangelical activity in regard to immigrant communities in this insightful anthology. The editors make an argument for viewing the current inrush of immigrants and refugees to the United States as a “work of the Spirit” and argue this is a critical moment for believers. Within the eight essays, Cho and Page invite a variety of views on evangelical activity. For instance, reverend Edgar Vergara stresses the importance of pastoring outside of a church and within immigrant communities, while Jenny Yang explores how “creating welcome and inclusion at the individual, personal level” can build grassroots efforts toward public advocacy for immigrants. In the most affecting piece, missionary Andrew Bush reflects on his encounter with two young missionaries in New York City in 1972 (which led to his personal conversion), considers intersections between imperialism and evangelism, and suggests how Christian evangelicals might be able to provide “witness” for their religion while still doing valuable relief work with non-Christian communities. These practical, theologically grounded examples effectively depict the strategies, pitfalls, and opportunities of Christian evangelism.

    • Booklist

      April 15, 2021
      This book includes eight essays (and a lengthy foreword) contributed by Christians who work with refugees in America. Instead of missionaries traveling to foreign lands, these folks provide aid and comfort to immigrants. From personal experience, they discuss what evangelism can look like (but still too seldom does) in a postcolonial world. To a person, they stress the importance of being culturally sensitive and how the dangers of power and privilege undermine best efforts and create distrust. One author trenchantly makes a case that, as all people are made in God's image, immigration is a biblical rather than political issue. Many essays also delve into the impact that trauma plays in survivors' lives. One essay offers tips for how to advocate on refugees' behalf; another offers practical ideas for building relationships, always aware that meeting people's physical needs is just as necessary as fulfilling their spiritual ones. Each essay is followed by a short personal story that further illustrates a main idea of that chapter. This is a necessary book for pastors and church evangelism teams.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
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Languages

  • English

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