Migrants as Missionaries, Missionaries as Outsiders: Reflections on African Christian Presence in Western Societies

Abstract

This paper makes the case that human migration has played a vital and transformational role in the development and expansion of the Christian movement throughout its history. But it mainly focuses on the unprecedented rise of global migratory flows in the last four to five decades to explicate this link. According to recent data, Christians account for almost half of all international migrants. This, combined with the predominance of south-north migration, explains the remarkable rise of immigrant Christian churches (or communities) in many Western societies. While many of these immigrant Christian communities and their pastors exhibit strong missionary consciousness and commitment, they encounter formidable challenges in the area of crosscultural outreach. These stem from complex factors, including racial rejection, widespread anti-immigrant sentiments, and aggressive secularism. But this paper argues that perhaps the most significant obstacle stems from the disengagement and rejection that Christian immigrants experience in their encounter with homegrown churches. A brief examination of the key link between human migration and biblical faith is used as a basis for reflections on the challenges that confront African immigrant churches in Western societies. Five such challenges are highlighted and biblical insights (from Acts 6) are presented.

African Christian Immigrants

“…1 & Ezra 1). Hanciles (2013) affirms that in the last half-century, the world has witnessed an extraordinary upsurge of migrations and population transfers (p. 65). Migration seems to be tied to humanity and “to understand humanity is to appreciate its deeply rooted migratory heart” (Carroll, 2013: 11).…”

“…Adogame (2013) reiterates that the unprecedented upsurge in the numbers of African immigrants traveling to settle in Europe and North America heralds a new phase of the history of the African diaspora (p. viii). The unprecedented rise in global migratory flows over the last five centuries, for instance, has also contributed to the global spread of religious movements (Hanciles, 2013: 65).…”

“…Hanciles (2013) laments, “For, even though the well-educated are disproportionately represented within the immigrant group, few come to well-paid jobs” (p. 77). This bias simply means that the West, in this context the United States, fails to offer well-educated Africans the jobs commensurate with their academic degrees or achievements.…”

“…On one end, migrant experiences portrayed in biblical scriptures have been used as a basis for reflections on the challenges that confront African immigrant churches in the Western societies (Hanciles, 2013: 65). The principle that “there are two sides of a coin” holds true for immigration as well.…”

In search of the Solemn with Sri Lankan migrant priests

“…My work draws lines of connection between the historical, theological and pedagogical underpinnings of Sri Lankan Catholicism and the affective responses that South Asian priests elicit in Europe.The flow of missionaries from the northern hemisphere into Asia and Africa diminished drastically with the start of decolonisation processes in the second half of the 20th century. This slowing down became so prevalent that the flow itself has nearly halted and even started to reverse, as homegrown missionary movements in the southern hemisphere embark on evangelising projects in neighbouring countries (Zehner 2005;Vogel 2014), as well as in Europe and the United States (Napolitano 2007(Napolitano , 2015Hanciles 2013;Gallo 2016). In the case of Sri Lanka, half a century after independence, Catholic religious workers appear to move in the opposite direction of their predecessors, with a relatively small but steady trickle of chaplains, nuns, young clergy pursuing graduate studies, and others working for the Vatican or religious congregations, who travel to and sometimes settle in Europe for several years at a time.…”