As an initial effort to explore the theme of “migrants as missionaries” I am relying largely on the work by Martha Th. Frederiks entitled “Mission and Migration”, chapter 38 of The Oxford Handbook of Mission Studies (Oxford University Press, 2022).
The argument that underlies my exploration of this theme is that migrant communities have played as significant a role in the spread of Christianity as that of individual missionaries. The story of the initial growth of the Church throughout the Mediterranean world has understandably emphasised the work of Paul of Tarsus and other remarkable individuals who journeyed from place to place throughout the Roman Empire and beyond, setting up communities wherever they went, writing letters and accounts of Jesus’ life, and laying the foundations of the early Church. But there is another parallel story that tells of how groups of Christians, sometimes intentionally and sometimes because of persecution, left their places of origin to find work or safety or new opportunities and, in doing so, were deliberately or accidentally responsible for the steady growth of the Church.
The story of migrants being the instruments of Christian mission includes many further chapters throughout the history of the Church. As Frederiks writes, “Be it Roman soldiers in the British Isles, Syrian traders in China, British Puritans in North America, Portuguese settlers in Cape Verde, or Indian labor migrants in the Gulf States, people on the move have played an important role in the dispersion of Christianity.” (ibid., p. 670)
In my last article, I noted some of the problems that Frederiks raises about the use of the terms “mission” and “migration”.
Here I want to briefly look at the research into the impact of migration on the work of world mission. First, the impact of migration has not always been positive. There are many stories of how migration has resulted in a decline in Christianity, such as when Christians have been forced to leave their homes because of war or natural disasters. Secondly, in most cases migrant communities did not deliberately set out to convert their hosts. Obviously, they sought to live in harmony with their neighbours because they were newcomers desperately looking for safe haven.
Often, migrants would add to the vibrancy and numbers of established churches. The church was often the one place where they could feel at home in a foreign land. Local congregations were also keen to welcome them into their midst because of dwindling numbers and ageing communities. The research into this phenomenon which is called “reverse mission” is quite considerable. It is, as Frederiks explains, the effort of “Africans, Asians and Latin Americans striving to re-evangelise the secularized West”. (ibid., p. 673)
It is important, however, to make clear that this missionary activity by migrant communities is not restricted to the work of conversion or evangelisation. Some of these migrant communities have also engaged in a whole range of activities, such as food-banks, rehabilitation centres, child and health care, language courses and care for undocumented immigrants. In very practical ways, then, migration is helping us to expand our understanding of and appreciation for the broader dimensions of mission.
Columban Fr Tom Rouse is the Regional Councillor for New Zealand.
Mission Intentions
January - For the right to an education: Let us pray for migrants, refugees and those affected by war, that their right to an education, which is necessary to build a better world, might always be respected.
February - For vocations to the priesthood and religious life: Let us pray that the ecclesial community might welcome the desires and doubts of those young people who feel a call to serve Christ’s mission in the priesthood and religious life.
Listen to "Mission World - January/February 2025"
Related links
- Read more from The Far East - January/February 2025
