Migrant Ministry

From February through August of 2019, we received a number of migrant families at our church — about 1,500 people in total. Parents with children who were brought to us by ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. Officials with the Department of Homeland Security had asked for the help of churches because they were not equipped to handle the number of families with children whom they were receiving.

So, every Thursday for that six-month period ICE would drop off somewhere between 50 and 80 people at our church. All the people they released to us had been granted temporary asylum by our government. Here’s how it worked.

Once people arrived at our church they were welcomed by Magdalena Schwartz, who now leads our La Viña congregation. Magdalena would then lead everyone in a short worship service and people would receive prayer. During this time many were touched by God’s presence, many surrendered their lives to Christ, and a number of people received healing.
We served people a meal. We had a place for children to draw and play. While all this was going on, members of Magdalena’s team were in another room on their phones arranging transportation for the people to their family member or sponsor, who typically lived in another part of the country — Texas, Oregon, Florida, etc.

Most people travelled the same day by plane or bus. Sometimes, however, we couldn’t get people out until the next day. In those cases, people stayed in host homes. So, we had people who came down and helped cook and serve the meal, others provided transportation to the airport and bus terminal, and some served as host homes when needed.

Around the first of this year (2022) the Department of Homeland Security contacted Magdalena again and asked for our church’s help because they found themselves in a similar situation. They indicated to Magdalena they would prefer to work with churches because “we have compassion for the people.”

So, in February of this year, we began to re-engage with migrant ministry with the men, women and children that ICE is bringing to us.

When we began this ministry back in 2019, we would often say that in helping migrant families, we are not trying to make a political statement. We are simply attempting to live out Jesus’ words to us in Matthew 25:34-36.

34 “Then the King will say to those on his right . . . 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ (Matthew 25:34-36, NIV)

So, if there’s any statement being made in what we are doing, it’s a Jesus statement. Immigration policy is a hotly debated political issue and most would agree the current system is broken and solutions need to be found.

That is within the purview of our elected officials. That’s their “lane” to run in, but that’s not our lane. Our lane is to follow Jesus, and to demonstrate His love, compassion and mercy, including welcoming the stranger in our midst.

Magdalena, who leads this area of ministry for our church, and who also leads our La Vina congregation, says it well. “We’re used to going to the nations to preach the gospel. Now the nations are coming here!” What an opportunity to demonstrate the love of Christ and to share the good news of the kingdom with people from all over the world!