On Mission in a Moving World

If you have ever moved, you know the disruption it causes to your life. Now imagine millions on the move — sometimes in less than ideal circumstances. Some are simply moving to start a new life, but others are under much more extreme pressures. With a background of war, trafficking, job loss and countless other disruptors, people are finding themselves in many new places. What are you doing to meet them as they move?

Download as PDF

Download as Image

<p><img src="https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/missio-graphics/Volume+2/missiographic_Mission-On-Move.jpg" alt="" width="800" /></p>
<p><a href="https://missionexus.org/on-mission-in-a-moving-world/"><strong>On Mission in a Moving World</strong></a><br />If you have ever moved, you know the disruption it causes to your life. Now imagine millions on the move — sometimes in less than ideal circumstances. Some are simply moving to start a new life, but others are under much more extreme pressures. With a background of war, trafficking, job loss and countless other disruptors, people are finding themselves in many new places. What are you doing to meet them as they move?</p>

Personal Reflection
A great place to start on the issues that surround the global movement of people is to identify with them. Think about a time when you have been new to a place. What feelings were dominant? What opportunities and challenges did you face? Then consider the people of Israel traveling through the desert, Jesus as a young boy in Egypt and Paul sitting under house arrest in Rome. What must they have been going through? As your empathy brings you face to face with real people in these situations, ask God how you should respond in love.

Engaging the Church
Do you know which communities of immigrants are within 20 miles of your church? It is easy to end up on Spiritual journeys of “sameness”. We can neglect those who are very close by but different than we are. Start by looking online to find out which immigrant communities are nearby. Then identify some of the ministries in town who are serving those communities. Also, find out if some of the countries where you are supporting mission work globally have communities of immigrants you can also be reaching out to. Find ways to include these communities within your community of faith. How can you show them God’s love as you invite them into your midst?

Organizational Application
There is usually a clear line between organizations working within the US and those working globally. In one group you have the campus ministries, rescue missions, family outreaches, etc. Then in the other you have mission agencies, orphan care ministries and relief and development organizations. In times past the lines between “home” and “foreign” were easy to see. Today they are gone. Everyone is ministering to everyone based on the context that exists where they serve. If you operate a homeless shelter, you may need translators for countless languages. If you are serving in Budapest, you might be working with expats from the UK or Australia. So how is your organization working through this change? Do you see the global dimensions of your work? Do you see how your mission field might also be back home near your sending church? What kinds of dialogues are you having in your organizations? If you are a global organization, how are you supporting immigrant communities? If you are a local organization, how are you stepping up to the global communities now living among you?

Good information is key for any individual or ministry. For more insights look at missiographics.com.

Permissions
The representation of this data is copyrighted by GMI and the information within is used by permission. GMI grants users the right to reproduce this image digitally and in print for the purpose of educating and engaging audiences with the content. All use must retain the GMI branding and sponsorship bar located at the bottom of the infographic. Any use of this image in a paid product or service requires permission from GMI. If you are interested in licensing this image for use in your product or service, please email info@missiographics.com.