Voices: Immigration is an opportunity, not an invasion

Heated rhetoric related to immigration is all around us. As both a longtime Houstonian and a Baptist minister, I view immigration as an incredible opportunity—not an invasion—for the church, our city and the nation.

Multiculturalism drives growth

For at least half a century, the leaders of South Main Baptist Church, where I serve as a minister, have been aware Houston’s multiculturalism drives our growth.

There are myriad reasons for this, including our relative proximity to the Mexican border, a strong tradition of refugee resettlement, the presence of the largest medical center in the world and the job creation of the energy industry.

Quite simply, Houston would not be the strong, vibrant city it is today without the roughly one-quarter of its residents who are foreign-born and the nearly half who speak a language other than English at home.

Becoming more culturally diverse

Some see South Main Baptist Church as fairly traditional, perhaps nudged in that direction by the presence of an organ. However, South Main has a history of considering how we are part of the larger world and how our faith calls us to engage with it. More than 50 years ago, church members recognized Houston was becoming more culturally diverse.

As part of that recognition, we considered how we should welcome those from other nations into the fabric of our city.

This has been expressed in various ways, including a program called SMILE—South Main’s International Learning Experience—which offered language classes, guidance on how to shop in a new country, and basic life lessons such as how and where to enroll children in school. Most importantly, the program created space to build real and lasting relationships.

At other times, South Main operated clinics for refugees and helped groups of migrants—first Chinese, then Korean, Hispanic and Cambodian—start and build their own churches.

So, while we may sing hymns accompanied by an organ, we do so while sitting around a “Table of Nations.”

Examining cultural rhetoric

More recently, we’ve realized the current cultural rhetoric surrounding migrant issues isn’t guided by faith, prompting us to take a deeper look at how our church is called to engage in this conversation.

To that end, some of our small-group Bible communities have incorporated this topic into their weekly study. This involves examining migration terminology, looking at Houston’s demographic makeup through a macro lens, and considering the reality of who migrants really are and how they’ve blessed our church and the city through a micro lens.

Most importantly, it involves exploring the scriptural basis for welcoming strangers into our community. In doing so, we’ve rediscovered in our midst doctors, students, researchers, artists, lawyers, blue-collar workers, parents and children who have come to our city and our church, adding depth and vitality.

Just this week, in one of these Bible communities, I was blessed to host a panel of four church members—each from a different country and each with a different story. That conversation was part of a deeper dive into how our church is called into the world and how the world has been called into Houston.

It was fascinating, heart-wrenching and compelling. Most of all, it was an eye-opening recognition that, while discussing immigration policy, border security and migration is difficult, it also is rewarding. We are better, fuller and more well-rounded for having that conversation together, face-to-face, guided by our faith.

Blessings of immigration

Our church in Houston certainly has been blessed by the arrival of immigrants, as have other congregations across our city. Immigrant congregations represent a rare bright spot of growth amid an overall picture of decline within American Christianity.

Immigration has impacted our community profoundly, bringing people from every nation to our doorstep. This shift has created a unique opportunity for us to live out our faith by welcoming and ministering to a diverse community.

As our city becomes more multicultural, we’ve experienced growth, new perspectives and a deeper understanding of the gospel’s reach, all thanks to the arrival of immigrants.

Secure borders

To be clear, I—and almost all Christians I know—affirm the government’s role in ensuring secure borders. However, a secure border and a closed border are not the same, and rhetoric that conflates them only serves to divide us.

Our country cannot accept everyone who arrives at the border. However, in fairly enforcing the law, we must not slander those who come, especially those arriving out of desperation. Taking in more immigrants through legal channels and with careful vetting actually could benefit our economy.

Moreover, loaded terms like “closed border” and “invasion” do not help unite the Christian community around this pressing issue. In fact, such terms likely push us further apart and obscure the fact many Christians agree on immigration reform.

A survey of evangelical Christians conducted by Lifeway Research earlier this year found almost all Texan evangelicals believe in secure borders, and more than 90 percent also agree our policies should respect the God-given dignity of all people and the unity of the family.

What we don’t need is dehumanizing, slanderous rhetoric that mocks the biblical teaching that each person is made in the image of God and therefore deserves to be treated with inherent dignity.

Instead, we should recognize how immigrants have been a blessing to our churches, cities and nation—and together, find ways to build systems and pass policies that leverage the present immigration opportunity.

J Hill is minister of missions at South Main Baptist Church in Houston, where they seek to feed the hungry, clothe those that need clothes, welcome the stranger and tend the sick. The views expressed in this opinion article are those of the author.