Global Fountains

“Now when they had gone, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.’ So Joseph got up and took the Child and His mother while it was still night, and left for Egypt. He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘Out of Egypt I called My Son’” (Matt 2:13-15).

The parents of baby Jesus fled to Egypt to avoid being killed by Herod. Jesus was a refugee in a foreign country. USA for UNHCR defines a refugee as “someone who has been forced to flee his or her country because of persecution, war, or violence.” [1] Over 65 million people around the world have been forcibly displaced by conflict, persecution, violence, and war. [2]

As a country, the United States is divided on the issue of immigration. Whereas the Obama administration was relatively pro-refugee, the tide has changed since the inauguration of Donald Trump. Trump is placing restrictions on accepting immigrants and has signed executive orders banning refugees from a subset of Muslim-majority countries.

Evangelicals also stand divided on the issue of refugees. Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church, Dallas, Texas, has claimed that border security is “God’s idea.” [3] Franklin Graham, president of Samaritan’s Purse, commented to the Huffington Post that “it’s not a biblical command for the country to let everyone in who wants to come, that’s not a Bible issue. . . . There are laws that relate to immigration and I think we should follow those laws. Because of the dangers we see today in this world, we need to be very careful.” [4]

Other evangelicals differ. Russell Moore, president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, criticized Trump’s proposed ban on Muslims entering the country. [5] In addition, more than 100 evangelical leaders, including Ed Stetzer, Rich Stearns, Stephan Bauman, Paul Ericksen, and Frank Page, affirmed the command to love our neighbors and the privilege of caring for refugees. [6]

Ensuring security is a crucial role of the government, and we must conclude that the US Department of Homeland Security has done an incredible job of screening refugees. Though over 3 million refugees have been resettled in the United States since the late 1970s, Bauman (former World Relief president) feels confident to assert that no terrorists have crept in among them. [7] Insofar as he is correct, we see that compassion and security can exist simultaneously.

The Scriptures teach, “[Y]ou shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (see Exod 22:21; 23:9; Lev 19:33-34; Deut 10:19). Moreover, the Lord Jesus Christ commands all believers to love their neighbors (Lev 19:18; Matt 5:43-44; 22:39; Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27). The neighbors that Jesus was referring to were not limited to those living in one’s geographical proximity. This ‘neighbor’ includes every human being. When He died on the cross, Jesus died for all human beings. The Apostle Paul went to Jerusalem even though he knew that he would suffer persecution or even death (Acts 20:22-24; 21:13). He stepped out of his safety zone for the sake of the gospel. I'd love to see more global churches making a courageous decision to stand up for the needs of refugees, asylees, and migrants with the good news of Jesus Christ.

As my family has been living with refugees at the Fountains and mobilizing local churches to love their neighbors and reach out to them with the gospel, I am grateful for the churches, including Southcliff Baptist Church, Hanmaum International Baptist Church, The Church of Light and Salt, Wedgwood Baptist Church, Fort Worth Presbyterian Church, Antioch Church, Semihan Church, and other churches, who have acted like the Good Samaritan in Luke 10:25–37. They have shown love in action as they have cared for the least. They have visited refugee families and have offered food, education, jobs, etc., and helped them to resettle in their foregin country. In particular, they proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ verbally and faithfully while they've become friends with them.

Thankfully, I've seen many of them have come to know Christ. This is a great joy to see how God brings the nations to Himself through the local churches. For us, it is also the privilege of serving the Lord and joining His works among the nations. As Jesus taught in Matthew 25, those churches truly feed the hungry, give something to drink to the thirsty, invite strangers, cloth them, visit them, and accept them with love of Christ. Members of the churches have not looked after their own security or safety; they have been willing to take risks so as to help the least. Their love in action is highly commendable, and other churches must consider their example of following the way of Christ. 

Note: This article originally appeared in the book, People Disrupted: Doing Mission Responsibly among Refugees and Migrants (Pasadena, CA: William Carey Library Publishers, 2018). This is slightly edited portion of my little chapter for a blog post.

[1]. USA for UNHCR, “What Is a Refugee,” See also http://www.unhcr.org/en-us/refugees.html.

[2]. UNHCR, “Global Trends: Forced Displacement in 2016.” 

[3]. Samuel Smith, “Pastor Robert Jeffress: Securing US Border Is ‘God’s Idea.’”

[4]. Carol Kuruvilla, “Here’s How Franklin Graham Justifies Trump’s Expected Refugee Ban.”

[5]. Russell Moore, “Is Donald Trump Right about Closing the Border to Muslims?”

[6]. Ed Stetzer, “Christian Declaration on Caring for Refugees: An Evangelical Response,” Also see Kate Shellnutt, “Evangelical Experts Oppose Trump’s Refugee Ban,” and World Relief, “World Relief Calls for a Swift End to Refugee Ban.” 

[7]. Stephan Bauman, “World Relief: We Must Help Refugees.”

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D. David Lee is the founding president of Global Ministries Inc. and currently serving in Madagascar with his faimly. A graduate from Southwestern Seminary, he served at the World Missions Center from 2008 to 2017. He is husband to Jee Su, and father to Shion, Siyoung, & Siyul.