Called to Welcome the Stranger
Our church body at Bethel Christian Fellowship is Called to LOVE as a House of Prayer for All Nations, Following Jesus Together.
We are uniquely blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ from dozens of nations around the world as part of our BCF family and in the seven congregations of our All Nations Family of Churches. What joy! An even greater joy is that we have been able to reach out to those who are not followers of Jesus Christ from other nations and have seen many become part of God’s family. We have sent missionaries, who have also been welcomed by dozens of other nations.
We have given the Good News and have welcomed immigrants to live with us. We have given coats and rides and have visited some in jail and stood with others in court. We have tried to help our family members become fellow citizens of the United States. We have done this not only because it is our unique calling as BCF, but also because we believe welcoming strangers is a biblical calling that extends from God creating all people in his image to the final judgment. In Matthew 25:34-35 Jesus said, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For … I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.'”
For years there has been much debate (and stalemate) about the response of the United States government to strangers: immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. We, as BCF elders, have been praying about this issue and reading our Bibles to learn what it says. A list of pertinent scriptures follows, and we ask you to please read them and pray about them.
On the opposite side of this paper, you will also find the Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform. This is a statement that the Evangelical Immigration Table (http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/) issued in 2012. It was written by leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals and many other prominent evangelical groups who met to learn more about what the Bible says about welcoming the stranger and living these biblical principles in our churches, our communities, and our nation.
After prayerful consideration, we elders have agreed to present this statement to you as a place to begin conversation about biblical principles for relating to the strangers among us. We do this as an expression of our desire to honor God by caring for refugees and immigrants. We want to have open hearts to learn His heart for them and live His heart to them as He directs us.
Thanks to each of you for the important ways you serve as a minister in the BCF church body. May God guide and direct each of us in His ways as we prayerfully seek Him and His kingdom plan for BCF.
EVANGELICAL STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America. Initiatives to remedy this crisis have led to polarization and name calling in which opponents have misrepresented each other’s positions as open borders and amnesty versus deportations of millions. This false choice has led to an unacceptable political stalemate at the federal level at a tragic human cost. We urge our nation’s leaders to work together with the American people to pass immigration reform that embodies these key principles and that will make our nation proud. As evangelical Christian leaders, we call for a bipartisan solution on immigration that:
As discussed by the congregation and approved by the Elder Board (2019) and reaffirmed by the Elder Board (2025)
We are uniquely blessed to have brothers and sisters in Christ from dozens of nations around the world as part of our BCF family and in the seven congregations of our All Nations Family of Churches. What joy! An even greater joy is that we have been able to reach out to those who are not followers of Jesus Christ from other nations and have seen many become part of God’s family. We have sent missionaries, who have also been welcomed by dozens of other nations.
We have given the Good News and have welcomed immigrants to live with us. We have given coats and rides and have visited some in jail and stood with others in court. We have tried to help our family members become fellow citizens of the United States. We have done this not only because it is our unique calling as BCF, but also because we believe welcoming strangers is a biblical calling that extends from God creating all people in his image to the final judgment. In Matthew 25:34-35 Jesus said, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For … I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home.'”
For years there has been much debate (and stalemate) about the response of the United States government to strangers: immigrants, refugees, and asylum seekers. We, as BCF elders, have been praying about this issue and reading our Bibles to learn what it says. A list of pertinent scriptures follows, and we ask you to please read them and pray about them.
On the opposite side of this paper, you will also find the Evangelical Statement of Principles for Immigration Reform. This is a statement that the Evangelical Immigration Table (http://evangelicalimmigrationtable.com/) issued in 2012. It was written by leaders from the National Association of Evangelicals and many other prominent evangelical groups who met to learn more about what the Bible says about welcoming the stranger and living these biblical principles in our churches, our communities, and our nation.
After prayerful consideration, we elders have agreed to present this statement to you as a place to begin conversation about biblical principles for relating to the strangers among us. We do this as an expression of our desire to honor God by caring for refugees and immigrants. We want to have open hearts to learn His heart for them and live His heart to them as He directs us.
Thanks to each of you for the important ways you serve as a minister in the BCF church body. May God guide and direct each of us in His ways as we prayerfully seek Him and His kingdom plan for BCF.
EVANGELICAL STATEMENT OF PRINCIPLES FOR IMMIGRATION REFORM
Our national immigration laws have created a moral, economic and political crisis in America. Initiatives to remedy this crisis have led to polarization and name calling in which opponents have misrepresented each other’s positions as open borders and amnesty versus deportations of millions. This false choice has led to an unacceptable political stalemate at the federal level at a tragic human cost. We urge our nation’s leaders to work together with the American people to pass immigration reform that embodies these key principles and that will make our nation proud. As evangelical Christian leaders, we call for a bipartisan solution on immigration that:
- Respects the God-given dignity of every person
- Protects the unity of the immediate family
- Respects the rule of law
- Guarantees secure national borders
- Ensures fairness to taxpayers
- Establishes a path toward legal status and/or citizenship for those who qualify and who wish to become permanent residents
As discussed by the congregation and approved by the Elder Board (2019) and reaffirmed by the Elder Board (2025)