Friday, February 18, 2011

Immigration as a Mission on Our Doorstep

by Jonathan Kindberg

The United States is changing at an unprecedented pace. According to current predictions by the US Census Bureau, by 2050 the United States will have a majority of ethnic minorities, and as soon as 2031 white, non-Hispanic children will become a minority.

These changes aren’t just impacting urban areas. With the increasing suburbanization of poverty and a growing percentage of immigrants moving directly to the suburbs, bypassing the urban areas all together, the suburbs are changing as well.

One example of this is DuPage County, Illinois, a county in the western suburbs of Chicago. According to the Billy Graham Center’s research, DuPage County will become a majority minority county by 2030, 20 years ahead of the national trend. Currently, nearly two out of every five residents are foreign born with the most common nationalities being Mexican and then Asian Indian.
Recognizing God’s hand in these changes in bringing the world to our doorstep, Mosaic DuPage is a movement of local churches, both immigrant and non-immigrant, working together for the sake of mission in our changing community. Each year, in partnership with World Relief, Mosaic hosts the Mission On Your Doorstep/La Mision En Tu Comunidad conference to equip and prepare the local church to reach its changing community.
The video below is preview of the longer video Mosaic is releasing at this year’s conference, which will take place March 4 and 5 in West Chicago, Illinois and which is focused on how to live as part of “God’s Kingdom without Borders.” This year, the conference will have a particular focus on undocumented immigrants and include talks by Dr. Daniel Carroll R., Stephan Bauman, Juan Ortiz, Matthew Soerens, Wayne “Coach” Gordon, and many others.  Please consider joining us!



The Mission On Your Doorstep Video Teaser from Mosaic DuPage on Vimeo.

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