I will be helping to lead the Evangelical Immigration Table booth at the Southern Baptist Convention’s Annual Meeting in St. Louis, MO next week from June 13-15. I have been working as the Southeast Regional Coordinator for the Evangelical Immigration Table, which is a consortium of ministries such as the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the SBC, the National Association of Evangelicals, World Relief, World Vision, the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, and other groups. The EIT helps encourage ministry to and advocacy for immigrants and refugees in the United States. It is from this platform that I have been engaging with churches on diaspora missions mobilization, advocacy education, and interaction with immigrant populations.
The EIT Statement of Principles that thousands of pastors and church leaders across the country have signed state that we want to see public policy 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
If you are a pastor or church leader, you can add your name here, if you agree.
We have secured a booth space at the SBC for the EIT to serve as a conversation place on ministry to and advocacy for immigrants and refugees. We will be having a couple of dozen interviews with SBC pastors and leaders over the course of three days at the booth. If you are at the SBC, stop by and listen as we engage leaders from all over the SBC on the issue of how we minister to and advocate for immigrants and refugees who have come to America. We will explore what God might be doing in this and we will consider our own responsibility to both minister the gospel to immigrants/refugees and to advocate on their behalf.
Here are those who have committed to stop by and give a 10-15 minute interview on their views on immigrant/refugee ministry and advocacy. We don’t know what they will say, but we asked them to share their perspective on this timely issue in American life and in the church.
Evangelical Immigration Table Interview Schedule for SBC: June 13-15, 2016
Monday
Dr. Paul Kim, Pastor Emeritus, Antioch Baptist Church, Cambridge, MA: Monday, 9:30am
Dr. Danny Akin, President, SEBTS: Monday, 1:30pm
Marty Duren, Social Media Director, Lifeway Resources: Monday 2pm
Dr. Bruce Ashford, Professor, SEBTS: Monday 3pm
Tuesday
Dr. Walter Strickland, Professor, SEBTS: Tuesday, 9am
JD Greear, Pastor, Summit RDU: Tuesday, 9:30am
Todd Unzicker, Missions Pastor, Summit RDU: Tuesday, 10am
Vance Pittman, Pastor, Hope Baptist, Las Vegas: Tuesday, 12:15pm
Bryant Wright, Pastor, Johnson Ferry Baptist, Marietta, GA: Tuesday, 1:30pm
Ed Stetzer, Lifeway Research: Tuesday, 3:30pm
Micah Fries, Lifeway Research: Tuesday, 4pm
Others who have committed to stop by for 10-15 minute interviews at various times:
Dr. Paige Patterson, President, SWBTS
Kevin Smith, Pastor, Highview Baptist Church, Louisville, KY
Keelan Cook, Imago Dei Church and SEBTS-People’s Next Door, NC
Bart Barber, Pastor, FBC Farmersvile (TX) Baptist Church
Felix Cabrera, Pastor, Iglesia Bautista de Quail Springs, Oklahoma City, OK
K. Marshall Williams, Pastor Nazarene Baptist Church, Philadelphia, PA
Jimmy Scroggins, Pastor, First Baptist Church West Palm Beach, FL
Dr. Edgar Aponte, Professor, SEBTS
Alan Chan, Pastor, Mandarin Baptist Church of Los Angeles, CA
Dave Miller, Pastor, Southern Hills Baptist Church, Sioux City, Iowa
Dan Darling, VP of Communications, ERLC
Dr. Barrett Duke, VP of Public Policy, ERLC
Ted Traylor, Pastor, Olive Branch Bapitst Church, Pensacola, FL
David Galvan, Pastor, New Life Baptist Church, Dallas, TX
John Meador, Pastor, FBC Euless, TX
If you are at the SBC in St. Louis next week, stop by and listen in on these conversations!
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