American Baptist Churches has produced a new resource, “Pastoral, Prophetic, Practical, and Personal,” is now available in both English and Spanish. This resource includes four sessions grounded in Scripture, with discussion questions and activities; also included are personal stories of persons in the U.S. and in Central America, stories that help users of the resource to better understand the impact of violence, poverty, and legislative policies on real people. There is an additional resource listing for further study.

Click here to download the resource in English, or click here to download it in Spanish.

This studying resource was developed by the ABC Immigration Taskforce. This new Taskforce, organized in January 2015, will continue working to make available various resources related to immigration. The group will also facilitate a workshop at the ABC Biennial Mission Summit this June in Overland Park, Kansas. The workshop, “I Was a Stranger: Understanding Immigration in Our Context,” will be held on Sunday afternoon, June 28.

Hear from ABC Immigration Task Force Members about why this resource can be a helpful tool to use in your congregation:

 “Justice is more than an abstract idea.  It is how we express the second of the two great commandments in the circumstances of life.  I hope this resource is a doorway to the exploration of how we love our neighbor who is the stranger in our midst.”
-General Secretary A. Roy Medley

“Jesus Christ, while among us in the flesh, met people where they were and addressed their needs.  This resource makes real and relevant the pastoral, prophetic, practical and personal ministry of our loving and liberating Lord through us to bring compassionate love and justice to our immigrant brothers and sisters.”
-Dr. Warren H. Stewart, Sr.

“American Baptists have a long history of engaging in complex issues—issues that have real impact upon people in our communities, our congregations, and our families. This resource stands firmly in that history by providing an opportunity for American Baptists to have meaningful conversation about immigration, rooted in God’s call to us to bind up the brokenhearted, proclaim freedom for captives, and bestow garments of praise instead of a spirit of despair (Isaiah 61:1-3).”
-Rev. Sandra L. DeMott Hasenauer

“American Baptists are a church founded on Jesus’ command to go to the ends of the earth to share the good news of His grace and love. Now, as never before, it seems that those from the ends of the earth are coming to us. Rather than to see this as a threat, as too many do, we are challenged to embrace this opportunity- and to see in the face of the stranger our brother or our sister, worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ.”
-International Ministries Missionary Ray Schellinger

Members of the ABC Task Force on Immigration include:

Rev. Sandra L. DeMott Hasenauer
Rev. Adalia Gutiérrez Lee
Rev. Dr. A. Roy Medley
Dr. José Norat-Rodriguez
Rev. F. Salvador Orellana
Ray Schellinger
Dr. Warren H. Stewart Sr.