Jeremy L. Berg

Many of you have protested and marched, prayed and donated food, and still you want to do more to help our immigrant friends in this dire moment.

The photo above was taken around 2018 when MainStreet Covenant Church gathered together for worship and a meal with our brothers and sisters at an immigrant church we helped get launched across the metro. We were united with them on that happy day, and we are united with them again in these darker days. 

The politics of immigration are complex and we can disagree on how best to reform the system. However, our Christian duty to our neighbors and especially fellow siblings in Christ (regardless of status) is simple: love THEM how Christ loves US.

But the New Testament is even more extreme and demanding. The line between “us” and “them” in the bold phrase above is washed away in the waters of baptism. In Christ, there is really only one big “us” to love and serve, celebrate and protect. 

We tend to think in terms of our church reaching out to help another church in crisis. But that’s wrong. According to 1 Corinthians 12, the hurting Latino church is an indispensable part of us! Here’s the Kingdom logic we need to let subvert whatever national or political logic that threatens to lead us away from the heart of God in this matter: 

“The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ, the Church. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free, [some are American citizens, some are undocumented]. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit… If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it.”  1 Corinthians 12

So, we have set up an Immigrant Neighbor Crisis Fund to collect donations to go directly to the immigrant families in our partner church. Why? Because we are part of them, and they are part of us. To continue applying the metaphor, “The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you,” just as the white part of the Body cannot say to the black or brown part, “I don’t need you.” “All of you TOGETHER are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it” (12:27).

I spent a couple hours with Pastor E in Chicago recently, and I was blown away by his and his wife M’s tireless commitment to caring for their scattered flock. When they are not collecting food and delivering it to their families afraid to leave home, they both work other jobs cleaning apartments, driving for Uber, and working at a restaurant. They work these jobs to enable themselves to pastor their flock. 

The most pressing need right now is to help families in their church pay overdue bills and rent. The donations from this fund will go directly to Pastor E and M to hand deliver assistance to these families. Pastor E sent me a couple photos of smiling recipients holding up their check from the church. Melts your heart to see their gratitude.

Will you answer the call and give sacrificially to help our brothers and sisters in need?