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Mission and History
The Immigrant Groups Ministries in the U.S.A. provides the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) with resources aimed at facilitating entry of new immigrants groups into the life of the denomination. It was organized in 1999, one year after the General Assembly's approval of the "Racial Ethnic and Immigrant Church Growth Strategy." 
The challenge is to intentionally facilitate communications and resources to assist middle governing bodies to reach out to and to welcome those Christian immigrant groups. At this time, the office only works with groups from the countries of Africa, South Asia (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh), Brazil, and English and French Caribbean. In the same Goal Area, Latino, Asian, Korean and Middle Eastern Congregational Enhancement offices serve their other respective international groups.
Models accepted by presbyteries*
- Self-Forming Group: community of people who have come to the United States from the same country or region of the world with a common language, ethnicity and/or culture. They usually have a membership of fewer than 20 adults who do not hold PC(USA) membership.
- Fellowship/Bible Study Group: an international group of Christian people who are accepted by a presbytery as part of their evangelistic outreach ministry. Usually, they have a membership of 21 to 75 adults but not yet PC(USA) members.
- New Church Development (N.C.D.): a fellowship with a membership larger than 75 adults that either changes its status to be a chartered congregation or initiates the intentional process of becoming a congregation by its presbytery.
- Congregation: a chartered church in the PC(USA).
- Multicultural Church: chartered congregation with an ethnic diverse membership and church life.
(*Definitions vary according to each presbytery)
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Theological Context
The Great Commandment: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind ... and you shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39) as well as the Great Evangelistic Commission cited in Matthew 28:16-20 and Mark 16:14-18, are the basic biblical reflection for the mission of this office. Based on those principles, our challenge is to achieve the ministry goals inspired by Jesus' prayer in John 17:20-21: "I am not praying just for these followers. I am also praying for everyone else who will have faith because of what my followers will say about me. I want all of them to be one with each other, just as I am one with you and you are one with me. I also want them to be one with us. Then the people of this world will believe that you sent me." |
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Ministry Goals
Annual Presbyterian Immigrant Leadership Training. Photo by Angela Robards
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- Help the PC(USA) become more inclusive by welcoming immigrants as equal partners in ministry and mission.
- Help presbyteries to organize new immigrant fellowships
and their growth to new church developments.
- Identify and develop religious leadership, focus on young
immigrants and women, facilitating their inclusion as ministers
of the Word and sacrament, elders and committee members
at all levels.
- Structure a network for communications and follow-up among
immigrant fellowships, middle government bodies and offices
of the General Assembly.
- Help immigrant congregations deal with matters related
to church polity, presbyteries and synods under the Reformed
theology.
- Develop immigrant field consultants as facilitators with the middle government bodies and their own ethnic group.
- Develop language-specific, generational and cultural sensitive
resources for Christian education, worship, evangelism and
mission.
- Facilitate the development of national organizations for new immigrant religious and social concerns.
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Contact Us
Angel Suarez-Valera. Photo by Angela Robards
Feel free to contact us if you need any additional information. We would love to hear from you.
Angel Suarez-Valera, Associate
(888) 728-7228 x5135
Email
Rina Arauz , Administrative Assistant
(888) 728-7228 x5692
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