Mission and Migration 101
Rethinking Christian witness in a moving world
Montage: Mission is always “on the move”, says Dr Harvey Kwiyani
Dr Harvey Kwiyani, founder of the Acts 11 project, a CMS initiative, shares how migration is essential to mission.
Mission and migration have always been deeply connected within the history of Christianity. From the beginning, the Christian faith spread not primarily through institutional strategies or mission agencies, but through the movement of people across borders, cultures and empires.
In many ways, the Bible itself is a migration story. Abraham leaves his homeland in response to God’s call. Israel experiences displacement, exile and wandering. Jacob is remembered as a “wandering Aramean” (Deuteronomy 26:5). Jesus himself becomes a refugee in Egypt before returning to Nazareth. The early church emerges within the mobility of the Roman Empire, and the spread of Christianity in Acts takes place largely through trade routes, diaspora communities, persecution and migration.
The history of mission
Historically, the gospel travelled through merchants, enslaved peoples, refugees, students, labour migrants and missionaries. At times, mission became entangled with empire and colonial expansion – this history remains complex, containing both stories of sacrificial service and painful memories of cultural domination. As a result, conversations about mission today increasingly require humility, historical honesty and mutual listening.
“Migration was not incidental to mission; it was one of the primary vehicles through which the gospel travelled.”
Britain became one of the great migrant-sending societies of the modern era. Around 22 million people left the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries, while more than 60 million emigrated from Europe. Many of these migrants were Christians and their movements helped spread European culture, political influence and Christianity across North America, Australasia, Africa and other parts of the colonial world.
Mission is changing direction
Today, migration patterns are evolving in new ways. Europe has increasingly become a destination for migrants from Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. Among these communities are vibrant Christian movements reshaping the religious landscape of the West.
The demographic centre of the faith now lies increasingly in the Global South and among migrant and diasporic communities worldwide. African Pentecostal churches in London, Brazilian churches in Lisbon, Korean churches in Los Angeles and Filipino congregations in the Gulf all demonstrate how migration is becoming one of the primary ways Christianity renews itself.
“Mission is about creating communion across difference.”
Sometimes this mission movement unfolds in surprisingly ordinary places. Recently, a friend shared with me stories about migrant carers working in British homes. One woman described how Ghanaian carers looking after her husband during his dementia would sing hymns and worship songs over him when he became distressed, calming him through prayer and presence. Another spoke of Zimbabwean carers fasting and praying for elderly patients in their care. A Tanzanian Christian working as a home carer described opportunities to share hope with families facing loneliness, grief and despair.
These stories reveal something profound: mission is now taking place quietly inside British homes through migrant Christians whose compassion and spirituality is becoming part of the moral and emotional fabric of British society itself.
Migration shapes mission
Western discourse still primarily discusses migration through the language of crisis, borders, economics and national identity rather than theology. Yet the New Testament is deeply shaped by migration.
Paul was a Jewish migrant from Tarsus, moving across the Mediterranean world. Aquila and Priscilla, migrant Jews from Pontus, became missionary leaders because they were displaced from Rome by imperial decree. Lydia, a migrant businesswoman from Thyatira living in Philippi, became one of the earliest supporters of the church in Europe.
Migration was not incidental to mission; it was one of the primary vehicles through which the gospel travelled.
Mission happens “on the move”
Some theologians have argued that migration is a “theologising experience”. Migration changes how people understand God, identity, hospitality, community and belonging. Migrants often read Scripture differently because they encounter displacement and vulnerability in deeply personal ways.
“Migration is one of the defining theological realities reshaping the future of global Christianity.”
The people of God are always “on the move”. Pentecost offers a powerful image for mission in a migrating world. The Holy Spirit did not erase linguistic or cultural differences but spoke through many languages simultaneously. Mission, therefore, is not about making everyone culturally the same. It is about creating communion across difference.
Mission can no longer be imagined as Western Christians going elsewhere to evangelise others. Increasingly, mission happens through mutual exchange, diaspora witness, hospitality and intercultural encounter.
Mission in partnership
Is there still a place for Western Christians and mission agencies within this landscape? Absolutely. But the role must shift from “senders” to partners. The future of mission depends on Christians everywhere learning to listen, share leadership and participate together in the mission of God within an interconnected and migrating world.
Migration is not merely a social phenomenon or political issue, it is one of the defining theological realities reshaping the future of global Christianity.
Learn with us
Explore study routes in African Christianity and Asian Christianity to dive deeper into these shifting
mission dynamics with CMS Pioneer Mission Training.
Explore what the current trends of migration mean for contemporary mission around the world through the work of the Acts 11 project.
Join us for the Mission and Migration Conference in Liverpool, 4 and 5 September 2026:
