Hispanic pastor: Don’t forget ministry to the foreigner

*Some names have been changed to protect identities.

LILBURN — Eighteen years ago, John Sanders lived in a small rural town in Georgia. Wanting to move to a growing area with greater opportunities for his two daughters and son, the roofer made his way to the Atlanta area, leaving his family to stay with relatives.

After two years he earned enough money to buy a home for his family to join him. His roofing business grew, and today is a vital part of his church’s construction ministry. His children attend colleges in state.

The story is true, except that John is “Julio” and he and his family are illegal immigrants from Mexico. The sticking point is that to reach their destination they had to cross an international border illegally.

The topic is a controversial one, right down to the name. Illegal aliens. Undocumented workers. Illegal immigrants. Undocumented aliens. With the explosion of the issue in past months, Georgia Baptists find themselves in the position of other believers on when to follow the letter of the law, when to provide ministry and what to do if one seems to be in opposition to the other.

Rolando Ruiz, pastor of Iglesia Bautista Hispanoamericana in Lilburn, said the stance of sending illegal immigrants home has concerned the Hispanic community he serves.

“When Hispanics hear Southern Baptist brothers talk in this way, they’re disappointed. In the past churches would reach out with sharing buildings, food and the Gospel. They would help others find jobs and now that is being changed.

“The record of Southern Baptists has always been to help the foreigner. Immigrants don’t understand when Christians sound a lot like non-Christians in this manner.”

Ruiz stated that Anglos might not understand the complexities and challenges facing those from Mexico wanting to come to America.

“You see a lot of Hispanics that are Southern Baptist due to years of ministry by Anglo churches. The English they have is because of Southern Baptists. We need to have a message of compassion for these people. They are working and living here and are members of our churches. If they were all sent away, the average Hispanic Southern Baptist church would lose a third of its membership.

“To bring your family from Mexico you may wait a period of at least four to five years,” he said. “A lot of people don’t want to wait that long because their situation is so bad.”

Himself a naturalized citizen, Ruiz waited for nine years in Cuba before being allowed in the United States in 1969. A non-Christian at the time, he became involved in the Hispanic mission at First Baptist Atlanta before being baptized in 1972. He has served as pastor of Iglesia Bautista since 1983.

“Max” came through the Texas border 13 years ago by using the name and identity of a documented immigrant. Once in the United States he met his wife, who is also undocumented. They now have three children – seven and four years old and 20 months.

He said that if he were to go and attempt to file papers for naturalization he would most likely be sent back to Mexico. His oldest daughter could very well be a teenager by the time he got back.

“The biggest worry for many of us is the breakup of families,” he said. “That’s the hard part for me to think about.

“If you go back to your country it’s very difficult to get back into America,” he continued. “You must either have a lot of money, land or connections to the right people.”

“Alex” is a student at a college in Georgia and an advanced red belt teaching karate for at-risk youth at an ethnic church. He’s lived in Georgia for sixteen years. He’s articulate and his English is clearer than the thick drawl of many Southerners. He’s also in the country illegally.

“Since coming to America things have gotten so much better than they were in Mexico,” he said “Through my dad’s hard work here and God’s blessing my family has been able to have a better life.”

 

See the big picture

Samuel Aleman serves as pastor of First Spanish Baptist Church in Atlanta, which began as the mission where Ruiz was baptized. He said the blame for the current illegal immigration controversy can’t be contained to one area.

“I preach in my church that it is important to respect the law. Christians are supposed to submit to the laws of the country. At the same time, unprotected borders and the way business is set up are a part of the issue.

“People live here for years working and providing for their family,” he continued. “The issue of immigration isn’t just about illegals, but about the system that has supported this for years.

“As a pastor I see people in need. It is wrong to break the law, but at the same time it is important to see the big picture.”

Jerry Baker, specialist with Language Missions of the Georgia Baptist Convention, said that churches and the government have to assess their own role in the immigration issue and fulfill their responsibilities accordingly.

“For 40 years our churches have reached out to ethnic newcomers in the state. Somewhere along the line they might learn that the person is documented or undocumented. We’re not in the reporting business,” he stated.

“You don’t meet people at the door and ask them to prove they are in the country legally. We focus on their relationship with the Lord.

“If you as a church are not hiding an illegal or not transporting people as a part of bringing them into the country illegally, you are not breaking the law by teaching them, feeding them or helping them in other ways. You are providing humanitarian aid. It’s not against the law to do that.”

Ruiz agrees.

“The vast majority of Hispanics in the United States are conservatives,” he said. “We want the borders secure and immigration to be controlled. People that are already here need some type of permit or identification to let them work. The U.S. government has known for years that there was a problem with the border.

“The information being put out is largely biased. For example, a worker may be given a made-up social security number. When his paycheck comes, part of it goes to Social Security and state and federal taxes. That is money he won’t ever see.”

 

Two situations

“There are two situations to not lose sight of here,” said Baker, “A major question is: How does our nation address the needs and situations of undocumented residents of any ethnicity versus their legal residence in this country? Also, we have to minister as Christians and churches to the foreigner while operating within the laws of the state and nation.

“Immigration law impacts far beyond the Mexican or Hispanic community. Tourists, students, and business people from Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East all are dealing with the same issues and needs. Christian love and ministry spans the world who live among us.”

Dave Carlson, children’s minister at Iglesia Bautista, is operator of www.robotito.org. The Web site, running for only a few months now, includes a petition for legalizing undocumented workers. Links to numerous articles cover topics such as the amount immigrants – legal and illegal – pay into the social security system, statements from various evangelical groups and the dangers of having a porous southern border (Warning: Some graphic descriptions are included in articles about drug cartels and biological weapons smuggled by terrorists).

To Carlson, the focus in the immigration issue is on the wrong people.

“The real scourge to our society is not the poor people, but those wanting to bring in drugs and such. Those are the ones we should be against,” he said. “I don’t know how you can have an ‘illegal’ person. The ones who have come here to work may have broken the law but they broke the law to come here to work. The true criminal comes here and continues to break the law.”

In a recent meeting with Richard Land, president of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission, Carlson said he implored for the SBC to take a stance on the issue.

“Even though we’re a nation of rule and law, the spirit of the law is what’s important,” said Carlson, whose own wife had to wait for seven years through the legalization process in emigrating from Peru. “For us to take a hard line, beat someone over the head and send them back is wrong.

“We’ve accepted them by letting them live here, work here, buy property here and build houses. They pay taxes and utilities. We’ve let them have children here and go to our schools. For us to rip that fabric of society out is just not doable.”