Torch, Spring/Summer 2012

Online M.Ed. with convenient eight-week courses (no residency required!) M.S.N. with focus areas in family nurse practitioner (on campus) and global health ministries (online by 2013*) Competitive tuition you can afford More graduate programs on the way! * Cedarville University is seeking approval from the Ohio Board of Regents to offer the global health ministries track as an entirely online program starting fall 2013.The program is currently offered on campus, and online courses are in development. Cedarville’s Graduate Programs May Surprise You! Cedarville’s Christ-centered focus, exceptional faculty, and practical approach — no surprise at all ! Apply today: cedarville.edu/graduate 1-888-CEDARVILLE — and then be granted a probationary legal status: If for several years an individual could show that he or she is working, paying taxes, avoiding criminal problems, and working toward learning English, he or she would be eligible for Lawful Permanent Resident status and be on a long-term pathway toward citizenship and full integration. “Such a solution,” says theologian John Piper, “would give honor to the law and show mercy to the immigrants.” Christian author Max Lucado calls it a “responsible, respectful, neighborly approach.” Similar legislation has been supported by both former President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama and, according to the Pew Research Center, by 72 percent of Americans, although it still lacks congressional support. Whatever our approach to immigration policy, it is vital that we view immigrants, even those without legal status, as human beings made in God’s image (Gen. 1:27), for whom Jesus died (1 John 2:2). If we fixate on legal status — or allow a political or cultural narrative to turn us against immigrants — we will miss out on an incredible opportunity for ministry. We are called to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), which immigration allows us to do without leaving our zip codes. While many immigrants enter the U.S. with a vibrant Christian faith, others come in without knowing the hope of a transformational relationship with Jesus. “The harvest is plentiful,” but we must have the eyes to see — and a biblically informed worldview with which to see it. Matthew Soerens is the U.S. church training specialist for World Relief, where he helps churches understand the complexities of immigration from a biblical perspective. He received his B.A. from Wheaton College and his M.S. from DePaul University. He is the co-author, with Jenny Hwang, of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate and the co- creator of undocumented.tv. Spring-Summer 2012 | TORCH 11