In the face of globalisation, one of the challenges for Christians ministering to asylum seekers
and refugees in the United Kingdom is the question of integrating Christian asylum seekers
and refugees into the Christian community. British churches and para-church organisations
that are involved in refugee ministry have to decide whether they want to support the
formation of independent refugee churches or the integration of refugees and asylum seekers
into local indigenous churches. This thesis examines these options from a missiological
perspective. Two social research projects form the heart of this study. One compares the life
and ministry of two mature minority ethnic churches, the other investigates the integration
process at a British church that has been involved in refugee ministry for almost a decade.
Contrary to the widespread view that the establishment of homogeneous churches is
crucial for the mission of the church in postmodern British society, the findings of this
research suggest that the integration of asylum seekers and refugees into indigenous British
churches is the better option. They further demonstrate that it is not the mono-ethnic refugee
church but the multi-ethnic church which makes the greater contribution to the integration of
Christian asylum seekers and refugees and to the missio Dei in Britain. In a multi-ethnic
church, asylum seekers and refugees serve as role models to British Christians and especially
as effective agents of mission. These research findings also show that the integration of asylum
seekers and refugees is promoted through the congregation within the congregation model and
an incarnational approach to mission. However, they equally indicate that various stumbling
blocks can hinder the integration process. These include a low ecclesiology, a conversionist
approach to mission, a lack of awareness of globalisation, and a reactive leadership style and
church culture. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th ((Missiology)Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:umkn-dsp01.int.unisa.ac.za:10500/2031 |
| Date | 30 April 2008 |
| Creators | Prill, Thorsten |
| Contributors | Reimer, J. |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (vii, 327, 257) |
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