In depth | Evangelicals Now

Re-examining the call to love the stranger

Krish Kandiah

In 2015, one image of a three-year-old boy washed up on a beach in Turkey changed the way the world saw asylum seekers.

That terrible morning, every newspaper displayed Alan Kurdi’s body front and centre. His story was not only desperately sad, but intensely disturbing. No human being with a conscience could look at his picture for long - or, indeed, turn away from it.

Is this the biggest challenge for any Prime Minister?

Rhys Laverty

What does it mean to be the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom in 2026?

At the time of writing, that post is still held by Sir Keir Starmer. For how much longer remains to be seen. If he resigns any time soon, his successor will be the United Kingdom’s seventh premier in just ten years.

migration & the Bible

Migration: A Biblical theology

Neil Robbie

Migration to and from the UK is never far from today’s headlines.

Unprecedented levels of net inward migration have created a wide range of social and political responses. The novelty and excitement around multicultural festivities have faded. Social weariness and wariness have taken root. Protests have arisen. UK residents - mostly under 35 years old - are leaving the country to find greener, safer pastures; many are returning to family homelands.

Loving country without losing the gospel

Graham Nicholls

Christmas decorations are now up everywhere. For some people, this is a welcome relief from the ongoing proliferation of the various UK flags in all those places and more.

When it comes to the flags, some of us find it tempting to make harsh and hasty judgements about those putting them up, perhaps condemning a caricature of Christian nationalism as we do so.

Immigration: Who is shaping our response?

Tim Farron

I’ve been reflecting on a moment in Luke 7. A woman comes to Jesus with an alabaster jar of costly perfume. She breaks it and pours it all at His feet. The disciples complain about the “waste,” but she holds nothing back. She doesn’t compartmentalise Jesus; He is everything.

That story has been on my mind as the UK wrestles with a heated immigration debate once again.

Immigration & integration: A debate on how can we consider it wisely

Krish Kandiah & Tim Dieppe

en invited Dr Krish Kandiah and Tim Dieppe to consider the question: "How can UK Christians respond in a Christlike way to issues of immigration and integration?"

Tim is Head of Public Policy at Christian Concern, the campaigning evangelical organisation and author of The Challenge of Islam: Understanding and Responding to Islam’s Increasing Influence in the UK (Wilberforce Publications 2025). Krish is the Director of the Sanctuary Foundation, which supports vulnerable individuals, families and children including refugees and those seeking asylum. He is a regular advisor to government on refugee resettlement and child welfare reform.

The Good Samaritan & today's migrant myths

David Shepherd

Back in 2018, I read a post on the Psephizo blog (written by evangelical scholar Ian Paul) that described the emotive impact of flags.

He wrote: “Flags are hugely emotive. They are powerful symbols which evoke emotional and even visceral reactions… Think about the controversies provoked by those in the southern US states flying the Confederate flag.”

Immigration: What is a Biblical policy?

Luke Dorman

Jesus exhorts us with every severity to love foreigners with cost.

The Old Testament provides a model of immigration policy which:

Christians urged to think globally

Nicola Laver

Migration in the UK church context was the focus of a conference for 150-plus church leaders, theologians and other Christian workers at Oak Hill College.

It followed a report last year that found almost half (47%) of all migrants across the world are Christians. According to the report from Pew Research, 29% of migrants are Muslim.

editorial

Evangelicals and small boats

Some years ago the noted US pastor, theologian and writer Tim Keller wrote a book called Generous Justice.

In it, citing Zechariah 7v10-11, he highlights a ‘quartet of the vulnerable’ repeated throughout the Bible – ‘the widow, the fatherless, the immigrant... the poor.’ (He translates the Hebrew word gare as ‘immigrant’ rather than ‘foreigner’ or ‘alien’ as is more common, saying it ‘more accurately conveys to modern readers the meaning of the word.’)

In Depth: immigration