Migration has fueled the expansion (and sometimes decline) of Christianity throughout its history. Greek-speaking former Jews in first-century Rome, Syriac-speaking traders in sixth-century Central Asia, and Puerto Rican Pentecostals in twentieth-century New York City have all played a part in the cross-cultural spread of the Gospel. Today, almost three hundred million people worldwide are immigrants living outside their country of origin. While that represents only 3.6% of the global population, it has been growing steadily for decades and is expected to continue rising.
The reasons driving the growth of migration over the last half-century are complex, but several factors are key: rapid industrialization and economic transformation on all continents; urbanization; advancements in transportation technology; growing income inequality between and within nations; and the permanence of globalized violent conflicts and their political consequences since the first two world wars. Climate change is also increasingly provoking new migrations, such as the movement of entire island communities (including their churches) because of already rising sea levels. Instability—whether from rapid economic growth or decline, technological change, war, or a natural or weather disaster—is the primary driver of mass migration.
Migration Facts
Migration impacts different regions in different ways. Oceania has the highest proportion of immigrants at 21%, while Asia has the lowest at 2%. Leading receiving countries by percentage of population include the Gulf states (United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait at 94%, 80%, and 71% foreign migrants, respectively), Singapore (42%), and Australia (30%). The United States is the top receiving country in absolute terms, with 50 million immigrants (15% of its population). In Europe, the leading receivers are Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Spain, and Belgium.
The top migrant-sending countries globally (by total number) are India, Russia, Mexico, China, and Syria. By percentage of their population, the top senders are found in the Caribbean, Pacific Islands, and Eastern Europe, as well as Syria, Armenia, and Portugal. Migration flows are often regional, dominated by proximate countries with significant income disparities (Mexico–U.S., Turkey–Germany, Algeria–France). Although disasters dominate headlines, most migrants come from middle-income countries experiencing economic transition; the very poor rarely migrate, since international migration requires significant financial resources.
Religiously, more Christians are migrants than adherents of any other faith. Half of all immigrants identify as Christian—well above their 30% share of the global population. Muslims make up 27% of migrants, roughly matching their 25% share of the world population. Hindus and Buddhists are under-represented among migrants (5% and 3%, respectively) compared with their global shares (15% and 5%). Christian migrants—Filipino Pentecostals in the UAE to Arabic Baptists in Belgium—bear witness to the Gospel in every corner of the world. In EU countries, 55% of immigrants are Christian versus 27% Muslim; in the U.S., nearly 70% of immigrants are Christian, a higher percentage than among the native-born population. Pentecostalism has seen the greatest growth through migration, especially among Latin American and African migrants.
Migration and Religious Change
Migration often provokes religious change in ways less common at home. This can include conversion to a new faith, a deepening of commitment, switching to a different expression of one’s religion, or even de-conversion. Migration destabilizes old patterns and creates opportunities both to embrace the Good News and to abandon one’s inherited faith. Consequently, migrants frequently seek to deepen their faith formation. As Christian historian Timothy Smith put it, migration is a “theologizing experience” that drives migrants to the roots of their faith.
Migration and Gospel Witness
Migration creates contexts that both encourage and inhibit boundary-crossing witness. On one hand, migrants forge new bonds—pan-Latino, pan-African, pan-Arabic, or pan-Asian congregations and identities that did not exist in their home countries. In many European cities, immigrant churches drawing members from multiple nationalities are the largest congregations. These congregations often serve as cultural sanctuaries of belonging in an otherwise exclusionary environment. Many non-believing migrants initially attend for social support before becoming Christians. Similarly, mosques in non-Muslim contexts often function as community centers as well as places of worship.
Migrant leaders frequently form associations—language- or region-specific networks (African, Latino) and broader transnational connections to their homelands. Modern technology—air travel and the internet—has enabled perpetual connection across contexts. Integrating with existing migrant ministry networks is key to equipping migrant leaders for mission.
On the other hand, migration can reinforce cultural exclusion and competition, hardening ethnic boundaries even within churches. Dominant cultures—consciously or unconsciously—may marginalize migrant communities. In such contexts, migrant Christian leaders wield influence primarily within their own cultural communities and transnational networks, with little reach into the host culture. Nonetheless, migrants can bear witness through shared vulnerability—exposing dehumanizing forces and displaying God’s renewing power. Over time, they can catalyze transformation as they understand firsthand the brokenness of societal systems. First-generation immigrants often focus on verbal proclamation of the Gospel, while second-generation migrants often emphasize demonstration—showing how the Gospel promotes social change. However, second-generation migrants of all religions often exhibit lower religious devotion than their parents.
Migration and Contextualization
Mass migration is reshaping mission and evangelism paradigms. Most migrants are cultural hybrids—shaped by multiple contexts, languages, and religions. They often feel they belong to no single culture, yet serve as bridges between cultures and are key figures in the Gospel’s cross-cultural spread. In places with high migrant concentrations, no single culture is “indigenous”; multiple communities co-create hybrid contexts. Communicating the Gospel in these environments demands constant learning and improvisation, as both communicators’ and recipients’ cultures are in flux.
Migrant contexts represent our world’s future: mobile, vulnerable, and rapidly changing. They are culturally mixed, multilingual, and oriented toward creating new social contexts rather than preserving older cultural forms. Partnering with migrants requires recognizing their vulnerability and marginality—and their unique ability to bear witness to the transformative, life-giving power of the Gospel in a complex, culturally rich world.
References
1. “World Migration Report 2024.” IOM UN Migration.
https://worldmigrationreport.iom.int/
2. Natarajan, Anusha, Mohamad Moslimani, and Mark Hugo Lopez. “Key Facts
about Recent Trends in Global Migration.” Pew Research Center, 2022.
https://pewrsr.ch/3W68Qgm
3. Kramer, Stephanie and Yunping Tong, “The Religious Composition of the World’s
Migrants.” Pew Research Center, 2024.
https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2024/08/19/the-religious-composition-of-
the-worlds-migrants/
4. Hanciles, Jehu. Migration and the Making of Global Christianity. Grand Rapids,
Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2021.
5. Samers, Michael. Migration. London ; Routledge, 2010.