Migration: A Biblical theology

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.

"Putting Christ Back into Christmas" raised all kinds of responses, spanning confusion, fear, celebration, joy, and everything between. Some folk call for open borders, others want them closed. Politicians have mooted stricter immigration policies and have bargained with French authorities.

The church's response

How are UK churches responding? Many get on, quietly and determinedly, with gospel work, proclaiming Christ crucified for sin, resurrected from the dead, ascended to the right hand of God the Father and His return as judge and Saviour, to gather in His harvest of all - who with repentance for sin, found faith in Him - while He throws the ungodly into unquenchable, supernatural, fire. The church goes on, in love for all people, seeking ways to do gospel mission and ministry in this rapidly changing social landscape.

One thing is clear: migration is disruptive - for those who move to settle in the UK and for those who have not moved anywhere but become unsettled. Migration causes disruption to individuals, families, communities and even whole nations. If you have arrived in the UK from another nation, you may have suffered a mood swing from initial delight to internalised disappointment as you learn how to navigate life in a new land which does not meet your expectations. If you have never moved, but remain rooted in the place you grew up, you might be experiencing grief at the loss of familiarity in the old way of life, as well as loved neighbours being replaced by strangers. Formerly settled, close-knit communities have lost or are losing shared historical narratives, traditions, values and customs. Disruption hurts.

The church is now working through the social and missional implications of migration. A survey of local church ministries might reveal a variety of ways mission and ministry are adapting in order to carry the gospel of Christ across language and cultural boundaries. Translations of Bible study guides are more common. Live translation in services is growing alongside the use of different language songs, Bible readings and liturgy. Churches are seeking ways to be intercultural or multicultural - though it depends on what those labels mean and, to confuse matters, they mean different things to different people.

Whatever local churches are doing, the change and disruption has been rapid. There is a certain breathlessness due to change. So I propose we pause, take a breath and ask God some questions.

Migration: What does the Bible say?

What does God’s word say to us about migration? What are God’s plans, purposes and will for His people in a world of migration? How does the Bible inform and direct us when people move, as individuals or en masse?

This is the first of a series of articles which explore a Biblical narrative of migration.

There is a Biblical narrative of migration. In Genesis chapters 1 and 2, God’s people live in God’s presence under God’s rule and blessing. They are at home. From Genesis chapter 3 to Revelation chapter 20, people move. Adam and Eve are expelled from the Garden of Eden; Cain is made to wander the earth; Noah sets sail; Abram is called to leave home to move to an unspecified land; Jacob flees from home; Joseph is sold as a slave and transported to Egypt, his family joining him over a decade later; Moses flees, returns, then flees again, leading over two-thirds of a million people on a journey towards the promised land. The Bible shows that migration is not new. The story of the Bible could be summarised as the story of migrant exiles searching for home.

The Bible shows us what God has done in Biblical history as people have moved - for all kinds of reasons and with all kinds of results, good and ill.

As we explore Scripture, my hope is that we will be better prepared to do ministry and mission in a world of migration, even as we acknowledge the discomfort of disruption. I invite you to come with me, month by month in 2026, on a journey through the Bible’s story of migration. We’ll think, next time, about what God says on being exiles.