With a specific focus on Los Angeles—and its unique history and culture— scholars explore wider issues of migration, transnationalism, and interfaith engagement as they relate to missiological thinking and practice.
In his lecture “City of Dreams: Los Angeles as a Cradle for Religious Activism, Innovation, and Diversity,” Richard Flory, senior director of research and evaluation at USC’s Center for Religion and Civic Culture, introduces the unique culture of Los Angeles and considers the dynamics between culture and place.
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In response to Richard Flory’s lecture “City of Dreams,” Alexia Salvatierra, assistant professor of integral mission and global transformation, talks about what we can learn from LA’s recent history of immigration reform.
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Richard Flory and Alexia Salvatierra discuss LA’s history of immigration, religion, and culture in a Q&A moderated by Kirsteen Kim.
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In his lecture “Missiological Reflections on the ‘In-Betweenness’ of Latino Protestantism,” Juan Martínez, president of Centro Hispano de Estudios Teológicos (CHET), explains the polycentric identity of Latino protestants, who inhabit a liminal space ethnically, sociologically, and religiously.
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In response to Juan Martínez’s lecture “Missiological Reflections on the ‘In-Betweenness’ of Latino Protestantism,” Lisseth Rojas-Flores, associate professor of clinical psychology, talks about the adversity faced by Latino children in the US and how churches can act as a positive disruption to this pattern.
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Lisseth Rojas-Flores discusses migration, cultural violence, and the church’s role in immigration policy in a Q&A moderated by Kirsteen Kim.
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In his lecture “Catholicity: Migration, Religion, and World Christianity,” Gioacchino Campese, professor of the theology of human mobility at Pontifical Urbaniana University, considers the church’s eschatological call toward catholicity in the context of our changing and globalized world.
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In response to Gioacchino Campese’s lecture “Catholicity: Migration, Religion, and World Christianity,” Cecil M. Robeck Jr., senior professor of church history and ecumenics, speaks about Christian love and unity in the context of migration.
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Gioacchino Campese and Cecil M. Robeck Jr. discuss missions, ecumenism, and world Christianity in a Q&A moderated by Alexia Salvatierra.
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In her lecture “Faith Resources: Muslim Migration to Los Angeles,” Zayn Kassam, John Knox MacLean Professor of Religious Studies at Pomona College, speaks about the positive influence of Muslim migrant communities in the US, even against the oppressive American realities of racism of Islamophobia.
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In response to Zayn Kassam’s lecture “Faith Resources: Muslim Migration to Los Angeles,” Matthew Kaemingk, assistant professor of Christian ethics, considers what is required for our communities to cultivate and sustain the virtues of hospitality and neighborly love—particularly against xenophobia and white supremacy.
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Zayn Kassam and Matthew Kaemingk discuss religious values and hospitality in a Q&A moderated by Alexia Salvatierra.
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Isaac Cuevas, Rabbi Aryeh Cohen, Salam Al-Marayati, and Nancy Yuen discuss responses to the immigration crisis from interfaith and interdisciplinary perspectives in this panel discussion moderated by Alexia Salvatierra.
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In his lecture “Borders: Citizenship in California,” Jason Sexton, visiting research scholar at the California Center for Sustainable Communities at UCLA’s Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, surveys California’s—and LA’s—history of shifting borders and invasive violence, and asks what belonging and citizenship mean in such a place.
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In response to Darren Dochuk’s lecture “Errands in the Wilderness,” Robert Chao Romero, associate professor of Chicana/o and Central American studies at UCLA, explores the history of Latino protestant communities in Los Angeles and the churches, institutions, and theologies that arose from them.
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In response to Darren Dochuk’s lecture “Errands in the Wilderness,” Robert Chao Romero, associate professor of Chicana/o and Central American studies at UCLA, explores the history of Latino protestant communities in Los Angeles and the churches, institutions, and theologies that arose from them.
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Darren Dochuk and Robert Chao Romero discuss Los Angeles’s unique racial and religious history in a Q&A moderated by Dwight Radcliff.
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In her lecture “Making Their Mark: Asian Americans and the Californian ‘Christian’ Landscape,” Rebecca Y. Kim, Frank R. Seaver Chair of Social Science and director of the ethnic studies program at Pepperdine University, speaks about the impact made by Asian American Christians on the American church, despite the historic challenges of systemic exclusion and discrimination they faced and continue to face.
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In response to Rebecca Kim’s lecture “Making Their Mark: Asian Americans and the Californian ‘Christian’ Landscape,” Daniel D. Lee, academic dean for Fuller’s Center for Asian American Theology and Ministry, highlights the importance of contextual literacy and a nuanced understanding of Asian American Christian history.
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Rebecca Y. Kim and Daniel D. Lee discuss erasure, the model minority myth, and Asianization in a Q&A moderated by Dwight Radcliff.
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Lee de Leon, Hyepin Im, and Kelvin Sauls discuss their work and various experiences with migrant communities in LA in this panel discussion moderated by Alexia Salvatierra.
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In his lecture “Theological Approaches to Migration: Their Impact on Missional Thinking and Action,” Leopoldo A. Sánchez M., Werner R. H. and Elizabeth R. Krause Professor of Hispanic Ministries at Concordia Seminary, reflects on how various models of migration can shape how we understand our practice of mission and our call to love our neighbors.
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In response to Leopoldo Sánchez’s lecture “Theological Approaches to Migration,” Carly Crouch, former David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament, speaks about the centrality of migrant experiences to the Old Testament and how migration necessarily shapes our understanding of theology and mission.
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Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. and Carly Crouch discuss immigration, hospitality, justice, and the Old Testament in a Q&A moderated by Kirsteen Kim.
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Richard Flory, Alexia Salvatierra, Juan Martínez, Gioacchino Campese, Zayn Kassam, Jason Sexton, Darren Dochuk, Rebecca Y. Kim, and Leopoldo A. Sánchez M. discuss migration and missiology, with a focus on Los Angeles, in this panel discussion moderated by Kirsteen Kim.
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In 2020, Fuller’s School of Intercultural Studies held its annual Missiology Lectures on “Migration, Transnationalism, and Faith in Missiological Perspective: Los Angeles as a Global Crossroads.”