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** A Message from Our National Director
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** As the National Director of Missio Alliance — an alliance of “sent ones” — called to bear faithful witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God, I write today with a heavy heart. In recent weeks and months, we have witnessed the brutal treatment of immigrants in our country, grieved acts of violence that have taken the lives of our neighbors, and felt the weight of fear, anger, and exhaustion pressing in from every side. These are not abstract issues or distant headlines. They are pastoral and moral realities, shaping the lives of our congregations, our communities, and our own souls.
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In light of all this, I find myself asking: what does it mean for us, as followers of Jesus, to live faithfully — and courageously — in the complexity of this kairos moment in the life of the church and our country?

At Missio Alliance, the essential pillars of our work are mission, formation, and justice. Moments like this remind me why we cannot afford to hold them separately. When mission is severed from justice, it loses credibility. When formation is detached from mission, it turns inward. When justice is untethered from formation, it risks becoming reactive rather than redemptive. Held together, these pillars help the church bear a thicker, truer witness to the reign of God.

To live missionally is to bear public witness to the Kingdom of God by taking seriously the teachings of Jesus. His way stands in stark contrast to the ways of empire that rely on fear, coercion, and domination. Mission calls us not only to proclaim good news, but to name where power is being used to diminish human dignity and to embody an alternative way marked by mercy, humility, peacemaking, and love of neighbor — however costly our obedience may be.

Formation anchors me when the ground feels unsteady and the noise grows loud. In a moment marked by grief, violence, and the distortion of the gospel, formation invites us to pause and experience our belovedness — and from that place, to lament what is broken, to repent where silence or accommodation has shaped us, and to pray for the Spirit’s renewing work. It resists the malformation of Christian Nationalism and forms us instead in the cruciform way of Jesus, shaping our loves, our loyalties, and our imagination.

And justice demands that our faith take concrete shape. Scripture consistently names God’s concern for the vulnerable — the orphan, the widow, the poor, and the immigrant. Time and again, God calls God’s people not merely to feel compassion, but to act on behalf of those pushed to the margins. Justice insists that no human being is expendable and that our policies and practices must be evaluated by their impact on the most vulnerable among us.

Let me be clear about the law: criminals should be held to account, borders have legal and civic functions, and communities need safety. But brutality is unacceptable. The church has a moral responsibility to speak and act as a signpost for the flourishing of all humanity — immigrants, protesters, and citizens alike — and to refuse violence, fear, and dehumanization as tools of governance.

In this moment, I call us to live wholeheartedly in the ways of Jesus. Let us be faithful to mission that is both proclamation and demonstration. Let us be formed by the steadfast love of God toward Christlike compassion. Let us be committed to justice that brings life.

We lament. We act. We pray. We protest. We hope. And we trust that God, who is renewing all things and who raises life from death, will continue to shape us into agents of peace, mercy, and courageous love — to the greater glory of God’s name.

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Profaning the Image of God as Garbage ([link removed]) | Mark Glanville ([link removed])

“When we deny the inherent value and dignified worth of other human beings, we are in fact displaying how greatly we ourselves are failing to be transformed into the glory and beauty of Christ."
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Grappling with Doubt ([link removed]) | ([link removed]) Catherine McNiel & Jason Hague ([link removed])
"Experiencing doubt is not a harbinger of leaving the faith, because the foundation of following Jesus is not certainty but conviction. Faithfulness."
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Our Bubble Must Pop (For Good) ([link removed]) [link removed] ([link removed]) Chris Kamalski ([link removed])

“It's well-beyond time for our bubble to pop, for the good of the entire created order. We must name the Church's reality with honest courage–we have wandered far from the simplicity of the gospel invitation to love God and one's neighbor, and we are prone to drift even further into wilderness exile. And yet, the Kingdom of God has drawn near. God has not given up on us yet."

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Brave Practice #1: Practice Lament

Set aside intentional space this week to lament before God — alone or with others. Name what has been lost, grieve the violence and fear shaping our moment, and resist the urge to rush toward easy answers. Use a psalm of lament (like Psalm 13 or 42) or offer your own prayer. Lament is a faithful practice that tells the truth, forms our hearts, and opens us to God’s healing and justice.

Brave Practice #2: Bear Faithful Witness in Your Place

Choose one concrete way this week to embody the way of Jesus where you live. This might mean listening to an immigrant neighbor’s story, showing up peacefully at a vigil or protest, advocating for humane policies, or supporting a local organization serving vulnerable communities. Let your action be grounded in prayer and love of neighbor, remembering that mission is not only proclaimed — it is demonstrated through faithful presence and courageous love.

Brave Practice #3: Stand With Refugees

Our friends at World Relief ([link removed]) have circulated a Christian Statement on Refugees ([link removed]) , inviting believers to stand with vulnerable neighbors seeking safety and refuge. Adding your name is a simple but meaningful way to advocate for compassionate, just policies and to bear public witness to God’s concern for those forced to flee their homes. Let your voice join a growing chorus calling for dignity, protection, and hope for refugees.
SIGN THE STATEMENT HERE ([link removed])

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