Almost half of the world's migrants claim Christianity according to new research from Pew Research Center.

In this episode, we hear from two Christian immigrants, Eduardo and Odalis Vasquez, Church of Christ members who are part of the 7.7 million people who fled Venezuela over the last few years.

The Vasquezes talk about why and how they left their home behind and what it is like to try to make their new home in Montevideo, Uruguay.

They also share the story of how immigrants (from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela) are breathing new life into the Montevideo Church of Christ (which was struggling before the arrival of so many immigrants in recent years).

Link to Erik Tryggestad's recent story about the Montevideo Church of Christ (featuring Eduardo and Odalis Vasquez).

Link to an archive of The Christian Chronicle's complete coverage of the "diaspora" of Church of Christ members from Venezuela as they migrate around the world.

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According to Pew Research Center, immigration is the second-most important issue to White evangelical Protestants who plan to vote in the November 2024 U.S. presidential election. Note: Pew places White Church of Christ members (7 out of 10 Church of Christ members nationwide) in the "White evangelical Protestant" research cohort. So, then, immigration may be one of the top issues for Church of Christ members in the United States today.

In this episode, Dr. Stephanie Kramer (Pew Research Center) shares what a new study reveals about the faith of the people who choose to migrate (almost half claim to be Christian) and how that faith influences where they go.

Frank Meza and Preston Pratt, ministers with Berry's Chapel Church of Christ in Franklin, Tenn., share the story of how their congregation is coming alongside and joining the growing Spanish-speaking community nearby. In addition to opening and sponsoring a community center in a Spanish-speaking neighborhood, the congregation did away with its separate English- and Spanish-speaking assemblies on Sunday morning and now has one bilingual assembly every week.

Link to Pew Research Center's latest report on the faith of the world's migrants

Link to Berry's Chapel Church of Christ in Franklin, Tennessee

Link to The Christian Chronicle's archive of reporting on U.S. congregations and immigration

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The recent emergence of in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a legal and political issue is raising new ethical and moral questions among Christians. If life begins at conception, when is conception? What is a soul and when does a human being have one? Advances in science and technology mean that Christians know more about the human body than ever before, but those same advances sometimes lead to questions for which the Bible may seem to have no clear, definitive answers.

So what are Christians to do when life puts them in situations where they need to make choices about, say, whether to overcome reproductive challenges with something like IVF? How might their congregations, elders, and ministers come alongside them as they seek answers that are hard to find?

Christian bioethicists Dr. Vic McCracken and Dr. Cynthia Powell explain how they help their students at Abilene Christian University approach the ethical and moral dilemmas that often arise in health care. Beyond IVF, they also discuss abortion, end-of-life, and...mosquitoes.

Link to Cheryl Mann Bacon's Christian Chronicle feature on how professors and students at Abilene Christian University are working through the moral complexities of IVF

Link to Cheryl Mann Bacon's Christian Chronicle report on how Church of Christ folks are responding to new questions about IVF

Link to Dr. Vic McCracken's CV

Link to Dr. Cynthia Powell's CV

Link to the "Wesleyan Quadrilateral' referred to in the interview

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Visit our partners at OnlineSpanishChurch.com to find out how they can help your congregation start reaching your Spanish-speaking neighbors.