The African Diaspora
Population: It is estimated that nearly 19 million Africans live off the continent of Africa. These men, women, and children are the African Diaspora, some of whom are probably your near neighbors. About 3 Million African Diaspora live in North America, 5 million in Asia, and another 11 million live in Europe.
Location and Background: The African Diaspora live around the globe, and their histories and reasons for leaving the continent are diverse. Some are refugees, asylum seekers, economic migrants, students and professionals, undocumented immigrants, and tragically, others are victims of human trafficking.
History, Culture, and Religion: Because the African Diaspora come from Africa’s 54 individual countries as well as many of the continent’s outlying islands, each group’s history, culture and religion varies widely.
A Unique Opportunity: Many of the African Diaspora come from nations that are closed to missionary outreach, so their presence in places like Europe, Australia, and the Americas presents a unique opportunity to share the Good News with men and women who may have never heard it in their homelands, and who may one day to return their nation of origin transformed by Christ and eager to share their new hope with their friends and family.
Christmas activities
Diaspora in California: Pray for the Christmas activities with international students. One student from N. Africa has been very involved and interested in spiritual conversations. She has attended church with one of our volunteers but she will be finishing her semester in the US mid-December. Pray the seeds that have been planted will bear fruit Whatever we do, may all the students come to know God’s grace and salvation.
Podcast
Diaspora in France: After many months of hard work, our team’s first podcast has been launched! This podcast interviews Christian, current and former international university students from around the world who share their joys, struggles, and lessons-learned while being outsiders in foreign countries. This project is a multilingual with various episodes recorded in English, French, and Spanish. The first interviewee is a Congolese international student who moved to Kenya to attend Moffat Seminary, and now has moved to the Netherlands for further studies. Pray God will use these testimonies to reach some of the 7 million worldwide international students who are surely experiencing similar hardships but enduring them without the love, guidance, and comfort of the One who made them!
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“Whether they are economic migrants, international students, undocumented immigrants, refugees or asylum seekers, one fact remains the same – They are the new neighbors our churches are called to love.”
