The Strangers Next Door: A Call for More and Better Urban Research-Part 4 1

After a great spring break with my family, I am now returning to the series on the need for more and better urban research. If you are just jumping in to the series, you may want to begin with the following:
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3

Today, I submit to you Case Study #2: The Lack of Quality Research on the Minority Peoples Living in the United States and Canada.

Of the international migrations to these two countries, we know the following:

• Their countries of birth

• Their populations by country of birth

• Where enclaving is occurring in our urban contexts (e.g., Little Tokyo, Chinatowns, Little Kabul)

While such information is important, it is not possible to develop robust missionary strategies for these countries, as well as, integrated strategies that are transnational in nature.

What We Do Not Know

• We lack the knowledge of the ethno-linguistic characteristics of the peoples living in the United States and Canada.  We lack people group information.  For example, the number of Nigerians in the United States is known.  But Nigeria is made up of different tribal groups.  Such groups and numbers are not known for those Nigerians residing in the northern part of North America.
• We lack the knowledge of the evangelical percentages of those who have migrated to the United States and Canada.
• We lack the knowledge of the receptivity levels of the peoples who have migrated here.  While the North American Mission Board and Lifeway Research did a study that included some information on receptivity levels among such peoples, much more research is needed.
• We lack the knowledge of the generations living here.  To return to the Nigerian example, how many represent 1st generation, 2nd generation, or 3rd generation?  How do generational differences affect issues related to missionary activity?
• We lack the knowledge of the transnational social networks of those who have migrated.  It is well known that international migrants remain in regular contact with friends and relatives in their countries of birth.  However, few people in the United States and Canada recognize such networks and the Great Commission potential found in each one.
• We lack the knowledge of which Evangelical groups are evangelizing and planting churches among those who have migrated.

In the next post, I plan to share with you the number of estimated unreached people groups in the United States and Canada.