Reviews
“Rodney Ragwan’s Welcoming Faith offers the church a timely and faithful guide for engaging one of the defining realities of our age—human migration. Drawing deeply from Scripture, missional theology, and lived pastoral experience, Rodney Ragwan presents a compelling vision of hospitality that moves beyond sentiment to sustained, Spirit-shaped practice.”—Rev. Elijah M. Brown, PhD, Baptist World Alliance, General Secretary & CEO
“This book expresses how churches today can respond to immigration, migration, and displacement with compassion, justice, and practical action. Grounded in the Bible, theology, and real church experiences, it offers guidance on simple, workable ideas to move from fear toward hospitality and faithful witness, encouraging teamwork across generations through prayer and community support. It invites readers to understand immigrants and see immigration not as a problem to fear but as an opportunity to meet Christ in strangers, join God’s work of reconciliation, and turn compassion into lasting action. This book is suitable for all people seeking to understand immigration in practical, biblically grounded ways.”—Mary Chang, Principal, Orissa Christian Theological College, Gopalpur-On-Sea, Ganjam, Odisha, India
““What are we afraid of?” This guiding question anchors Ragwan’s Welcoming Faith: Responding Biblically to Migration, a thoughtful and timely contribution to contemporary conversations on faith and migration. Drawing on insights from his year-long program on the church’s engagement with immigration, Ragwan offers a theologically grounded and pastorally sensitive examination of how Christian communities might respond to the realities of immigration, forced displacement, and the arrival of new neighbors.”— Rev. Dr. Valerie Andrews, Pastor of the Eternal Life Missionary Baptist Church, USA
“In a world shaped by displacement, Welcoming Faith calls the church back to its biblical responsibility of hospitality and justice. Rodney Ragwan blends theological depth with practical guidance, helping congregations respond with courage and compassion as they engage immigrants and refugees. This is an essential and profoundly relevant book for any community seeking to embody the gospel in today’s fractured world.”—Dr. Helper Zhou, Glenwood Community Church, Durban, South Africa
“Welcoming Faith is a sentiment found in thousands of religions around the world. It’s also a central tenet in Christianity. In addition to talking about immigration, Jesus also talks about embracing all the “strangers” in our own communities—people whose life journeys are very different. From people with disabilities to children to those experiencing extreme poverty, they are all deserving of a place at our tables.
“I have the honor of being the first Deaf person in the United States to be elected Mayor. One of the very first people I met in this journey was Pastor Rodney Ragwan. He welcomed me into his office and asked if he could say a prayer for me. This simple act made me feel that even though I was a Deaf, white person sitting with a hearing Indian person with very little in common beyond a geographic place, I was welcome in this space as my true self.
“The community we share, North Wales borough in Pennsylvania, is a historic one that came forth from the mid-1800’s railroad expansion and enjoys a warm and welcoming character today. If you joined service at North Wales Baptist Church, you’d be sitting in a building that was built just five years after our borough was created in 1869. The spirit of the congregation, however, predates the borough by thirty-four years.
“Like many churches today, the old family names that you’d see on the walls and offerings around you have changed. Once, this was a community with predominantly Welsh and German names. Today, North Wales has diversity in its community that the founding members could scarcely have imagined.
“Pastor Ragwan embodies this inalienable fact about American life today. A South African of Indian descent, he was deeply influenced by Nelson Mandela’s vision of reconciliation and sought to embody that call within his Baptist tradition and pastoral communities in South Africa. After I
“In an increasingly divided and mobile world, many young people are asking whether the church can truly be a place of belonging. Welcoming Faith responds with theological depth and pastoral wisdom, speaking directly to younger generations who are navigating questions of diversity, justice, and belonging. By approaching immigration through a Christ-centered lens—not as an optional practice but as an expression of the heart of the gospel—this book helps shape communities that are both rooted in Scripture and responsive to the world they inhabit.”—Ashalia Rangiah, Perth, Australia