On August 23, I was honored to join the Christian Latina Leadership Institute (CLLI) in Barranquilla, Colombia, to celebrate and preach at the graduation of their first cohort of students in Colombia. Eighteen women proudly marched down the aisle, walking taller after two years of learning and growth. 

 Right before graduation, CLLI holds its final class, “Capstone,” where students reflect and share what they have learned. In the Colombia cohort, one student who works with an American nonprofit serving Colombian migrants affirmed how the program has strengthened her work.

Last week we told you about our newest staff person and this week we’re announcing a new full-time opening at Fellowship Southwest: Director of Advocacy. 

My wife and I are blessed with the privilege of ministering to the immigrant community in Texas and beyond since 2007. We call ourselves ELIM (Educational and Legal Immigration Ministries).  

We have been serving under the umbrella of Fellowship Southwest since 2023 at our two offices: ELIM at Trinity Baptist Church and ELIM at Woodland Church in San Antonio, Texas. 

As of this summer, we have served more than 1,200 families. Every immigrant represents one family, and working to bring them together through the justice system is essentially what immigration ministry is all about. 

If any corner of our nation has reached the point at which a VBS is cancelled for fear of  detention and deportation, then it is time for people of faith in every corner of our nation to call on our government to repent of our present national sin;

Our nation is currently conducting a campaign of cruelty against immigrants. From the intentional deportation of undocumented immigrants to third countries where they have no family, to the revocation of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for hundreds of thousands of persons who came to the United States seeking refuge from danger, to the deportation of immigrants when they appear for their Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP) appointments, to the effort to annul birthright citizenship, to the ruthless creation and gleeful celebration  of  “Alligator Alcatraz”

On July 16, 2025, the beautiful and ornate 1914 Anderson County Courthouse in Palestine, Texas was the sight of a grotesque 19th century law being used to order a wrongfully convicted man to death, by a 21st century judge at the behest of a corrupt politician with 18th century justice perspectives that combined a primitive lust for power with the biblical doctrine of sin. At least, that seemed to be the opinion of much of what I overheard from most of the crowd while standing in line and sitting in wait in the courtroom that day.

I had gathered with about a hundred or so other folk mostly united in our opposition to the death penalty and in support of Robert Roberson, convicted in 2004 of shaking his toddler daughter to death. Since then, the “shaken baby” hypothesis, has been widely discredited and the evidence specifically in Mr. Roberson’s case points to his wrongful conviction. One of his attorneys said, “Everyone who has taken the time to look at the evidence of Robert Roberson’s innocence—including the lead detective, one of the jurors, a range of highly qualified experts, and a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers—has reached the same conclusion: Nikki’s death was a terrible tragedy. Robert did not kill her. There was no crime.” 

The Bible & Immigration 

During my time serving at the border, I noticed a common theme circulating in some “Conservative Christian” circles—the belief that deporting undocumented immigrants is not only lawful but biblically righteous. Many point to Romans 13:1-7 to justify this view, claiming it’s simply about obeying the law and that anyone who wants to stay here should “just come legally.” It’s presented in black and white—legal or illegal, good or bad—without room for nuance or compassion. Romans 13 to justify mass deportation is a misapplication of the text.

“Immigrants in our communities are afraid. Whether they are recent migrants or have lived here many years, their futures are uncertain. One such immigrant family is now afraid to leave their home, even to buy groceries…

Fellowship Southwest is disappointed and saddened by the passage of the “Big Beautiful Bill” by the House of Representatives this afternoon. We advocated against many of the provisions that, with the President’s signature, will now become law. As an organization committed to justice for the vulnerable, we fear what is to come.

Small Moments, Big Questions 

“¿Cómo se dice Estados Unidos en inglés?” the little Peruvian boy asked me, eyes wide, full of curiosity and wonder. 

“Estados Unidos is ‘the United States,’” I replied. 

He repeated it almost perfectly, carefully shaping each vowel and consonant. 

After just an hour of conversation, both he and his older sister—only 10 and 11 years old—eagerly asked questions about the United States: the language, the food, the people, the phones.