Christian Churches and Immigrant Support in Canada: An Organizational Ecology Perspective

Abstract

Canada receives roughly 250,000 immigrants each year, and the government spends considerable resources on assisting them to settle and integrate into Canadian society through the agencies they support. Most of these new immigrants settle in Canada's largest cities, where churches meet specific needs that extend beyond the capacities of government agencies. In smaller centers, churches cover a wide range of services because few government supports are available. Little is known about the work of churches in Canada in spite of their importance to immigrant settlement and integration. In this study, we examine the services offered to immigrants by Canadian Christian churches. We show how the service provision of Christian churches is constrained by other organizations and groups in their environment, in ways consonant with the organizational ecology framework. Specifically, churches service the needs of immigrants by adapting to specific niche needs and by filling in gaps left by other service providers.

Illustrating the Outcomes of Community-Based Research: A Case Study on Working with Faith-Based Institutions

“…Although some organizations may pay lip service to a mission, faith-based organizations treat it as absolutely central to their sense of who they are and what they do. In light of this implication, we recommend that CBR with faith-based organizations explicitly bring the issue of faith identity to the foreground (e.g., Reimer et al, 2016). As we noted, there is some reluctance of members of faith-based organizations to discuss mission identity in the context of functional secularism even though it is central and likely discussed 'in house.'…”

It's all about needs: the role of Christian congregations in addressing the social exclusion barriers of seasonal agricultural workers

“…Rooted in Gospel hope and justice, congregations exhibit radical participation in areas of social injustice (Littlefield & Opsahl, 2017). This theological motivation and understanding of the responsibility to provide social support led churches to offer services with intentionality (Janzen et al, 2016a;Reimer et al, 2016). Congregations in the Niagara Region provide a great example of this commitment to social service.…”

Megachurches in Canada

“…The 'no religion' category is diverse and includes new immigrants, those who have disaffiliated from Christianity, as well as a growing segment who have never affiliated (Bibby 2017;Thiessen 2015;Thiessen and Wilkins-Laflamme 2017). What is important for understanding megachurches, especially those who are evangelical, is that all these larger themes in Canadian culture represent not only a tension with the evangelical subculture, but for congregations that value activism, evangelism, and outreach, new immigrants and people with no religion are considered possible sources of growth for megachurches (Bibby 2017;Guenther 2008;Reimer et al 2016). Even if research continues to show that megachurches benefit from transfer growth, the conversion of new immigrants and the non-religious serve as powerful tropes.…”