.png)
Immigrants who come to the United States face countless of challenges. Not only are they often dealing with the complexities of learning a new language, they’re also in the midst of learning an entirely new culture, experiencing a new environment, and facing challenges that they’ve never faced before. It’s easy to get lost in all of the chaos that comes along with being an immigrant. These problems are magnified for children. Many children from immigrant families find themselves pulled back and forth between their family’s culture and the culture of those all around them. This friction often increases as a child grows older, reaching a climax in their teenage years.
I understand the struggles of immigrants because I’ve gone through them myself. When I moved to the United States several years ago, I was grieved to see the children of Ethiopian immigrants struggling between these two very different cultures. For many of these children, US culture is all they know. This is the environment that many were born in and grew up in. Their first language is often English. And they can feel awkward when they are forced back into their parent’s culture. And yet, it is their culture two. This is why my wish is for the children of immigrants to learn both English and their parents mother tongue. They ought to know about the background of their family and the origin of their parents. They should understand their family’s heritage and culture.
I know this from experience. When my first son, Josiah, was born I realized the struggles that he would face as an immigrant in the United States. When he was still just a baby, I would look at his innocent face and think about his future. In my heart would grow heavy. I couldn’t put my agony into words. And I was reminded of the apostle Paul’s words, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Romans 8:26 NIV). And so I would groan, praying to the God who made my son and me. And asking – begging - him to remember my Josiah. In those moments, the faithfulness and goodness of God brings great consolation. He reminds us that he cares for us and for each one of our human needs.
As I reflect on God in the way that he has worked in my life and in the life of my brothers and sisters in Ethiopia, I can’t help but want for my son to know that heritage and to experience those things that I have experienced for himself. One of my biggest concerns is that the next generation of immigrants in the United States will lose the rich heritage of the Ethiopian church. I can’t help but notice how many of the diaspora’s children failed to appreciate our history and culture. If we continue separating them all the time from the rest of the congregation and giving them a separate room so that they can worship in a space, which is “appropriate” for them, then by doing this they are losing touch with their heritage. I understand that many Ethiopian services are held in Amharic. I also understand that the children of many immigrants aren’t as comfortable with this language as they are with English. And if God has called us to him as a family, then we ought to act as one. Too many parents act selfishly by sending their children into a separate room so that they can focus on their personal worship in the language they prefer. But what are their children missing out on? More than I can put into words.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: how can we deal with this situation in a practical and effective way? Though I don’t have all the answers, I do have a handful of thoughts to contribute to the discussion.
I believe that children and youth should be given priority over every other ministry in our churches. They are the next generation and they will be the ones who carry forward what we are doing today. Moreover, God has given us the responsibility and the privilege of not only providing for our children physically - by feeding them and sending them to school - but also providing for them spiritually. Before Moses died, he told the people of Israel to make the teaching of their children one of their greatest priorities. He wrote, “And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7 ESV). Before we can make any progress as a people, we must make sure that our number one priority is the spiritual, intellectual, and physical health of our children.
I believe that the older generations of immigrants should be willing to sacrifice for the good of their children when necessary. I understand that many of us, as immigrants, struggle with the English language. It is not our native tongue. And because of this we often find ourselves tripping over it, making mistakes, and second-guessing ourselves. But by restricting ourselves to our mother tongue, we are doing our children a disservice. For the sake of including our young people, we should hold mixed-language services. We ought to praise God and pray to him in both Amharic and whatever the local languages. This way children would be able to sit with their parents and worship in the same way that they sit with them and have dinner.
I believe that when children and their parents worship together both of them will feel more included, loved, and respected. By integrating our services we will show our children that we care as much about their spirituality as we do about their education, health, and other things. And before you object because of tradition, consider how you would feel if you attended a worship service that was held at in an entirely foreign tongue. Would you be comfortable? Would you feel at home? Then how can we expect our children to feel at home worshiping in a service that is utterly foreign to them? We can’t. And if we are going to introduce them to our heritage and history, then we must do it in a way that is understandable to them.
I believe that holding our services in both languages will leave us with many benefits. For one thing, it will encourage our children to understand their gifts and to grow in a way that will prepare them to take over in the future. It will help them see their Ethiopian heritage in a more genuine light and hopefully, it will encourage them to hold onto that heritage even while they look to the future. In addition to this, holding dual language services will help all of us have a more intimate relationship with God and his church. One of the beautiful things about the church is the way that it breaks down dividing lines. Paul once wrote of Jesus, “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14 NIV). If we are going to experience the peace of Christ, then we must both be willing to sacrifice a little. By holding services in both Amharic and the local language, we will show our children that we are willing to sacrifice for their good. Finally, by holding services in this way we will be equipping our children to spread the gospel more effectively to their friends and everyone else they meet. If we speak in a language that they do not understand, how will they know this gospel that has saved and transformed us? How will they be able to carry that gospel to others? If they are going to make the gospel understandable to others, we must make the gospel understandable to them. And one of the most effective ways of doing this is to hold our services in a language that they can understand.
Finally, I think it’s important to recognize that God has given us a mission. Jesus told his disciples that they were to go into all the world and make disciples. If we have friends in the workplace how can we invite them or share our beliefs? If God has put us in this place, a land different from our homeland, he has done so with a purpose. And he has given us a mission. But we must go into the crowded streets and speak to those souls who are wandering in darkness. It is then important for us to join the next generation in stepping forward and proclaiming the gospel wherever we go. If we are going to be the church that Jesus has called us to be, we must collaborate with other local bodies of Christ. After all, in Christ “there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free” (Galatians 3:29).
This is the burden that God has given me. It is the passion that burns deeply within my heart. Because of this, I cannot help but extend this call to everyone who shares my concern. Join with me in standing up for the truth of the gospel. Join with me in making our children and their spiritual health our greatest priority. Join with me as I make the gospel the center of my life. And join with me as I seek to proclaim it to every creature. Finally, I ask that you would join with me by praying that God would be pleased with his people and that he would make us all one no matter what language we speak and no matter what country we live in. May we all be one.