Violence, economics, education — these forces push people around our globe. About 281 million people live outside their birth country; together, they would qualify as the fifth-largest nation on earth.

The United States and Canada have welcomed more than 59 million of these immigrants, many of them from countries where Western missionaries cannot live. In response to this great opportunity, SEND  launched a new outreach: Diaspora | North America in 2014.

Diaspora comes from the Greek verb “to scatter.” Jesus’ parable of the sower features the root of this word; some of the scattered seeds wither, others flourish and reproduce. Many diaspora people—refugees, economic migrants, international students and government workers, all scattered far from home—have arrived in North America, where we have the chance to sow the seeds of the gospel.  

Since 2014, SEND’s Diaspora | North America ministry field has worked in more than 10 cities and is currently engaging 16 unreached people groups.