On Friday, Jan. 27, President Donald Trump issued an executive order suspending the granting of visas to immigrants from “countries of particular concern” and capping the total number of refugees the U.S. will admit in 2017. Via PE News, Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood responded with a reminder that, while Christians may disagree about public policy, the “what” and “why” of our mission as Christians is always the same. 

Below is an excerpt from the article:

Rather than making a public policy statement, on which there are different perspectives from within our own Fellowship, and realizing that even a general superintendent should not assume to speak for the entire Fellowship on issues where opinion is divided and where the issue involved is one in which believers have opinions that do not agree, I felt it wise to remind us of what our real mission is as followers of Christ.

We are to pray for our leaders — federal, state, and local. We are to love those who do not agree with us (our “enemies”). We are not to swerve from our fundamental responsibility to bear true witness to Jesus so that lost people can find salvation in Christ. We are to express ourselves in public and in private with appropriate language. The tenor of our language also should always bring honor to our Lord. We are a spiritual body of Christ and not a political party.

Our fundamental task is to reach people for Jesus — whether they are legal or undocumented, whether they are citizens or refugees. We are to have a heart for the poor, the marginalized, the abused, the needy, and the stranger.

I encourage all those within our Fellowship and in the broader Christian community to recognize that this is the moment to let our light shine for Jesus. Do you have a political opinion on immigration and refugees? Well and good, you have a right as a citizen of our country to express that. But, more importantly, do you witness and show love to immigrants and refugees?

Read Dr. Wood’s full statement here.