An arm of the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), a conservative Reformed denomination, is repenting for posting guidance to help illegal immigrants elude detainment.
Last week, Mission to North America — a resource and mission arm of the PCA — received intense backlash on social media after people noticed a page on its website dedicated to assisting illegal immigrants to dodge authorities and immigration enforcement.
In an FAQ section of the since-deleted resource page, the MNA advised illegal immigrants "not to carry documentation showing your country of origin" and, if contacted by immigration authorities, to "show an identity document that does not include your country of birth or citizenship."
The page even advised people to "report raids" — which could be viewed as obstructing justice — and declared that President Donald Trump lacks constitutional authority to end birthright citizenship, an open legal question.
Zachary Groff, a PCA pastor and a member of the committee that oversees MNA, said PCA members reacted with "alarm and outcry against what is a grave error in judgment" when made aware of the resource page.
"The rank and file of the PCA is not at all pleased or supportive of what was published. People are very, very alarmed and understandably upset," he told the Christian Post.
Church Leaders Respond
After backlash accelerated, the PCA quickly deleted the resource page and issued a full apology.
"MNA's leadership erroneously allowed the posting of content that advised undocumented persons on ways to avoid being detained by authorities," said MNA director Irwyn Ince.
Such guidance, Ince admitted, contracts Scripture and the Westminster Confession of Faith.
"We affirm that it is our Christian duty to obey the lawful commands of the civil magistrate and be subject to their authority (WCF 23.4; Romans 13:1-4; 1 Peter 2:13-14). To counsel otherwise is a sin," Ince explained.
The SDA Connection?
Perhaps Seventh-day Adventists should consider this story. In the last three weeks, the North American Division and other liberal Conferences and Unions have issued statements and legal guidelines for illegal immigrants in SDA churches. Underneath the virtue signalling, they are dangerously close to encouraging illegal immigrants to violate immigration law, advising churches to deny entry to immigration officers (should it actually happen).
“If officers show up for routine immigration enforcement activities, you should not consent to their entry onto the church’s property. If they are already on the premises, you should politely but firmly ask them to leave.”
The verbiage of this document from the NAD is emotionally manipulative, showing no respect for US immigration law. It assumes that the only way you can love your immigrant neighbor is by helping him continue to remain in the country illegally. They are advising Seventh-day Adventists to resist and report immigration raids, which is potentially obstructing justice. In this, they reveal that they are aligned (along with ADRA) with Joe Biden’s effort to flood the United States with millions of illegals, including criminal elements taking advantage of the political tailwinds of the previous administration.
For years, the Seventh-day Adventist Church has been overrun with managers (they are not true leaders) who are selling out our church to the highest bidders, giving wolves access to their sheep in exchange for elite access. Rather than the truth of Scripture, many pastors and institutional leaders are preaching trendy social causes to gain the spoils of cultural adulation.
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