I Was a Stranger: Encouraging the Church to Welcome and Embrace the Foreigner

by Jodi Mullen Fondell; Mark A. Labberton

Publisher:

Resource Publications

, 2019

I Was a Stranger will help you build empathy for the strangers and foreigners among you. Through personal experience and through the narratives of people who have moved to a foreign country for a variety of reasons, Jodi Mullen Fondell offers encouragement for churches desiring to be a place of welcome and embrace for those who often find themselves rejected by the broader society. Packed with tips on how to help your church navigate the road toward greater openness, this book offers advice on how to avoid the pitfalls that prevent churches from truly welcoming and embracing the stranger among them. Rev. Fondell gently guides readers in examining their own experiences of alienation in order to understand the profound disorientation that being a stranger in a strange land entails. This identification with the pain of being an outsider, she asserts, can move, motivate, and mobilize the church to live out God's calling to welcome in the stranger. As the body of Christ embraces the members we are tempted to exclude, a new level of joy and a taste of heaven await our congregations. Includes a small-group Bible-study guide for communities ready to grow in ministry and hospitality.

Praise for I Was a Stranger

“I Was a Stranger reveals Jodi Fondell’s pastoral heart and her stirring passion for justice. Drawing on her vast personal experience in international churches, Jodi is able to say what needs to be said about the call to Christian people to welcome the stranger. As Jodi sees it, this call isn’t just a nice, but largely peripheral, dimension to ministry; this call is at the heart of the gospel.”

—Douglas Brouwer, author of How to Become a Multicultural Church



“A gifted colleague in cross-cultural ministry, Jodi Fondell puts into words what many of us international pastors passionately want to share with the larger church: God is glorified whenever you welcome the stranger! And here’s the real surprise: you are blessed whenever you welcome the stranger! Here is a helpful guide for congregations who desire to become a more faithful and hospitable sanctuary for all God’s people.”

—Scott Herr, Senior Pastor, American Church in Paris



“Isolation beyond your control is a very cruel space to exist within. In this exquisitely written, timely, and poignant wake-up call for Christians, Jodi challenges us to reexamine our prejudices when it comes to alienating others—both consciously and subconsciously. Through resonant personal anecdotes that provide perspective and comparison, as well as practical tips for chipping away at bias and tools for integration, she implores us to develop our compassion and empathy as we live out our faith in these trying times.”

—Lola Akinmade Åkerström, award-winning author and photographer of bestselling LAGOM: The Swedish Secret of Living Well



“Jodi Mullen Fondell provides an accessible and timely look at understanding and practicing the vital biblical mandate to welcome strangers, foreigners, and all those persons whom others may shun or even hate. From her years of pastoral ministry within international communities, Mullen Fondell invites us to embrace this central individual and communal Christian calling, which demonstrates the overflowing love of God in Christ that to all who find themselves as the outsider and outcast.”

—Edwin David Aponte, Executive Director, Louisville Institute



“Jodie Fondell's I Was a Stranger touches anyone who has ever felt on the outside, yearns to connect in a congregational setting and seeks to make sense of their identity in the world today. She shares personal narratives, integrates theology and Scripture, and applies it to daily life within various congregational contexts. Wherever we serve, Jodie encourages faith communities to live out our vocational call as we find new ways to welcome, include, and love our neighbor.”

—Pastor Emily G. Rova-Hegener, American Lutheran  Congregation, Oslo, Norway

Product Details

• Title : I Was a Stranger: Encouraging the Church to Welcome and Embrace the Foreigner
• Authors:
  • Fondell, Jodi Mullen
  • Labberton, Mark A.
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Publication Date: 2019
• ISBN: 9781532679605

About the Authors

Jodi Mullen Fondell is an ordained pastor and has served churches in Stockholm, London, Paris, and Luxembourg City. This is her first book.