Karen Gonzalez has done a helpful service for those who wish to apply a Christian response to immigration in the 21st century. Her approach centers immigrants themselves rather than the nation and the people who are (hopefully) welcoming immigration. This takes the focus away from charity and what we and our communities have to gain from immigration and places it on those who are migrating in an uncertain world.

This is a really thoughtful examination of what the Christian response to immigration should be and comes from a Guatemalan immigrant. She offers many compelling reasons to advocate on behalf of immigrants. The book is structured well and has prayers at the end of each chapter. ( )

I'm sure some people would find this book fantastic, but it just personally wasn't for me. I found it very difficult to read and unfortunately not enlightening the way I'd hoped it to be. Unfortunately, I can't my recommendation for Beyond Welcome. It would probably be great for the people who already agree with all of the author's religious and political views, but it doesn't help readers who have different views.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are completely my own, and I was not required to leave a positive review. ( )

An exploration of how Christians can better embody Jesus for the immigrant among them.

The author, herself an immigrant to America from Guatemala, often speaks of her experiences in her life in America, as a teacher, as an advocate for immigrants, and in mission work in Kazakhstan.

She addressed the expectations of Americans regarding assimilation and what has often been lost in that process, let alone how many groups are not quite allowed to assimilate because they are considered the other. She discusses the idea of the "good immigrant" and the standards to which immigrants are unfairly held. She speaks of the power of language for connection and sharing. She considers how the Bible is read and interpreted differently in different cultures and what happens when one group decides their reading is more normative. She spoke of Jesus' hospitality and the kind of hospitality which we often find threatening yet necessary for truly sharing in life. She spoke of the need to belong, the struggle of belonging in a foreign land, and how God's people should be a place of belonging. She then considers how plenty of people move even within America yet are not considered immigrants and how frequently people have been on the move throughout time. She warns us about using other people's stories without their permission and/or making them the object of our purposes rather than the subject of their own experiences. She concludes by envisioning a community of God's people as a "kin-dom," where all find belonging as brothers and sisters in Christ before God the Father.

Her perspective is very helpful and her exhortations are worth considering, uncomfortable as they may prove for many in the dominant culture.

**--galley received as part of early review program ( )

Gonzales reminds readers that the scriptures are full of stories about the movement of people, yet no judgment is made on these people who migrate. Too often well meaning Christians see their way as the "correct" way and expect that "good immigrants" to the US will conform to to the American faith expression. Yet we all understand the Bible through our own cultural backgrounds. The author is especially qualified to write about this subject, as an immigrant herself who has studied at Fuller Theological Seminary. Using Bible stories, her own experience and the experiences of others, she discusses topics such as assimilation, hospitality, belonging, migration and telling our own stories. Each chapter ends in a prayer. This book would be a good book for a church book club. ( )