A church that weaponizes the Nativity to make left-wing political statements about immigration transforms the Gospel into a social justice prop and replaces the worship of Christ with progressive politics. That’s not Christianity — it’s Christless activism wearing Christianity like a cheap red-green skinsuit.
This article is a lightly edited transcript of the “Here’s the Point” podcast by Ryan Helfenbein, executive director of the Standing for Freedom Center, which is included on this page.
This Christmas season, Missiongathering Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, an openly gay, progressive, and LGBT-affirming church, replaced the traditional Nativity with a political statement — figures of Mary, Joseph, and baby Jesus with ICE agents standing behind them in bulletproof vests and carrying handcuffs.
Pastor Andrew Shipley said the installation is meant to provoke reflection and discomfort. He said that he hopes people who feel anger or frustration upon seeing this scene will stop and ask why and consider whether they would want immigration enforcement affecting their own families.
Last week, a man arrived at the church and pushed the figurines representing ICE agents to the ground, leaving the rest of the Nativity scene intact. Pastor Shipley said, “The protester almost showed what we want — for these raids to stop, for people to be able to feel secure, and for us to have the kind of Christmas we all want.”
The Nativity scene was put back up in minutes and the scene remains on the church lawn today.
Much like this so-called church’s stance on marriage and sexuality, their views on immigration lack biblical grounding, historical facts, or common sense.
First, this demonstrates complete ignorance of what Scripture actually teaches us about sojourners and immigrants. The Old Testament concept of the sojourner referred to foreigners who submitted themselves to Israel’s laws, customs, and to Yahweh. Sojourners weren’t illegal border crossers, raiders, or invaders. They weren’t consummate lawbreakers. They respected the nation’s borders, learned the language, and assimilated into the culture. That was the Old Testament standard.
Yes, Deuteronomy 10:18-19 commands Israel to love the sojourner, but Exodus 12:49 makes clear what the expectations are of those welcomed guests: “There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.” Leviticus 24:22 repeats it: “You shall have the same rule for the sojourner and for the native.”
The sojourners were required to submit to the law of Moses. That’s not even remotely comparable to illegal immigration today, which by definition begins with lawbreaking and continues in violation of our nation’s sovereignty, taking full advantage of entitlement programs, taxpayer benefits, and weak sanctuary city laws that reward violent offenders.
Second, Jesus was not an illegal immigrant. This is where historical ignorance becomes inexcusable. When Joseph and Mary fled to Egypt with Jesus, they traveled from one Roman province to another within the same empire. There were no illegal border crossings. No visa violations or illegal entry. They moved within the legal boundaries of Roman jurisdiction exactly as Roman law permitted.
Furthermore, when they returned from Egypt to Nazareth, their ancestral land, and remained there, they came home to their own country under Roman governance. Comparing this to illegal border crossings into the United States isn’t just historically inaccurate, it’s deliberately deceptive and promotes lawlessness.
Third, this Nativity mockery is an attack on the divinity of Christ disguised as compassion. By reducing Jesus to a mere political symbol for modern immigration debates, Missiongathering Church, which is known for its progressive beliefs, has stripped Jesus of His divine nature as the eternal Son of God. Jesus didn’t come to earth primarily as a refugee or an immigrant. He came as the Incarnate Word, the Son of God made flesh, to save sinners and to establish His kingdom. The traditional Nativity celebrates His full divinity and humanity and His mission — not His supposed status as an undocumented migrant.
When churches weaponize the Nativity for political activism, they’re committing heresy. They transform the Gospel into a social justice prop. They replace the worship of Christ with progressive politics. That’s not Christianity. That’s Christless, left-wing activism wearing Christianity like a cheap red-green skinsuit.
Fourth, no Christian layperson or Christian leader should ever encourage or participate in violating immigration law. Illegal immigration is, by definition, illegal. It violates our nation’s laws and undermines national sovereignty. Christians who actively support, harbor, or encourage illegal immigration are in direct rebellion against God’s ordained authority in civil government. Yes, that’s how it works.
Should Christians care about immigrants? Absolutely. And Christians should advocate for just immigration policies that hold violators of the law accountable while caring for the innocent who have been harmed. Compassion and empathy never justify lawlessness. Love for neighbor doesn’t mean erasing national borders. Weaponized empathy is what has allowed for human sex trafficking, fentanyl to kill hundreds of thousands of Americans and repeat violent offenders to prey on the innocent victims while roaming free across the United States.
The Nativity proclaims that God became man to save sinners. That’s the message Christians should be proclaiming and defending for the world to see — not cheap political theater. Make no mistake: When churches replace worship with wokeness, they cease to be the Church. They become propaganda outlets for progressive politics, a blind faith robbed of any real power.
This Christmas season, we worship the living Christ, who broke no laws to be here. He obeyed the law perfectly and was both just and the justifier. It is only through His shed blood that we have forgiveness of sin, the peace of God, and the right to become children of God.
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