MISSION
Compassionate Disciples of jesus
Matthew 25/Mateo 25 (M25) is a network of Christians in immigrant and non-immigrant congregations, community organizations and academic institutions in Southern California who come together to stand with and defend the vulnerable in the name and spirit of Jesus.
We envision disciples of Jesus Christ responding with His compassion by accompanying those who have been treated unjustly and advocating for public policies that reflect a biblical understanding of justice. Our banner Scripture text is the parable of the sheep and goats in Matthew 25, which reminds us that how we all treat the most vulnerable in our midst is how we are responding to Jesus.
We envision believers who are directly affected by injustice and believers with more societal power and resources working together with mutual respect in equal partnership, centering those on the margins and “giving more honor to those who have lacked it” (1 Corinthians 12:24.) As we work together, those with greater societal power and resources grow in their passion for justice as they recognize that we are impacted by a broken immigration system as one family and one Body of Christ, and those who are directly affected grow in their sense of hope as they recognize that they are not alone. This exchange of hope and passion fuels a sustained commitment to a more effective, fair and humane community and society.
We envision a multi-generational partnership in which younger generations and their elders respect each other and share their gifts.
We envision methods and strategies that reflect the truth on every level that God is real and Jesus risen.
VISION
What we Envision is something deeply shifting in the hearts of christians to love our neighbors the way god intended us to.
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Values.
Living the compassion of Christ leads us to the operating values of:
Inclusion
Diversity
Equity
The beloved community
which we seek to incorporate into our structures and processes.
Strategic Priorities.
Our strategic priority is to accompany and advocate for immigrants facing detention and deportation, including advocating for public policies that impact them. We have focused primarily in our first four years on Spanish-speaking immigrants because the majority of our leadership is Hispanic and we are concerned that our church volunteers are able to accurately understand and empower the migrants that we accompany. However, we have always supported all migrants who come to us and we are moving in the direction both of including a broader spectrum of leadership who have been directly affected, and of supporting other vulnerable populations through strategic partnership. We intentionally work intergenerationally; a network of Puentes (bilingual, bicultural Latinx Millennials) are being incubated under the umbrella of M25 and assist us in carrying out our mission
History.
The idea for M25 arose at a gathering in November 2016 of Christian organizers from around the nation who saw a need to connect and support Christians seeking to respond to the plight of immigrants and other vulnerable people at that historic moment. An initial gathering in December 2016 of Christians connected to almost 200 congregations, ministries and Christian academic institutions in Southern California kicked off the network. In January of 2020, we decided to incorporate as an organization, in the understanding that the Church has a critically important role in protecting the vulnerable over the next decade.