95 - Fly a Little Higher: African Migration in Perspective
2025 No 95
An excellent wife, who can find? For her worth is far above jewels. The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil all the days of her life. She looks for wool and flax and works with her hands in delight. She is like merchant ships; she brings her food from afar.
—Proverbs 31:10-14
I was once asked how I manage to find Africans in nearly every city I visit. The answer is simple: I look for African restaurants. They are everywhere. In crowded neighborhoods and hidden in narrow alleys, in global cities and university hubs, there is always at least one. Usually West African, often Nigerian or Senegalese. Sometimes Ethiopian. They are almost always owned and operated by a woman. And whether her name is actually Mama or not, that is what everyone calls her.
Walking into these places as a foreign couple usually attracts suspicion. But time and transparency help to open doors. In these restaurants, we’ve discovered more than just good food; we’ve found people willing to greet, laugh, reflect, and share their stories. These places may look like small businesses, but they serve as much more: meeting spots, information centers, wifi hubs, and areas that feel like home. And nothing beats the comfort of Mama’s cooking!
Migration research doesn't begin with Wikipedia or UN statistics. It starts with moments like these, when you walk into spaces that feel familiar to someone else and choose to listen. A good rule of research is to start broad before moving to the specific. That's why we couldn't begin the M2M3 journey with Distant Routes; we had to spend years tracing the Mediterranean paths first. You can't understand secondary movement until you've seen primary movement up close. And you don't see the bigger picture until you've reached a high enough level to take it in.
That’s why we often say we’re flying at 40,000 feet. It’s not about being distant; it’s about seeing more clearly. When you rise above the noise, you start to notice the shapes of things. You see not just who is moving, but where and why. You begin to notice what’s happening beneath the surface. African migration isn’t random, and it’s not just a temporary trend. It’s unfolding with purpose. And if we pay attention, we might start to see what God is doing through it all.
A Continent on the Move: Why Africa Holds Our Attention
Africa is a continent of staggering size… one-fifth of the world’s landmass. Yet it still seems like a distant place. When we say “Africa,” we aren’t referring to a single story of migration, but to thousands of overlapping narratives. All of these are woven into a landscape that stretches from the Atlas Mountains to the Cape of Good Hope.
Africa is also a continent of people. As of this year, Africa's population is just under 1.5 billion, with a median age of under twenty.1 That’s not simply a demographic detail… it’s a missional reality. These are the workers, students, mothers, laborers, pastors, and pioneers of the next generation. And they are on the move. By 2050, Africa will be home to approximately 2.5 billion people, accounting for a quarter of the global population. By 2100, that number could rise to about 4.3 billion.2 If you want to know where the Church is growing, where the labor force is forming, and where the Spirit is stirring next, look toward Africa.
General migration trends are already telling us something. Roughly 45 million Africans are currently living outside their country of birth.3 About half remain on the continent… moving from rural to urban centers, or from one African country to another. But the other half have crossed borders and oceans. They’re settling in Europe, the Gulf, the Americas, and beyond. And if these trends continue, the African diaspora could double by 2050. That’s not a political prediction. It’s a pastoral one.
Depending on where you live, you might already be noticing it. It could be in New York, Toronto, or London. Or perhaps Istanbul, Dubai, or Seoul. Take a walk in your neighborhood, and you will likely meet people from Africa. In some neighborhoods, it is one in seven. By 2050, it could well be one in five… and in others, even one in three.4
Let's bring this close to home. The children born today will be those migrants in 25 years. This is not a distant projection, it is a contemporary reality.;
More Than a Headline: Who These Migrants Really Are
If current trends continue, the African migrants of 2050 may not be who you imagine. One in three will have arrived by formal invitation, been offered a job, issued a visa, and welcomed with documentation in hand. Their movements will be good for them, good for their families, and good for you.
One in four will have come to join family. A spouse who finds stability and sends for the rest. A sibling who arrives first and makes space for others to follow. Sometimes, a parent or grandparent, bringing a scattered household back together. Someone who came ahead, cleared the way, and laid the foundation for a new life. And now others are finding their place in it.
One in five will come for a season… as students, businesspeople, or traders. Many will contribute, then return home with new skills and experience.
The remaining few are those whose journeys are harder to track. Some arrive as refugees… fleeing conflict, repression, or economic collapse. Others come quietly, without papers or recognition. Some stay hidden, while others live in limbo. These are the stories that dominate headlines. Yet, they are not the whole story. In fact, they may never cross your path. I do not doubt that governments will continue debating, and the news will continue to unfold. But meanwhile, ministry is happening in quieter places.
Your ministry, your mission field, will most likely not be in the refugee camps, but in the living rooms and cafés of your neighborhood. It will be among those who came through open doors and are now woven into the fabric of your community. They’ll work in your hospitals and classrooms. They’ll sit on school boards and city councils. Some will lead Bible studies. Some will stand beside you in worship. This is the new face of migration. It’s not a crowd at the border. It’s a colleague at the staff meeting. A neighbor at the park. It will be a brother at the table.
When the News Gets It Wrong: How God is Rewriting the Migration Story
But that’s not the story we see today. Right now, the headlines are filled with hardship… irregular crossings, trafficking routes, border tragedies, and political fear. We see photos of capsized boats in the Mediterranean or hear of families separated at border fences. All of it is real. All of it is heartbreaking. But it’s not permanent.
Every wave of historical migration has faced its share of suffering, opposition, and social upheaval. And yet, over time, rhythms emerge. Cultures adapt. Policies change. Communities begin to make room. What feels like a crisis today may, in time, turn into something more stable.
I may be wrong, but I believe this isn’t the end of the story.
One thing I’m sure of: migration isn’t going away. The movement of people has always been part of the human story. More than that, it’s been part of God’s redemptive plan.
The Church, at times, gets pulled into the politics of it all. But maybe the wiser move is to step back, take a breath, and ask: What might God be doing in this moment? If we believe what Scripture teaches, then we must trust that God is still at work, even when the headlines suggest otherwise. What feels chaotic may, in fact, be part of a bigger plan.
I have witnessed it with my own eyes. Through migration, previously closed places are opening up. Resistant hearts are softening. People who have never had access to the gospel are meeting believers on the streets, in dormitories, in taxis, in shelters, and in markets. And increasingly, it is not Westerners leading the charge, it is Africans.
African believers are on the move, not as victims of crisis, but as ambassadors of the Gospel. They are proclaiming Christ in places their parents never imagined reaching. They are planting churches in apartments and storefronts. They are rediscovering mission, not as a Western construct, but as a natural part of their lives. And if the rest of us are paying attention, we might just catch a glimpse of how the Spirit is moving through them.
Your Place in the Story: Why This Journey Belongs to You
This blog was never intended to be a global pastoral guide, but somewhere along the way, that's what it became. It began with a desire to listen and understand what we were observing on the ground. Now, nearly a thousand of you are walking this journey with us, and roughly half come back to engage with each post. That says something. It's not just a research journal. It's becoming a shared experience… one that pastors, mission leaders, and educators follow in different ways. Some watch closely. Others respond in the field. And many simply find strength for the road ahead.
Many of you are shepherding people in motion. Some are planting churches in cities you didn’t grow up in, among people who don’t speak your first language. Some of you are guiding others from the places they once called home into places they never expected to stay.
Still others are leading international churches. Many are veterans of cross-cultural ministry, having spent years overseas. They now shepherd congregations that speak ten languages from dozens of countries. They’re guiding migrants and expats alike, bridging worlds from behind pulpits and across dinner tables. None of these pastors is in the headlines, but their work is essential. Week after week, they create space for scattered believers to mature in their faith and to be sent again.
And what surprises me most? This isn’t just a Western conversation. Two-thirds of our readers are from the Global South. That means this isn’t just about helping pastors in Europe or North America understand their neighbors. It has also become a resource for majority world leaders along these migratory pathways.
For those in the Global North, this series may provide you with language to understand the changes happening in your community. For others, it might feel even more personal. You’re not just reading about migration; you’re experiencing it firsthand. You have left familiar places and followed God into unknown territory. And some days, it’s hard to tell if you’re still on the right path.
If that’s you, I want you to hear this clearly: your story isn’t invisible, it isn’t accidental, and you haven’t lost your way. You’re walking a path that God Himself is shaping. And you’re not walking it alone. He’s already gone before you. And, the readers of this post are holding the rope on your behalf.
Conclusion
This is just the beginning.
Everything we’ve shared here about movement, identity, purpose, and perspective is meant to prepare us for what comes next. Over the coming months, we’ll start exploring the specific (distant) routes that African migrants are taking into the world: the Northern Crossings into Europe’s overlooked corners, the Near East with its layered Arabian histories and current complexities, the Far East where quiet revivals are emerging, and the Far West where old narratives are being rewritten.
Each route will raise its own questions about mission, discipleship, and what it means to serve God in distant places. But beneath all of them is a steady conviction: God is in the movements. The Spirit is already moving. And if we listen carefully, we might just hear His invitation… not to explain the journey, but to walk it.
We’ll tackle this one post at a time. Every two to four weeks, a new piece will be released. Some will be analytical, while others will be personal. (Most will be too long!) All will be rooted in fieldwork, informed by Scripture, and driven by a desire to show the Church what God is doing through migration.
1 M. McAuliff; A. Triandafylidou, World Migration Report 2024 (Geneva: International Organization for Migration (IOM), 2024), 66, https://publications.iom.int/books/world-migration-report-2024.
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid., 57.
4 World Population Prospects 2022: Summary of Results, by UNDESA, Vol. 1 (New York: United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2022), 6–7. See also, Pew Research Center, The Future of World Religions: Population Growth Projections, 2010–2050 (Washington, DC: Pew Research Center, 2015), 9–10, https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2015/04/02/christians/; And, World Migration Report 2024, 57–58.