There are some commonalities in the experiences of women, migrants and missionaries. In many cultures of the world marriage makes women leave home, father, mother, brothers, sisters and land "for the sake of the gospel (of love);" though with less assurance of the manifold blessings and eternal bliss promised the missionary (Mark 10:29). Again like migrants, women leave their own family home and go and make another home in another land. In a few cases, marriage and migration bring improved social status for some though not for others. However, when things go wrong whether in the family or in the community women, like migrants, get the blame and the shame from the wider population. While always free in theory to go back to their original homes, in reality just as migrants and missionaries, women are not all that free to move at will. Intricate social, economic and psychological ties bind many and limit their options for escape. Against this background and from a gender perspective, this paper examines the missiological significance of women's experiences in a given Nigerian immigrant Christian community in the United States of America. © 2014 Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden.

Migration Migrants Women Gender stereotype missionaries mission

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