Diaspora are those people who have dispersed or spread from their original homeland. By that definition, most of us living in Canada are diaspora, but the term is generally used to describe recent migrants, their children, and grandchildren.

People migrate to Canada willingly (for a better future) or unwillingly (to escape calamity). They may have come from a country where there are more churches and Christians than we have in Canada, or they may come from a place where they would never have met a Christian or heard about Jesus Christ.

10 Ways to Pray for Diaspora in Canada

The diaspora story in Canada is complex and full of opportunity; so let’s pray!

1. About half the new immigrants to Canada each year come from strong Christian faith contexts. Pray that they would remain devoted to Jesus Christ and that they would influence other Christians in Canada to a more vital faith-walk.
2. Multicultural neighbourhoods require cross-cultural ministry. Pray for church leaders to be eager and ready to reach out cross-culturally in their church’s neighborhood and that they would prioritize equipping their church members to be able to reach out cross-culturally to their neighbours.
3. For every mosque, temple, or synagogue in Canada there are dozens of churches. Pray that a prayer movement would be launched in each church community to pray the blessing of Jesus Christ over the community that meets in nearby religious space. Amazing things happen as God’s people pray. To learn more about praying for a mosque in your community, check out Loving a Mosque Community Together (an initiative from Loving Muslims Together). 
4. Real friendship builds a bridge of trust over which robust conversations can flow. Pray for Christ-followers, including those from diaspora church communities, to come out of their ethnic silos and develop rich cross-cultural friendships that make space for important conversations. Here are 5 Questions to Ask as you Build Cross-Cultural Friendships. 
5. Diaspora youth (usually second generation) are a bicultural bridge between their parent’s culture and the Canadian context. Diaspora churches often struggle to support these youth’s unique experience. Pray that effective multicultural youth ministry would flourish, nurturing strong Christian faith in these future leaders.
6. Canadian campuses are host to the nations of the world. Upon graduation some international students will choose to remain in Canada seeking permanent residency, but most will return home to be leaders in their countries. Pray for growing awareness of the importance of student ministry as Christian students are strategically positioned to reach out to international students.
7. The bedrock of spiritual transformation is Scripture. Pray that those who are open and seeking would gain access to Scripture in the languages they value and the languages of their communities - whether in physical form or audio digital form. Learn more about Digital Bibles: A Key Discipleship Tool for Multilingual Speakers. 
8. Every refugee comes with a trauma story. Pray that more people who are reaching out to refugees would get equipped so that they can learn to hold stories well and provide safe spaces for individuals and communities to heal from the heart wounds of traumatic experiences along their journeys. Find out more about Caring for Wounded Hearts. 
9. Pray for key people to be identified among those communities who do not have sufficient Scriptures yet in their language, that they could become connected to vital translation projects or form a new one in their diaspora community.
10. Dreams and visions are often part of worldview transformation, accompanying truth and love in the long walk towards the light. Please pray that many who come to Canada with other religious worldviews would have dreams and visions of Jesus that set them on a path of discovery. You can read a story here.

Bonus: A new prayer app is being developed to help Christians in Canada pray for the least-reached in your city. New profiles are being added regularly for Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto, and Montreal. You can find the app in your app store by searching ‘pray for the nations’ or by visiting Pray for the Nations.

Thank you for praying with us for diaspora in Canada!

For more resources and articles on Diaspora in Canada, check out our Diaspora Ministries page.

Lorna Johnston is the Diaspora Ministries Leader at Outreach Canada. She leads two national teams--Loving Muslims Together (LMT) and Simply Mobilizing Canada (SMC). She works with teams of diverse and experienced leaders and ministries across Canada to alert and activate the church in Canada to the changing opportunities to engage God's mission right here in Canada.