Eight Million Exiles: Missional Action Research and the Crisis of Forced Migration

EMQ » July – Aug 2025 » Volume 61 Issue 3

Reviewed by Anish Puthusseril Joseph, who has served as an assistant professor of biblical studies in India and is currently a PhD student in intercultural studies at Fuller Theological Seminary.

---

Christopher Hays’ Eight Million Exiles presents an innovative approach to addressing forced displacement through Missional Action Research (MAR). Rooted in Colombia, the project integrates theological reflection, social scientific inquiry, and ecclesial engagement. Collaborating with theologians, social scientists, and local churches, MAR seeks holistic solutions for internally displaced persons (IDPs), including trauma care, economic empowerment, and spiritual support.

Hays traces the initial realization of Colombia’s displacement crisis, which led to the seminary’s decision to address forced migration as a focal research area (chapter 1). This decision triggered internal tensions and external funding efforts, setting the stage for the development of MAR (chapter 2). The methodology encountered significant challenges, such as interdisciplinary collaboration and testing theoretical claims in real-world settings (chapters 3 and 4). Nonetheless, the project’s intervention, engaging IDPs and church members, emphasized iterative evaluation to ensure contextual relevance (chapters 5 and 6). The scaling of this intervention via a diplomado (diploma course) aimed at church teams exemplifies MAR’s broader commitment to sustainable social change through ecclesial engagement (chapter 7).

A key contribution of the book is the MAR methodology, a six-step process combining academic research with community-based interventions (chapter 8). Hays recounts a transformative walk in Cartagena, where the contrast between elite affluence and marginalized suffering catalyzed his shift from abstract theology to a contextual, embodied approach that is central to MAR (199). This emphasis on engaging real-world suffering in theological reflection and missional praxis underscores the project’s significant impact on addressing social issues like forced displacement.

MAR’s methodology involves initial research, ecclesial intervention, execution, impact analysis, revision, and re-implementation, emphasizing interdisciplinary collaboration to address the spiritual and social needs of marginalized communities (chapter 8). It offers a model for how theology can be relevant to real-world issues, aligning with trends in public theology and missiology.

Hays challenges traditional theological methodologies by elevating human experience as a critical theological resource. This shift is exemplified in his analysis of Acts 15, where the apostles’ lived experiences shaped theological and ethical decisions (165–170). Despite the author’s cultural outsider positionality, his role as coordinator of a large-scale interdisciplinary project lends credibility to the work. The integration of theological reflection with social action – through resources like trauma-informed care and economic recovery – demonstrates the transformative potential of interdisciplinary collaboration.

While acknowledging that Colombia’s displacement crisis is not “fixed,” the project argues that theology must go beyond documenting suffering to actively engaging with displaced communities (174). Through MAR, Hays exemplifies a theology rooted in lived experience, enhancing pastoral effectiveness and deepening understanding of God’s will in suffering. This embodied theology prepares the way for divine action amid displacement and social darkness.

Ultimately, Hays invokes Juan Mackay’s teología del camino – a theology born from conflict and action – illustrating how MAR’s interdisciplinary nature fosters theological insights and missional engagement by walking alongside the marginalized (24–5, 174–5). This work is essential reading for scholars and practitioners in missiology, public theology, and action research, particularly for those engaged in the interdisciplinary integration for transformative research.

For Further Reading

Action Research,5^th edition,by Ernest T. Stringer and Alfredo Ortiz Aragón (Sage, 2020)

Global Migration and Christian Faith: Implications for Identity and Mission by M. Daniel Carrol R. and Vincent E. Bacote (Wipf & Stock, 2021)

Hope for the Afflicted by Jairo de Oliveira (Wipf & Stock, 2023)

Asian Diaspora Christianity, 3 volume series, by Sam George (Fortress Press, 2021)

---

EMQ, Volume 61, Issue 3. Copyright © 2025 by Missio Nexus. All rights reserved. Not to be reproduced or copied in any form without written permission from Missio Nexus. Email: EMQ@MissioNexus.org.