Issue Network
Diasporas
The mission of God among people on the move
"People are on the move as never before. Migration is one of the great global realities of our era."
- Lausanne Cape Town Commitment (2010), Part II, IIC-5
Canadian Diaspora Network (CDN)
WHY a Canadian Diaspora Network (CDN)?
The nations are already here. Across Canada, communities representing hundreds of ethnic, linguistic, and cultural peoples now live side by side, reminding us that God “determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live” (Acts 17:26). From coast to coast, the presence of diaspora communities - whether newly arrived or long-established - has reshaped the spiritual, social, and missional landscape. In cities such as Vancouver, Toronto, and Halifax where hundreds of nations are represented, it is increasingly clear that global mission no longer begins by crossing oceans, but by crossing the street.
The Canadian Diaspora Network (CDN) is a catalytic network that connects diaspora-engaged leaders, churches, and ministries across the country. CDN exists not to centralize or direct, but to foster shared learning, build trust, and discern opportunities for partnership in the work of God’s kingdom. The CDN is not a single entity, but a network of networks and individuals.
Guiding Vision
To express and nurture unity in diversity among diaspora and diaspora-engaged leaders and networks in Canada, strengthening their collective voice and witness through relationships, collaboration, resource-sharing, and Spirit-led imagination and discernment.
Core Catalytic Objectives
Connect: Facilitate intentional spaces for listening, mutual learning, and relationship-building among diaspora-engaged leaders across regional and cultural lines.
Collaborate: Nurture strategic relationships and partnerships among diaspora communities, established churches, and ministry agencies.
Create: Identify, support, and co-develop pilot projects, shared initiatives, and cross-network partnerships that respond to common longings, challenges, and synergies while avoiding unnecessary duplication.
Communicate: Amplify the unique voices and perspectives of diaspora communities across Canada to regional, national, and global mission conversations, including Lausanne, WEA, and others.
Contact: diaspora@lausanne.ca
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Background
2008: Lausanne Canada, with the Tyndale Intercultural Ministry (TIM) Centre, launched the UREACH Diaspora Initiative to support ministry among new Canadian people groups.
2020: Following consultation across Canada, Lausanne Canada launched the Canadian Diaspora Network (CDN).
Current status (2025–26)
CDN is being refreshed as a ministry collaboration issue network within the Lausanne Movement in Canada, Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, and Our Common Calling. Update conversations during 2025-26 are being facilitated with Canadian leaders, in collaboration with the Global Diaspora Network, including TV Thomas, who serves as Chair of the Global Diaspora Network and is part of the Canadian diaspora leadership community.
The above vision and catalytic objectives were created on March 10, 2026, reflecting ongoing conversations among diaspora and diaspora-engaged leaders in Canada. Planned public re-launch for Fall 2026.
What We Mean by “Diaspora”
Selected excerpts from Lausanne Occasional Paper 70: People on the Move
“A Greek word (διασπορά) meaning dispersed or scattered found in the Old Testament translation of the Bible into Greek (Septuagint) and a few times in the New Testament.”
“Diaspora is a collective term employed along the lines of an ethnic, national, or linguistic group of people that are marked by displacement of some kind while migrants primarily are those who have crossed a border or experienced an uprooting of their native land under varying conditions.”
“Diaspora refers to migrants and their descendants whose identity and sense of belonging, either real or symbolic, have been shaped by their experience of dislocation, mixing, or perceptions.”
“Migration is a linear and one-directional term that fails to capture the contemporary reality and complexity associated with the multi-directional, multi-modal, and multilateral ebb and flow of people from everywhere to everywhere.”
Read more: Lausanne Occasional Paper 70: People on the Move (Terminologies section)
START HERE
Lausanne Occasional Paper 70: People on the Move
Scattered to Gather: Embracing the Global Trend of Diaspora
An accessible introduction to diaspora as a biblical and global missional reality.
Understanding Diasporas
From the Lausanne Global Classroom.
RESOURCES
Go deeper
Guide to Action: Finding Our Way
A practical guide inviting churches to engage diverse communities with humility and collaboration.
GUIDE TO ACTION
Polycentric Missiology - Allen Yeh
A theological roadmap for mission “from everyone to everywhere” in a polycentric world.
Lausanne Occasional Paper 78: Forcibly Displaced People
Focused guidance on refugees, asylum seekers, and forced displacement in mission.
APPLY
Practice and connection in Canada and Globally
Join the Welcome Church Network
Training and support for churches welcoming newcomers and refugees.
Global Diaspora Network
The Lausanne Issue Network serving diaspora engagement globally, including access to resources and the GMove app.
Outreach Canada
Diaspora Ministries
Website being updated, more being added ASAP
Email diaspora@lausanne.ca to let us know
