Statistics show that there are a growing number of African immigrant churches in North America, with a significant number in the Twin Cities. Recent decades have witnessed the arrival of large number of African immigrant Christians to the shores of North America. They have planted hundreds of Christian congregations in many metropolitan areas in the United States. They represent a range of denominations or may be are non-denominational. Most of these churches are transnational and foster networks between their new home and native lands.

These congregations tend to focus more on reaching out to their own group of people and addressing their immediate spiritual and social needs. They are also apparently active in supporting evangelistic outreach and development activities in their native land.

This researcher has observed that missional engagement of these congregations is primarily limited to serving African Christians within the walls of their congregations and to reaching out in an evangelistic way to the non-Christian African diaspora within their vicinity and afar. Because of these two observed foci, these congregations have not yet reached out to non-Ethiopian communities in their vicinity. This research, therefore, will seek to do three things: First, this research will seek to understand the missional life of these congregations and confirm whether or not these observed foci are in fact the case. Second, this research will explore which possible factors are inhibiting these congregations from reaching out in an evangelistic manner to non African, non-Christian persons in their surroundings. Third, this research also aims to ascertain which theological and socio-cultural leadership values and perspectives might help to overcome this evangelistic deficiency.