“Scripture is at the core of who I am,” he said. “I’m evangelical and biblical, not a liberal in evangelical clothing.”

A handwritten sign on the church door announces the event where Matthew Soerens, fluent in Spanish, the Bible and the nation’s immigration laws, will try to win converts.

For months, he has been seeking out evangelical pastors locally and around the country, hoping to persuade them that immigration reform is a Christian imperative, even though the issue is so explosive that many ministers won’t go near it.

“I’ve heard people in churches saying things about immigrants that would make me kind of cringe,” Soerens says.

On this night, he is speaking at Community Christian Church in Naperville, a megachurch with several sites in Chicago’s western suburbs. In neighboring Aurora, where the church has a campus, the number of immigrants has grown so steadily that some of its schools are mostly Latino. Their presence, and their struggles, have drawn notice in the broader church.

Soerens’ presentation is called, “Who is My Neighbor? A Christian Conversation About Immigration.” A small crowd of older couples, 20-somethings and young families is scattered around the auditorium, some with pens poised for taking notes.