Hustler-Ecclesial Missionaries: Hybrid Identities of Kenyan Anglican Clergy in the U.S.

Abstract

This article explores the lived experiences of East African Anglican clergy serving in the United States, with a particular focus on factors that influence and shape their identities during cross-cultural ministry within U.S.-American congregations. Drawing on qualitative interviews with Kenyan clergy, the study identifies a recurring theme of “hustling” as a framework through which these ministers adapt to their host context. The article introduces the concept of hustler-ecclesial identity, a hybrid missional identity shaped by struggle and adaptability in ministry. Unlike traditional missionary paradigms, these clergy are not institutionally sent but emerge organically as missional agents within unfamiliar and often inhospitable contexts. The article argues that these hustler-ecclesial missionaries represent a non-traditional form of mission rooted in lived struggle, vocational flexibility, and transnational ecclesial negotiation. Recognizing this form of mission has important implications for understanding mission as shaped from the margins rather than from traditional centers of ecclesial power and theological production. Ultimately, this study could enrich scholarship on African diasporic identity and cross-cultural mission in the United States.