Recently I was asked to comment on whether or not the American Church is prepared to reach the global village. My response? “We’re not yet able, nor even willing, to reach diverse people living right here at home across the street!” It’s sad, but true.

Consider just a few of the facts:

• 92.5% of churches in the United States are racially segregated; i.e., 80% or more of individual membership in these churches represents a single (homogenous) people group;1

• Churches in the United States are ten times more segregated than the neighborhoods in which they are located and twenty times more segregated than the public schools in their neighborhood, as well;2

• Between 1990 and 2007, church attendance in the United States increased by 446,540 people though the population in general increased by 56,819,471.3

Can you say, correlation?

Surely it breaks the heart of God that so many churches are segregated along ethnic and economic lines and that little has changed in the more than one hundred years since it was first observed that eleven o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour of the week. Christ-followers, particularly, should take note: for an increasingly diverse and cynical society will no longer find credible the message of God’s love for all people when it’s proclaimed from segregated pulpits and pews.

More than this, the segregation of the local church unintentionally perpetuates systemic racism in society according to the research of sociologists Michael Emerson and Christian Smith and painfully revealed in their groundbreaking book, Divided By Faith (Oxford University Press, 2001).

Why?

Because, ultimately, racism is a spiritual problem. As such, it is best dealt with not by educators or legislators but by spiritual leaders serving in houses of faith through which diverse men and women can learn to walk, work and worship God together as one. Indeed, we can educate and legislate our way beyond the past; and well we should. But in the end, unless individual hearts are reconciled to an eternal God who loves all men and women equally, who considers them His own, there will be no authentic motivation to love those who are different than us; consequently, there will be no peace on earth or goodwill toward men.
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1From the research of sociologists Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith originally published in the groundbreaking book, Divided By Faith, Oxford University Press, 2001.

" ... we will declare that this church is defined as a multi-cultural church. Not simply a multi-ethnic church where we want you to bring your ethnicity, but leave your culture at the door. We will not be a community that wants the color of your skin, but won’t acknowledge the cultural realities that accompany that color."

Now, I certainly appreciate the heart and passion of this pastor, as well as the direction in which he is seeking to lead his community of Christ-centered faith. Nevertheless his words beg the question, "What term best describes the diverse churches we are seeking to establish in these days for the sake of the gospel?"

Over the past ten years of planting, pastoring, writing and speaking about the growing movement toward what I call "multi-ethnic" churches, I have found this to be true: the terms we use are not as important as are the definitions. In other words, the issue is not so much trying to get everyone to agree on a single term as it is expecting everyone to clearly define the terms they use. More than that, we should speak with humility and avoid the presumption that our term is the "right" term for everyone, and will be understood as we intend it in every situation.

For example when I use the term "multi-ethnic church," I mean exactly what Jon means when he speaks of his church as "multi-cultural church" - at Mosaic, we ask no one to check their culture at the door and practice the principle of accommodation (not assimilation) as I have written about on many occasions. In addition, my use of the term "multi-ethnic church" implies the intentional pursuit of economic diversity as well, as (again) I frequently make clear. Personally, I do not describe such churches as "multi-cultural" so as to avoid any confusion with the tenets of multiculturalism (the doctrine of religious or social tolerance, etc.) espoused on most college and universtity campuses today. Nor do I employ the term "multi-racial church;" for as a theologian, I recognize that there is only one race - the human race - comprised, as the Bible says, of many ethnicities (Gr. ethnos, ethne; see Acts 17:26).

On the other hand, my friends in Christ-centered, sociological circles typically use the term "multi-racial church" when addressing the subject in order to address perceptions and, more specifically, the historic division of Black and White in the United States. And in Canada the term "multi-cultural church" means exactly what it does for Pastor Jon whereas, in both instances, the term "multi-ethnic church" implies color in the pew but does not "acknowledge the cultural realities that accompany color." Still others will speak of a "transethnic church," or even an "ethnically-reflective church." Once the terms are defined, however, I have found that in almost every case the vision is the same. Like our churches, then, even our terminology is unified and diverse!

With such things in mind, let us continue to speak boldly and with clarity of local churches on earth that reflect the love of God for all people as it is in heaven. And let us speak with one mind, one spirit and one purpose ... even if one term does not adequately serve us all.

Recently, I was asked, "How has God clearly revealed that this is His will for our church?

Well, I've actually written about this before. Here's the story ...

Not long after Linda had rekindled my faith with her words, I learned that a 100,000-square-foot facility just a few blocks east of us had been sold. Situated on a 10-acre piece of property, the building rests on one of the busiest corners in the state of Arkansas. More important, it’s located directly across the street from UALR and is in the heart of the University District, the most diverse area of the city. In addition, it borders an area with the highest instance of violent crime in Little Rock and, according to the 2000 census, 21.5% of people living in the area live at or below the poverty line. In other words, it is right where we want to be!

So when I received a call alerting me to its sale, I was sick! For more than a year, two men had tried to acquire this property, in part, to provide long-term space for the church. Unfortunately, they had not been successful, and this facility (which once housed a Kmart) was sold to a local businessman, the owner of Office Furniture Supply (OFS), Inc.

With discouragement swirling within me, I called Linda to share the news. And when I did, she said, “This doesn’t make sense! You know that for more than three years I’ve told you, every time I drive by that building I see the fl ags of Mosaic flying over it. I just know God’s going to give it to us, Mark; I’m sure of it! The story’s already been written and God has the perfect place for us. It’s already done! We just need to pray right now that he’ll show us where it is and soon, whether that’s the old Kmart building or somewhere else.” So together, we then prayed and concluded our call. Linda had encouraged me, but still I was concerned.

Next I called Harry. After I had filled him in, he told me that he had once purchased a house on a desirable piece of property just outside Moscow, Idaho. On the very day that he did, however, another man approached him wanting to buy it. The man made an offer, and Harry accepted it - flipping the home he had just purchased for a profit. “Perhaps,” Harry said, “the new owner of the facility would do the same forus.”

“Say no more,” I said, and springing into action, I quickly placed a call—cold turkey—to OFS, Inc. Fortunately, the owner, Mike Montgomery was in, and I introduced myself over the phone. Indeed, he had secured the property and was in the process of closing the deal.

Trying not to sound desperate, I nevertheless found myself saying, “What if we were to give you $500,000 more than you are paying for the property? Would you be willing to sell?”
By that time, we had talked for about ten minutes, and Mike suggested we continue our discussion in person. Filled with optimism, I rushed over to see him. And within ten minutes of my arrival, Mike made it clear: “Someday, Mark, your church is going to own this property. And I can assure you, it has nothing to do with money!”

“You see,” Mike said, “eleven years ago, I was a homeless drunk sleeping behind ‘your’ Wal-Mart. I was eating food out of the dumpster at McDonald’s, and my only light came from the candles I would occasionally purchase for $1 right here in the Kmart. One day, though, someone came by and left a tract—I don’t even know who it was—but after reading it, I began attending Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meetings.

In time, I sobered up and soon gave my life to Jesus Christ. And for four years now, I have watched your church grow and minister to ‘my people’ here in the community. It would thrill me, Mark, to see Mosaic permanently located here!”

Quite frankly, I was blown away! As we talked, tears began to flow from his eyes and mine. Somehow we both sensed that this was a holy moment, a divine appointment in which we had been led together into take intentional steps the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. And in that moment, Mike became our “Esther,” a man positioned for such a time as this.

When I returned to the church, I again called Linda to share with her all that had happened in a very brief time, and we began to cry tears of joy. She told me that after we had talked earlier, she had spent more time in prayer and had been led in God’s word to 2 Chronicles 7, where Solomon, together with the people of Israel, dedicate the Temple. Reading from the passage, she shared the very words that our hearts were bursting to express: “When all the people of Israel saw the fi re coming down, and the glorious presence of the Lord filling the temple, they fell down on the ground and worshipped and praised the Lord, saying, ‘ He is so good! The faithful love of the Lord endures forever!’” (2 Chronicles 7:3).

With these words, Israel had finally received and dedicated the Temple and we now realized that Mosaic, too, would one day receive and dedicate a building of its own in which to worship God—the old Kmart, after all! It was a fitting end to the roller coaster of emotions we had ridden that day, April 20, 2006.

To make a long story short, we then had Mike and his wife, Monica, together with their children, come and share his testimony at Mosaic on November 19, 2006. And a few weeks later, he was back again, this time to sign a contract with us in front of the body. At that time, we agreed to buy the property within the next three years for $2,000,000—only $20 a square foot—for which we will receive the 10-acre site, the 100,000-square-foot facility, and 500 parking spaces to call our own. What a thrill it was to give him the $100,000 we had saved as a down payment! But wait, there’s more.

The following week, we received another anonymous check in the mail—you guessed it, in the amount of $100,000—as well as a $250,000 matching gift pledge. Amazingly, the phone call informing me of these gifts came one year to the day that we had dismissed our Sunday service early to conduct a prayer walk on the old Kmart grounds. And as part of the contract, Mike agreed to deduct $300,000 off the purchase price at the time of closing. Therefore, we will need a total of only $1,700,000 to make the purchase; as I write, we are nearly half-way there! God is, indeed, answering our prayers, not only for a facility but also for the miraculous provision of it so that, in the end, we will all be able to say, Not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit it has been done.

Admittedly, throughout more than twenty years of full-time ministry, I have not often viewed praying or waiting as intentional steps. Of course, I know I am “supposed” to pray, but I struggle with a temperament compelled to action. Through my experience at Mosaic, however, I am learning to embrace the tension and more fully abandon myself to this principle: Sometimes intentionally, I must wait upon the Lord. To wait patiently on God to reveal his will, his way, and his time runs contrary to my very personality and to all that the world says will lead me to success. But in and through this ministry, and more so than in any other place I have been, I have seen God work in ways that cannot be otherwise attributed to the ingenuity of man. At such times, I feel his power and his pleasure. At such times, I know that God is really the One building a healthy multi-ethnic church!

Adapted from the book, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church by Mark DeYmaz (Jossey-Bass/Leadership Network, 2007)