Mark DeyMaz in his book “Building A Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church” teaches us seven commitments that are vital for any church who wants to see diversity that goes beyond lip service and is willing to wade out into the deep waters of multi-cultural communities. We are going to look at three of them tonight: embrace dependency, mobilize for impact, and take initial steps. DeyMaz’s book offers practical examples of how their congregation has championed these commitments. My goal is to bring some Biblical textual support to these commitments in an effort to continue debunking the myth that multi-cultural church is a modern invention. God has always longed to see diversity in His church! In 2020, a study was released that only 20% of churches in America we at least 20% diverse. Unfortunately, that is cause for celebration compared to the abysmal diversity that American churches experienced two decades prior. But that still means 80% of American churches are homogenous (sameness). The credibility of our witness to a secular society is at risk when we preach a message based on the Cross that reconciles us to God but appear incapable of administering that same grace to one another. If we are not capable of being reconciled to one another through the same grace that reconciles us to God then secular society will understandably remain skeptical of The Gospel. Have you ever considered that one of the factors that enabled the Church in Jerusalem to see daily growth was because of the diversity present? I hope you are as excited as I am to see the “mystery of Christ” (as Paul describes it in Ephesians 3) be fully manifest here at City Life Church!
by City Life