Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church: Mandate, Commitments and Practices of a Diverse Congregation

Through personal stories, proven experience and a thorough analysis of the biblical text, Building a Healthy Multi-ethnic Church illustrates both the biblical mandate for the multi-ethnic church as well as the seven core commitments required to bring it about. Mark DeYmaz, pastor of one of the most proven multi-ethnic churches in the country, writes both from his experience and his extensive study of how to plant, grow, and encourage more ethnically diverse churches. He argues that the "homogenous unit principle" will soon become irrelevant and that the most effective way to spread the Gospel in an increasingly diverse world is through strong and vital multi-ethnic churches.

For more than one hundred years, eleven o’clock on Sunday morning has been called the most segregated hour in the land. Despite the integration of public schools, the workplace, and neighborhoods, the local church stubbornly clings to homogeneity. As America grows more and more diverse, the local church will be forced to adapt in order to remain relevant and effective.  Good intentions, however, are not enough to inspire systemic change.

Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church explains why the growing fascination with multi-ethnic churches must not be focused on racial reconciliation but on reconciling individuals to Jesus Christ and on reconciling local congregations of faith with the inclusive nature of the New Testament Church. Through personal stories and a thorough analysis of the biblical text, Mark DeYmaz, pastor of one of the most proven multi-ethnic churches in the country, provides the theological mandate for the multi-ethnic church and outlines seven core commitments required to bring it about. Writing from his comprehensive experience in planting, growing, and encouraging more ethnically diverse communities of faith, he demonstrates why the most effective way to advance the Gospel in the twenty-first century will be through strong and vital multi-ethnic churches.

Mark DeYmaz challenges pastors and laypeople alike who believe that the kingdom of heaven is not segregated to create local churches on earth that will not be either. Through such efforts, the Gospel will be newly proclaimed in power and the church restored to a place of prominent influence in an increasingly multi-ethnic, multi-racial nation.

C. Brian Smith Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information - School Library Journal

The United States-affectionately known as the "melting pot"-is no doubt an increasingly pluralistic society. Despite the diversity of its demographics, attendance at Protestant churches in America remains largely Caucasian and homogenous (as opposed to heterogeneous). DeYmaz, pastor and founder of Mosaix Global Network, paves the way toward rectifying this state of affairs in this informed work. He unfolds a blueprint for achieving multiethnic congregations (which he demonstrates is a biblical mandate recorded in Christ's prayer in John 17 as well as the Pauline mystery in Ephesians). He enumerates seven core commitments of a multiracial church and stresses the importance of cultural awareness, cultural sensitivity, and cultural competence. The author shares his personal experiences in building a prototype: the Mosaic Church of Little Rock, AR, whose worshippers hail from more than 30 nations. Not only do multiracial churches foster unity within their own walls, but also, DeYmaz contends, they stimulate racial reconciliation in society at large. Recommended for both public and academic libraries, especially seminary collections.

Mark DeYmaz is pastor of the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas, a multi-ethnic and economically diverse church where men and women from more than thirty nations currently worship God together as one. Formerly he served on Little Rock’s Racial and Cultural Diversity Commission and he is a cofounder of the Mosaix Global Network, an organization dedicated to enlisting and equipping leaders intent on the development of multi-ethnic churches throughout America and beyond.