Mark DeYmaz is the founding pastor of Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas and the co-founder and current Executive Director of the Mosaic Global Network, which is a relational network of local church pastors/planters, researchers, educators and ministry leaders, that exists to catalyze the growing movement toward multiethnic economically diverse churches. His article in the March/April edition of “Outreach” featured brief excerpts from key speakers at the Multi-ethnic Church Conference, which was held in San Diego last November (p. 114). DeYmaz was a featured speaker at the event, which included over 400 people from thirty-one states and three foreign countries participating in person and almost 500 more watching online. In the article he quotes Efrem Smith, Superintendent of the Pacific Southwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church and as a consultant to churches on multiethnic ministry and leadership, who said:
If you are open to being a true kingdom builder in the multiethnic reality [of this society], God will crucify aspects of your agenda: your white church agenda; your black church agenda; your Hispanic church agenda; your megachurch agenda; your small church agenda; your emergent church agenda. God will mess with it and crucify it and get you to His will and purpose!
So What?
The Mosaic Global Network’s Statement of Faith ends with these words: “We believe that the kingdom of heaven is not segregated along ethnic and economic lines. We believe that local churches on earth should not be either.”
DeYmaz’ article ends with this question: “If the kingdom of heaven is not segregated, then why on earth is the church?”
How do you respond to DeYmaz’ question? To Smith’s challenge to all of our church agendas? To doing your part to ensure your local congregation’s ethnic makeup as diverse as that in the surrounding community?