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 and 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 from both 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.
Apart from ethnically and economically diverse relationships, we cannot understand others different from ourselves, develop trust for others who are different than us, and/or love others different than ourselves. Apart from understanding, trust, and love, we are less likely to get involved in the plight of others different than ourselves. Without involvement, nothing changes, and the disparaging consequences of systemic racism remain entrenched in our culture.
Surely, it breaks the heart of God to see so many churches segregated ethnically or economically from one another, and that little has changed in the many years since it was first observed that eleven o'clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in the land.
- Publisher Fortress Press
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781506463391
- eBook ISBN 9781506463407
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Pages 210
- Publication Date October 6, 2020
Endorsements
"Building a Multi-Ethnic Church has been the go-to resource for so many of us in our churches, classrooms, and personal lives. It's been a gift to the church. In it, you will find helpful ministry resources from practitioners, but also helpful theological understandings we need for multiethnic churches."
—Ed Stetzer, Wheaton College; author of Christians in the Age of Outrage
"This book gets it right. The goal is not simply for churches to be demographically multi-ethnic. It is for them to be healthy and vibrant. Rooted deeply in Scripture and clear in its commitments, Mark DeYmaz's Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church illuminates the path for living out God's call to be one in the church for the sake of the gospel. An essential read."
—Michael O. Emerson, North Park University; author of Divided by Faith and United by Faith
"Mark DeYmaz has provided the body of Christ with the answer to one of its most embarrassing dilemmas: Sunday segregation. Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church is a very biblical plan for church leaders committed to building a church that looks like the world in which they minister."
—Miles McPherson, senior pastor, The Rock Church, San Diego, California
"Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church has long been the first stop for any pastor who desires to lead a diverse congregation, and with good reason. There is no better blueprint for how to lay the right biblical and practical foundation than the 7 Core Commitments Mark DeYmaz encapsulates therein. His wise council has been proven by a growing number of multi-ethnic churches both nationally and internationally."
—Oneya Fennell Okuwobi, teaching pastor, 21st Century Church; co-author of Multiethnic Conversations
"We cannot ignore the topic of multi-ethnic churches as we live in a multi-ethnic world. Mark DeYmaz writes with practical insight, not from theory but from leading an extremely strategic multi-ethnic church that is paving the way for so many others."
—Dan Kimball, senior pastor, Vintage Faith Church, Santa Cruz, California, and author, They Like Jesus But Not the Church
"As a denominational leader, there are few resources I can point to that provide common language and practical steps toward implementation as well as this book does. It's not only a handbook to help pastors get started, but a utility belt to help them advance and sustain the good work of multi-ethnic local church ministry."
—Santes Beatty, Director of Multiethnic Ministries, The Wesleyan Church
"I'm so glad that I read this book before I planted churches. God has used Mark to bring conviction and clarity to what it means practically to plant and to lead healthy multi-ethnic churches. I recommend this book all the time to church planters. There is no other book out there like it."
—Daniel Yang, Director of the Send Institute
"The American Church is today acknowledging its need for biblical unity. Building a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church is a must read for pastors who desire to lead, shift, and mobilize their churches to represent a true picture of Kingdom of God with credibility in their communities and across this nation."
—Noemi Chavez, lead pastor, Revive Church; founder, Brave Global
"Mark DeYmaz provides a tantalizing roadmap for creating ministries that embrace and celebrate all people. This original and challenging work is a must-read for those who love the church and strive for its renewal. DeYmaz's book provides a prophetic voice we all must heed as the church moves into the future."
—Grace Ji-Sun Kim, Earlham School of Religion; author of Embracing the Other and The Grace of Sophia
"This captivating book describes the fascinating story, including the biblical basis, behind Mark's passionate quest to develop a church that is truly multicultural and multi-ethnic. It fosters hope that the future can be different."
—Dr. Warren Bird, Vice President of Research, Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability (ECFA) and co-author of How to Break Church Growth Barriers
"Here's the book many of us have been looking for--a book that lays a solid biblical foundation for the multi-ethnic church and includes the building plans! Whether seeking to plant a multi-ethnic church or transform a homogenous congregation, this book will inspire and show the way."
—Jonathan Seda, senior pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Dover, Delaware
"I am so excited to see the concept of cross-cultural local church ministry so thoroughly articulated by Mark DeYmaz. I encourage every pastor, parishioner, and even non-Christians, as well, to read this book in order to see where the local church is heading in the twenty-first century, and why."
—Ken Hutcherson (deceased), founding pastor, Antioch Bible Church, Kirkland, Washington