When I planted a multi-ethnic church in Portland, Oregon, in 2006, I received many discouraging comments from church-planting organizations and denominations. Comments like:
You are doing a disservice to the gospel.
This can never work.
You have to pick a specific people group; stop trying to have a church that ministers to completely different ethnicities and cultures. You will reach fewer people, and that makes you a bad steward of the church God has entrusted to you.
I really don’t understand why this is so important to you. If it happens, great. But why would you put so much effort into something that’s so difficult to do and so slow to grow?
In the 11 years since, planting multi-ethnic churches has become more accepted, and multi-ethnic churches themselves have become sexy in many ministry circles. I see multi-ethnic churches as both the New Testament norm and the most powerful evangelistic tool the American church has today, so I rejoice over their growing acceptance and popularity. But as one who knows what planting and pastoring such a church requires, I worry that we may be pursuing the right thing in the wrong way.
Specifically, I worry about three things:
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