Increasingly, church leaders are recognizing the power and beauty of the multi-ethnic church. Yet, more than a good idea, it’s a biblical, first-century standard with far-reaching evangelistic potential. How can your church overcome the obstacles to become a healthy multi-ethnic community of faith? And why should you even try? In Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church (formerly titled Ethnic Blends), Dr. Mark DeYmaz provides an up-close-and-personal look at seven common challenges to creating diversity in your church. Through real-life stories and practical illustrations, DeYmaz shows how to overcome the obstacles in order to lead a healthy multi-ethnic church. He also includes the insights of other effective multi-ethnic church leaders from the United States and Australia, as well as study questions at the end of each chapter. Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church describes what effective local churches in the 21st century will look like and shows us how to create them, together as one, beyond race and class distinctions. –Miles McPherson, Senior Pastor, The Rock Church, San Diego, CA Mark DeYmaz, perhaps more than any pastor in America, has his pulse on what it will take for the Church to find real reconciliation in our generation. –Matt Carter, Lead Pastor, Austin Stone Community Church, Austin, TX

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.

Over the last 60 years the ethnic diversity of the western world has changed dramatically as a result of successive waves of immigration. The impact of this on the church is evident in the growing number of congregations that are now multicultural to a greater or lesser extent. This presents challenges as well as opportunities to those leading these congregations. This book aims to explore this within the context of both Scripture and society. It will also consider competencies and skills that may help leaders of churches and other Christian organisations unlock the potential that this diversity offers. Malcolm Patten has been a Baptist Minister for over twenty years and this book combines his congregational sociological research and his years of experience as a Pastor in multicultural churches. He will also be interviewing others who are involved in working with multicultural churches across the denominations (Anglican, Methodist, URC) as well as drawing in expertise from BME networks, the Evangelical Alliance, Churches Together and Independent churches with multicultural congregations such as Kensington Temple, Westminster Chapel and Emmanuel Church, Westminster.

A common cliché states that Sunday is the most racially divided day of the week. Authors have attempted to study the division in church, but it continues to be a perpetual problem for Christianity. The racial divide in Christianity demands continual study and research dedicated to finding answers in the history of the Bible. The book of Acts provides the historical account of the early church’s cultural diversity and the apostles’ leadership to spread the gospel all over the world in the first century. Therefore, it is critical to research the apostles’ leadership, specifically Peter and Paul, to the diversity of the early church following Pentecost in the book of Acts and to apply discovered leadership principles to modern-day church.

Written for those who are trying to nurture authentic faith communities and for those who have struggled to retain their faith, The Tangible Kingdom offers theological answers and real-life stories that demonstrate how the best ancient church practices can re-emerge in today's culture, through any church of any size. In this remarkable book, Hugh Halter and Matt Smay "two missional leaders and church planters" outline an innovative model for creating thriving grass-roots faith communities.

Well-meaning church leaders and planters often set out to radically transform their communities for Christ-kingdom causes. Their aspirations and visions are limitless. However, often the best-laid plans fail to yield results of any consequence—they become frustrated, and pull the plug leaving behind the remnants of all their best intentions. Does it have to be this way? Is it possible for a local church to become so influential in its community that it becomes a life-giving agent for believers and non-believers? A resource that becomes the catalyst whereby abandoned buildings are repurposed, small businesses attracted, jobs created, crime reduced, justice progressed, health improved, and ultimately, the kingdom of God advanced in such a way that it impacts the every corner of the community? In Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community, Dr. Mark DeYmaz explains why such an outlook it not only possible but essential for the church to gain credibility and relevance in the community it seeks to influence. Genuine transformation never occurs through maintaining the status quo. A Disruption is often the missing ingredient that moves the church from ineffective to radically transformative.

By the year 2050, the United States will no longer have a majority ethnic group. The nation's population will be majority-minority. This future nationwide reality has already been a present reality in several cities, including many in the urban south, for nearly a decade. In a 2011 State of the City Address, the mayor of pastor and author Mark Hearn's city said there were fifty-seven languages spoken at the local high school. Hearn left asking himself, How should our church respond? In the years that have followed, a phenomenal transformation has taken place. This transition has been chronicled in the Gwinnet Daily Post, the Christian Index, the Wall Street Journal, Lifeway's Facts and Trends, and the Atlanta Magazine. Now, Hearn shares the life-changing story through his own lens. By reading his firsthand experience of this transition as a pastor, you too can be equipped to make the shift to church in technicolor.

In this scripturally rich exploration, senior missiologist Craig Ott unpacks the mission statement of the church: to glorify God by multiplying transformational churches among all people. This concise yet robust biblical-theological treatment focuses on God's glory, a strong ecclesiology, the importance of Scripture, and practical implications for congregational and mission practice. Ideal for launching discussion and reflection, the book helps readers refocus their vision and reignite their commitment to fulfilling God's purposes for their church or mission.

One of the greatest crises facing the church is the crisis of racial injustice that has so long marred the body of Christ in America. Evangelicals have traditionally had a set of biblical, theological, and cultural tools we have used for dealing with questions about race: the necessity of personal responsibility, the possibility of heart renewal through faith in Jesus, the transformative impact of interpersonal relationships, and the bedrock conviction that every human being is made in the image of God and is thus of equal worth and dignity. But in the world after 2020, the evangelical church must now recognize that our theological playbook has been ineffective in rooting out racism from the church and in confronting our own complicity in racial injustice. We must now ask: What other theological convictions are required of us as we consider the image-bearing humanity of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and many others? Confronting Racial Injustice explores theological vistas to aid the church in our pursuit of racial justice.

The population of the United States is changing. By 2042, U.S. census þgures indicate that the majority racial population will no longer be white. In addition, churches are dying as congregants age and fail to add younger members to sustain their ministry. These shifting demographics represent a signiþcant challenge and opportunity for the church. Derek Chinn proposes an overlooked solution: join congregations together to create a multiracial church. For this unique concept, Chinn offers a biblically grounded and practical perspective on what it takes to make this ministry approach viable. The heart of this ministry approach is redemption--of tired or shrinking ministries, of assets that God has given His people to advance the local church, and of brokenness due to racial and ethnic differences. This book is for church leaders, church planters, cross-cultural ministry leaders, and those involved with urban missions.