Dear Consultant,
I’m the pastor of an inner city church in an area where numerous ethnic groups live. I’m torn between trying to build a multi-ethnic church and trying to focus on one or two specific ethnic groups. I’m leaning toward the latter, reaching out primarily to the Hispanics because they’re the largest group and I speak Spanish. Am I wrong to think this way?
This is a tough issue, but for me it all comes down to context. The two main issues at play here are the Biblical mandate to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation with the gospel and the sociological fact of homogeneity, that shows people are more easily drawn to people like themselves. Where the line falls for me is a matter of context. If all things are equal then you must always lean toward the side of scriptural mandate. So for a missionary going into an area with lots of different people, but very few churches/missionaries, the focus of the gospel must be wide in scope. However in an area like a large inner city where there is already a wide christian presence and the opportunity for the gospel is extended to all people groups then I believe you lean toward the truth of homogeneity and focus on one specific group. I think this is being a good steward of the gospel in those areas. So for you in the context of a large inner city I think you are making the right choice. As a final footnote, while the focus of the outreach is on a specific group, no one that comes should ever be excluded because they don’t fit the profile.
In reality all churches should be multiethnic in the sense that they minister to all peoples of the community and even to the world. However, when we start anything sometimes trying to cover more than a couple of bases can be tough. Especially when help is in short supply. Therefore what I would suggest is to come up with a mission statement that discusses how you wish to reach the community and the world with the gospel and disciple those people into mature believers. Then I would form a vision statement that focus on how the church would evangelizing particular people groups around this new church like the hispanics. I definitely believe it is a good idea to play off of a pastor’s strengths and using Spanish to reach the Hispanics is an excellent idea. Even having a service in Spanish and materials you can hand out in Spanish. However, I would not let your church get stuck in being a Spanish Church. Like any church, it should strive to reach all people around it and far away through missions.
-In short I do think it is a good idea to start out focusing on a particular people group but by no means should you keep it at that or refuse to start expanding to other people groups as soon as you have enough people to do so. The great commission refuses to be limited to just people like us and so should we.
In Response to Jay:
My first response matches up with Jay’s very closely because I agree that trying to start out reaching every type of group at once would almost be impossible, especially if you do not know the different languages or culture. If the pastor knows Hispanic culture well and can speak spanish than letting him focus on Americans and Hispanics would be perfect to get his church started. But unlike Jay I would say that this pastor should not stop at simply keeping the doors open to other people groups he should actively pursue them as soon as his church is established and he has his first set of members who can help learn their culture and evangelize them.
I concur with Jay’s assessment of our biblical mandate. His reply raises the question: Is there a significant presence of sound churches available to the various ethnic groups already in your target area? If so, you may feel greater freedom to focus more narrowly. What language issues are there? If there are language issues, your decision may be dictated by that. Are most of these ethnic groups comfortable with the English language? If not, there is probably no common language they could share in a single service. Given that scenario, it would seem your focus on Hispanics is already determined. My thought would be to begin with Hispanics as your primary focus group, while not excluding others. Nonetheless, be far-sighted, and begin working a vision for all ethnic groups into the DNA of your new congregation from the start. Make it a missional church from the beginning. Help them see the multi-cultural mission field in their own backyard. Develop that burden. Let it be part of their vision. Let them see those people groups as their Macedonian call. Targeting the Hispanics first will give you the opportunity to focus your initial resources, consolidate, and build a strong base. Then, having established a strong base, you will be able to use that base as a platform from which to launch an effective multi-ethnic outreach, which will, hopefully, with prayer and oversight, evolve out of the DNA of the church.
Obviously, as a believer you want to reach all of the ethnicities in the city with the gospel. However, that may not be a reality for most churches for several reasons. One reason is because race is a barrier. The old adage is often true…”birds of a feather flock together.” Some ethnicities are very isolated. This is often true of first generation immigrants. Another reason is because each people group has their own culture. The way they worship is different from other groups. Even the way people interact with one another is different from one group to the next. These two barriers alone make building a multi-ethnic church difficult, especially if the people are first generation immigrants.
My suggestion would be to focus on one particular people group. Since Hispansics make up the greatest proportion of the population and you already speak Spanish, it makes complete sense to target Hispanics. Build a Great Commission Hispanic church that has a heart for the ethnicities around them. Teach them to view their city through the lens of Acts 1:8. And rather than trying to build one multi-ethnic church to reach all the people groups; plant churches in the midst of the various people groups that will target each individual group. This approach will be better suited for success because it is a rifle shot rather than a shotgun shot with the gospel.
It is my opinion that often times when we become overwhelmed by the enormous task of evangelizing the nations and/or certain people groups we decide not to do anything because of the enormous task. After all it is impossible to reach out to that many people. Therefore, in light of the question at hand, I do not believe it is at all wrong to reach out to two specific groups or maybe even one specific group. One cannot do it all. As noted earlier, being overwhelmed can cause discouragement which then leads to doing nothing. Therefore, I believe it is wise to focus on just one or two groups and then see where the Lord leads from there.
From the wording of your question I am making two assumptions. First, I am assuming the church is an established church rather than a church plant. Second, I am assuming that the makeup of the neighborhood surrounding the church has changed so that the current congregation no longer reflects the ethnicity of the neighborhood. Your ultimate goal must be to build a multi-ethnic church because the church is located in a multi-ethnic community.
Since the largest group is the Hispanics, and you speak Spanish, it would not be wrong to begin by focusing primarily on Hispanics; it may even be wise to do so. Reaching the Hispanic community may be the avenue for reaching their non-Hispanic neighbors. Although the neighbors may speak different languages, they may be similar economically and educationally. If this assumption is true, then two of the three barriers have already been breached, making it easier to build a multi-ethnic church. Believers have a responsibility to cross whatever barriers exist in order to reach non-believers.
We have been commissioned to reach every tribe, every tongue, and every nation. Furthermore, the local church is to reach the people (all people) in the surrounding community. These two facts coupled together would support the idea that you should ultimately be trying to build a multi-ethnic church.
Even though you may begin your community outreach by focusing on Hispanics, you must have a strategy for eventually reaching all the people groups around the church. Since you are an established church, you must be careful not to offend the other groups if you choose to initially focus on Hispanics. This specific Hispanic focus, coupled with the fact that you speak Spanish, could lead to the misconception that your church does not care about the other ethnic groups, or worse, that you are prejudiced against them. If this misconception takes root, it will make it even more difficult for your church to reach the other ethnic groups.
Hi,
Great question. I believe that every church should be a reflection of your community. If your church is 99% white, but the community around you is not, then that is a problem. So, I am glad to hear that you are at least addressing the issue.
With that being said though, we also have to look at the facts. God has placed you in a community with a large Hispanic population, and you speak Spanish. As a result, I think that should be your first move. The Hispanic population is the fastest growing minority group in America, and they are now the largest minority group in America. Definitely take advantage of the opportunity you have to reach out to them.
While you are doing that, continue to pray that God will place people at your church who can effectively reach out to the other people groups in your community. It might not happen immediately, but I am sure that God will honor your prayers and allow you to reach out to the other people groups as well.
Keep in mind that it is ok to let other people help you. It is impossible for one man to do it all. You might be able to reach the Hispanic population, and someone else might be able to reach the next group. So, be willing to work with other people as you try to take the gospel to the community around you.
In response to Jay Worthington:
Great insight Jay. I completely agree with your final statement. No one should be excluded if they do not fit the profile. We definitely need to be willing to preach the gospel to all people!
This is a really tough question and situation because of all the logistics involved in trying to build a multi-ethnic church, if that is what you are seeking.
I am a member in a church with the majority of people being english speaking, however we have a small group of spanish speaking people as well. To accommodate this, we have a leader in the church that speaks both languages and actually translates the sermons live on Sunday mornings. Our spanish speaking folks wear headphones and the translation is broadcasted through a radio signal. In addition, we have both english and spanish translation of all the worship songs that are sung during the service.
We are a small church (average of 70-80 on a Sunday morning), so this is something any church could potentially do. However, it does come with many challenges and it would only become more difficult if we were talking about more than 2 languages. Logistically, I’m not sure how feasible it would be to handle effectively more than 2 languages within a service.
All this being said, I believe that if it is the heart of the church to reach people of different ethnic groups, then I would say go for it. It is definitely possible to do, even though it is also challenging.
I also agree with what Russell said above. Within any context, a church has to look at the gifting of the leadership and church body and understand that they cannot do everything. A church much prioritize who they should reach according to God’s leading and pray that God would use them to reach those people. As Russell said and as I mentioned above, I think focussing on no more than 2 groups of different languages is probably the most feasible route.
In my experience overseas I have noticed that within one village there are often 3 or 4 people groups. That means 3 or 4 languages, customs and beliefs. However, the IMB tackles those each with different missionaries. They used to split missionaries up simply by area, but when they began to realize that there were so many other people groups they decided to split up by people group. I would use this to say that you are ok to specifically focus (put much of your energy) on one group or even two, while at the same time keeping in mind the other ethnic groups around you. I think focusing on the hispanics is a great place to start in light of your spanish speaking background.
I would say start out reaching the Hispanic population in your area, but at the same begin developing people within your congregation to target the other races in your area. God has given you the ability to speak Spanish, so use it! While reaching, begin praying (and enlist other prayer warriors) for doors to be opened among the many races in your area.
A church is healthy when it is growing through conversion, and impacting the community and the world. By reaching multiple races in your specific area, you can begin to pray for missions to impact multiple countries as a natural extension of the church’s identity.
Use the demographic studies of your area to figure out who needs to be reached. While spending a majority of your time on the Hispanic population, you should also make time to reach other races as well. This will show your congregation that the focus is never on just one race.
In response to James Taylor:
I agree with you about planting churches among the other ethnicities. One sign of a healthy church is fulfiillment of the Great Commission. An intentional plan to reach the multiple people groups present will be effective and have good impact for God’s kingdom. Ultimately, and I think you would agree, a vision fueled by prayer and spelled out in a specific plan would be a good way to get started.
The homogenous unit principle has been a target of great criticism against the church growth movement for years and by many different people. Many people feel it is wrong to target a group of people and design a ministry to reach on specific culture, ethnic group or sub-group. The response to the reality that people like to be with those who are like themselves and come to faith though those relationships should be taken into consideration in this case.
In this case who a pastor attracts matters. Most likely he will attract the Hispanic population because he is most like them. However if the pastor naturally attract multiple cultures then he should consider a multicultural ministry. Another consideration is conviction of the pastor about what the ministry is to be. It is good that the pastor is seeking advice, but he must seek God’s face for the ultimate direction. Every pastor starting a new work must have the conviction of God that is what he is to be doing at this time with his life.
The pastor needs to have some type of plan to cross those cultural barriers if he is going to be successful with a multicultural ministry.
Response to Russell Zik - Post #6 - Dated April 20, 2011:
I agree with your comment that becoming overwhelmed can cause us to do nothing when it comes to evangelism. That is why we have to be intentional about planning for evangelism. While I appreciate your last comment, “. . . then see where the Lord leads from there”, I think it lacks intentionality.
Obviously, this church must follow the Lord’s leading; however, I think it is important for them to prayerfully develop a strategy for reaching all unbelievers (regarless of ethnicity) in their community. Focusing on the Hispanic population at first could be a part of that overall strategy. Having an intentional strategy can go a long way in preventing the feeling of being overwhelmed, and keep the church from falling into the “do nothing” trap.
It appears you are asking the right question about the future direction of the church. You have recieved excellent counsel from the posts on this blog. Here are some questions you can begin to ask yourself in making this decision.
1. Where is God at work in your community?
Where do you percieve an openness to the gospel in your community? As you evaluate where God is working in your community, understand that He has a place for your church in His mission. If there is already a large Hispanic congregation close to your church already reaching a the people group you intend to target, it may be our Lord wants your church to have a multi-ethnic personality. It may be that your congregation is going to reach the Hispanic community using a different approach than other congregations in your area.
God has a place for your church in reaching out to the surrounding area.. Your task is to discover that divinely appointed assignment.
2. Where is your God- given passion as a leader?
Which group of people are you personally passionate to reach, multi-ethnic or Hispanic? As Chad Hunsberger posted, there are different people groups within each community, and this is true in the Hispanic community. For example , we learned several years ago that there are significant cultural differences between Middle American Hispanics and the Mexican culture when sponsoring a Hispanic congregation. Even though you are fluent in Spanish, do you have a passion to reach that people group and culture that is dominant in your community?
Will you be able to have a sense of connection with that people group? These are important questions.
3. What is your congregational ethnic make-up and are they will to do cross cultural evangelism?
In your question, you did not tell us the present ethnic break down of the church. If there is not a core group of hispanics present in the congregation, it may be difficult to place a focus on evangelism within the Hispanic community. If you do not have a hispanic core group in your present church, it will require patience and prayer for the Lord to raise up those “persons of peace” who will come and serve with you.
4. Consider that the answer to your question may not be “either/or”, but “both/and.”
One strategy to prayefully consider is focusing in one people group (multi-ethnic or Hispanic), then consider planting a church or bible study within the other ethnic group.
This strategy would probably work best when the “primary focus” is multi-ethnic with the intent to start a Hispanic bible study/church plant at the appropriate time.
If the present church you serve is basically multi-ethnic in her constituency, this may be an approach to consider.
In closing, understand that you have a wonderful problem.
God has appointed you at a place of great need, and equipped you with talents and spiritual gifts to meet those needs. It will be exciting to see what is going to happen in your church in the immediate and long term future!
@ 17. Danny Hedgepath - Danny’s answer is well-reasoned and raises core questions that must be addressed. It brings in to play the VIP Factor (Vision Intersection Profile) from Rainer’s Breakout Churches, Chapter 6. Rainer begins that chapter with a quote by the great cultural theologian, Bill Cosby, which says: “I don’t know the key to success, but I know the key to failure is trying to please everyone.
The vision is a result of the intersection of the Lead Pastor’s passion & shape for ministry, the congregation’s passion & shape for ministry, and the community’s problems & significant needs. As Danny and others have pointed out, a significant factor in the profile missing from the question is the make-up of the congregation. You are not in this alone and will need the people of the church to be on board with you in whatever direction you as a church determine to pursue.
As in most difficult issues the answer to your question may not be either/or but both/and as others have pointed out. I would direct you back to the Book of Acts and read it with your present challenge in view.
Acts 1:8 will confirm that global scope of every church’s vision and mission, but it does so in concentric circles that are cultural, sociological, and geographical in nature. Yet, it also emphasizes the both/and nature of reaching the various people groups.
Nevertheless, as the Book of Acts progresses and the Great Commission is fulfilled, it is done in a rather homogeneous fashion. Initially, Jews reached Jews until you come the model church of Antioch. But even the planting of this church was built on a homogeneous bridge (Acts 11:19-21). Even the apostolic representative, Barnabas, sent to encourage them in the grace of the Lord had a cultural link to the baby church––he was a native of Cyprus (Acts 4:36)! And Barnabas seemingly used the VIP Factor in bringing young Saul on board to help the fledgling church flourish. Saul-soon-to-be-Paul’s passion & shape intersected the passion & shape of the young church and the needs of the surrounding community. Even when Barnabas & Saul formed the first missionary team, they went to Cyprus first, presumably taking advantage of Barnabas’ cultural and sociological contacts. Yet, Antioch seemingly was a multi-cultural church with a heart for all the peoples of the world (Acts 13:1-3).
What is the moral of this story? Using the VIP Factor you can reach the Hispanics in your community as a bridge to reaching the other ethnic groups, IF the DNA of the Great Commission is embedded into the life of the church (Acts 1:8), the hand of the Lord is on the outreach (Acts 11:21), and the leading of the Spirit is followed to plant churches among differing people groups (Acts 13:4).
The answer may be to plant/establish a Hispanic church with a missions heart that is willing to be missional about starting ethnic bible studies/church plants in the surrounding community. Doing so may require praying for a “Barnabas” to come along and encourage the process, as well as a “Saul/Paul” to stimulate further growth as a future church planter.
Here is the kicker: IF this is your vision, you will eventually attract a certain number of people from different ethnic groups who are attracted to THIS particular vision. Sub-groups of ethnically diverse small groups may be formed, but could come together for corporate worship together as one body. For this to work, you as the Lead Pastor, would have to be the kind of bridge builder who has a passion to connect with diverse cultures! Speaking two languages is a great start. If you yourself are Hispanic or are a veteran missionary or a MK or are from the inner-city, this would be a help as well.
In reading through the different replies, the common thread seems to be to focus initially on the Hispanics. This gets your feet on the ground and moving, resulting in momentum, which, in turn, can provide the necessary foundation for later outreach to others. Hopefully, it will put people and resources in place that might be used to that end. James’ (#5) reference to barriers (whether culture, language, worship style, etc.) is, like it or not, the present reality. 2nd generation immigrants, however, might be more receptive to a multi-ethnic church. Some of the barriers have already begun to fall, a greater level of assimilation has taken place, and often they have become comfortable with a 2nd language. As, has been noted by others, for now a primary focus on Hispanics seems to be the best stewardship of what, I assume, are limited resources. Another common threat has been the need to begin now to develop a vision for the other groups. I appreciated Chris’ (#14) caution to be sure and spell it out in a specific plan. This coincides with Jerry’s reference to intentionality (#16).
Regarding this vital question for the church today, I think there are some must answer issues:
Is the Gospel powerful enough to overcome any barrier?
Should we develop strategy strictly on what is easiest and creates least resistance?
If the church is commissioned to make disciples, then is it ok to just “evangelize” all people, but then subcontract discipleship to some other church with the right ethnic makeup?
Shouldn’t the contextualized church be committed to reach its community in whatever way God has developed it?
Just some thoughts. I’ll let you guess where I land on the answer to the particular question at hand.
Be brave, bold and blessed brother. The Gospel is the POWER of God unto salvation!
I believe the first thing you must do is pray. Ask God to make his will for your ministry clear. Keep your eyes and heart open to the Lord’s response to your prayers.
However, you do not have to ask God if he wants you to reach the people in your community. You are there because our sovereign Lord has placed you there to influence the peoples around you with the gospel.
I have to disagree with Jerry Workman. I don’t think you should ultimately be trying to build a multi-ethnic church. A multi-ethnic church will generally pull people from the fringes of their people. They are therefore generally ineffective at reaching their people because they are on the fringe of their group. Even as a particular ethnicity grows within your church, they are likely to gravitate towards one another and when they reach a critical mass, may decide to segregate into their own church. The homogeneous unit principle proposed by Donald McGavern teaches that different peoples have affinities that cause them to affiliate into similar groups.
I believe sustained ethnic-diversity that crosses multiple linguistic barriers with be extremely difficult to maintain long term. Once you have peace that God is leading you to minister to a specific group, I recommend targeting that group, while welcoming “fringers” from any other ethnic group that comes to visit your church.
Here is my general thought process on this issue:
God places us where we are for a time and for a purpose. He has every intention to use us in a unique and specific way in the setting where we are. If you have found yourself in an environment that is surrounded by a number of ethnic groups, praise God! I have no doubt that that is God-ordained and that you should constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to interact with all of those ethnic groups. The Lord desires for those form every tribe and tongue and nation to come to a saving knowledge of Him, and it would be glorifying to Him if your congregation reflected that.
That being said, ministry is most effective when it is concentrated and when an adequate amount of time and energy can be committed to it. For this reason, I do think that while being on the lookout for ways to serve all the ethnic groups is necessary, it may also be wise to choose a few ethnic groups or specific areas of town on which to focus and with which to engage in detailed and intentional ministry. In regards to choosing which ethnic groups to engage, begin with loads of prayer. Then consider the interests and talents of yourself and the congregation members you already have. If you have been blessed with the ability to speak Spanish fluently, it is definitely worth considering how you could utilize that. After a considerable amount of prayer, thought and consideration, come to a conclusion on the couple of ethnic groups you specifically want to target, and you can move into ministry planning phases form there.
In essence, be open to ministering to all, but be intentional about ministering to some. I have no doubt God will bless both types of evangelistic and ministerial efforts.
In response to Chris F. (post 13):
I definitely agree that one of the best things you could do, depending on how many congregation members you have, is begin to delegate different ethnic groups to different groups of church members depending on their interests and passions. Encourage the church members to adopt a specific ethnic group that is of interest to them, and also assess the talents, interests and inclinations of your people (and help them assess themselves) so you can help lead them to the ethnic group that is the best fit for them. This way the church as a whole can engage a number of ethnic groups, but you as the pastor are not overwhelmed by trying to reach each of them on your own. If you have the ability to speak Spanish, maybe the hispanic residents should be your focus. But that doesn’t mean others in the church cannot focus their ministerial efforts on a different ethnic group. Utilize the diversity in your church to reach out to the diversity in your community.
I agree with Jerry Workman’s statement that it is easy to become overwhelmed with the immensity of the challenge and end up doing little or nothing. And I agree that this pastor and church must be intentional in the area of evangelism. That requires some definitive decisions on the part of the pastor that will determine direction for the outreach of the church.
I also agree with Chris Regas’ application of Acts 1:8 to the context of the concentric circles that are cultural, sociological, and geographical in nature. But the Acts 1:8 principle begins with the closest parameter of local missions, specifically this church’s “Jerusalem.” I believe this would qualify as the local Hispanic community as the target group for this church. But the Acts 1:8 principle doesn’t end with “Jerusalem,” but extends to “all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” That requires a larger view of the overall mission of the church as being responsible for not only local missions, but global missions as well.
That being said, I suggest beginning with strategic prayer teams who will focus their prayer efforts on the target group of the local Hispanic community. This is the call of Jesus to “pray to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest” (Matthew 9:38). Then I would suggest utilizing the VIP Factor (Vision Intersection Profile per Thom Rainer’s Breakout Churches) as referenced by Danny Hedgepeth and Chris Regas in determining the vision for reaching this target group.
Response to Josh Flowers - Post #22:
The church is located in a multi-ethnic community, and since a church’s ultimate goal should be to reach all people of the community, by definition this church would ultimately become a multi-ethnic church. While the pastor may begin with an intentional focus on Hispanics (if this is how the Lord leads him), over time, the “:fringe” people you mention can be the very tool for reaching the other groups.
I believe the key factor here is “over time”. While I understand and appreciate the homogeneous unit principle, I believe very strongly in God’s ability to bring unity out of diversity.
In Response to Jay Worthington:
Your insights were extremely helpful. You caused me to think of a side of it that I did not think about. The Great Commission does call us to reach every tribe and tongue. Also, recognizing that their often times are many churches within the inner city that can reach a variety of ethnic groups, it is important that all of us do our part. Your comments were insightful.
In response to Jerry Workman (Post #7):
I agree with you that we ought to have a multi-ethnic church as a goal. It is an awesome thing when different people groups are worshiping and serving Christ together. However, would this church and pastor not be more efficient by focusing on one people group and working to plant churches in the other people groups? It seems that they would reach more people from the different groups quicker by planting several churches than by building their one church into a multi-ethnic church.
I admit that I have no experience in this though.
In agreement with what some of my fellow class members have shared, I see the New Testament evangelistic mandate as consistent with, and in some respects even implying, a consideration of pragmatic issues relating to the minister’s own experience, abilities, and heart burdens. I therefore regard it as appropriate for an inner-city church to plan its evangelistic outreach with the consciously-emphasized goal of reaching one or more particular ethnic or other subgroups within the surrounding community. Part of the benefit of our nation’s having a variety of gospel-oriented churches is that a particular church can develop a ministry plan in light of its own practical God-given assets, while offering encouragement and prayer support to congregations who feel led to emphasize reaching other segments of the population in the same local area. Of course, this does not give any church an excuse for not cultivating a love for the residents of their community in general, and endeavoring to grow in being able to reach those from a variety of backgrounds, in accordance with I Corinthians 9:19-23.
One way to express an ongoing concern for the community as a whole, while especially endeavoring to reach its Hispanic portion, might be to plan a community-wide worship service, sponsored jointly by several local churches in the area, to be held a few (say, four) times each year. Such a consistently-occurring event could be a way of emphasizing even the unity, on the natural level, of people from many different ethnic backgrounds as citizens of your community, state, and nation. Far more importantly, it could provide an opportunity for your church and the other churches to proclaim and celebrate the wondrous reality of the spiritual unity of all true Christian believers in Christ’s one body, on the basis of His one and only saving gospel message.
Response to James Taylor - Post #28:
You raise a good and valid question. To be honest, I am not sure that we have enough details to answer it completely. For instance, we do not know the size of the area we are talking about or the total population of the area. In addition, we know that the largest single group is HIspanic, but what does that mean? If the Hispanic population is 40% and the other ethnic groups combined make up the remaining 60%, is the church not going to reach out to 60% of the people in its immediate neighborhood?
Given the enormity of doing a church plant, I am not sure it would be quicker or more efficient to plant several new churches. Here again, there are details we do not know. How many different ethnic groups are there? Are they primarily first or second generation? How much tension, if any, exists between these groups in the community? Will the time, energy, and resources required to do several church plants create a significant strain on the original church and pastor?
Again, your question is valid, but I am not sure we have enough information to really answer it.
The comments left on this blog are all very uplifting and wise, and I feel I have little to contribute that has not already been said. However, I do want to comment in reply to Reid Hopkins (#8) about getting back to the facts. Using what God has given you will most definitely be the simplest form of action. As he stated, you speak spanish for a reason, and I do believe that God can use that in your ministry.
Also, I would echo the sentiments of Josh Flowers (#22); begin with prayer. This can not be said enough concerning this decision. Missions theories and biblical counsel will profit very little if this decision is not bathed in constant prayer.
Lastly, I would suggest that you not try to make this decision on your own. Consult leaders in your church, elders, deacons, older members of your community and find out what has been done in the past. What has worked and what has not worked. In doing this, be looking for any sin issues that may have clouded the church’s judgment of people groups in the area. Harry Reeder in his book “From Embers To Flames” states that the revitalization and growth of a church must start with removing any sin from the camp. Be sure that your church doesn’t have any hinderances when seeking to reach the people groups around them.
May God bless your faithfulness.
It would seem to me (as many have already said) that a church in a multiethnic community would over time become multiethnic itself. I think the key is to stay connected to the community. If the largest part of the community is hispanic and you already have the tools to reach them, like language and an understanding of the culture, then by all means reach out to them. All the while you should still be mindful of other groups. Try to learn the cultures of the people you live amongst so that you can better evangelize and minister to them.
Paul said we should be all things to all people so that we might win some. Go out and learn to be the people you want to reach and challenge the members of your church to do the same. You may speak Spanish and be ready to reach out to the Spanish speakers in your community but there may be people in your church that are fascinated by Vietnamese, or Nepali, or Indian culture and ready to be used of God to reach those in your community that are of those backgrounds. Do not be so focused on reaching one or two particular groups that you neglect the others or hinder your congregation from reaching the groups you may not feel “called” to reach out to.
So in short ,yes reach out to the Hispanics in your community. Use the gifts and training God has given you. But do not be so focused on one group that you lose sight of the community as a whole. Everybody needs Jesus.
I like the questions Danny Hedgepeth ( comment 17) asked, particularly the third question. Is your church ready to do this kind of evangelism? Your heart may be in it but is the rest of the congregations? If it is not you may have months (or more) of praying, teaching, ministering, and discipling ahead of you before you can start thinking about mixing an ethnic group into the dominant group that is present. This may sound harsh, but coming from the deep south (and in my time over seas) I have seen how mixing ethnic groups in a church where the dominant group’s heart is not ready can do more harm than good. By bringing in an outside group racism, strife, or hatred born from ignorance may follow. We do not like to think this can happen in church, but it can and does. Make sure your people are ready to reach out to the community in love.
RE: The discussion between James Taylor and Jerry Workman…..
I believe the key issue for this pastor is where to begin. And I believe the beginning point is the place of greatest relativity, which would be the Hispanic community.
However, the secondary issue for this pastor and church will always be reaching the other people groups of the community. That is where I believe Dr. Lawless’ reference to the fluidity of the church’s vision comes into play. If you recall, he said that the mission statement is a constant, but the vision statement changes every few years as the community demographics and the church’s people and resources change. I would say that in five years the church might have an increasingly multi-ethnic makeup that requires that the church increase their efforts in reaching the other ethnic groups of the community as Rainer’s VIP (Vision Intersection Profile) suggests. This is where the pastor and church have to remain sensitive to the passion of the congregation and the needs of the community. And this is where the pastor has to lead the church to be more mission-minded in their focus and outreach.
Jerry, I agree with your assessment. We don’t have all the details, which we would need to give a complete answer.
In response to Jeremy Workman’s response to me (post 26):
Thanks for your comment, but my point is that I don’t believe a long term goal to reach multiple ethno-linguistic groups is a very attainable goal in a single church body. It is certainly possible, but the “fringers” don’t typically reach there own people. The “weirdness” they are perceived to have hinders (but I agree does not prevent) them from being effective evangelistically among their people. Churches that have existed for a long period of time generally will look somewhat homogenous. I would propose that the church in this case study could reach there goal of reaching everyone by reaching Hispanics primarily and planting churches of other ethnic groups with “indigenous” leadership. I definitely agree that in heaven there will be great unity in our diversity. However in our fallen world, I’m not sure a multi-ethnic church will be most effective at reaching and discipling the greatest number of individuals.
I don’s see any problem with focusing on one or two groups at first. If those are the groups that you are best equipped to reach, then use the gifts and abilities God has given you in order to reach them. Along the way you are probably going to convert people of a different ethnicity. Afterwards you could train them to reach people they are better equipped to reach than you are. I serve at a church with multiple campuses at that is the reasoning behind operating our church in that manner. Either way, I think it is acceptable to focus on a target group of people.
The great commission certainly does not contain limits on who we attempt to reach with the gospel. As a believer in Christ you should welcome anyone into your fellowship without regard to ethnicity. Still, it is a fact that congregations are usually homogeneous with regard to ethnicity. Successful multi-racial churches are rare. Even rhese churches tend to display a profound “sameness” with regard to other demographic characteristics. Trying to build a mulit-ethnic church will make an already hard job even harder. Unless you have a clear sense that God has called you to build a multiple-ethnic church, I would advise you to stick to a single homogeneous group.
In response to Len Anderson’s post (20) - I agree that focusing on second generation immigrants is a good idea. You avoid the language barriers. Also, could you possibly organize an homogeneous unit around the demographic of being a second generation immigrant? Other homogeneous units have been organized around interests (such as the arts), or careers. Maybe being a second generation American could work.
I have been thinking a great deal about this question and have appreciated every one’s responses and thoughts. When I consider this question biblically then I agree with James Taylor’s response that the Great Commission commands us to go to “all nations”, the mission mandate then is not mono-ethnic. I also appreciate Jerry’s observation that a church in a multi-ethnic community should reflect it’s community - and therefore be multi-ethnic. That being said though each church has its own culture and is most likely to attract people from that same culture. I am not convinced that there is a right or wrong answer to this, this question is more of a question of strategy than biblical faithfulness. Since we do not have all the facts it is therefore hard to make a judgment. Given the facts we do know though (an inner city church, bilingual pastor, multi ethnic community, large hispanic population) I think it would be wise for the church to prayerfully develop a strategy to intentionally focus on reaching out to the hispanic community. That may mean starting a Spanish speaking bible study, starting a spanish speaking worship service, or launching a hispanic church plant.
I disagree with #1 - 4/20, there is not an already a wide Christian presence and opportunity for all people groups. The reality that many are unreached in population centers is the reason for our SBC North American initiatives. Reflect upon this formula again: HP + CP + CC = MI. God has a particular plan for a particular church at a particular time and place. I also disagree with #2 - 4/20 after speaking recently with church planters in my local association about this very issue. They are targeting specific ethnic groups to accomplish Kingdom work and avoiding multi-ethnic approaches. They are finding success by placing an ethnic pastor who masters the language with a like ethnic congregation. #12 - 4/21 and #15 - 4/21 are on target. The pastor should concentrate his efforts on the specific group to which he most relates.
I am part of an ethnic church, specifically a Korean immigrant church. I can speak from the experience of having been in the Korean immigrant church literally my whole life that there is definitely a need and warrant for being focused on a specific ethnicity. If one’s salvation and discipleship is of first importance (as opposed to, for instance, assimilation into greater society), then an ethnically focused church is an effective means to communicating the gospel in a language, ethos, and cultural familiarity that connects clearly. However, at some point, discipleship necessitates meaningful engagement with the world. One danger and all too common shortcoming of an ethnically focused congregation is that it becomes a comfortable bubble. The church becomes complacently accepting of the fact that they cannot effectively reach beyond their own. This, I believe, at the least hinders the Great Commission and, at the worst, actually suffocates it.
My advice: it’s meaningful and purposeful to start out with the ethnic focus, but make it very clear and intentional from the beginning of where you want to end up with respect to ethnic singularity or diversity and how you will achieve either in light of the Great Commission.
Response to #41: I appreciate your reminder of the formula. And the formula alone suggests that ethnic focus is the way to go. My only petition to everybody, including intentionally monoethnic congregations, is to have an intentional theology and praxis thought out through the lens of the Great Commission. My church, although obviously 99.99% Korean and 99.99% experiencing faith community in the context of Korean language and culture, has set up Vietnamese, Laos, Burmese, and Thai congregations. Basically, we are accepting of the reality that our worship services and in house ministry is by and for Koreans. But we have invested time, finances, and relationships into other ethnic congregations because of the accountability of the Great Commission. So to put it another way, we should be both mico-Kingdom-focused and macro-Kingdom-minded in our attitudes and actions. I just don’t want to forget about the grand scale Great Commission.
Primarily I think that this is a matter between you and the Lord. You should pray about this and ask others to pray for you as you make this important decision. If you sense that the Lord is leading you to focus on one or two particular ethnic groups, especially if they are large ones, you should not feel guilty about it. It is easier to reach a goal if you have a clearly defined target. It is also a major plus that you can speak Spanish. This should help you to be able to minister to Hispanics more effectively. Once you have reached some Hispanics, you can teach them how to share their faith. Then they can begin reaching others for Christ and multiplying your efforts. It is a biblical concept to disciple a few people and teach them to disciple others. Jesus did, and so did Paul.
I would give one caution, however. If God does lead you to focus on one specific people group, you should not take that to mean that you will not ever need to share with any of the other people groups. You could prioritize and focus on Hispanics, but if you cross paths with Americans or internationals who are not Hispanics you should be faithful to share the good news with them too. You should also incorporate a love for the nations into your discipleship of Hispanics and others that you reach for Christ. This way you will be making disciples and reaching the nations for Christ.
Response to Glynn Reeves’ comment:
I agree with Glynn’s evaluations to use your gifts and not lose sight of the needs of the community. I also encourage following Paul’s example of being all things to all people.
Your main focus should be on leading and making disciples within the local church, whether it is multi-ethnic or not. If the congregation is made up of mostly English speakers, then the church should remain focused on ministering to all those who are gathered, not just the people group whose language you can speak. It may be beneficial to start language/ethnic group specific ministries or small groups to help meet the needs of the congregation, outside the context of corporate worship. However, if the congregation is composed of mostly Spanish speakers, then the direction of the church’s ministry may need to change. If this is the case, it may be beneficial to plant a Spanish speaking church within your neighborhood, maybe even using your facilities.
In response to Aaron’s post (10), I think he has hit the nail on the head. I agree that it is not ideal to conduct corporate worship in more than two languages and would be very difficult, though I know churches are doing it. (Antioch in Louisville is conducting worship in three languages to my understanding.) At the end of the day, I think there must be a balance between appealing to the largest group represented, while ministering to each and every person who enters the doors. Though it may take more work, infrastructure, and funds, ministering to multiple ethnic groups may be necessary if your congregation dictates such. Most importantly, we must minister faithfully to the gospel and to the people we have been entrusted with.
@ Regas and Hedgepath
Great insights, really everyone offers some good advice. But I have another question. How would the ministry look different as you targeted different groups? Say, what is the difference in how you would minister to and target Latino’s verses Germans? Or what is the difference between your ministry to blacks and whites? Or Asians, and whoever else? If it is simply a language difference, then you are limited to one or two groups already and the decision is already made for you. If you plan to speak in English then what is the difference? Is it music? Is it service times? Is it outreach ministries? Generally speaking, you will reach people like yourself. So look at yourself and your staff, and that is what you will reach.
You will struggle to be multi-ethnic if those you are striving to reach want to maintain their ethnic identity (particularly in worship). If they are wanting to let go of that identity and embrace a completely new identity in Christ, then you can grow a multi-ethnic church. But that is rarely the case unless you are already beginning with a core group of multi-ethnic people who are already believers are willing to make it happen. There are a few exceptions. Check out Mosaic church.
So, I would tell you to be yourself, pursue your heart and calling, and target whoever will respond to you. If one of the groups (or many) respond to your authentic pursuit of your calling, then to God be the glory.
@ Anderson and Harris
I agree with both of you and I think it is a really good suggestion to focus on second + generation immigrants. The reason is that in many cases, subsequent immigrant generations are more willing to accept the prevailing culture as their own and less inclined to hold to native cultures. As a result, you are helping people adapt to your culture, rather than adapting your church culture to them.