How Do We Build Multicultural Congregations?

Summary

Summary prepared by Acts 2:38 Life from the transcript below — the preacher’s words follow in full.

A Worthy Goal: Biblically Correct, Not Politically Correct

• The question posed: today is Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. King spoke of 11:00 on Sunday — and much work needs to be done. You were a pastor: what things can pastors, and even individual believers, do to help bring about a multicultural church? What steps can local churches and pastors take?
• Well, first of all, let me say: I think that is a worthy goal. We should strive to be a welcoming church, for every race, every nationality, every ethnicity, every language, male and female, young and old, urban and rural, first-generation Pentecostal, multigenerational Pentecostal. So we should be multicultural and diverse, in every aspect — and not to be politically correct, but to be biblically correct, to reach people, because the gospel is for the world. Jesus died for the world. God created every human in his image. Heaven is going to be composed of people of every race and language. The UPCI Articles of Faith, several years ago, we amended it to add that emphasis: that the church should be intentional, in being inclusive and welcoming, of every race, nationality, etc., and to try to strive to be like the church is in heaven, on the basis that every human being is created in the image of God. So I think it's a worthy goal. And, as you say, much work needs to be done. I would like to think — and I do believe it is true — that in the vast majority of our United Pentecostal churches, that statement of Martin Luther King Jr. is not true. There was a time when it was true, in many places; but thankfully, I would say, over the last 50 years, we've made enormous strides. We still need to do much more. If you're interested in that: we have a statements archive, and you can see our position paper, which is a racial and ethnic affirmation, and that actually includes the update to the Articles of Faith that I mentioned. And then there's also a racial and ethnic affirmation timeline, to show, over the last 50 years or so, what steps we have taken, year by year, to try to make this a reality.
• And so, the latest survey that we did, of pastors in the US and Canada, which is our home base, we found — without giving you the total breakdown — that our estimate is, about 61% of our constituency would consist of white, Caucasian; and 39% would consist of Hispanic, Black, Asian, Native peoples, or Native American. So those demographics almost exactly mirror the population. So that's very good. And we're seeing that increasingly happen in our ministry, in our leadership: so that's where we have more work to do. Of course, across the world, we have now 6.1 million constituents, in 203 of the 210 nations of the world, plus many territories. And of course, the vast majority would not be white. And so, of course, the typical UPCI person is not white, but is going to be Asian, or African, or Latin American, even more likely than to be white European, or North American.

A Twofold Strategy: Open Doors and Intentional Planting

• So, having said all that, I think we need a twofold strategy. First, every church needs to try to reach its community, be open and welcoming. So that — my often-stated goal, when I was a pastor in Austin: I know everybody can't come to our church, but I want anybody who lives in the Austin metro area, to walk in the church, and they could feel at home: I could worship here; I could see myself singing in the choir one day; I could see myself being a minister here. I wanted them to feel that way. Second, we also need to recognize that we must be intentional, when it comes to racial and ethnic minorities, and linguistic minorities. It's not enough just to say: everybody come — because they won't necessarily come. So I think you have to be intentional, about planting churches in neighborhoods, where there might be a strong — what is a minority for the overall city, would be a strong ethnic majority, or a linguistic majority. Because if you don't go to where people are — both geographically, and culturally, and linguistically — they may not come to you. Especially if people aren't saved, you might say: well, they should feel welcome. Well, maybe, because of experiences in their life, or what they've been taught, or what society's projected, they don't feel comfortable. Maybe they feel more comfortable within their own group. Especially if you are a minority. I was raised in Korea. I was a distinct minority. Now, I was not an oppressed minority, but I know what it's like to be the only person in the room of a different race, or the only person in the city bus of a different race. Attention is drawn to you: you have to be on — maybe you feel like, I have to be on my best behavior, or I have to make sure I'm communicating properly. I'm working in two cultures, two worlds. I have to meet expectations; I have to somehow kind of be a positive representative of who I am. But if I can retreat to my home, or to a place of people of my same race, or ethnicity, or language, I feel comfortable. So church forms that, for a lot of people — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
• So I think: a two-fold strategy, of every church being integrated, open, welcoming — so 11:00 is an integrated hour, and maybe the most integrated hour of the week, for many United Pentecostal churchgoers. But at the same time, going into neighborhoods, and sponsoring pastors who are Hispanic, or Black, or Asian, in neighborhoods that are predominantly, perhaps, that characteristic — and their church may predominantly reflect that — and that becomes a welcoming space. Although I would argue those churches, as well, should be welcoming, because any soul might come to any church, and the church can reach out to anyone. So we shouldn't have white churches, Black churches, Hispanic churches: we should just have churches. But recognize: different churches have different emphases, different ministries, different networks, and maybe different language. So, having said that, in the broad scheme: the overall majority of churches — and even if a church is rooted in a minority community — how can that church be welcoming? So, in my book, Anchor Points, I listed several things. So I'm just going to briefly read them. If you would like to be more intentional, and more multicultural, more multi-racial: how do you do that effectively? And that was our goal in Austin. It took us some years to develop that; but by the end, when I resigned as a pastor, to become General Superintendent, we were 50% white, Caucasian, and 50% everything else. So that was, again, similar to the Austin metro area — maybe even more tilted toward minorities, than the overall community. So we did achieve that goal. It's not necessarily easy, but you must be intentional. Here are the few things.

The Ten Practices, Part One: Teach, Design, Open Paths, Listen, Learn

• Number one: teach and preach racial inclusion, and against racism. We must teach that racism is sin. Number two: practice intentional diversity. So you design your advertising, your corporate worship experience, your public ministry, to show that you're welcoming people of every background. Number three: create attainable paths, to leadership and ministry, for all. So eventually — you can't do this as a token, or as a fake — but eventually, if you want to be truly diverse, people have to see there is diversity in your leadership: there are people like them, serving in various capacities. Otherwise, they might feel like: well, this is a white church, that, yeah, they'll let me come, but they don't really want me to have any significant leadership role. Of course, you can't just promote someone, as a token, to prove that. It has to be organic, and real. So what you do is, you can develop paths. So if somebody wants to join the choir: here are the qualifications; here are the steps. If someone feels called to preach: here are the steps. So once you make it objective, you demystify it, then anybody who comes could learn how they could be part of leadership and ministry. Number four: listen and learn. So talk to friends, talk to people of other ethnicities. Ask them questions; ask them what makes them comfortable, what doesn't. Ask them, even if they love the church, and they're committed to it: could they bring their friend, or family member? And if there's a barrier, what how could you make the church more welcoming, and more inclusive? Number five: develop social, cultural, racial, political awareness and sensitivity. So learn more; study more; learn what's important to other people. Learn some words, or phrases, or positions, that may seem innocuous to you, but may really be questionable to other people, may send the wrong signal. Maybe political statements, that — I think we should stand for biblical values, and we should encourage participation — but we shouldn't be making statements that make someone feel like: if I don't belong to a certain party, or vote a certain way, I'm not welcome to be here.

The Ten Practices, Part Two: Adapt Methods, Appreciate, Minister to Needs, Address Problems

• Number six: uphold biblical values, while adapting methods. So you can change methods; you can change the way — you know, singing styles — or you can add different styles of song, different songs; but we must maintain biblical values. Number seven: show appreciation for people, in their diversity, and employ relevant tools of outreach. So: special music, testimonies, culture recognitions, international potlucks. All Nation Sunday is a great way, to bring in people of other ethnicities and languages. Number eight: minister to people at their point of need. At the end of the day, people are people. So you don't have to have a special outreach, for a certain race: you have to genuinely care about all people. Minister to real needs. So if you are presenting salvation, truth, acceptance, guidance, assistance, training for people — you know, marriage training and counseling, parental training, financial training, job training — whatever the needs of the community, you're going to attract people with those needs. So you're helping to meet the physical, social, and spiritual needs. Number nine: acknowledge and address problems. If you are intentionally diverse, there is likely to come some type of conflict. Be willing, not to cover it up, but to address it forthrightly, at the lowest level possible, as kindly as possible. But let people know: we are committed to working out problems. If there are problems — I can't guarantee you'll never face a problem; you'll never face someone who's prejudiced. I can't guarantee the church will never have any kind of thing like that. But I can guarantee we'll address it forthrightly, and deal with it, in the best way possible.

Number Ten: Love People

• Number 10, I said: love people. You can have a good program; you can have a good facade; you can have diversity, and visual appearance, on your advertising. At the end of the day, you have to love people, as individuals. Not because they're Black, white, Asian, or whatever — but love people, because they're people. And, in the long run, they'll know that. And even if you make some mistakes, if they know you really love and care, there will be more understanding. If you work hard to say: 'We love you; we want you' — and not because you're a category, but because you are you, and God has led us to you, and you need the gospel, and our church needs you. And if somehow you can communicate that, then you can build a multicultural church.