Most importantly, they are recognizing how the systemic segregation of the local church unintentionally undermines the very credibility of our message: God’s love for all people on earth as it is in heaven. Indeed, the future of gospel impact and penetration in this country depends upon passionate individuals and churches getting this right.
How will this upcoming conference differ from 2010′s gathering?
In 2010, we provided eight tracks. This year, we have practically doubled these to include new discussions on Community Engagement, Overcoming the Racial Divide, Engaging Hip-Hop Culture, Multi-Ethnic Student Ministry and more.
Is there a topic focus or theme this year? On what specific messages will the conference focus?
This year’s theme is For the Sake of the Gospel. We wanted to remind observers that the multi-ethnic church movement is rooted (as is a healthy multi-ethnic church) in New Testament theology and ecclesiology. Its primary aim is to reconcile individuals to God through faith in Jesus Christ by presenting a credible witness of God’s love for all people in and through the local church, and to reconcile the local church, itself, to the principles and practices of first-century churches in which diverse believers of Jewish and Gentile cultural heritage walked, worked and worshipped God together as one in response to and for the sake of the Gospel.
For church planters attending the Multi-Ethnic Church Conference, what are some potential takeaways you believe will be eye-opening for planters wanting to launch multi-ethnic churches?
1. I believe this conference will significantly advance the movement by exponentially advancing relational connections among leaders of like minds, leading to synergistic advancement of our collective cause, and increased collaboration across the country.
2. I think this conference will hasten the soon-coming arrival of the early adopter stage of the movement, which will begin when 20 percent of churches have at least 20 percent of diversity within their attending membership. At present, that percentage is 13.7 percent across the board; 14.4 percent in Protestant evangelical churches. We are on track then to achieve this goal by 2020, or perhaps sooner given what will come out of this conference.
3. The conference will help networks and denominations understand that the oft-asked question of church planters—”Who’s your target audience?”—is biblical only insofar as it addresses evangelism, discipleship and leadership development. In other words, there is no biblical precedent, license, freedom or mandate to target a single demographic for church planting, growth and development.