Ethnic Churches: A More Better Way than Bashing Them

I imagine many readers have heard Martin Luther King’s quote “It is appalling that the most segregated hour of Christian America is eleven o’clock on Sunday morning.”  People who often quote King go on to lament about how many churches look monolithic.  Still some would also bash ethnic churches.  I’ve been guilty of this myself.  But in this post I want to look at “a still more excellent way.”  And like 1 Corinthians 12:31 that I quoted, this better way is nuanced, Gospel centered and loving.  Loving of God and all people group.

It is good to have multi-ethnic churches

First off I think it is good for churches to be multi-ethnic.  We reach all people with the Gospel and all people are made in the image of God.  Yet all image bearers are also sinners in need of grace and God has redeemed sinners from the nations and not just Jews through Christ Jesus.  God has a Promise Plan to bless and save the nations even way back in Genesis (Genesis 12:3).   Being aware of God’s promise plan in Genesis 12:3 Paul in the Church states the following truth in Galatians 3:28-29: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise.”

So nothing I have to say is bashing multi-ethnic churches.  But I want to write about one additional way of going about it.  But first it might be good to talk about the model that I currently see.

Contemporary Models of multi-ethnic churches

I see two prevalent models of trying to have multi-ethnic churches today.

The first is a new church plant.  A church planting pastor starts up a new church with a core group that is already multi-ethnic.  They reach everyone who are multi-ethnic.  It is part of their DNA to celebrate diversity.

Sometimes from personal experience I find that such church can emphasize more ethnic diversities than the Gospel.  I’m cautious with any group that emphasize something as an agenda above the Gospel and the Word of God.  Also when I was younger before I was a pastor I have been approached by multi-ethnic ministries and multi-ethnic churches making an appeal to join them.  As an ethnic minority I feel I have become a project or points for their church or ministry to say they are diverse for diversity sake rather than for deeper and more spiritual concern.  These two problems I noted doesn’t mean every multi-ethnic church plants have these problems necessarily; but I think it is worth being aware that these two problems are going to be real temptation of intentional multi-ethnic church plants.  I do think there can be multi-ethnic church plants are Gospel centered and biblically minded.

The second model I see is usually Anglo churches that are led to be intentional of being multi-ethnic.  Sometimes with all the White-bashing by liberals I actually think more Caucasian churches have often done a better job of including others than other ethnic groups.

Given these two kinds of churches I have seen some who are in both these kinds of churches sometimes have a negative view of ethnic churches.  But I hope this post would lead those who have such views be challenged to think more bibically and lovingly of ethnic churches in specific situations.

The Ethnic Church

We want to reach the nations.  That’s the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20).  Sometimes the nations have come to our shore.  We have an opportunity as Christians to reach them.  But then there are language barriers.  We shouldn’t wait for them to all learn English before we reach them for the Gospel; sometimes the reality is they won’t be able to all learn English properly enough in their life time.  The stake of sinners going to hell is way too high.  So planting an ethnic churches to reach a minority ethnic group with language barrier has its rationale.

If the Lord uses the ethnic church to reach the lost, there will be people coming.  People naturally start having families.  Soon there’s a second generation.  The second generation are clustered under the “English ministry.”  Many ethnic churches eventually lose their second generation members and attendee after high school years for many reasons.  The kids go off to college or out of their parents house as adults.  Some are just non-Christians church kids, who fall away now that they are an adult and aren’t compelled to go to church.  Yet some kids who are genuine Christians might leave as well.  Perhaps its to leave “their parents church.”  There might be reasons concerning cultural factors such as the thinking “I’m more American,” or simply “this church don’t have people my age” since the ethnic congregation is getting older and their peers are leaving in droves.  Sometimes it is out of a pure motivation of love of God that people move to other churches that are multi-ethnic away from ethnic churches.

Lately my thought has been this: If everyone in the second generation of an ethnic church leaves, who will love the elderly, minister to them, pick them up for church and who will be there for hospital visitation?   In a way neglecting those who are weak and elderly is unloving.  I do think there is Christian liberty to leave.  But what if God is calling some Christians to stay to minister to the older congregation?  Should this challenge those who are not in ethnic churches to re-evaluate our questioning of motives of everyone who are in ethnic churches?  Many who are in second generation will feel the tug to leave and yet loving commitment ties them to the church.  Hearing people complain with blanket statements that why people are in ethnic churches can sometimes be unhelpful and even hurtful.

Just real talk: Sometimes churches of certain minority background also have issues of biblical illiteracy.  I’ve seen many churches where the second generation English ministry are more biblically grounded than the first generation.  But if everyone leaves, what about the ethnic congregation’s growth through the Word of God and sound doctrines?  This is one of several reason why I as a pastor feel compelled to minister in the ethnic church that I’m at; not that in the beginning of my Christian days I ever imagined I would go to an ethnic church let alone stay for years and have roots in (if you can’t tell from my blog, I’m very American).  But I have a burden that sound expository preaching should be heard no matter what ethnicity you are; and that certain population group have a need and any chance I get with to preach and have someone faithfully translate my preaching to an ethnic congregation is a great privilege and responsibility.

At times there is also a possible irony of being “ethnic” and “tribal” in a reverse sort of way if the primary motivation for leaving ethnic churches is for the sake of some idea of what should be the ethnic make-up of the church.  For all the talk about not being about ethnic, if all the second generation leaves an ethnic church with elderly ethnic members we can ironically make ethnicity above the Gospel as a reason for leaving that church.  The Gospel compels us to love others because He loves us.  It would be unloving if the whole second generation leaves behind an ethnic elderly congregation that is dwindling in numbers with many needs.  It can also at times be ironic for people who talk so much about love and unity with other ethnic groups as reasons for leaving their ethnic church and yet at the same time totally fail in loving and being united with those of their background ethnic group when there is an actual need.  Blind spots are a reality given our finite, frail and failing nature.

But what are we to do?  How does someone from an ethnic background balance the two impulse of being at one in Christ with other ethnicities and also loving those they might never thought about loving: the ethnic elderly congregation?

Another Model of Multi-Ethnic Churches

I think maybe a possible mediating loving model for some (if God has called one to be there) is staying with that ethnic church to serve in the way God calls them and to remember to demonstrate love and care for the elderly first generation.  Let me personally speak to anyone that might feel this is describing them: Since you kind of know the language and culture better than most, you are an asset.  But that doesn’t mean you have to be ethnically tribal.

In our English congregation we reach out to everyone without partiality with the Gospel.  Anyone that comes in that don’t speak the language of the ethnic group we have them be a part of the English ministry.  The Gospel, the Bible and Christ is the basis for multi-ethnic unity.  At the same time I tell our congregation all the time the ethnic congregation will need us to serve them more and more over time because they are getting older and that part of love is that no matter what ethnic background we have we lovingly serve the older congregation too; if we are challenged, that is good, you can’t domesticate God’s calling of us to love people.

If we don’t have a truncated Gospel I think we discover the Gospel and the Gospel implication of love is a resource even when it is not a situation that is fits the current Evangelical idealization of one method of going about with diversity.  I think the current model promoted by denominations can be flashy and shiny and at times hipster.  My model might be slower; but I think it shows the maximum love since it is conscious of the elderly ethnic congregation.

Again it is not a situation of either/or: It is not either I reach the community of Hispanics, second generation Asians, Whites, etc., or I minister to the ethnic congregation in the church; it is both evangelize to everyone and also minister to the ethnic congregation.

So my philosophy of ministry now is to evangelize everything that breathes, whether they are Black, White, Red, Yellow or Green (Marine), and edify both the English ministry and ethnic ministry in the Church, all with the goal of exalting the God who saves and unites us all.