Multiethnic Church NEXT

One Church, Many People

Multiethnic Church

For nearly 150 years, it’s been observed that eleven o’clock a.m. on Sunday is the most segregated hour of the week. Yet Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).

The question becomes: If the Kingdom of heaven is not segregated, then why on earth is the Church?

Since the publication of the groundbreaking book Divided by Faith by Michael O. Emerson and Christian Smith (Oxford University Press, 2000), an increasing number of pastors have chosen to build healthy multiethnic and economically diverse churches for the sake of the Gospel. More than nice, such churches are now necessary—because an increasingly diverse and cynical society no longer finds credible a message of God’s love for all people when it’s preached from
segregated pulpits and pews.

When men and women of varying color, class, and culture will themselves to walk, work, and worship God together as one—beyond the distinctions of this world that otherwise divide—they do more than explain the Gospel; they demonstrate its redemptive and reconciling power in ways that are accessible, meaningful, and impactful. In doing so, they answer the prayer of Christ on the night before He died: that we would be one on earth as it is in heaven, so that the world would know God’s love and believe (John 17:20–23).

  • Organizationally Healthy

    Equitable systems of responsible authority, governance, and accountability exist within the congregation through which broken relationships—both individual and collective, between people groups—are renewed, reconciled, and redeemed.

  • Culturally Intelligent

    Cross-cultural awareness, relationships, and competence shape an environment of mutual respect, understanding, and inclusion. As historic inequities and cultural divides are acknowledged and addressed, personal and collective growth occur—resulting in greater trust, reconciliation, and cooperative impact.

  • Biblically Just

    Engaging people at the bridge of Christ’s humanity by advocating and advancing justice, mercy, and compassionate work within the community—seeking to embody the righteousness of God by embracing the tension between sound theological reflection and practical relevance in an increasingly complex world.

  • Financially Sustainable

    Through wise stewardship of limited assets, healthy multiethnic churches and their pastors move beyond sole dependence on tithes and offerings to scale missional vibrancy—without compromising biblical vision by catering to the past experiences, personalities, or preferences of one or more demographic groups within the congregation.

NEW Video Series: Multiplying Healthy Multiethnic Churches

This six-episode series brings together leading voices shaping the Multiethnic Church Movement. Episodes explore the biblical, cultural, and structural factors that drive and sustain multiethnic church planting, growth, and multiplication. Combining fresh research, field-tested practices, and stories from the front lines, these conversations—designed for local church planters and planters, as well as denominational and network leaders who oversee them—offer applicational clarity for all who seek to establish Christ-centered local churches for the sake of the gospel and all people, not just some people, on earth as it is in heaven.

Brought to you by Exponential NEXT

7 On-Demand Videos

Description

This episode dives deep into the why, how, and what of developing Cultural Intelligence (CQ®). The conversation explores the four components of CQ—Drive, Knowledge, Strategy, and Action—and explains how pastors, staff teams, and entire churches can strengthen their CQ. With actionable insight and discussion of the CQ assessment tool, this robust interaction offers practical guidance for all who seek to understand diverse others and lead them to walk, work, and worship God together as one in the local church for the sake of the Gospel.

Video Series: Multiethnic Church

The future of the Church is multiethnic. So how can we equip church planters and network leaders to reach the most diverse, secular generation in US history? This series of interviews gives church planters the encouragement and tools to start and multiply multiracial churches, ethnic specific churches, as well as immigrant churches. It also equips network leaders to recruit, train, and creatively fund planters of color, who often feel unseen and unsupported to lead these new churches. These speakers were chosen specifically for their real-world expertise in leading their networks to reflect the diversity of our country.

Brought to you by Exponential NEXT

7 On-Demand Videos

Description

Our multiethnic church planting conversation begins with the leaders of the Multiethnic Collaborative, a group of church planting leaders of color seeking to raise up the next generation of diverse church planters.

Recent Multiethnic Church NEXT Podcast Episodes

Meet the director of Multiethnic Church NEXT

Mark DeYmaz

Mark DeYmaz is a thought-leading author, pastor, and recognized champion of the Multiethnic Church Movement. Before planting the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in 2001, where he continues to serve as Directional Leader, he spent eighteen years in student ministry. In 2004, Mark co-founded the Mosaix Global Network, where he serves as Executive Director and convener of the triennial Mosaix Conference. In 2008, he launched Vine & Village, a nonprofit dedicated to advancing the common good in Little Rock’s University District, where he remains actively involved as a board member.

Mark holds an M.A. in Exegetical Theology from Western Seminary and a D.Min. from Phoenix Seminary. He is also an Adjunct Professor at Wheaton College, where he established the Mosaix Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center in 2022. Since 2010, Mark has been a contributing editor for Outreach magazine. He is the author of eight books including the groundbreaking works, Building a Healthy Multiethnic Church and The Coming Revolution in Church Economics. His latest book, Make Me an Instrument of Your Peace: Becoming Like Jesus Through the Prayer of St. Francis (NavPress) is set for release in March 2026.

Mark and his wife, Linda, have been married nearly forty years and live in Little Rock, Arkansas, near their four adult children and six grandchildren.