Wesleyan pastors and leaders talk about multiethnic ministry within churches

“11 o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated time in America.”

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is credited with this statement, although history teaches it was actually Helen Kenyon who said it first in 1952 during an annual Christian Frontiers forum of the Women’s Society of Riverside Church in New York City.

Almost 64 years have passed since her statement and it still remains true. The lack of diversity is heartbreaking. We, as The Wesleyan Church, pursue a different narrative—one that begins with discipleship and church multiplication.

In recent days, over 85 Wesleyan pastors and leaders gathered in Dallas, Texas, to join 1,300 others as part of the third annual Mosaix Conference, a multiethnic church event. To date, this was the largest gathering of multiethnic church pioneers and practitioners in North America.

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Given the denomination’s history, it is within the DNA of The Wesleyan Church to be on the frontlines of this movement. Unfortunately, that narrative changed during the Civil Rights movement and we were mostly absent. The question remains: What will history say about us when it is written about this next season of church history? Our prayer is that we, as The Wesleyan Church, will return to our roots, live out the gospel, resist the temptation of pursuing our comforts more than our calling and simply watch God move.

Church Multiplication and Discipleship (CMAD) of The Wesleyan Church will continue to roll out several new initiatives such as Multiethnic Innovation and Learning Labs and Monday Multiethnic Moments, as well as continue our Multiethnic Conversations Cohorts. Join the Wesleyan Multiethnic Movement Facebook group to hear more and to continue the conversation.

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