Challenges of the Ethnic Millennium

Challenges of the Ethnic Millennium
Continued, page 5 of 5

The challenge for the church and parachurch organizations in the "Ethnic Millennium" is to:

If we are successful, we will learn who the ethnics are and what they are seeking. We will introduce them to Christ and bring them into His church with culturally relevant programs and materials.

If we fail to appropriately address these issues, the denominations and parachurches will become more exclusive and more "white". We will quickly become a remnant of what we once were rather than being a mighty instrument of God in the coming century. We will move from being the senders to the receivers of foreign mission enterprises. We will become a minority in a nation of Muslim, Hindi, Buddhist, and New Age religions.

I challenge you as leaders whom God has positioned to impact ethnic communities to lead the Christian community to impact the Ethnic Millennium. In answering the question, "Where do we being?" I would offer the following.

First, we must work together. No single Christian organization can evangelize and resource the over 800 ethnic groups that have made America their home. We must passionately seek ways to collaborate without losing our distinctiveness. We can work together to gather data, identify cultural distinctives, and create models of effective church planting, church growth and evangelism.

Second, we need to work to make our Christian organizations sensitive to the ethnic millennium. Our leaders need the vision and facts which will lead their organizations to network with ethnic leaders, hire ethnics for upper-management positions, and assist in the development of ethnic churches and parachurch associations. Our colleges and seminaries need to broaden their curriculum and expand degree programs with offerings in multiple languages and diverse cultural settings.

Our leaders must have a new focus and appreciation for the strategic value of ministries working to resettle refugees, work with international students, and minister to Muslims, Native Americans, and other ethnic groups. These are bold steps but society is changing and Christian leaders must rise to the challenge.

"Foreigners who bind themselves to the Lord to serve Him, to love the name of the Lord, and to worship Him, all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it and who hold fast to My covenant, these I will bring to My holy mountain and give them joy in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations."

Isaiah 56:6-7

Dr. Russell Begaye is the National Multi-Ethnic Specialist Manager, Southern Baptist Convention. This article is excerpted from his comments at the Mission America conference on Ethnic Diversity, held November 18-20, 1999 in Atlanta.

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