Grace Presbyterian Church, Montclair, New Jersey

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Pastor's Pulse

by Paul Leggett, Pastor

Becoming a Multi-cultural Church

June 2009

“Then people will come from east and west, from north and south, and will eat in the kingdom of God.” — Luke 13:29

The picture we have of the kingdom of God both in the ministry of Jesus and in later parts of the New Testament is one of great diversity.  In the Great Commission Jesus commands his disciples to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19).  In the Book of Revelation we have the future picture of “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and the Lamb” (Revelation 7:9). The picture of the church of Jesus Christ both in the present and in its final consummation is one in which people from all nations, tribes and languages will be joined together in praise of the Lord Jesus Christ, the only Savior of the world.

In our recent Missions Conference we heard about the tremendous growth of the church in Asia, Latin America and, especially, in Africa.  The cover story of The New York Times Magazine on Easter Sunday focused on Nigeria as perhaps the most Christian nation on earth.  We are living through an exciting period in which we are seeing people representing “all nations” coming to Christ. 

We see some of this here at Grace Church.  In our most recent Inquirers’ Classes (which are required for new members) the majority of those participating have been from racial-ethnic backgrounds that are not European or Caucasian.  One of our most vital ministries of the past several years has been the Gospel Music Service under the direction of Dr. Charsie Sawyer of Calvin College.  Each of the three Gospel music services has had an attendance of three hundred or more. This past March, for the second year in a row, we had a higher attendance at this service than we had at the 11:00 a.m. Easter service.  Attendance, though, does not describe the impact of this service.  People were stirred and moved.  Visitors were brought into the church.  Older members returned.  Most importantly, Jesus Christ was praised and worshipped.

We are increasingly a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural church.  For this we praise God.  At the same time we need to be intentional about acknowledging and promoting our diversity.  As a congregation we represent increasingly varied ethnic backgrounds and cultural styles.  Yet we are all “one in Christ Jesus” (Galatians 3:28).  Let us pray that we may more and more reflect the true nature of the church of Jesus Christ “from all tribes and languages and peoples.”