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Roundtable Offers Support to Multiethnic Pastors
CHICAGO, IL (December 16, 2005) - Pastors of multiethnic congregations say
they are excited and encouraged by a recent roundtable that focused on
their unique needs and challenges.
"It was refueling," says Anne Vining Pederson, pastor of First Covenant
Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. "It was just what I needed. I was
reminded that I am not alone in the work that I've been called to."
Thirty pastors and Evangelical Covenant Church leaders met in Portland,
Oregon. The event was sponsored by the Department of Church Growth and
Evangelism (CGE) and was hosted by Henry Greenidge, pastor of Irvington
Covenant Church.
"The event was designed to help pastors resource one another in
identifying opportunities, strengths, strategies, and obstacles in
multiethnic ministry settings," says Gary Walter, CGE executive
minister. Participants engaged in biblical and theological reflection,
worship, problem-solving, fellowship and prayer. Cross-cultural
accommodations also were arranged.
Roughly 40 churches in the Covenant are multiethnic, says Walter. "To be
classified as a multiethnic congregation, it must have more than a
smattering of diversity. It must cross a 20 percent threshold," he notes.
"Multiethnic churches comprise less than two percent of all Christian
churches," says Ikki Soma, who pastors Connection Covenant Church in San
Antonio, Texas. Churches at the event represented congregations of all
sizes and ages, from the newly planted to some more than 100 years old.
"I learned that multiethnic churches look different in different
contexts of ministry," says Soma. "There are no pat principles that work
everywhere every time."
"Bringing various cultural perspectives together can create a richness
not found in monocultural congregations," says Walter. "It can also
bring additional challenges."
"I don't think they (multiethnic congregations) grow as quickly as
culturally homogenous churches since they are not the normal experience
for many people," says Soma. "Also, multiethnic pastors deal with the
cultural conflicts and cultural power struggles between ethnic groups.
Each culture looks at the way they do church as the 'right' way."
Linnea Carnes, pastor of Immanuel Covenant Church in Chicago, says she
was moved by the words of Donn Thomas of Messiah's World Outreach in
Atlanta, when he told the gathering that their challenge is to embody
the reconciliation that Christ has accomplished through his work.
"Some are more successful than others, but it takes hard work to break
through some of the barriers that exist," says Carnes. Fourteen
languages are spoken among the 70 people at Immanuel, she observes.
Walter drew attention to what he calls "the diversity of the diversity."
Aside from pastors who represented the majority of the people in their
congregations, there also were pastors in attendance who did not reflect
the majority in their respective congregations. "There were Caucasian
majority congregations lead by African American pastors, African
American majority churches lead by Caucasians, Hispanic/Asian American
congregations, and plurality congregations (no-single majority).
Attendance fluctuates between 60 and 80 at Connection Covenant, which
had its grand opening November 6. "Sometimes each of the ethnic groups
fluctuates between 10 and 40 percent," says Soma. "Our community is
about 10 percent African American, 10 percent Asian American, 40 percent
Hispanic, and 40 percent Anglo."
The staff mirrors the United Nations. "I am Japanese," says Soma. "My
wife, who oversees our children's ministry, is African American. Our
worship leader is Hispanic. Our treasurer is half Hispanic and half
British. Our guest relations director is African American and her
spouse, our business manager, is Hispanic. Our worship coordinator is
Anglo and his wife, who runs our sound board, is half Hispanic and half
Italian."
First Covenant was formed in 1874 with an attendance of 250 and is
working now to embrace the change in its neighborhood, says Pederson.
"We are intercultural, intergenerational and economically diverse."
Pederson notes that the 2000 U.S. Census showed that during the prior
decade, church communities went from 89 percent Anglo to 49 percent
Anglo. Most of her congregation's newcomers have been Hmong, she says,
adding that each of the three generations of Hmong that attend the
church have different interests and needs.
First Covenant had its first "urban musical," says Pederson, who was
excited at how well it turned out despite being "out of everyone's
comfort zone." The show featured a 14-year-old African American Mary and
a 16-year-old Caucasian Joseph.
Pastors say they intend to stay connected and pray for one another.
"Building relationships between pastors of multiethnic churches is
helpful to all of us since we can benefit from one another's experiences
- both successes and failures," says Carnes.
(Editor's note: The accompanying photograph, taken during the
roundtable, shows, from left, Peter Hong, Kevin Butcher, Joel Oyoumick,
Gary Walter, and Promise Lee.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
