Diversity in Worship Ministry

Diversity in churches all across the United States and even throughout the world tend to lack ethnic, cultural, and multi-generational diversity. All throughout the Bible, Christ’s church is seen and described as consisting of many nations, tribes, languages worshipping together in Heaven. Whether in Daniel that says, “And to Him was given dominion, Glory and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and men of every language Might serve Him. His dominion is an ever-lasting dominion Which will not pass away; And His kingdom is one. Which will not be destroyed.” or in Revelation where in chapter 7 it states, “After these things I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.” God’s people consist of many nations, tribes, ages, and languages. Soon, all God’s people will worship the Lord together in Heaven. There are some ways the church can do better at working towards developing a more diverse worship ministry and culture.

Ethnic diversity is not a requirement for church ministry. As it is not mentioned in 1 Timothy 3 where Paul writes about the various qualifications for the Church’s leadership. However, every Pastor should desire diversity within the ministry as well as within church leadership. 1 Timothy 3:2 says, “Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable.” A leader that is soberminded, respectable, and hospitable should be able to view people through a biblical lens. Firstly, every person is made in the image of God. Secondly, every person is totally depraved and is in need of a Savior. We are all wretched sinners that desperately need Christ and His gospel. The only effective way to implement authentic ethnic diversity is to preach the biblical gospel to all peoples. Once people see themselves as being the biggest problem rather than believing it’s someone else, only then will we understand the gospel then repent.

It’s often said, “Jesus didn’t come to save skin color, he came to save souls.” The issue of racial tension within cultures is so much deeper than skin color. It derives from the fall in Genesis 3. We are all wretched sinners and deserve hell for our sin against a Holy God. I believe God designed the gospel so perfectly and so astoundingly beautiful that it carries the power to not only save our souls but to give us the right view of all people created in God’s image. God created one human race and from it came many peoples and cultures. The gospel is the only true solution to healing a mans wicked heart and making him more and more into of the likeness of Christ by the Spirit of God through the process of sanctification. A simple and tangible way to implement ethnic diversity within the church ministry is for the church to invite people who look different than us and speak different than us to church. Another way is to befriend someone who looks differently than you. If they’re a believer, do life with them and if they’re not a believer befriend them, in hopes of one day sharing the gospel and inviting them to church.

Multigenerational diversity is needed back in our churches today. Often times we see churches that have “young people services” at 11am and the “old people service” at 8:30am. I think this is a huge divide that has plagued the church. One way to implement multi-generational diversity is to bring all the services together into one big service. This may involve tending to the need of the young people as well as the older people within the church. This can look like singing hymns along with singing contemporary songs for corporate worship.

Authentic diversity within the church is a beautiful thing because it points to what the truly looks like. Whether it’s ethnically, socio-economically, or multi-generationally, the Church should always do our best in sharing the gospel with all kinds of people. In the end, Christ’s church is diverse and will consist of those standing in awe of the glory of God and His gospel singing praises to the Lamb forever.