Why should we do what we can to create diversity in our local churches? A diversity that goes beyond ethnicity and includes a variance of age, gender and socioeconomic status?
First of all, we should pursue diversity because God intended it. Acts 17:26-28 makes it clear that we’re all connected through God’s divine plan: “He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth” (v. 26, NKJV).
Yet it seems that in our quest for God, many choose to pursue Him only with people who look like them. We work together, play together, shop and eat together, but when it comes to worshiping the one God who made us to be one blood, we seek out those who are like us.
To create healthy diversity in our churches, our differences—regardless of what they are—must be celebrated.
We should pursue diversity because God intended it.
People want to be loved for who they are, and love is the one sure thing that can open the doorway to their hearts. And isn’t that what Jesus instructed? That we love our neighbor as ourselves? Did he not teach that we are to be neighbors even to our “Samaritans”? That we’re to be open and accepting of those who are different from us?
God created us all—therefore, each of us represents an aspect of His person. This means that, to truly be a reflection of our Creator, our churches must be diverse.
