Multi-Ethnic Ministry and World Missions

When you first read the title of this post, you may wonder how they go together.  Actually they go together quite naturally and quite efficiently!

Multi-ethnic ministry exists because of people coming from different countries to one common country.  They bring their language, culture, interests, music, dress and many other things from their home country.  They bring them with them solely because they are a large part of their home life and way of living.  We all understand our home countries since it's where we came from. We are each much better suited than anyone else to reach our home country for Jesus Christ.

When people come to the USA from different countries and learn of Jesus Christ while here, it is quite natural for them to have a burden for others who do not know Him or know of Him.  Their home country and their home towns are regularly on their minds.  It has been a large part of their lives.  Now they have a new thought and a new burden for those back home who do not know Jesus Christ.  Who is more naturally suited to reach these lost souls than those who understand their language, culture, interests, music and dress?  We are all much more effective in reaching those from our own countries since we can more effectively reach people to whom we can better relate.

I know of an intentional multi-ethnic church that has a goal of sending 40% of its members back to their home lands for both short term and long term periods with the direct intent of evangelism and church planting.   When you think about it, multi-ethnic churches can be the most effective world missions tool that we have ever had in church history.  After all, wasn't it always the Apostle Paul's desire to reach his own people for Jesus Christ?  It will naturally be ours as well!

The Birth of the Local Church - Church Series #3

When and where did the local church begin?  Believe it or not, not everyone agrees on this one.  Most Biblical scholars do point to Acts 2 as the birth place of the local church.  In this sermon I take just Acts 2:36-41 and look at what happened on that first day in Jerusalem.  It is "The Birth of the Local Church" as described by the apostle Luke and witnessed by the other 11 apostles.  It answers the question:  "What makes a true Biblical local church?"

Your Multi-Ethnic Pastor

The Universal Church - The Church Series #2

There continues to be great debate and confusion about the church today.  Theologians have debated "The Universal Church" or "The Invisible Church" for years.  It is something that we cannot see, touch or hear.  How do we describe it?  How to we know what it is?  Better yet we can define it by what it is not.
This sermon "The Universal Church" attempts to answers those questions from a variety of passages of Scripture.  We start out in Matthew 16:13-20 and go from there.  It is not the final answer but it certainly adds to the discussion!

The Foundation of the Multi-Ethnic Church

The multi-ethnic church movement is an infant but yet growing movement.  Those of us who are in the thick of it are very excited about it.  We are moved when we see others begin to see what we have just realized in the past few years outselves.  We are all becoming aware because of the changing make up of the United States of America.  It is a changing nation.

The nations of the of the world are coming to us like never before.  They have trickled here before, but now they are pouring in due to unrest around the world, as well as economical opportunities in our country.   This is a constant political issue.  How do Christians address it?

There is only one way.  It is from a Biblical basis.  The multi-ethnic church movement MUST be first and foremost Biblical in everything it does.  The leaders of the movement, in groups like Mosaix Global Network and others, share this same conviction.

I am in the process of posting a series of sermons on "The Church" that I preached a few years ago.  No matter how you look at this issue, no matter what nation you came from or have gone to, Biblical truth never changes.  It may look a little different from culture to culture but the sound doctrine which supports it never changes.  May God help us to reach the nations of the world for Him!

Dave

The Promised Church - The Church Series #1

There are a lot of different thoughts out there concerning what we call "The Church" in our present day.  Some want nothing to do with it.  Some make it the center of every aspect of their lives.  What does the Bible say?   This sermon answers the question: Where did the church come from anyway?  The title for this sermon is "The Promised Church!" The text for this sermon is Matthew 16:13-20.

Confidence In Prayer

Do you ever feel guilty when you don't know how to pray?  Are you frustrated when you try to pray but the words just don't seem to come or seem to come out right?  God has planned for that and those times are to be expected.  God speaks through Paul in Romans 8 and tells us how we are to have confidence in our prayer life.  I trust that this sermon is an encouragement to you through the power of God's Word.

The Power of the Word

This is a sermon from II Timothy 4:1-5.  Why is the Word of God so necessary and powerful in the life of the Christian?  God's Word is the most important thing for the Christian today.  This was a sermon that I preached in Austin, MN in September 2005.

David Johnson,
Your Multi-Ethnic Pastor