Diversity in the Worship Ministry
“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am always with you always, to the end of the age.” — Matthew 28:18–20
Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples of every nation, meaning that God has always been in favor of diversity. Moreover, God has created human beings in his image as stated in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.” It is clear that he created everyone is his image, there was no exception between male and female. However, God didn’t create us all the same and shows no partiality towards us as seen in Acts 10:34, “So Peter opened his mouth and said: ‘Truly I understand that God shows no partiality…” In other words, the church was meant to have diversity in all areas of ministry.
Although there are a lot of differences, some ways to achieve diversity are by intellectually equipping, interpersonally engaging, and interdependently enduring in our relationships. First, by intellectually equipping one is being intentional in listening to other followers of Christ who are different than us culturally, ethnically, politically, and theologically. In doing so, we must also need to learn to discern what is right and wrong from these conversations. Second, by interpersonally engaging, one is inviting others to our dinner table and get to know them on a more personal level. This builds trust and will allow others to have conversations about ethnicity and culture. D.A. Horton in his book, Intensional, he states that, “Consistent and ongoing interpersonal engagement brings with it affirmation of the ethnic identity of people who mean much to us — and a better ability to work together and empathize moving forward.” In other words, Horton is saying that by having constant involvement in someone’s life does affirm their ethnic identity and helps to bring change. I agree with this statement because the more you spend time with those who are different than us, we are able to appreciate and understand them even more. Third, by interdependently enduring, one is able to fully love and remain faithful in those relationships. In times of chaos in this world, one is able to turn to entrusted friends and loved ones that will bring comfort. For example, the death of George Floyd did not only wake up America, but also churches that were showing partiality towards African Americans. Although there is still a lot of work to be done regarding racism, I truly believe churches have done a better job at not only listening but taking action on this issue. To conclude, by taking these suggestions it can create space to have deeper and meaningful conversations in a worship ministry.