Case for Unity
“We shouldn’t be so focused on developing genuine multiethnic unity within our church but should instead focus on evangelism.” Have you heard this statement? I have. It may be rooted in the belief that any effort to build multiethnic unity is in direct competition with evangelism and bringing new people into relationship with Christ.
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In fact, one of the most significant barriers to evangelism is that the world doesn’t see that the Gospel is relevant. They look at our lives and don’t see that God is at work, changing us in powerful ways. In John 13:35, Jesus, praying for unity, says, “By this, all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” Indeed, when we have multiethnic unity within the Church, it is a powerful witness to the world that draws people to God.
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Even though Jesus instructed His disciples to go into all the world and preach the Gospel, they remained in Jerusalem. But when persecution arose after Stephen’s martyrdom, Jesus’ followers scattered, traveling as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch. Everywhere they went, they shared about Jesus, but they did so only to Jews. But, there was a notable exception. In Acts 11, we see some men from Cyprus and Cyrene speak to Hellenists (Jews whose mother tongue was Greek and who were to varying degrees culturally Greek) as well, preaching the Lord Jesus. The result was the formation of the first multicultural church, planted in Antioch. Acts 13:1 profiles the leadership team that sends out Paul and Barnabus, demonstrating the ethnic and cultural diversity: Barnabus, a Jewish Cypriot; Simeon called Niger, meaning “dark or black”; Lucius of Cyrene, a city in Libya, North Africa; Manaen, a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, so a Herodian and likely a Hellenist; and Saul a former Jewish Pharisee.
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Three times, from verse 21 to verse 26, we see the phrases “great number” and “great many,” describing the number of believers being added to the Lord. I believe there is a direct connection between this being a multiethnic body of believers and the number of converts being great. In the first century, seeing people from different ethnic groups come together in unity was unusual. That unity alone was sign enough that it was God at work in this fellowship of Jesus’ followers, resulting in a magnified response to the message that was preached.
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If we want to be credible witnesses to the community around us, we must realize that our message begins not with our evangelism but with the unity we build within our walls. It is not about elevating multiethnic oneness over the Gospel but understanding that the two are inextricably linked.
I celebrate that the congregation where I’m a member values a gospel of both multiethnic unity and evangelism.