Living the Gospel through the Multi-Ethnic Church with Mark DeYmaz

Mark DeYmaz, founder of Mosaix Church and the Mosaix Global Network, passionately articulates how the multi-ethnic church is the visible sign of the Gospel. In this wide-ranging conversation, Mark shares the origin story of Mosaix Church and his conviction that “if a people group or an individual is missing, then we’re actually missing part of the beauty of what God is revealing.” From a gripping football metaphor to scriptural analysis and an in-depth reflection about the economic and demographic challenges for churches today, this fast-moving, hopeful, and challenging conversation is not to be missed! 

Quotations

“Formation isn’t a Christian idea. It’s a human one. All of us are always being formed.” (1:14)

“In the New Testament, men and women, Jews and Gentiles, rich and poor all walk, work and worship God together as one, in local churches.” (11:59)

“If the Kingdom of Heaven is not segregated, why on earth is the church?”(14:12)

“We live in a Matthew 5:16 century” (19:49)

“Jesus didn’t say let them hear your good words. He said let them see your good works.” (19:50)

“In the 21st century you have to get people comfortable living with tension.” (35:01)

"So it's not about size, it's about influence. The greater diversity, the greater your influence, comfort versus tension in the 20th century. You make people feel comfortable at church in the 21st. You gotta get people comfortable with tension, right? Because that's where the unity is. And the, the, the picture of that to me is Jesus with his arms outstretched dying on the cross, lifted up to draw all people himself."

“We are called to be ministers of reconciliation and ambassadors of peace.” (41:45)

“We have to stand on our faith, our stewardship, our love, and just go for it.” (43:28)

We Discuss:

• The complicated relationship between what’s happening in the church today and the role of formation (2:35)
• We have to consistently ask who we are seeking to become and what is asked of us. (3:24)
• If we are not intentional about how we are formed, we will default to being formed by the influences around us. (4:08)
• Starting and growing Mosaic Church following a New Testament model (9:00)
• Mosaic Church functions like a football team – different teams all working together to meet the particular challenges of its congregation (16:35)
• How Mosaic Church blends spiritual, nonprofit and for-profit strategies to thrive (19:11)
• The credit that Mosaic Church gets is to the glory of God (20:51)
• Their drive to advance the cause of Christ by meeting the needs of their community led them to innovate their business model (23:30)
• Metrics for the church in the 21st century (30:17)
• We have to show pastors how to stop just managing decline (31:14)
• In the 21st century the key purpose of the church is to help people get comfortable living in tension (35:01)
• Regardless of the challenges, and emboldened by the Gospel, we have to act out of faith and optimism (43:28)

About Mark DeYmaz

Mark DeYmaz is a thought-leading writer and recognized champion of the Multi-Ethnic Church Movement. Mark planted the Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas in 2001 where he continues to serve as Directional Leader. In 2004, he co-founded the Mosaix Global Network, and currently serves as its president and the convener of the National Multi-ethnic Church Conference which occurs every three years. He has written several books, including his most recent, The Coming Revolution in Church Economics, as well as Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community. His book Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church was a finalist for a Christianity Today Book of the Year Award in 2008.

Show Notes

More information about Mark DeYmaz can be found on his website.

Mark DeYmaz is the author of several books including The Coming Revolution in Church Economics, Disruption: Repurposing the Church to Redeem the Community and Leading a Healthy Multi-Ethnic Church

This podcast is brought to you by the Leadership Ministry team at TMF and Wesleyan Investive. Leadership Ministry connects diverse, high-capacity leaders in conversations and environments that create a network of courage, learning, and innovation in order to help the church lean into its God-appointed mission.

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