The number of multicultural churches — those in which at least one in five people is from a different ethnic group — is still relatively tiny. Even within diverse denominations such as the Assemblies of God, where about a third of the churches have minority congregations, or the Southern Baptists, where 20% of churches have minority congregations, only a small percentage meet that one-in-five criteria.<\/p>\n
Mark DeYmaz, pastor of Mosaic Church, a diverse non-denominational church based in Little Rock, says he believes the number is going to grow. DeYmaz said his congregation of 600 is about 40% white, 33% African-American, 15% Hispanic, with the rest from a variety of backgrounds.<\/p>\n
When Mosaic opened in 2001, DeYmaz said he knew of few diverse churches. Now he knows of several hundred.<\/p>\n
“When we get to heaven, the kingdom of God isn’t going to be segregated,” he said. “So why should the local church be segregated?”<\/p>\n