Are Multi-Ethnic Churches dead?

Is the multiethnic church still worth fighting for? If you ask Dr. Efrem Smith, he would say it’s needed now more than ever; but only if the church becomes honest about whose culture is being treated as “normal.” In this conversation, Efrem joins the Un-Silent Church Podcast to talk about why a diverse church that still centers whiteness isn’t enough, and why Black Christianity is a gift to the whole church rather than something Black pastors should suppress, as we all should seek to understand why racial reconciliation has to address both souls and systems. Along the way, Efrem shares what he learned after realizing what his own pastoral scorecard had quietly become; we talk about why some Black Christians have walked away from multiethnic churches, and what pastors need to understand if they actually want to shepherd people across cultures. Our hope is that this conversation helps us navigate what a truly Christ-centered, multicultural church looks like, and ask the harder question: Do people even want to become one?