Pastor Joel Miller is the church planter of Providence Church in Birmingham, Alabama, which is about 4 years old. He was born in Dallas, Texas and has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Berea College, Kentucky and a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Orlando, Florida. He has studied in West Africa and Central America and was commissioned in the United States Air Force Chaplain Corps. Prior to planting Providence Church, he served on the pastoral staff of Briarwood Presbyterian Church. Joel has been married for fourteen years and has four children.
Pastor Miller’s church currently has about 170-200 adult attendees, about 150 of whom are committed. There is no dominant ethnicity in the church; on some occasions, African Americans have been in the majority, and currently Caucasians are in the majority. They also have some Asians and Latinos.
WHO IS AT THIS WORKSHOP
The attendees at this Advanced workshop are about 70% African American, and the others are Caucasian.
A district superintendent for the United Methodist church is here to learn more about developing multi-ethnic churches. Another gentleman here is currently pursuing a D.Min. at RTS and is interested in church planting among various ethnic groups. A woman is here who together with her husband is getting ready to plant in the NY City area. Some gentlemen from a plant in Knoxville, TN and the man coaching them are here as well.
THE IMPORTANCE OF A TARGET AUDIENCE
Miller noted that planting a multi-ethnic church has various challenges. A lot will depend on where you are geographically, and your particular gift set as a planter. Your target audience is who you are trying to reach. You need to know how to define your core constituency so that you can best reach them.
At the beginning, many planters just want to have anyone. But, it is better to have a target group, Miller argued. That said, you are doing well if about 1/3 of your church is from your target group. The rest of the people will resonate with that target group. If you don’t define your new church, and who you are trying to reach, Miller promises that other people who come into your church and will define it for you. They are not necessarily malicious, they just naturally fill a leadership void (and can become an irritant for you).
Miller explains that his church has a target audience of 22-38 year olds. They had a wealthy man whose wife wanted to sing in a certain style every week as a worship leader. But it was a style that was somewhat irritating to Miller’s target audience. So they asked if, out of respect for others, she would do that singing toward the back of the sanctuary, rather than as part of the worship team. The couple decided to leave the church instead. Miller, of course, was not asking them to leave the church, but this is the sort of price he had to pay in order to remain focused on reaching his core constituency.
Age, income, place of origin, neighborhood, language are all things to consider when you determine your core constituency. It is good to target younger families because that will help your church to grow. And generally the best place for a multi-ethnic church is in the center of the city. In some places in the south, there is a “white man = bad” mentality on the part of African Americans. Conversely, the Caucasians may be unaccustomed to relating to African Americans as peers.
The style of preaching, how people dress, the length and style of the service, the music….all these will impact the type of person who will attend the church.
Also, the identity of your target audience will impact the style of your brochure, website, and any marketing media (e.g., book marks, fliers). Do not use the phrase “multi-ethnic” in your official literature/website. It simply does not communicate appealingly to people. But, do use pictures that have people of various races (and relatively young, also).
Do not over-emphasize denominational identity on your website or elsewhere. For example, African American folk will not immediately embrace a PCA church. Miller recounted one of his members saying “I cannot believe I am in a Presbyterian church”–even though she had been there for two years.
LOCATION
Miller quoted Tim Keller about the importance of cities. Cities attract minorities, and people who work in the arts, business, publishing, and media. If you want to influence the world, influence the cities. There is vibrancy and open-mindedness toward interaction. Suburbanites can tend to be more isolated.
Miller contrasts some urban churches which are mainly mercy ministries (e.g., helping the homeless) from those that seek to reach urban professionals. The former tends to be primarily unilateral while the latter engenders a multi-ethnic community of peers.
Your facility has to be relatively neat. Americans crave order. Look for a combination of affordability and being at the geographic center of where various ethnicities reside. That probably means being at the heart of the city.
LOGISTICS
Miller suggests hiring musicians, especially at the beginning. Because good musicians attract other musicians. Miller would even suggest hiring vocalists. It took him awhile to come to this position. In established churches, everyone will sing along with Aunt Mable—not because she sings well, but because she had made us apple pies and helped us with the rent when we needed it. But if people don’t know Aunt Mable, they won’t feel those warm fuzzies. Instead, they will just say that she sings badly. And they probably won’t want to come to your church.
If you are trying to reach professionals, think of the quality of music that these people are used to hearing. This also applies to the sound quality. Learn to say no to poor musicians. And don’t use people based on their race. Use different styles of hymns and music to reach different kinds of people. But let worship leaders do what feels comfortable/natural to them. Not every Caucasian will be able to lead with gospel-style worship music. Also, be aware that many African American communities are used to having a choir. You may need to make some compromises from time to time.
In your preaching, “Beg, borrow and steal.” Who is ministering to you? Take what is best from multiple preachers who bless you. But don’t steal their sermons verbatim.
Note that it often takes churches or pastors a few years to hit their stride. Often times, pastors are reluctant to talk about a successful church across town because they feel threatened or inferior. But “just because a net is full, doesn’t mean you can’t go over there and get fish.” In other words, observe what they are doing and why. You may be able to catch on to something good. And despite the other church’s success, there are still plenty of non-Christians to reach in your community. On these themes, Miller recommends Breakout Churches: Discover How To Make The Leap
As a planting pastor, know your gift set. Some people love to study. Others are better evangelists. Others are natural counselors. So a planting pastor needs a core group, and he needs to empower people quickly (especially if he needs to fill some gaps in his gift set). Develop lay leaders (even small group leaders) relatively quickly and give them specific requirements. And some tasks are vitally essential, like a welcoming ministry — someone with a cheery smile to welcome new visitors, and to help them find the nursery. It can make a big difference in giving someone a good experience.
Whenever you develop people, there may be some betrayal and there will certainly be some who let you down. But bless them when they come and bless them as they go. God will use these experiences to form you as a leader.