Diversity and the impact of a local church

I'm going to share a part from the book I'm reading called One But Not The Same by Chris Williamson.  The title of this particular section leading up to the actual start of the book is called, A Diverse City.  "... Christ's bride is a racially mixed, economically mixed, and gender mixed bride.  This means that Jesus is in a mixed marriage!  That's beautiful and it should make us shout, but there is an obvious disconnect that should also make us weep, and here it is: The kingdom of God on earth through the church appears to be theoretical at best because the city coming from heaven is diversified whereas the city going to heaven is by and large homogenized in its local expressions.  In other words, we don't look like where we're going.  Our churches within the Church and our spiritual cities within the City are sadly segregated and separated along racial and denominational lines.  We all know that no segregated and separated church is going to have a lasting impact on a diverse world.  It's past time for the church, or should I say kingdom of God on earth, to come together and be united in the midst of our diversity.   We are much more potent and successful when we come together under the banner of Jesus.  We are much more reflective of heaven and God's great love when we come together as one."

Reading this has recently stuck out to me because I've been able to firsthand be a part of what it's like when a church is together in the midst of diversity (racially, economically, etc).  It's hard for me to describe what Providence has been to me so far other than a pretty sharp glimpse of what was said in that section.  This church is literally filled with so many different types of people.  Caucasians, African-Americans, Hispanics, African, wealthy, poor, ex-felons, etc have come to and even are apart of this church.  I've even met at least one of all those that I just described.  What I've been able to have been a part of so far this summer is truly unique.  Having this many people here at a church, where they aren't just another group of people able to be brought to sit in the pews, adds a level of variety to the church in a sense that when they go out to do work in the community, for one, it'll truly be a united force going out, but also, such diversity allows for a variety of views and insight into how things are or could be in given scenarios.  Having such a diverse congregation that is willing to go out and serve lets the church get a hand in the community that they might not have otherwise had.  With different people helping to lead the way here and there, the reach of the church can grow to become endless in many ways.  

A great example that sticks out to me came from today.  Today was the celebration that we had in Globeville.  In short, it was a neighborhood barbecue, party, and the opening of the neighborhood pool.  It was awesome to see how we were able to hook up with a local rec director and leader, Boogie, the organization Globeville cares, and other people to just make this event happen and to have a great day with those people in the community.  It was awesome because we were able to see a good handful of the people that we had gone out and surveyed when we were trying to get the building that the city was offering for grabs.  What was awesome about the leaders in the church was the fact that they said they hoped that they could get this building, but even if it wasn't meant for them to have it, they still had no doubt that they were going to stick around and make sure to do what they could in the community.  Building, or no building, Providence would be getting involved in Globeville and hopefully helping in whatever way possible.  With a church full of admitting, diverse, sinful people, who have problems just like anyone else, it's incredible to see the depth of service they are able to provide to those in these surrounding 9 neighborhoods and even beyond.  

Boogie, in the middle with the sleeveless shirt and tats, stands alongside
Pepe, a pastor at Providence at the beginning of the celebration