Ramping Up our Diversity Discipleship and Resources for Youth

Of all the topics I’ve been asked to provide as a youth leader, diversity discipleship and preparing students for a multiracial future in the Church is not one of them.  I wonder why? As I look at the world through the eyes of our youth, I am even more unsure as to why this topic is so often ignored.

A friend of mine likes to point out passages such as John 17:21 and following, Revelation 5 and Revelation 7 as texts that offer Biblical imperatives regarding this.  There are so many other passages that offer the same instruction and vision for a multiracial Church in a diverse and changing world.

And this changing world and its many people groups are so close thanks to technology. Our culture values diverse food, music, clothing, languages, and art. Our neighborhoods, schools, and hopefully churches are becoming more diverse as well.

How well are we and our young people looking at, interpreting well, understanding, and engaging with what our eyes see?" 

Another question is "Is it preferable spiritually and humanely to live, work, and worship as if the changes in life mentioned above are what we want to, through discipleship, mentoring, and modeling, embrace or ignore?"

Another is "Do we Boomers and Builders want to equip, through our resources, passion, and commitment, our children and grandchildren for Biblical and demographic, technological, and cultural realities?"

I believe the answer is “yes” to all of these questions. I would suggest it’s not so much diversity training as much as diversity life-long discipleship. And as youth leaders and Christian educators, we own this opportunity.