Romans 15:5-7 reads, “May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God.”
Multicultural Ministry is a vision of God’s diverse human family becoming a reality in The United Methodist Church. It is a vision of the church becoming a community of faith where all equally belong. It is a longing for a new spirituality; a new way of being, where all persons, regardless of race, ethnicity, or culture, can give and receive trust, forgiveness, love, support, empowerment, acceptance, and radical hospitality. It is more than simply making space for one another to exist, and it is more than tolerating differences.
The Office Multicultural Ministries is an expression of the North Carolina Conference’s commitment to bear witness to a unity of faith and life in Christ that transcends cultural and ethnic, national and racial barriers. It involves taking seriously the Good News that Jesus Christ has made peace between people of every ethnicity, culture and class as we live together, love each other and respect one another.
There is a continual need in all churches to educate, inform, inspire and infuse a new burst of energy to mobilize our constituency in strengthening clergy and lay leadership. We have addressed some of these areas by providing opportunities to teach the Wesleyan Model of Reaching and Forming Disciples of Jesus Christ through small group training in the church—prayer groups, stewardship, evangelism and passionate worship and radical hospitality. For more information on small group training, call our office at extension 262.
This office also provides seed money through the Comprehensive Plan of Inclusiveness grants for projects you may be envisioning or planning in your local church. To be considered for a CPI Grant, the program/project must be targeted to impact one or more specific ethnic constituency, must address one or more chronic social problem or concern that impacts United Methodist ethnic local churches or ethnic persons, and must involve one or more United Methodist churches within the NC annual conference. Deadlines for submitting applications is March 31 and September 30.