February Fresh Catch – Multicultural Ministry from evanmcbroom on Vimeo.

JESUS: Following Christ’s example, we strive to love/respect one another and trust God in all we do and say.

SKILZ: Our expertise challenges churches to discover where God is leading them to make their next move.

WOO: We ignite and value the fun and energy that God brings to our relationships and the people we partner with: our client teams, vendors and fellow church communicators.

BIG-BOY PANTS: We strive for a professional and humbly confident approach, guiding clients toward expecting excellence from themselves.

EXTREME COMMUNICATIONS/MINISTRY MAKEOVERS: Collaborating with clients, we work to maximize their resources and empower people to be the hands and feet of Christ.

Our work allows us the honor of working with so many godly and smart church leaders that selecting the Fishhooker of the EOM is not an easy task. But we didn’t want that challenge to prevent us from introducing you to some great people who are serving the Church and connecting people to Christ.

For the February 2010 Fishhooker of the Every Other Month distinction, the Fishhook Team has selected Greg Snider, senior project developer in the Chicago office of Aspen Group, an innovative church construction and design company. Fresh Catch asked Evan McBroom to share his thoughts on why Greg deserves the honor:

1. What is Greg’s connection to/relationship with Fishhook?

The Connection: As part of the Aspen Group team, Greg has pulled Fishhook into their design/build Alignment Process to help churches improve how they communicate. Greg and Aspen bring together resources to help not just build a better building, but help church leaders build a better church.

The Relationship: It’s the perfect combination of work and play – colleague and friend. While Greg operates out of Aspen Group’s Chicago office, and I’m in Indy, we work together face-to-face at least once a month. We attend/speak at several conferences a year and in the midst of the work, there’s always time for laughter, swapping old stories, an early morning run and encouraging each other. We have a lot of fun.

2. Which of Fishhook’s Core Values does Greg most reflect?

That’s a tough one, because I can find Greg in all of them. As a Christ-follower, he’s sold out. He challenges clients to be bold yet discerning. Greg wears the big-boy consulting pants well, and he is the consummate collaborator. If I have to choose, I’d say everything I see Greg do is driven by his heart for God and the realization that people need to be in relationship with Jesus.

3. If you were describing Greg to someone who has never met him, what would you say?

Energy. If you walk into a room and you’re wondering which one is Greg, look for the tall, slim guy in the pressed shirt that has drawn a crowd and has the biggest laugh. All energy.

4. What has Greg’s impact been on the Church at large?

Greg makes stuff happen. I don’t know how you measure his impact, but I know there are church leaders who had visions and dreams and Greg helped them realize them — and those dreams have helped bring people to Christ. While I can see that Greg’s impact at Aspen Group has been significant, and while his impact on Fishhook has brought great opportunities to collaborate, Greg’s Kingdom impact must be huge.

It’s not just about what Greg get’s done, but also what Greg doesn’t do. He doesn’t put his interest, or Aspen Group’s interest or Fishhook’s interest before his understanding of the Kingdom interest. I’ve seen Greg counsel church leaders NOT to move forward with their facility plans until their ministries are fully ready for the pressure and stress that a facility project will put on a congregation and its leaders. The positive impact of that counsel has got to be enormous.

5. If someone had 1/2 hour to spend with Greg, what would you recommend he/she pick his brain about?

First, you have to ask him about his early business ventures helping do fundraisers for his high school cheerleading squad. After that, spend the next 25 minutes with Greg in your church facility. Tell him about your ministries — what’s working and what’s not — and see if he can help you find connections between your ministry challenges and your space. He sees things other people don’t see, and he’ll encourage you in the process.

Learn more about Greg Snider at http://www.aspengroup.com/key-personnel/greg-snider.

But, as we’ve found, although urban ministry and suburban churches serve the same God, they can go about it in two completely different ways. I recently had the chance to ask Cory a few questions about the differences.

Q: How would you define the difference between an urban minister and a suburban pastor?

A: Working in an urban environment is so much different. One thing that really sticks out is how most new members of a suburban church are not only sources of talent, but also stability and financial support. In Brookside, most new families are case loads and new opportunities to provide benevolence to families that need it most. In both contexts the people need to hear about and from the Lord, but the responses can be oceans apart.

Take a message on godly finances: one can hear a call to give and the other will receive encouragement to cry out to the Lord for help. Just these two dynamics alone make the two arenas very different not to mention the many other areas such as education/schools, access or exposure to positive activities, clear boundaries and expectations, healthy nutrition, reliable transportation and safe neighborhoods.

Q: Do you feel most suburban churches can define themselves as multicultural congregations?

A: For many, not yet. There is a strong need for diversity in leadership that shapes weekly worship in media, music and communication. When there are a growing number of different racial groups in the congregation, there’s the need for a broader expression to grow as well.

Q: In what ways do you work to promote multiculturalism?

A: As strange as it might sound, just being me has been my greatest promotion. Because I am of African American decent, it has been a mutual culture exchange between me and most of the members of College Park. Being in a racially blended family has given me some valuable insight that has helped me to share my life with others in a nonthreatening way.

Q: How do you feel the typical suburban church in Indiana can become multicultural?

A: That’s a God thing. It’s only through the spirit of God that we can experience unity on any level. We truly need it in the area of race. Many years of history have caused us to become filled with mistrust and that can only be silenced by the Holy Spirit. With that being said, we must fight for the unity and remember to be sober in our thinking of ourselves. The tallest walls between us are those of self importance – our education, job, house, kids, spouse or whatever defines us.

Q: What’s the greatest misconception a church member has on multiculturalism?

A: That if there are people of other nationalities in the church, then it is multicultural. It’s only when the other cultures change the texture of the worship experience of a church that that church is multicultural.

Whether I’m in or out of the church setting, if I tell someone that I’m going to talk about multicultural ministry, the reaction is usually either really positive (Yes, it’s time for a change!) or, well, not so much (Are we still talking about this? Didn’t we just elect a black president?).

Of course, this latter response assumes falsely that a political transition is somehow equivalent to a spiritual one; that a change of mind equals a change of heart.

I submit, however, that it is with the transformation of our collective hearts that the body of Christ can actively shift towards a multicultural, multidimensional (and subsequently more effective) approach to ministry. The first step is to quell the distracting myths about multiculturalism in the church.

What are these myths?

1. That multiculturalism is only about race. Race, particularly in America, is an important and sensitive subject. However, ministries can also be faced with cultural issues related to gender, socioeconomic/class, generational differences, geography, and subculture (hip hop, punk, etc).

2. That only white people and “white” churches need diversity or cultural competency training. Any church that has accepted the call to minister to a world that is becoming smaller every day and whose congregation is predominately-anything should consider ways to diversify.

3. That tolerance is the answer. No one desires to be simply tolerated. One of the key ways to have an effective multicultural ministry is to rid ourselves of the ridiculous idea of being “color-blind” and begin to embrace the cultures represented.

4. That multicultural ministry is easy. It’s not. Implementing a multicultural vision can be both unfamiliar and uncomfortable. Church leaders must prepare their congregations for this.

5. That the world is too far gone for this to work. God rarely waits on the world to be ready in order to exact His plan. Even Christ was born into a world that was not “ready” for His message. Yet his message of redemption and salvation was so much bigger than His circumstances. Because He changed the world even when the world was resistant to change, He must be our model in this as well.

There are several ways that the Body of Christ can effectively walk out Christ’s mandate to “Go ye therefore and teach all nations” and allow our congregations and our worship to be reflective of the church without spot, wrinkle, or blemish (Ephesians 5:27) to which Christ desires to return.

A few of these include:

1. Doing the due diligence – Research the true demographics of where you are called to minister; examine the need in those areas; educate yourself on the cultures in those areas; pray and fast for direction; and write a detailed plan

2. Identifying commonalities – Tap into areas that speak to our similarities versus differences. When establishing a multicultural agenda in our ministries, we cannot forget that it is the grace and mercy of the Father, the sacrifice and power of Christ, and the comfort of the Holy Spirit that is the ultimate draw.

3. Eliminating the role of preferences – Many people use their preference for a particular type of worship or ministry experience as a way to justify the divisions that we see in the church. I believe God is least concerned about what we’d “prefer” to hear, say, do or experience, and more concerned about advancing His agenda in the earth.

Learn more from Tracey at this month’s Indy Church Communications Roundtable on Thursday, February 18, at Ben Davis Christian Church. Click here for more information.

MinistryCOM is a national conference designed specifically for church communications professionals. It provides ideas and encouragement, inspiration and networking to help bring clarity and creativity to church communications.

If you weren’t able to attend MinistryCOM in Chicago last fall, now is your chance. MinistryCOM Remix is coming to Indianapolis. Remix is a one-day version of MinistryCOM featuring main sessions and workshops. It has the added benefit of being local, so you can bring a whole team from your church and have discussions centered around each topic.

MinistryCOM Remix will be held on Thursday, April 15, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Indianapolis. Registration is $20, which includes lunch.

Register by RSVPing to Lindsay by Thursday, April 8. Payment will be taken at the door. Please make checks payable to “Fishhook.”

Click here for more details.

DAYTONA BEACH AREA: 1.22.10 – MinistryCOM Remix

MinistryCOM will also be Remixing at Tomoka Christian Church in Ormond Beach on Friday, Jan. 22. This MinistryCOM REMIX will feature all the best parts of the annual conference on DVD, plus live discussions and networking opportunities to encourage and inspire ministry communicators.

Registration is $45. Click here to register. Use promo code REMIX012210 this week (through 1/9/09) to save 10% on your registration. To find out more, download a PDF flier at http://bit.ly/7LvkhX, or contact
Cindi Hunnefeld at (386) 677-6455, ext. 14.