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Jane Hollingsworth had a problem. A staff worker with parachurch college ministry InterVarsity Christian Fellowship (IVCF), she needed to find a facility to host her student conference. But given the cultural climate of America in the 1940s, her group of white and black students was rebuffed again and again.

When even key IVCF supporters questioned her decision to include black students, the organization's board took a radical stance. In June 1948, it resolved not to hold any events at a facility discriminating against people of color. The resolution went on to say: "Since colored people tend to relate segregation and the Christianity which we represent, we must demonstrate that in Christ there is neither black nor white."

Although Christian organizations have made progress in the area of race relations since the 1940s, they continue to wrestle with the challenge of demonstrating that Christianity is not merely a segregated domain. Promise Keepers' emphasis on racial reconciliation is perhaps the most public expression of this desire. But on a day-to-day level, Christian leaders are often unsure of how exactly to make the dream of racial diversity a reality.

IVCF, however, is one organization that has actively pursued multiethnicity, both internally and through its ministry. Thirty years ago, 4 percent of its staff and students were ethnic minorities. Today those percentages have grown to 16 percent (for staff) and 35 percent (for students), which compares favorably with the national average of 27 percent of all college students who identify themselves as ethnic minorities. The diversity was reflected in the dizzying multicultural representation of participants at its triennial Urbana Student Mission Convention on December 26–29, 2003.

Christianity Today convened key leaders in IVCF to talk with editor David Neff about how the organization became so multiethnic. Each participant personally knows the struggles and triumphs the organization has experienced in achieving this goal. Between them, they have nearly 90 years of campus ministry experience in IVCF: Phil Bowling–Dyer, national director of black campus ministries; Orlando Crespo, national director of Latino Fellowship; Jim Lundgren, director of collegiate ministries and vice president; and Jeanette Yep, vice president and director of multiethnic ministries.

What does it mean for an organization to be committed to multiethnicity?

Jim Lundgren: Here is the secret that took us decades to learn: we realized that this is really about changing ourselves as an organization, not about just having the right makeup of people present. My hope is that other organizations will move a little more quickly than ours did by recognizing from the beginning that the presence of minorities is only a small piece of the puzzle.

True multiethnicity is going to change your worship style. It's going to change how you make decisions and who makes decisions. Those from other cultures bring a different perspective about the way decisions are made. Some groups are more authoritative, other cultures are much more process-oriented. You're going to have to work out those differences.

Jeanette Yep: To really work, multiethnicity must be a value-driven commitment. We've made slow and steady progress, albeit with many steps backwards, because of our value-driven commitment to reach the campus in all its ethnic diversity. You must also be prepared for a long process, composed of small steps requiring faithfulness along the way. I think that's what wipes many people out.

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January 2004, Vol. 48, No. 1