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This book sets out to make a bold, clear, controversial argument: Christian congregations, when possible, should be multiracial. It may be stunning or even offensive to some that we state our argument so imperatively. But before deciding whether we go too far, we hope the reader will carefully examine the biblical and sociological evidence.

Given how far we are from this reality, we issue a call for the emergence of a movement toward more multiracial congregations. The 21st century must be the century of multiracial congregations.

Our conclusion rests in part on the premise that multiracial congregations can play an important role in reducing racial division and inequality and that this should be a goal of Christian people. We need to move beyond simply stating that Christian worship is the most segregated hour in the United States. What does the Christian tradition teach that we ought to do?

The dramatic confrontation that Jesus had with the moneychangers in the temple was recorded by all the Gospel writers. The authors of Matthew, Mark, and Luke included Jesus' quoting from the prophet Isaiah (56:7) in their retelling. Only Mark included the entire quote. Jesus declared, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'?" The author of Mark understood that the last four words of that quote from Isaiah—for all the nations—summed up what caused the religious leaders to fear Jesus and look for a way to kill him (Mark 11:18).

Jesus quoted the prophet Isaiah from the Hebrew Scriptures to announce and declare the purpose and passion of his ministry. He stood in the temple area and proclaimed to all who could hear him what he understood to be the culmination of three years of preaching, teaching, healing, and ministering in the highways and byways of greater Palestine: "My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations." Brian Blount captures the writer of Mark's understanding of Jesus' message when he writes: "In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is a preacher of multicultural worship. He envisioned a future that was radically different from the one espoused by the temple leadership."

Christianity's first congregation emerged from an undistinguished group of Galilean followers of Jesus who gathered together in Jerusalem during the days following the drama of the Crucifixion and Resurrection. The death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus ushered in a new era for his disciples. No longer did they have a human Jesus providing guidance. The mantle of leadership passed on to them. Those early followers faced the challenge of implementing Jesus' vision of a house of prayer for all the nations.

After several weeks of meeting together for prayer, an amazing and transforming event occurred on the Day of Pentecost. According to the author of the Acts of the Apostles, the power of the Holy Spirit came upon those 120 praying in an upper room and propelled them out into the streets proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in the languages of the nations. "Jews from every nation under heaven living in Jerusalem" gathered and inquired as a result of this unusual occurrence (Acts 2:5). Individuals who relocated to Jerusalem from Jewish enclaves throughout the continents of Asia, Africa, and Europe heard the gospel in the dialect of their local community in the country of their origin. The Spirit of Jesus supernaturally spoke through these Galilean disciples in the language of the house of prayer for all the nations. On the Day of Pentecost the Jerusalem congregation grew to more than 3,000 multicultural, multilingual Jews (2:41). Several thousand more were added in the days that followed (4:4, 5:14, 6:7). The church was multicultural and multilingual from the first moment of its existence.

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April 2005, Vol. 49, No. 4