America is experiencing a “diversity explosion,” according to the Brookings Institution. “Sometime after 2040,” the Brookings report states, “there will be no racial majority in the country.”

Ethnic growth within the Assemblies of God reflects this demographic trend. It even outpaces it. According to Brookings, 61.5% of the U.S. was white in 2010 and the remainder ethnic or racial minority. Currently, comparable percentages for AG adherents are 56% and 44%. We are poised to become a majority-minority Fellowship before our nation crosses the same threshold.

To do that, the AG will need an increasingly diverse leadership at all levels. Still, some may wonder why this matters. Should we pursue diversity in leadership for the sake of diversity? Is similarity a bad thing? How should we think about diversity from a New Testament perspective?

These are important questions, especially when diversity means different things to different people. In the U.S., valuing diversity has implications for legislation, hiring policies, and university admission. To some, growing in diversity means making room for people from historically disenfranchised groups. To others, it smacks of political correctness.

So, what does Scripture say? The word “diversity” may not appear in your Bible, but the idea is there. In fact, few people have demonstrated a greater commitment to leadership diversity than the apostle Paul. His agenda was not political. It simply reflected God’s heart and His mission to reach all people.

Insights from Paul’s life can help us navigate leadership representation today.

Diversity in the Early Church

For Paul, diversity was more than a lofty ideal. He depended on men and women, Jews and Greeks, and people from various social classes to work together to advance the same gospel message. This diverse team flourished within a context of theological similarity.

Paul ministered with people who were different but had the same faith and mission. Paul reminded the Corinthians that “we are co-workers in God’s service” (1 Corinthians 3:9). Paul did not want differences among leaders to create divisions that would detract attention from God and His work.

The various church leaders who visited Corinth were fellow ministers in the faith, not competitors promoting unbiblical religious or moral perspectives (1 Corinthians 3:6). In other words, diversity was anchored in a commitment to the mission of Jesus Christ. Diversity was not an unrestrained leadership value.

Remarkably, the ethnic, gender, and social diversity of the Early Church underscored the truth of the apostolic message. Consider some of the people who ministered with Paul, starting with those who were racially or ethnically different.

Not only did Paul preach to Gentiles, but he also empowered them and partnered with them as leaders of the Church. Paul was not afraid of ministering with people who were not exactly like him.

Titus was a Greek whom Paul describes as his “partner and co-worker” (2 Corinthians 8:23). Titus traveled to Jerusalem with Paul, demonstrating to the other apostles that the gospel was indeed successful among the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1–10). Paul wrote a pastoral letter to Titus and empowered him as a pastor on Crete (Titus 1:4–5).

Paul also ministered with Simeon, who had the Latin surname Niger, meaning “Black” (Acts 13:1). Simeon may have been from Africa. Luke had previously described a convert from Ethiopia (Acts 8:26–40), an African region in the area of present-day northern Sudan. Simeon served alongside Paul and was part of the team that commissioned him to the Gentiles (Acts 13:1–3).

Paul valued and depended on the contributions of
all kinds of people because his goal
was to reach every person for Christ.

Paul valued women in ministry as well. Women taught, led, financed, and supervised congregations.

Lydia was a businesswoman whose home became a church plant in Philippi (Acts 16:14–40). Priscilla, the wife of Aquila, was a teacher who ministered with Paul in Ephesus and Corinth (Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19).

Phoebe was a “deacon of the church in Cenchreae” and “the benefactor of many people,” including Paul (Romans 16:1–2). Paul entrusted Phoebe with the responsibility of delivering his letter and representing him to the Christians in Rome.

Paul’s ministry team also included people from different socioeconomic backgrounds. Several church leaders in his letters had slave names, including Secundus, Junia, Urbanus and Quartus (Acts 20:4; Romans 16:7,9,23). Paul even called Junia “outstanding among the apostles” (Romans 16:7).

The Book of Philemon addresses the situation of Onesimus, a runaway slave. In his letter, Paul defended Onesimus and expressed the desire to minister with him (Philemon 13). According to Church tradition, Onesimus eventually became a bishop of the church in Ephesus.

Of course, valuing diversity does not mean we can’t also serve with people who are similar to us. Paul was a Hellenistic Jew, and so were many of his close companions, including Barnabas from Cyprus; Timothy, a Jewish Greek from Asia Minor; and Silas, a Jew and Roman citizen (Acts 4:36; 16:1; 16:38). These companions had life experiences similar to Paul’s, and they spent much time with him.

Regardless of their other differences and similarities, all of these people shared the same faith in Jesus. This is where a contemporary understanding of diversity does not neatly fit with the biblical perspective. In Scripture, diversity is not an absolute value for its own sake.

Diversity in leadership arose from the mission to make disciples of all nations. For Paul, diversity did not mean he was unconcerned about the similarities believers ought to hold. His letters attempt to unify diverse churches in the same faith and moral tradition that honors God.

Diversity in Today’s Church

What then can Paul’s life teach us about leadership diversity? There are three important takeaways for today’s Church:

First, no one can do ministry alone. You need a team that is as diverse as the people you are trying to reach.

Paul valued and depended on the contributions of all kinds of people because his goal was to reach every person for Christ. We too can intentionally diversify leadership to reflect our mission field.

Second, diversity and similarity can coexist. Paul’s close companions included people who were a lot like him and those quite different from him. Significantly, however, all of Paul’s colleagues shared the same faith. There was a similarity in mission but diversity among the people who participated in this mission.

Third, diversity is a challenge. On one occasion, Paul confronted Peter and some other leaders about their biases against Gentile believers (Galatians 2:11–21). This must have been a difficult conversation, but Paul knew it was vital to the Church’s future.

Growing in diversity requires hard work, intentionality, and sometimes discomfort. Yet it is worth the effort. Even in communities that are not racially and ethnically diverse, churches can be intentional about promoting women and people from different social classes and generations to visible areas of leadership.

The point is allowing the mission of God to drive our intentional desire for leadership representation. Diversity in the Church should be mission driven, not ideologically driven.

Paul’s life example leaves us with areas for continual reflection. May we take an inventory of our ministry teams and leadership values to consider how we can fully reflect and represent our communities.

While doing so, let us also hold firmly to our similarities in faith and moral tradition that bind us together in the mission of God to reach all people.

This article appears in the Spring 2022 edition of Influence magazine.