One New People - by Manuel Ortiz (Paperback)

About the Book

In One New People, Manual Ortiz persuades us of the benefits in fellowship and outreach that we can experience by crossing racial, ethnic and cultural lines. He urges readers not just to put aside their differneces but to celebrate them and to embrace them--to use them in a way that draws them closer to each other and closer to God.

Book Synopsis

God created us with diverse cultural and individual backgrounds. He intended those differences for our corporate delight and blessing. But too often we let differences separate us from each other.In One New People Manuel Ortiz persuades us of the benefits in fellowship and outreach that we can experience by crossing racial, ethnic and cultural lines. He urges us not just to put aside our differences but to celebrate them and to embrace them--to use them in a way that draws us closer to each other and closer to God.To that end, he offers a variety of models for creating and sustaining a multiethnic church. You'll explore new possibilities by reading stories of those who have already reaped the benefits of multiethnic approaches to community and ministry. And you'll sort out which options are best for your situation by working through the questions for thought and discussion that are included throughout the book. Finally, you'll find here ideas and principles to guide you through the process of change and growth: improving communication, managing conflict, encouraging and training new leaders, and much more.Here is inspiration, guidance and time-tested models for broadening the ministry of your church to reflectthe power of God not only to overcome our differences, but also to transform them into a source of strength and joy.

From the Back Cover

If you are aware of the rich benefits of fellowship that crosses racial lines, but aren't sure how to make that happen in your church, then this book is for you. Loaded with models from those who have done it, One New People will inspire you to broaden the ministry of your church. With questions to help groups process the material, it will give you everything you need to find the model that fits your situation so you can begin the process of change and growth. And if you are already in a multiethnic church, you'll find ideas and principles for improving communication, developing new leadership and managing conflict from someone who has been there.

Review Quotes

"Into a world where class, power and ancestry divided rich from poor, free from slave, men from women, came a society that welcomed all who bore the name of Jesus (1 Cor 1:26-29). . . . [Yet today, ] Black, White, Hispanic and Asian Christians still watch each other pour out of their church buildings on street intersections that are often their only common meeting ground. . . . But there is another model for the church. . . . In neighborhoods in New York and Los Angeles the multiethnic churchreechoes New Testament themes as diverse cultures and social classes share ministry and leadership in local congregations. This book is an invitation to open the treasure chest of multiethnicity and rejoice."

--Harvie M. Conn (from the foreword)

About the Author

Manuel Ortiz (1938-2017) was professor of ministry and urban mission and director of the urban program at Westminster Theological Seminary. His books include The Hispanic Challenge: Opportunities Confronting the Church, One New People: Models for Developing a Multiethnic Church, and Urban Ministry: The Kingdom, the City and the People of God (coauthored with Harvie Conn). Ortiz was passionate about integrating urban ministry, education, and the gospel, and he spokeand consulted around the nation. For fourteen years he ministered to Hispanics in Chicago, founding five urban congregations, two elementary schools, and an extension school for theological education. He was also the founder and senior pastor of Spirit and Truth Fellowship (Christian Reformed Church), a multiethnic congregation in Philadelphia, and the codirector of the CRC Philadelphia Initiative for Church Planting.