The homogenous unit principle (HUP) states that the fastest and most efficient way to grow churches is to focus on a single cultural group. First, Donald McGavran and later Peter Wagner championed this principle as a way to facilitate church growth. Since racial identity is tied to cultural understanding an important, but by no means only, implication of this principle is that churches should focus on reaching a single racial group. Multiracial churches are envisioned as creating too many barriers to growth.

Empirical support for HUP is based on observing missions to underdeveloped areas in the world. These areas tend to be dominated by cultural divides that exacerbated the problem of bringing cultural groups together. For example, much of McGavran’s work was done as he observed evangelical efforts with the Indian caste system. Indian society heavily sanctions individuals to cross caste barriers and efforts to create missions inclusive of different caste members were met with heavy resistance.

In our modern culturally pluralistic society we have to ask whether the monoracial emphasis found in HUP is still relevant for church growth? The answer from the data I used in writing my book “One Body, One Spirit” is no. That data indicated that multiracial churches, defined as churches in which no single racial group is more than eighty percent of the population, are more likely to grow than churches that are not racially diverse. Furthermore, work by Scott Thurman on megachurches, defined as churches that have at least 2,000 people in attendance on a weekly basis, indicate that megachurches are 3-4 times more likely to be multiracial than other churches. We still have racial barriers in the United States but, especially in an age of Obama, those barriers do not have the power to strife church growth and indeed racial diversity may help churches to expand.

Why may racial diversity help churches to grow? It may be that in a racially diverse society more individuals have developed relationships with individuals of other races. Therefore they are more comfortable in situations that are racially mixed than those that are racially homogenous. Michael Emerson discusses such individuals in his latest book “People of the Dream.” If he is correct then younger individuals are more likely to possess such a multiracial comfort than older individuals. Churches of the future will have to become racially diverse just to survive in the changing racial climate. In my mind this is the best explanation for why multiracial churches possess a greater opportunity for growth than monoracial churches.

Regardless of the reason why, empirical evidence indicates that racial diversity provides a church with a better chance to grow. Given this reality, contemporary churches have to begin planning now for moving into our multiracial culture. Those making necessary changes now will not be caught off guard when living in a multiracial atmosphere becomes the norm for most individuals in the United States.