Contact: Laurie Brennan, 614-668-6967, TheNewCulture.org

COLUMBUS, Ohio, September 29 /Christian Newswire/ -- Many Christian leaders are frustrated by the fact that 11am on Sunday morning continues to be the most segregated hour in America. They have learned the hard way that an open door policy is not enough to attract diversity and sustaining multi-ethnic organizations is challenging, time-consuming work. They received a boost on September 17 when ReNew Partnerships launched TheNewCulture.org--an innovative new website which connects Christians with the resources they need to build and sustain multi-ethnic churches and organizations. The website is being embraced by leaders around the country as a well designed and much-needed tool.

In the few days since its launch, the TheNewCulture.org has already attracted 1700 visitors from across the U.S. and over a dozen countries. The website is being received with enthusiasm by leaders who recognize the danger of continuing to foster ethnically-homogenous Christian organizations in a society that is rapidly becoming multi-ethnic. The U.S. Census Bureau recently projected that in less than 15 years half of all children in the U.S. will be ethnic minorities (Source: U.S. Census News, Aug. 14, 2008). Nearly every major institution and corporation in America is making rapid changes to accommodate the increasing ethnic diversity in our country, except for one: the Christian church.

For decades Christian leaders of nearly every denomination and ethnicity have expressed a desire to overcome racial divisions and see more multi-ethnic churches and ministries. It is hard to find a website or brochure of a Christian organization which does not declare, "We welcome people of all ethnicities." But, this open door policy has resulted in very little change. The extensive research of sociologists Curtiss Paul Deyoung, Michael O. Emerson, George Yancey, and Karen Chai Kim show that just 7.5 percent of the over 300,000 religious congregations in the United States are racially mixed. (Source: United By Faith, 2003)

Chad Brennan, the Director of ReNew Partnerships, explains:

"Many Christians want to see their church or ministry become more ethnically diverse but they lack training, cross-cultural experience, and exposure to leaders with expertise on building multi-ethnic organizations. Therefore, it is not surprising that most attempts to build and sustain multi-ethnic communities, no matter how well-intended, end in failure and frustration."

He goes on to explain why so little change has been accomplished despite decades of effort on the part of Christian leaders:

"Over the last three decades Christian leaders have found out the hard way that an open door approach is not enough. It takes a lot more than just posting a multi-ethnic picture on the website or adding some ethnic flavor to the worship music. Forming a multi-ethnic organization requires prayer, personal sacrifice, training, and a great deal of intentional effort. There are dozens of sensitive topics that must be addressed including prejudice, power sharing, historical injustices, cross-cultural communication, etc. TheNewCulture.org allows Christians to find excellent, bible-based resources on these critical topics and to connect with veteran leaders of multi-ethnic churches and organizations who have experience in navigating through those stormy waters."

For more information about TheNewCulture.org and the on-site training forums facilitated by ReNew Partnerships contact Laurie Brennan.

About ReNew Partnerships

ReNew Partnerships is a multi-ethnic, Christian non-profit organization based in Columbus, Ohio which provides coaching and resources to help Christian leaders effectively embrace the ethnic diversity in their community. RP provides innovative training resources like TheNewCulture.org and customized on-site training forums to help Christian churches, universities, and ministries to build and sustain multi-ethnic organizations. RP's staff consult and partner with organizations across the U.S. from a wide variety of denominational and ethnic backgrounds.