Leading a More Faithful Church: Why Diversity in Leadership Matters

by Sean Palmer

Church leaders have a sacred responsibility—not just to guide their congregations, but to partner with God in the in-breaking of God’s kingdom. Leadership influences everything from teaching and discipleship to outreach and community engagement. And one of the most pressing challenges facing the church today is a leadership structure that often lacks the diversity God intended.

Diversity in leadership is not merely a social issue—it’s a theological one. Those opposing diversity stand opposed to the very storyline of the Biblical story, a story that at every turn expands the borders and boundaries of what humans expected God to do, and what’s more, whom God is using to do it.

The early church was diverse. The kingdom of God is diverse. And if our leadership does not reflect this truth — even if our pews don’t reflect a diverse reality — we must ask: Are we truly leading in the way of Jesus?

Biblical Foundations for Diverse Leadership

The church has always been at its best when its leadership reflects the breadth of God’s kingdom. The Bible gives us clear examples:

• Pentecost (Acts 2) – The Holy Spirit fell on people from many nations, symbolizing that the gospel was not for one group but for all.
• The Antioch Church (Acts 13:1-3) – One of the first multiethnic churches had leaders from different backgrounds, including Simeon (likely African), Lucius from Cyrene, and Paul, a former Pharisee. This diversity was not accidental—it was Spirit-led.
• Paul’s Teaching (1 Corinthians 12:12-27) – The body of Christ needs every part. If leadership is dominated by one group, the church limps rather than thrives.

Diversity in leadership is not an optional extra—it is a biblical mandate. The question is not whether we should pursue it, but whether we will resist the work the Holy Spirit is trying to accomplish in the church and the world.

Why Many Churches Struggle with Diversity in Leadership

If Scripture is so clear, why do many churches remain homogenous at the leadership level? There are a few key reasons:

1. Comfort Over Calling – It’s natural to gravitate toward people who think, act, and look like us. But the gospel calls us out of comfort into transformation. This zeal for comfort was inshrined in American Christianity as the Homogenous Unit Principle became the central missiological church-planting principle in the late 20th centuries. Church leaders, out of a desire to build empires and stroke their egos, decided that big churches were better than discipled churches, so we omitted love for neighbor as a meaningful discipleship category.

2. Power and Control – Leadership structures often reflect worldly power rather than kingdom servanthood. Those in power may not always recognize the need to share it. Power, essentially, allows the powerful to not have to fool with people they don’t want to. This means the marginalized stay marginal. Diversity requires releasing control to others and allowing their stories to exist without top-down pressure for those stories to inhabit a predetermined narrative of the leader’s choosing.

3. Unintentional Blind Spots – Many churches simply haven’t examined their leadership structures critically. They assume diversity will happen naturally rather than cultivating it intentionally.

As church leaders, we must help our congregations see that diversity is not a threat but a gift. And we must challenge any structures that prioritize power over kingdom-minded service.

How Church Leaders Can Champion Diversity

1. Teach It Boldly

Church leaders set the theological tone for their communities. If diversity is not being taught, it will not be pursued. Here are some ways to incorporate this into teaching and leadership development:

• Teach the full story of the early church. Show how diversity was normative, not exceptional.
• Highlight the voices of marginalized biblical figures. Don’t just teach from Paul—include stories of women leaders like Priscilla (Acts 18) or cross-cultural encounters like Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8).
• Confront resistance with grace. Some will see this as a social agenda rather than a biblical one. Help them understand that diversity is God’s idea.

2. Model It Personally

Leadership begins with example. Church leaders must actively build relationships with those from different backgrounds, mentor emerging leaders from diverse communities, and invite voices different from their own to the table.

Ask yourself:

• Who are you learning from? Are you reading books, listening to podcasts, or engaging with leaders from diverse perspectives?
• Who are you mentoring? If leadership pipelines only reinforce homogeneity, something must change.

3. Change Church Structures to Reflect Kingdom Values

Diversity in leadership won’t happen without intentional effort. Church leaders can work together to:

• Broaden hiring and leadership selection processes. Who is being invited into leadership conversations?
• Create mentoring programs. Invest in leaders who might not yet see themselves as leaders.
• Challenge cultural assumptions. Many leadership models reflect Western corporate structures more than biblical ones.

The Church We Lead Toward

The church is called to be a reflection of God’s kingdom—a place where all people are valued, heard, and empowered to lead. If our leadership does not reflect that vision, we must have the courage to change.

Church leaders have a unique role in this. We can shape the way our churches think about leadership, model inclusion in our own ministries, and call our congregations toward a more faithful future.

This is not just about leadership.

It is about the gospel.

And it is about whether we are willing to follow Jesus all the way—even into the uncomfortable, transformative, beautiful work of building a truly diverse and Spirit-led church.