Evangelical Christians Want to Get to Know Their Neighbors. Here’s Why.

Evangelical Christians don’t agree on everything. But the faith leaders representing congregations, community organizations and a network of Christian colleges who met yesterday had a clear and unified message: Interfaith outreach builds community connections and deepens Christian faith. Also: for Christians, it may not be optional.

As Shirley Hoogstra put it: “‘Love each other well’ is a Gospel command.”

As president of the Council for Christian Colleges and Universities, which co-sponsored the conversation with IFYC, Hoogstra represents more than 185 Christian institutions around the globe, including more than 150 campuses in the United States. She spoke yesterday with Mark DeYmaz, founding pastor of the multi-ethnic and economically diverse Mosaic Church of Central Arkansas; Steve Bezner, senior pastor of Houston Northwest Church; Kendra Bunke, a senior at the University of Minnesota and an intern at Anselm House; and Michael Wear, founder of Public Square Strategies, a firm that helps religious organizations, political organizations, and businesses effectively navigate the rapidly changing American religious and political landscape.

The group met to discuss Wear’s new study on Evangelicals and interfaith, co-authored by his wife, Melissa Wear, and commissioned by IFYC. The study focused not only on the positive outcomes of interfaith engagement but on resources, motivations, hesitancies and hope. Michael Murray, president of the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, a supporter of the study and numerous interfaith efforts around the nation, also joined the conversation.

Below are excerpts from the conversation.