WINONA LAKE — “I love diversity because the God of the universe loves diversity. God is passionate about diversity.”

Kondo Simfukwe, lead pastor at Mission Point Community Church, addressed a crowd of about 300 people at the Committee to Commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King’s 32nd annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Monday, Jan. 20.

The overall theme of Simfukwe’s message focused on unity and diversity between people.

“I love different kinds of people, backgrounds and perspectives,” Simfukwe said. “I love diversity because my family is diverse. I get to be one of the pastors of a church that’s predominantly white, but it’s made up of a diverse collection of people with different socioeconomic backgrounds, different education levels, and different abilities.”

“Even at our church, we have New England Patriots fans. We accept all kinds of people,” he added.

Simfukwe described his upbringing as being shaped by diversity. He was born in London, raised in Zambia, spent his high school years in Australia and then came to the United States, graduating from Grace College. During his presentation, Simfukwe discussed a section from the Book of Revelation related to the revelation of John. He connected this passage to diversity.

“A sea of people from every conceivable background, from every language, every tribe, every ethnicity, every culture and every color gathered around the throne of God,” said Simfukwe. “God doesn’t tolerate diversity. God insists on it. If you don’t like diversity, you’re going to hate heaven.”

Simfukwe then compared God’s insistence on diversity to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s famous “I Have A Dream” speech at the Lincoln Memorial on Aug. 28, 1963.

“Differences have this way of causing us to stand at a distance from each other, and God’s passion is the complete opposite of that,” said Simfukwe. “(Dr. King’s) dream mirrored and echoed the ancient dream of the king of kings. He dreamed a dream similar to the dream of God. God too is on a quest for the day when blacks and whites and Hispanics, and Republicans and Democrats, and the rich and the poor, instead of dividing come together in equality and come together in unity.”

To conclude his speech, Simfukwe encouraged the audience to take a step toward unity and learn a person’s story rather than make assumptions on one’s differences.

“Something powerful happens when you take a step and just learn somebody else’s story,” said Simfukwe.

Simfukwe told a story he heard about a crowded train during rush hour where a little girl was bothering adults on the train. The child approached her father, who was sitting and staring out the train’s window. One of the women in the cabin approached the dad and asked him to be more proactive in controlling his child.

“The man then says, ‘I’m sorry. I was not paying attention. We just spent all night in the hospital and I’m trying to figure out how I’m going to tell my little girl she’ll never see her mom again,'” said Simfukwe. “The minute the lady hears this story, she goes to the ground and starts playing with the little girl. There is something powerful that happens when you get behind the veil of that initial experience and encounter. What might be the story behind what you see?”

The keynote speaker event was hosted at the Manahan Orthopedic Capital Center on the Grace College campus in Winona Lake. Warsaw Community Schools choir, as well as the Grace College gospel choir, also performed. The WCS JROTC presented the colors.