The Future of the Hispanic Church

We receive a variety of emails addressing a broad range of ministry topics here at Leadership Network. I received one earlier this week about the future of the Hispanic church that caused me to think for quite a while. The person writing asked some very compelling questions. I must confess that I didn’t have any good answers for him. I wish I did. Perhaps you do. Give this a read and please comment with your thoughts.

Dear Leadership Network,

My name is Milton Gutierrez.  I have just finished a church planting internship with Austin Stone Community Church in Austin, TX where I currently reside for the past 2 1/2 years.  Recently, I woke up in the middle of the night thinking of the state of Hispanic churches and wandering if we were ready to make and multiple disciples in the emerging Hispanic majority for the sake of Christ.  My conclusion is that Hispanic churches are not ready to engage the culture and create different church expressions for the diverse Hispanic culture.  I have been dreaming what it would look like to have innovative and creative church expressions that are influencing the emerging Hispanic majority and transforming lives and culture.  Are there churches that you know of that are wrestling with this questions or burdens?  Are there leaders that are looking for answers or are taking risks as they seek to create expressions that are new and different from the current norm? 

As I look at the timeline, Hispanic churches have 10 to 15 years to prepare for the emerging Hispanic majority to take its place as the new majority in the US.  2020/2025 is the projected target year that demographers have predicted Hispanics will become the new majority in the US.  Currently, Hispanic churches are not known for innovation and creativity.  We get our innovation from other Anglo churches.  We are forced to contextualize that innovation, which most of the time fails.  I am looking for churches that are the initiators and risk takers of innovation in the Hispanic context.

Right now, I am currently engaging other leaders to find out from them what it will take for Hispanic churches to take a leading role in reaching the emerging Hispanic peoples on a grand scale.  I would like to know if you know of leaders that I can connect with who are asking similar questions.  I would appreciate if you could pass along their contact information.  You may give them my information as well.

Milton Gutierrez
email: milton.r.gutierrez@gmail.com
Cell: 512-560-8252

Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Linda Stanley serves as Director of Life Stage Leadership Communities and provides leadership for the Next Generation Pastors Leadership Community groups. The Next Generation Pastors Leadership Community exists to create relational peer networks of senior pastors who share similar ministry challenges and desire connections to other leaders serving in similar ministry situations. Additional information is on our website - www.leadnet.org, linda.stanley@leadnet.org

Comments

[Rob McBryde]

Pastor Milton,

I really appreciate your thoughts here as I am the son-in-law of a Nicaraguan church planter who is all about discipleship and training leaders. You raise some very good questions that I look forward to discussing with him about new expressions of the Hispanic church.

FYI...he is planning a Missions and Evangelism conference in October in Jacksonville, AR (outside of Little Rock). More info at www.conferenciashispanas.com.

Blessings,

Rob

[Rolando Castro]

Milton, I like what you're tlaking about. This is an issue that seems not to be very important for many of our national leaders. My guess is that that attitude is linked to a misconception about Hispanic church as a first generation church only. By the time you are dating in your article, that majority of Hispanics will have a big number of second and third generation, two generations we must start reaching right now before is too late.
We need to have a national discussion on this matter; in 25 years we'll probably have a very different situation within our Hispanic population, and we need to be ready.
In the other hand, a debate about Hispanic reality in the United States is necessary. Most of our churches are just transplanting models and paradigms from our countries to our community here, and that is a huge mistake from my point of view, but no one is questioning this situation.
I'm ready to start a network among Hispanic evangelical leaders to talk and change the state of things.
Let's do it!

[Mark Simmons]

Milton,
Part of the answer seems to be a strategy to create multi-ethnic congregations in what have been traditionally Anglo churches. I pastor in Salinas, an agricultural city that is 70% Latino/Hispanic on the Central Coast of California. We are very happy that 25% of our congregation is now Hispanic (mostly 2nd and 3rd generation, but some 1st who have been in CA for many years). Most of them have come to Christ from a Catholic background. We have been trying unsuccessfully to hire bi-lingual Hispanics for our last several staff positions using Churchstaffing.com-- with no success. Is there a network of Hispanic leaders we, and churches like us, can tap into to find bi-cultural leaders for multi-ethnic congregations? Anglos and Hispanics need to work on this together in the same churches as part of the solution.