Hispanic ministry church’s hope for growth?
The U.S. Census of 2000 created a furor when officials reported that 35 million Hispanics/Latinos live in the United States — making the group the nation’s largest minority.
Church leaders took note of the new reality as well. Mac Lynn in the 2003 edition of “Churches of Christ in the United States,” said, “A vastly under-represented group of Americans (in churches of Christ) are Hispanics. Only 240 independent Spanish-language congregations are known.”
Lynn says total Hispanic membership is about 10,000 — with the bulk of those in Texas and Puerto Rico.
Church leaders took note of the new reality as well. Mac Lynn in the 2003 edition of “Churches of Christ in the United States,” said, “A vastly under-represented group of Americans (in churches of Christ) are Hispanics. Only 240 independent Spanish-language congregations are known.”
Lynn says total Hispanic membership is about 10,000 — with the bulk of those in Texas and Puerto Rico.
A Chronicle report in February 2003 told of sizeable Hispanic/Latino populations across the nation — Missouri, Nebraksa, Alabama, Tennessee — and how churches were reaching out to the challenge of Hispanic evangelism.
The Decatur, Ala., Hispanic ministry at the Beltline church, led by Justo Dorantes, is but one example of congregations and ministries achieving success in this “under-represented” population.
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