Posts Tagged ‘Hispanic Baptists’

I am very excited about the “Adelante…the next 100 years” initiative that the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas officers are proposing at Convención’s annual meeting in San Antonio this year. Considering the growth of the Hispanic population in Texas, and the numerical strength of Hispanic work in Texas, this is the right time for such an initiative. In 2010, as the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas celebrated its 100^th anniversary, it approved a revised unification agreement with the BGCT at its annual meeting (June) in San Antonio. Messengers to the BGCT’s annual meeting in McAllen (November) also approved this agreement. Acting on the implications of this revised agreement, president Jesse Rincones and the officers of Convención have ably prepared and are proposing new bylaws, which call for the formation of an executive board for Convención. The “Adelante” initative is historical and brilliant. It keeps Convención as a body that is integrally related to BGCT. It encourages its affiliated churches to continue to support the Texas Baptist Cooperative Program with their offerings and to participate fully in the life of BGCT. And yet, it gives Convención a new level of freedom to speak into the direction of Hispanic work in Texas and to support new initiatives that meet the ever increasing needs of its work.

During its first 100 years, Convención experienced the freedom and the hardships of being completely independent until its unification with the Baptist General Convention of Texas in 1964.  Since 1964 Convención has enjoyed the synergy of being integrated into the larger family of Texas Baptists.  This period of its history has seen tremendous growth in many areas of Hispanic work.  Over 1,100 of Texas Baptists’ 5,500 congregations are Hispanic.  That’s over 20% of congregations.  (Convención is not only the largest Hispanic Baptist Convention in the United States but it is the largest Hispanic Baptist Convention in the world, following Brazil and Mexico).  Participation at the Hispanic Evangelism Conferences around the state has reached 3,400, by far surpassing the attendance to any other adult-oriented conference sponsored by BGCT.  Convención’s annual meetings attendance has been comparable to attendance at the BGCT’s annual meeting, sometimes more.  Congreso, the student event in the spring, has had over 7,000 in attendance.  While Hispanic events are not in competition with larger Texas Baptists family events, these numbers show the vitality and strength of Hispanic work.  This is an exciting time for Texas Baptists in general and for Hispanic Baptists!

As we enter Convención’s second century, BGCT and the Hispanic Convention do not need to be distant cousins.  Neither do they need to be mother and daughter.  They are two healthy sisters that need each other in the Baptist family.  They need to be interdependent, exercise freedom, and help each other further the cause of Christ in Texas and around the world.

Thanks Jesse and Convención officers for your hard work and your insightful leadership. Adelante!

While Sprint and Verizon have been arguing over who has the largest 3G cellular network, Hispanic Baptists must make serious strides to develop their own “3G  network” – one that will minister to third-generation Hispanics and beyond.

The Numbers

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, second and third-generation Hispanics currently make up 60% of the total Hispanic population.  By the year 2020, they will comprise 66% of the Hispanic population.
For Texas, this means that of the 9 million Hispanics in the state, about 6 million of them are second or third-generation.

The Language

A 2007 report of the Pew Hispanic Center showed that “fewer than one-in-four (23%) Latino immigrants reports being able to speak English very well.”  Among second-generation Hispanics, the number increases to 88%.

A full 71 percent of third-generation Hispanics over age 18 claimed English as their dominant language.  Twenty-seven percent claimed to be bilingual.  By this third generation, only 2 percent spoke primarily Spanish.  This is according to a report from the American Political Science Association.

For Texas Baptists, this means that English can be used to reach out to about 88% of second-generation Hispanics and an astounding 98% of third-generation Hispanics.

The Need

As Hispanic Texas Baptists, we find ourselves facing an amazing paradox.  We are linguistically and culturally poised to make a dramatic impact in the communities that are experiencing an increasing Hispanic influence around our state and the nation.  At the same time, we face a leadership crisis.

Hispanic Baptist leaders can tell you how states like Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee, among many others, are increasingly coming to Texas to seek out Spanish-speaking Baptist pastors and ministers.  This means our 300 or so pastor-less Hispanic churches are competing with higher-paying conventions and associations from other states.  In the face of need at home, we are increasingly exporting ministerial talent.

When it comes to third-generation Hispanics, this leadership vacuum is at exponential levels.  We are told that 66% of Texas Hispanic churches minister primarily in Spanish and 33% minister bilingually from the pulpit.  Only 1% of the approximately 1,400 Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas are ministering in English. 

This means that less than 15 Hispanic Baptist churches in the entire state are working to reach the nearly 6 million second and third-generation Hispanics in the state!

The New 3G Network

Thanks to the Convención officers and Rolando Rodriguez at the BGCT’s Office of Hispanic Ministries, Convención 2009 will serve to initiate this much needed network of churches, pastors, leaders and communicators that minister to third-generation Hispanics.

Your input in the form of ideas and recommendations for this time is greatly appreciated.  To share about your “3G Ministry,” your interest and ideas, post comments here or email them to us using the contact form here.

It’s time to build the largest 3G Network in the United States!

Rev. Jesse Rincones serves as pastor of Alliance Baptist Church in Lubbock. You can also find this article in the March 2009 edition of La Vision.