Close Up: Hispanic/Latino ministries grow with population trends

A UMNS Close Up Report By Allison Scahill*

When the Rev. José and Josefina Gonzalez started a United Methodist congregation in Buffalo, N.Y., more than 25 years ago, their beginnings were humble.

"Before it was an organized church, it was a mission …" José Gonzalez said. "It started as a mission in my home, in my living room. After five years, we moved into a building, then we organized the church. It has been an organized church for 23 years."

Under the leadership of the Rev. Alberto Lanzot, Primera Iglesia Buffalo has about 100 members and is still growing. Gonzalez, a retired teacher, is helping expand Hispanic ministries in a similar way at Dunkirk (N.Y.) United Methodist Church, where he is assisting the Rev. Clifford Cliver.

Hispanic ministries didn't receive much encouragement during the Buffalo church's early days, Gonzalez said.

"At that time, in 1978, there wasn't much support," he said. "The support came after the church was formalized. Now, the support comes from individual churches more openly. The community around us has been wonderful. They've really been a blessing."

United Methodist churches are increasingly opening their hearts, minds and doors to Hispanic/Latino ministries. The Latino population in the United States is growing faster than any other demographic group, and that trend has been mirrored in the growth of ministries in United Methodist annual conferences.

The Hispanic/Latino growth rate for 2004 was 3.6 percent, compared with the overall population growth of 1 percent, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

For the year ended July 1, 2005, Hispanic/Latinos accounted for 49 percent - or 1.3 million people - of the U.S. population growth of 2.8 million, the Census Bureau reported.

The Hispanic/Latino population is also younger than the U.S. population in general. The Census Bureau said the Hispanic/Latino population in 2005 had a median age of 27.2 years, compared to the general median of 36.2 years. About one-third of the Hispanic/Latino population was under 18, compared with one-fourth of the total population.

The Rev. Frank Ramos, director of Hispanic/Latino ministry for the Western North Carolina Conference, said he sees efforts both to bring Hispanics into the church and to push them away.
"I have seen how the Hispanic/Latino population has been rejected by the people who are commanded to make disciples and show love to your neighbor," he said.

In 2004, Hispanic/Latinos accounted for more than 40 million of the overall U.S. population. Out of that, about 50,000 are members of the United Methodist Church, which has more than 8 million members in the United States alone.

Ramos has a theory about the low numbers of Hispanics in the church.

"I think the mistake was sending Hispanic leaders, pastors and lay to do miracles out there alone," he explained. "We must understand that the Hispanic ministry is a ministry of the United Methodist Church - it is not a separate entity.

"We feel alone and sometimes even rejected from our brothers and sisters who are supposed to be embracing the Hispanic ministry as their own."

The denomination's National Plan for Hispanic/Latino Ministries was developed in part to answer that need. Established in 1993, it is an effort by the church to focus on and strengthen Hispanic/Latino ministry.

Bishop Minerva Carcaño from the Desert Southwest Conference, is president of the National Plan. She said she has seen Anglos become more accepting through the years.

"I see more intentionality than I did when I first started in ministry in 1976," she said. "In 1976, the assumption was that the Rio Grande Conference would be the body that was doing Hispanic work. There were certainly people in California, Florida and New York that were also doing Hispanic work, but it was primarily left to Hispanics themselves."

Supporting ministries
Carcaño said she has seen many positive changes and strategies work for Hispanic ministry.

"What is working (in Desert Southwest are) those congregations and fellowships that are reaching out to the poor in their own language, in their own culture," she said. "That is what's working. There are very successful models all over the country."

The Kansas East Conference is trying to expand ministries to the growing population of Hispanics in Kansas, said Gary Beach, director of connectional ministries.

"We (were) granted $50,000 by the (United Methodist Board of Global Ministries) to help us kick off our Hispanic ministries in addition to what we've already done," he said.

Beach said Kansas East is implementing a curriculum called Pentecost Journey, offered by the National Plan, in 11 communities. "It targets non-Hispanic congregations to learn about Hispanic people and break through the stereotypes," he said. "It encourages us to read about and get to know our new neighbors.

"As long as the Hispanic population keeps growing, this will be an ongoing project," he said.

"From 1990 to 2000, the Hispanic population in the Kansas East Conference doubled, and it is estimated to double again by the year 2010."

Kansas East also has been working to provide additional worship services for Hispanics. The efforts have paid off as the conference's Hispanic/Latino congregations have grown. Those include La Esperanza, a new church start in Emporia; Puente de Fe faith community in Topeka; and Mision Nueva Vida, a new church start in Kansas City. Misión Unidos en Cristo, a mission fellowship, will start in Olathe in August, and a Hispanic mission fellowship is meeting at St. Mark's United Methodist Church in Overland Park, Kansas City.

Alice Kunka, co-director of Hispanic/Latino Ministries for the North Carolina Conference, said the Hispanic population in North Carolina is a fairly new one.

"In the conference, we have a strong focus on developing leadership for Hispanic/Latino ministries," she said. "Unlike other parts of the country where Latinos have lived for decades, the population of Hispanics and Latinos in North Carolina is a relatively recent phenomenon. In fact, North Carolina's Hispanic/Latino population quadrupled over the last decade."

Kunka said North Carolina has worked to recruit Hispanics to the church.

"In 1997, the North Carolina Conference established a task force for Hispanic ministries, which has nurtured the development of more than 15 Hispanic/Latino ministries across the conference," she said. "To intentionally develop leaders for ministry, our conference initiated the Academy of Leadership and Spiritual Formation for Hispanic Ministry (or Academia de Liderazo y Formacion Espiritual)."

Vision from the Lord
In the Western North Carolina Conference, Asheboro's Mision Metodista Unida Adonai (Adonai United Methodist Church) is an example of how fast Hispanic ministries are growing.

Established five years ago with eight people, Adonai has grown to more than 200 members, and it is ready to expand further.

The Sunday school hour finds two classes sharing a converted trailer and the youth class meeting in the church kitchen. During worship, the tiny nursery is filled to capacity with infants. A fund-raising campaign to build a new sanctuary and classroom building is under way, and a building plan is in place to more than double Adonai's space.

"This is possible because of the support we have from the district and the local churches," said the Rev. Ana Morrison, pastor. "The Lord has given us a vision, and I can see his hand in all of this. Now we need to make this vision come true."

Morrison is often the first choice when local police, hospital, education and health officials need someone to translate or straighten out a situation with the large Hispanic population. Randolph County, where Asheboro is the county seat, has among the largest concentration of Latino immigrants in North Carolina.

In 2004, the church opened a Latino Community Center in the unused parsonage of a nearby Anglo church, Calvary United Methodist Church. The center offers weekly classes in a number of different areas, plus counseling and food and clothes pantries.

"We're just doing the basics of what Wesley taught us," Morrison says, "working for justice issues, serving the children, and holding regular prayer meetings. That's what the United Methodist Church is all about … to be the children of God."

Challenges
The Rev. José Palos, former coordinator of the National Plan, said many challenges lie ahead before the church is completely diversified.

Carcaño said racism is still a prominent obstacle. "We have our logo of 'Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors,' but we struggle mightily with our racism," she said. "And we struggle mightily with our socio-economic level."

Developing leaders is critical. "I think we need to start earlier in terms of leadership development," Carcaño said. "Train children and young people, college students … to think in terms of being leaders of a church that is inclusive."

Ramos said it is important for local churches to be involved with Hispanic leaders in doing ministry to the Hispanic population.

"To do ministry in the Hispanic community, we must send lay missionaries or pastors to spend the necessary time with the people, first winning their trust, second making disciples and third, teaching them about the Methodist Church," he said. "We must tell the real story."

Time is also an important factor in overcoming challenges.
"This is not a 100-yard dash," Palos said. "It's more like a marathon that you need to work out your resources. So you look at a longer shot so that there's some persistence so the result can be there. Otherwise, if you think about it in the short term, and some people have thought of it that way, then they're disappointed."

*Scahill is a recent graduate of Baker University in Baldwin City, Kan., and worked as an intern for United Methodist Communications in 2005. Information on Adonai United Methodist Church was contributed by correspondent Neill Caldwell in High Point, N.C., with additional reporting by Amanda Bachus, director of Spanish-language resources at United Methodist Communications.