Churches Prepare to Receive Dramatic Growth of Hispanic Population in America

Census numbers project a dramatic increase in the Hispanic population in the next several years. According to new projections by the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Hispanic-Americans alone will grow from about 36 million to more than 100 million by that time---almost 25 percent of the population.

There are more than 30 million Hispanics in the United States today, almost as many as in all of Central America combined. Approximately one million Hispanics enter the USA annually. One in ten people in the U.S. today is Hispanic and their number is growing. The Hispanic population is growing six times faster than the non-Hispanic population and is estimated to become the largest minority in the U.S. by the year 2004.

Spanish is firmly entrenched as the second most common language. It is the language of necessity for at least ten million people and the language of preference for millions who are bilingual.

It's a regular thing to hear English and Spanish bilingual Service at Harvest Downtown, a church in Colorado Springs, Colo. how should Church respond to this growth?

The Hispanic USA Field of CAM International is committed to reaching Hispanics in the USA wherever there is a concentration of 50,000 or more. Consideration is given to allocation of missionaries to Hispanic centers of concentration with less than 50,000 if there is a strong sponsoring Anglo church and a promising Spanish-speaking immigrant population.

CAM currently provides advice and assistance to denominations, church associations, and local churches that seek advice and assistance to reach Spanish speakers in their communities. Anglo churches rightly want to see visible results for their missions investment. CAM's bilingual missionaries can bridge the gap between the immigrants and predominantly Anglo churches.