A new survey of Hispanic churches shows their attenders are younger and more evangelistic than at other Protestant churches—and there are more of them in worship on any given Sunday.
Together with two dozen other religious organizations, Lifeway Research polled 692 pastors of churches that are at least 50% Hispanic for the largest survey of its kind. Their findings are significant.
Most Hispanic Protestant churches (54%) have been established since 2000, including 32% founded in 2010 or later. Only 9% trace their history prior to 1950.
Not only are the churches relatively new, but most people in the congregations are also new to the United States. The majority are first generation Americans (58%), born outside the country. A quarter are second generation (24%), with parents who were born outside the U.S. And 17% were born in the U.S. to parents who were also born in the U.S. As a result, 53% conduct their services only in Spanish, while 22% percent are bilingual.
“The growth in the number of Hispanic churches in the U.S. has been remarkable,” said Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “While some of these congregations were started within Anglo churches—14% of Hispanic congregations in this study currently are conducting services within a church that is predominantly non-Hispanic—the missional impetus has clearly come from within the Hispanic community itself as two-thirds of these congregations are led by first-generation immigrant pastors.”
The average worship attendance is 115, about double the SBC average. Also in contrast to the denomination as a whole, half of the churches (50%) are in a large metropolitan area with a population of 100,000 or more, while 31% are located in small cities, 9% in rural areas, and 8% are in suburbs.
The average Hispanic Protestant church is markedly younger than its Anglo counterparts: 35% of the congregation is under age 30, including 18% under 18. Another 38% are age 30-49, and 28% are 50 and older.
“Hispanic congregations are very active in engaging new people,” McConnell said. “Not only is there much evangelistic activity in Hispanic churches, but God is also blessing them with new people who commit to following Jesus Christ.”
Approximately 7-in-10 churches reported regularly scheduled witnessing opportunities, with five or more baptisms in the previous year, and resulting in 3-of-4 converts becoming active in church life.