As Alabamians move throughout their day, their eyes, ears and nose are catching signs of something their heart and mind may not realize.
Brightly colored signs proclaim the existence of a nearby Hispanic grocery or restaurant. The strains of Tex-Mex, Latino and Hispanic-flavored music are part of the radio-station mix, and words such as ¡hola! (hello) and adiòs (goodbye) spice up the talk of English-speakers.
All these signs point to the growing influence of the state’s Hispanic population on the culture, according to Don Bogie, director of the Center for Demographic Research based at Auburn University Montgomery. “[Hispanics’] increased visibility in the state has been phenomenal,” he said. “We’ve all had to stop and take notice of it.”
According to data provided by Bogie, from 1990 until 2004 — the latest year for which reliable estimates were available — the Hispanic population in Alabama grew by 299.5 percent, from 24,629 Hispanics in 1990 to an estimated 98,388 in 2004.
But these numbers are very underestimated, according to Richard Alford, director of language missions for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions office of associational missions and church planting. Based on what he has experienced and heard from others who work with Hispanics, Alford said the Hispanic population could be more than double the 2004 estimate.
Bogie agreed that the estimated numbers for Hispanics in the state are weak and explained that the language barrier, coupled with the transient nature of the Hispanic population, makes it difficult to obtain accurate data.
“We know for certain that it’s growing and pretty significant,” he said.
Bogie noted that even though the Hispanic population is still relatively small in terms of Alabama’s overall population — 2.2 percent as of 2004 U.S. Census Bureau estimates — it is making its mark on Alabama in many areas.
“We were pretty bland until we saw the recent influence of Hispanics,” he said. “We’ve added a new dimension, flavor (to the culture).”
Bogie also noted there has been a significant economic impact on the state, with the rapid population gain creating additional revenues.
“They’re making a real contribution to the economy of the state in the sense that they’re doing work that needs to be done,” he said, explaining that many Hispanics have found employment in fields in which it is hard to find laborers.
Hispanics are also making an impact on the spiritual culture of the state, presenting new opportunities for ministry and growth among Alabama Baptists, Alford said.
He noted that many are involved in activities such as hosting English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, tutoring and mentoring children and youth, helping with citizenship skills and job searches and hosting Bible studies and worship services in Spanish.
“What we’re doing is good, and we ought to be doing more of it,” Alford said.
One way the state and Baptists are responding to growing Hispanic needs is to form coalitions, like the North Alabama Baptist Hispanic Ministry Coalition. Composed of 14 north Alabama associations, the coalition helps fund a catalytic missionary, Ed Ables, who assists in the development and continuation of Hispanic ministries.
Alford said plans are developing to establish coalitions in the central and southern areas of the state as well.
“The coalitions provide a pooling of resources to meet needs which are common to the associations in each coalition,” he said. “If the coalition plans a ministry which is coalitionwide, then the whole coalition is involved in resourcing the event or ministry.”
Alford noted, however, that if a member of the coalition has an event or ministry, then that member is responsible for the resources for that.
Even forming a partnership between churches or two or three associations can be beneficial, said Carlos Lemus, Hispanic missionary for Autauga and Chilton Baptist associations. “If something can be done as a (group), it might be more effective than just one or two churches trying on their own to fund (their own) ministries,” he said.
Lemus, who is from Guatemala, has worked with Hispanics in Autauga and Chilton associations for three years and is president of the Hispanic Baptist Fellowship of Alabama.
He recommended having someone to work with the ministries who can communicate well in Spanish, such as a Hispanic or an Anglo who is fluent in Spanish and can do more than just conversational Spanish.
As churches begin to look at starting Hispanic ministries, one issue to consider is the size of the population in the area. Lemus and Alford both said one way to determine this is to survey public areas and talk with Hispanics there. Alford’s office is also available to help with surveying the Hispanic population and determining needs, as well as providing resources.
Alford added that if a church is in an association that has a Hispanic missionary, then the church can call on that person.
One of the best ways to draw Hispanics to the church, and in turn Christ, is by meeting some practical needs, Lemus noted.
“(Baptists’) sense of church is of family, community, of persons bound together by Jesus Christ,” he said. But for Hispanics — many of whom come from strong Catholic cultures — that is not their understanding.
“The church is just a building,” Lemus noted. He said that in many cultures, it is the women who attend regularly, while the men “from time to time attend to confess sins.”
The solution is to offer ministries like ESL and citizenship classes so that people can come and get used to the church building, staff and members, Lemus said. As the ministries grow, the church can begin a Hispanic Bible study or worship service after the classes. More Hispanics will attend the classes and following activities as their trust grows, he said.
Such a process takes a major time commitment on the part of those wanting to begin Hispanic ministries, Lemus and others noted.
It takes time for a ministry to develop from individual programs into Hispanic worship services and even churches, Lemus explained. Plus, because of the differences in the cultural understanding of church, simply inviting a Hispanic to an event will not work very well, he said. “This concept of worship is totally new,” Lemus said. “They’re very unlikely to just say, ‘Let’s go to church.’”
He noted that as a pastor, it works much better if he invites them, calls the day of the event and then goes to pick up whomever he invited. “(It takes) someone who is committed to coming with them, taking the first steps with them,” Lemus said.
In addition to determining the size of the Hispanic population, the needs of the population need to be surveyed, noted Omar Hernandez, Hispanic missionary for Montgomery Baptist Association.
Hernandez also serves as pastor of the Hispanic church based at Vaughn Forest Baptist Church, Montgomery, which recently changed its name from Vaughn Forest en Español (Vaughn Forest in Spanish) to Nueva Vida en Cristo Iglesia Bautista Hispanoamericana (New Life in Christ Baptist Church Hispanic-American). He said that with the name change, the church is looking at changing some things and doing ministry a little differently than it has been.
“We want to identify (Hispanics’) needs and start shaping our ministry toward what they need right now,” Hernandez said.
For those he works with, the biggest need is loneliness. Many are in Alabama without their families, friends and usual support network. “That’s why we say (the church is) one, big Hispanic family,” Hernandez said.
The second biggest need is God. Hernandez explained that when many come to the United States, they are looking for answers.
The third need is citizenship. For Hispanics who are not in the state with a legal visa or immigration papers, it is hard to leave the house and drive to church for fear of having a wreck or some other incident occurring.
“All that makes them wary and they just stay home,” Hernandez said. He suggested that churches and individuals could offer transportation to help encourage attendance at events. Another solution is to take church out into the community through home Bible studies and other events, which Hernandez said the church is looking into.
Knowing the cultural background of Hispanics in an area can also help with Hispanic ministry, Alford said.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the term “Hispanic” applies to people who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the census — “Mexican,” “Puerto Rican” and “Cuban,” as well as “other Spanish, Hispanic or Latino.”
People who identify their origin as Hispanic may be referring to their heritage, nationality group, lineage or country of birth of themselves, their parents or ancestors. So people who identify their origin as Hispanic may be of any race, according to the census.
Although there are certain similarities between Hispanic countries, there are also many cultural differences, Lemus noted. He said that some things that he as a Guatemalan would do in ministry would not work with a group that is mostly Mexican.
According to Bogie, the majority of Hispanics in Alabama are from Mexico or of Mexican heritage. In 2000, Alabama’s then 75,830 Hispanics constituted 1.7 percent of the population. But within the Hispanic population, 58.7 percent was determined to be of Mexican origin.
Bogie also noted that almost half (40.3 percent) of the Hispanic men in Alabama aged 15 and over had never been married.
Hernandez, who is from Mexico, said that in the Montgomery area, there is a large number of men from Mexico who are married but their family is back in their home country.
All these factors and more can determine what type of ministries would be best for the area a church or individual is trying to reach.
Hispanic ministry is more than just Alabama Baptists teaching Hispanics about the United States and how to live in the state, Alford said. It is an opportunity for cultural exchange. “The more that we can interact with people that come into the community from different backgrounds, the more opportunities we have to learn the good things about them and appreciate them,” he said.
And it is Lemus’ hope that through that exchange, Alabama Baptists will develop hearts ready to minister and witness to Hispanics. “Don’t just look at Hispanics as good workers and nice people with nice families,” he said. “Look at them as people who need Jesus.”
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