21st Century Churches: Bay Ridge Christian Center, Brooklyn, NY
by Rodolpho Carrasco
c. Hispanic Association of Bilingual Bicultural Ministries 1995
(Rodolpho Carrasco is associate director of Harambee Christian Family Center in Pasadena, Calif. and a columnist for the San Gabriel Valley Newspaper Group. Check out more articles by Rodolpho Carrasco here.)
BROOKLYN (HNS) - Today over 1,000 people combined attend worship services in Spanish and English at Bay Ridge Christian Center in Brooklyn, New York. For many Christian leaders, Pastor Luciano Padilla, Jr.'s success in developing a thriving bilingual, multicultural church seems miraculous. But Padilla will tell you creative work went hand-in-hand with the grace of God.
Born into a family of pastors, Padilla took over leadership of Bay Ridge church in 1970. In the mid-70's his church - along with many other Hispanic churches - experienced a hemorrhage of second and third generation Hispanics.
"Hispanic churches were very legalistic," Padilla says, "and there was also a big gap between the first and second generations."
Padilla's initial efforts at reaching the second generation included hiring staff to start a separate English-speaking congregation and adding an English translation section to the Spanish service.
Efforts like these proved hit-and-miss, until Padilla increased his personal involvement. He began preaching at both English and Spanish services, attending all leadership meetings for each congregation, and developing parallel ministries for each congregation. "It was like pastoring two churches, with separate deacons, worship leaders, musicians, and teachers," Padilla says.
These years of trial and error paid off in a church as strong in infrastructure as it is high in membership. Padilla points out five key elements to Bay Ridge's success.
THERE IS NO ONE MODEL OF BILINGUAL CHURCH MINISTRY - While Padilla advocates one pastor over both Spanish and English congregations, he acknowledges other successful models. He cites Primitive Christian Church in Manhattan, where a father and spiritual son shepherd the Spanish and English congregations, respectively. "Though they are two leaders, they share one vision, building a bilingual, multicultural church," Padilla says.
OPEN UP TO NON-HISPANICS - The Hispanic church, Padilla says, can be a church for the entire community by making room for non-Hispanics. In New York City, Padilla notes, many Spanish-speakers from the Caribbean are of African descent. "I've learned through them that the Hispanic church must - and can - be multicultural." Padilla adds that as the church body becomes multicultural the leadership must become multicultural as well.
BE GRACIOUS IN SHARING FACILITIES - "It takes a lot of grace to share facilities when a church has two congregations using the exact same facilities," Padilla says. There will always be space limitations, Padilla points out, so church leaders must be prepared to deal with these circumstances.
TAKE CARE NOT TO FAVOR ONE GROUP OVER THE OTHER - For the one pastor, bilingual church model to work, Padilla says, all members must feel the pastor is without impartiality and committed to them. "I am there at all major events for both congregations," Padilla says. "My commitment to the whole must be demonstrated."
BE BOLD IN TEACHING MEMBERS TO TITHE - Padilla believes an effective bilingual church will experience rapid growth and require more staff and financial resources. It is the church's responsibility, he says, to fill these needs. "Hispanics always seem to expect others to do for us, but to be effective we need to do for ourselves," Padilla says. Padilla calls church leaders especially to be examples of sacrificial giving: "I do not ask of you what I am not willing to do myself."
1995 marks the 14th year of Bay Ridge's bilingual church ministry. Besides two growing and complementary congregations under one roof, Bay Ridge's outreach is impressive. The church operates a K-8 Christian school, supports a radio station, runs a bible school, and is involved in missions to Haiti, Ghana and Guatemala.
Padilla believes his church's bilingual and multicultural base makes all these ministries possible. "We (Hispanics) have been a missionary field for a long time, but we need to become missionaries to our own urban areas and to the world. If we can keep our young people by making our churches bilingual and multicultural, we can expect that they will be the ones to advance missions in a powerful way."
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