SANTA ANA, Calif. - I first witnessed the exodus of young Hispanics out of Hispanic churches in the 1960's.
Our young people were leaving our churches because the language used and cultural values expressed in the Hispanic church were barriers for them.
Spanish was the language of the church, but these young people spoke English as well or better than Spanish. They desired greater usage of English, but churches insisted: "We must preserve our language."
Church culture reflected the first generation immigrant, for whom church was a cultural refuge in a foreign place. But for their children, whose values were both Latino and American, church became the foreign place.
In their desire for Christian fellowship where they were understood and fully accepted as bilingual and bicultural people, these second and third generation Hispanics were forced to move beyond the Hispanic church. Some joined English-speaking, Anglo-dominated churches. Many - too many - dropped church altogether.
My heart was burdened back then. But today I still bear this burden, because the Hispanic church has yet to overcome this problem. The great majority of Hispanic churches do not accommodate second and third generation Hispanics. In failing to do so, we hurt both the Hispanic church and the Hispanic family.
To be effective in evangelism and community outreach, Hispanic churches need leaders and money. But when second and third generation Hispanics leave the church, they take their leadership skills and financial resources with them. The church left behind remains perpetually weak and unable to impact communities of great need.
Likewise, the Hispanic family is being undermined. Hispanic teens struggle to accept that they are bicultural. Many think it's an either/or proposition: I'm either Latino or American. When they turn to their parents for guidance, they receive little help. Immigrants not raised in their situation are unable to relate or give proper guidance.
What results is that our young people are often made to feel something is wrong with them because they have that dilemma. They long to be understood, and if they don't find that understanding at home, they will look for it elsewhere.
To stem this exodus of young people from our churches and help the Hispanic church thrive in the 21st Century, something must change. The first step is to make room in our churches for bilingual and bicultural people.
A friend of mine couldn't find a church that could minister to his whole family. He was comfortable in either a Spanish- or English-speaking church. But his wife was from Mexico and preferred Spanish, and his kids spoke only English. His family was not attending church when I invited him to Templo Calvario, the church I pastor, to try out our bilingual format.
At Templo Calvario, we do everything from worship to ministries in both Spanish and English. We hold three services on Sunday, two all-Spanish and one all-English. We used to hold services in both languages, but many bilingual people grew tired of hearing everything twice. The Spanish services are attended mostly by first-generation, immigrant Hispanics. But in an interesting twist, our English service receives many African-Americans and Whites as well as second and third generation Hispanics.
After one Sunday, this man knew he had found what he was looking for. Not only has he made Templo Calvario his new church home, to date he has brought sixty new people into the church, the majority of whom are second and third generation, English-dominant Hispanics.
I offer this story about my church as just one example of what is possible when a Hispanic church commits to being bilingual and bicultural. There are many other churches around the nation reaching second and third generation Hispanics and in the process uniting families and strengthening the entire church. These churches understand one crucial fact: The Hispanic church of the future must be bilingual and bicultural. Latin American and Caribbean immigrants will always be with us, and their children who are raised in the U.S. will always pick up the language and cultural values of this nation. We who are Hispanic church leaders must accept this new reality and build our churches on it. If not, we can expect a continued exodus of young people from our churches.
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