The Hispanic presence in the U.S. predates the arrival of the pilgrims. The exploration of the Spaniard Desoto started between 1539 and 1542, and ranged from Florida to the Mississippi, where he died. The city of Santa Fe, New Mexico was founded in 1598.

Recently the Mission Strategy office has compiled the following information about the Hispanic population:

A student of Hispanics needs to understand that there are many variations to the theme of immigration. Indeed, until the 1850’s most of the southwestern region of what is now the United States was part of Mexico with the majority of immigrants located there being Spanish, rather than Northern European. A notable immigration pattern more recently includes the flight of tens of thousands of Cubans just prior to or after the Cuban Communist revolution of 1959, and more recently the flight of boat people from Cuba…. The first wave of Cubans represented the power elite in the country. Subsequent waves represented more the intellectual dissidents and the impoverished. The Central American civil wars of the late 70’s first in Nicaragua between the Sandanistas (socialist revolutionary party) and the Somozistas (the oppressive dictatorship), then in El Salvador, sent thousands of refugees [fleeing] to the United States, with every change of government. Repressive regimes throughout Latin American, in Chile, Argentina, Guatemala, and ongoing civil chaos in Colombia, each in turn haspushed waves of citizens northward, seeking protection, freedom, economic opportunity, and educational benefits.

Hispanics are one of the most diverse ethnic groups in the U.S. They (or their forebears) came from two dozen countries and their racial ancestry ranges from pure Spanish to mixtures of Spanish blood with Native American, African, German, and Italian, to name a few hybrids. While most are bound by a common language—Spanish--many Hispanic-Americans speak only English. It is estimated that there are approximately 40 million Hispanics in the USA. An article by Linda Robinson states the following: “The growing proportion of Hispanics in the U.S. population constitutes one of the most dramatic demographic shifts in American history. The number of Hispanics is increasing almost four times as fast as the rest of the population. It’s projected that nearly 1 of every 4 Americans will be Hispanic by the year 2050.” A recent report from the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life reveals this finding: “The Latino electorate has grown from 2.4 million in 1980 to 5.7 million in 2000. Demographers and social scientists predict that this growth is only going to continue, as there are 10 million US native-born Latinos under the age of 18. If only two out of five come of age in this decade, there will be an additional 4 million new Latino voters by 2010.” A survey from the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life found “that 93 percent of all Latinos self-identify as Christian, 6 percent self-identify as having no religious preference/other, 1 percent self-identify as practicing a world religion other than Christianity, and less than one-half of one percent self-identify as atheist or agnostic.” The Hispanic or Latino community is open to the gospel. A survey from the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life found: “that 77 percent (8.1) million of all Latino non-Catholics are Protestant or other Christian. Of this group, 85 percent (7 million) identify as Protestant. Further more, 88 percent (6.2 million) of all Latino Protestants are Evangelicals.”

The Hispanic presence in the Church of the Nazarene goes back as early as 1904 when Mrs. Maye McReynolds started her evangelistic outreach to the Mexican community in California. Recently, the Hispanic Nazarene family in the USA/Canada has experienced significant growth particularly in the last decade. Out of 82 districts in the USA/Canada, 60 have Hispanic ministries. Recent statistics from the research center of the Church of the Nazarene present the following:

We celebrate the rich heritage of the Hispanic community in the Church of the Nazarene. We continue to pray that God will help and empower the USA/Canada Church of the Nazarene to continue evangelizing the fast growing Hispanic community.
HISPANICS CONCENTRATED IN 7 STATES

by Roberto Hodgson,
Hispanic Mission Director