Committed to Multi-Ethnic Ministry
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Strategies: What Steps Should You Take First?
Implement step-by-step strategies according to the priorities your team identifies
A - How to increase Hispanic attendance in Anglo churches
- Offer sermon translation so they (adults) can hear in their own language
- Add Spanish words and music and prayers to your worship time & Powerpoint
- Start a Spanish-speaking or multi-lingual adult class or small group Bible study
- Provide transportation to your children's ministry activities
- Provide camp scholarships to Latino Camp at Hidden Acres
- Host outreach events, such as "free food fairs" with family activities, music, etc
- Start a soccer team or league in your church, neighborhood or city
B - How to develop ministries to reach out to Hispanics
- Start a Spanish-speaking department or church-within-a-church or kids ministry
- Offer ESL or SSL classes at your church or elsewhere
- Offer marriage or parenting or finance classes at your church or elsewhere
- Work with local charitable or service organizations that can help meet needs
- Assist or lend resources to sports or youth organizations (soccer, scouts, etc)
- Start a food pantry or "free store" for clothing and other household needs
C - How to plant new Hispanic churches
- Provide your facilities and other resources to a Spanish-speaking church plant
- Or start a "church-within-a-church" to provide supervision and support
- Structure your worship and class times to share facilities, resources, staff, etc
- Or provide facilities, finances, personnel, to help plant a new off-site church
D - Supporting district-wide ministries
- Family Camp = www.hacamps.org/retreats/hispanic.htm
- Provide financial or human resources for this annual event
- Make sure someone from your church attends or assists
- Distribute publicity to other churches and businesses
- Hispanic Ministries Summit
- Participate in this forum to share information and experiences
- Contact the Central District office for details on the next Summit
- District Hispanic Ministries
- Provide finances, prayer, personnel and other assistance for the EFCA staff person directing Central District Hispanic ministries and support the needs of other EFCA churches and ministries to Hispanics going on around the district
- Donate online at http://www.cd.efca.org/donations/index.html
Evaluation: Keep Praying, Talking, and Working as You Build on Your Foundation
Involve more people as you evaluate your progress and keep trying new approaches
A - Look at opportunities, challenges, strategies from different perspectives.
- How does your church as a whole see what's going on with Hispanic ministry? Your community? Your target groups? Other ethnic groups? Other churches?
- What does God think about what you're doing or not doing?
- What do Hispanics really think about your church or ministry efforts?
B - Consider what it would look like if you tried something different.
- Realize it will take a long time and requires working from different directions.
- Involve more and more people (both Anglos and Hispanics) with new ideas.
- Start small or with a narrow focus, utilize and empower people as they surface.
C - Talk with other people, organizations & churches for different approaches.
- Get out of your comfort zone to connect with others who care about Hispanics.
- Be willing to try new things, be willing to fail, but equip your people to succeed.
- Realize that it takes time to build trust, relationships, and personal growth.
D - Support other district activities to learn and encourage more outreach.
- Especially if your church is not in a position to become actively involved in your own area, or if you need more time to develop resources and strategies.
- Your support of other projects will jump-start your own ministry learning curve.
E - Pray & plan on a continual basis, to re-focus your activities and objectives.
- Gather interested people and leaders in your church for feedback sessions.
- Make sure you are utilizing your resources and meeting the needs of people.
- Be willing to cultivate, plant, and water, as well as harvest.