Thursday, March 17, 2016

Shifting Demographic Sands


One of the biggest frustrations for Hispanic pastors is the “revolving door” effect of ever-shifting Hispanic demographics. This “easy come, easy go” syndrome is common among Latino immigrant populations.  We know that longevity and consistency in ministry are valuable assets that lend much stability and strengthen influence.  Unfortunately, many Hispanic church pastors have to constantly “swim upstream” to try to overcome the instability of an ever-moving church population.

Why does this happen? The first big factor is economics.  To survive financially, one must find work.  For decades many Hispanics have engaged in farm labor jobs that follow the agricultural harvesting seasons.  They are often referred to in our stereotypical jargon as “migrant workers.”  And those workers live in “migrant camps”, makeshift and barely-livable communal housing they can afford until they move on to the next harvest fields. Their whole lives and existence revolve around moving from job to job, just to survive.

Some workers are fortunate enough to land a decent-paying hourly-wage job.  However, if the employee has lower-than-average education and skill qualifications, many of these jobs are so labor-intensive, and are carried out in such harsh conditions, that physical exhaustion forces the worker to immediately look for different employment, even if that means moving cross-country.  It is not unusual for a Hispanic church pastor to ask about a family who didn’t show up for a church service as usual, only to find that the absent family is permanently gone, without a word or trace of where they have gone.

For the undocumented, the constant fear of being “caught” by U.S. Immigration and naturalization services is very real.  If one does not have proper documentation and work permits, something as simple as a traffic ticket can start a process that could lead to deportation.  If things get too “hot” undocumented Hispanics (the minority) may feel obligated out of fear, to flee to avoid prosecution or deportation.

In Anglo congregations it is common practice to use a “connection card” which newcomers are asked to fill out with their personal contact information and then drop in the offering plate.  The pastor can use it to contact the new family to welcome them or to visit them in their home. This data is particularly important when trying to integrate new families into small group settings, and for quickly cultivating a sense of belonging.  However, many Hispanics who are undocumented will be very reluctant to give any traceable information to any church or group where deep trust has not yet been established.  Again, when that family disappears from services for a few Sundays, the pastor often has no way to contact them because the address and telephone information was false or just never came in to begin with.  Rather regular Hispanic attenders sometimes just vanish—and no one knows where to find them.

A few weeks ago, a young pastor of a small Hispanic congregation with a core of about 40 people told me that he absolutely has to make at least ten new contacts each week just to maintain the church’s attendance at an even level.  He explained that if he did not do so, the church would literally close operations if four to five weeks.  Needless to say, this is a tremendous pressure point for this caring pastor, or for anyone who has concerns about the continued health of the Hispanic congregation.

All of these frustration factors are exponentially multiplied when one confronts the fact that the shifting demographic factor that is so destabilizing, is also totally beyond his control. Although the longer a Hispanic immigrant remains in the USA the more he tends to adapt and adjust, reality tells us that as long as there are new waves of incoming immigrants, this shifting demographic sand will remain a nagging challenge.

It is very important to realize that this constantly-changing population phenomenon varies greatly from city to city and from region to region.  In a recent visit to a Hispanic church in Illinois, the pastor told me that, although there is not a great influx of new Hispanic families being drawn to his city, neither is there an exodus.  The actual population numbers are remaining fairly steady.  That congregation (which was about 14 years old at the time of my visit) has an average attendance of about three hundred. It has enjoyed steady growth, no doubt in part, due to the demographic stability of the area’s population. This makes the “shifting sand factor” a lesser challenge.

WHAT YOU SHOULD KNOW: Study the demographics of the specific area where you are involved. Try to see any trends regarding the rate of demographic shift. This will help you determine if the area is becoming more stable or is still in a “shifting” mode, and to what degree.

The Pew Research website is a great source for demographic data.  You can find it at www.pewhispanic.org

Until next time,

Tom Hines

No comments:

Post a Comment