EDITORIAL:
Read census numbers, see future
___You don't need a crystal ball to see the future. Not in Texas, anyway.
___Just look at the 2000 census figures and related statistics:
___ The 2000 Texas population numbered 20,851,820. That reflects an increase of 3,865,310 during the decade. It's a 22.8 percent growth rate, compared to 13.2 percent for the United States as a whole.
___ Texas' Hispanic population totaled 6.7 million in 2000. Hispanics experienced a net gain of 2.3 million people in the '90s, a 54 percent growth rate. They now account for 32 percent of Texas' population.
___ Hispanics' growth eclipses all others'. Anglos now number 11.1 million, an 8 percent (783,000) increase. They comprise 53 percent of the state's population, down from 60 percent in 1990. Blacks number 2.4 million and grew by 22 percent (445,000). They make up 12 percent of the population, the same as 1990. Asians number 577,000, and although they grew by 90 percent (273,000), they comprise just 3 percent of the population, a gain of 1 percent. All others total 90,000 and account for less than 1 percent of Texans.
___ Texas added three Hispanics for every one new Anglo during the '90s.
___ The Hispanic population doubled or more than doubled in 58 of the state's 254 counties during the last decade.
___ Hispanics already comprise the majority population in 34 counties.
___ At the current pace, Hispanics will become the Lone Star State's largest racial/ethnic group by 2030.
___ The Baptist General Convention of Texas relates to 1,026 Hispanic congregations--17.1 percent of the 5,994 churches and missions affiliated with the BGCT.
___ While Hispanics comprise 32 percent of the state's population, only 17.1 percent of the BGCT's churches are predominantly Hispanic.
___ While the BGCT offers one church for every 2,669 Anglo Texans, it offers one church for every 6,530 Hispanic Texans.
___ According to a recent national poll by the Barna Research Group, only 1 percent of Hispanic adults attend either a Baptist or a mainline Protestant church.
___ The Roman Catholic claim on U.S. Hispanics is diminishing, the Barna poll showed. Just more than half, 53 percent, of Hispanic adults say the church they attend most frequently is Catholic. That is a 15 percent drop in a decade.
___ Only 25 percent of U.S. Hispanic adults are considered born again, according to the Barna survey. The poll defines "born again" Christians as people who said they "had made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and who then indicated they believe that when they die they will go to heaven because they had confessed their sins and had accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior."
___Texas has been called both a mission field as well as a mission base. The significance of this assessment grows more profound and more pressing by the day. Texas Baptists long have insisted we want to reach our state with the gospel. We will not succeed unless we succeed at reaching Hispanics. We will not reach them unless increasing numbers of Hispanic Texas Baptists are equipped and empowered to take the lead in this endeavor.
___We have been working at this for several generations. But the census numbers mandate exponentially increasing our efforts. If we are going to impact Texas with the gospel in this century, we must:
___ Ensure increased participation by Hispanics in all areas of BGCT life and leadership and maintain a close, vital relationship with the Hispanic Baptist Convention.
___ Continue to escalate Hispanic church-starting efforts, launching churches both for new immigrants and for Hispanics who have called Texas home for generations.
___ Provide Hispanic Baptist Theological School with all the resources it needs to gain full accreditation, provide an expanding and effective course of study, and recruit and retain a growing student body. This is the most pivotal endeavor the BGCT is undertaking at the outset of this century, for it will determine how successfully the convention ministers in Texas throughout the century.
___ Strengthen and enlarge River Ministry, the BGCT's vital effort to share and apply the gospel along the Rio Grande borderland, among the most needy Texans, whose ranks will boom in the coming decades.
___ Empower the rising generation of Hispanic leaders by providing culturally relevant learning materials, opportunities for theological education, mentoring, and educational scholarships and grants.
___These and other needs will continue to confront Texas Baptists in the coming years. They present some of our greatest challenges but, thanks be to God, many of our grandest and most glorious opportunities.
___ Marv Knox
E-mail the editor at marvknox@baptiststandard.com
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