Watch network television for more than five minutes and you are bound to see a commercial for one of the major cell phone providers touting that it has the “biggest,” the “fastest,” or the “best” 3G network. Those of us in ministry may have taken notice of the need to build our own 3G network — ministries that focus on reaching third- and fourth-generation Hispanics.

According to the Pew Hispanic Center, third- and fourth-generation Hispanics currently make up 60 percent of the total Hispanic population. By the year 2020, they will comprise 66 percent of the Hispanic population.
For those of us in Texas, this means that of the 9 million Hispanics in the state, about 6 million of them are third or fourth-generation.

According to an American Political Science Association report, a full 71 percent of third-generation Hispanics over age 18 claim English as their dominant language. Twenty-seven percent claim to be bilingual. By this third generation, only 2 percent speak Spanish primarily

In the state of Texas, this means that English can be used to reach out to an astounding 98 percent of third- and fourth-generation Hispanics and beyond.

What does that mean to those of us in ministry?

It means several things. First, it means that even churches that are considered Hispanic works are not doing a very effective job of reaching this group.

When you look at the fact that out of the almost 1,400 Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas, only 1 percent are ministering in English-only. The other 99 percent still operate in Spanish-only, or as a compromise offer a bi-lingual service. This is mind-blowing when you seriously look at the numbers! Just 1 percent of the Hispanic Baptist churches in Texas are trying to reach the 60 percent that prefer English, and 99 percent are trying to reach the other 40 percent that prefer Spanish.

With each generation moving forward, the 60 percent will continue to grow and the 40 percent will continue to dwindle. When you consider that most Anglo churches think that the answer to reaching Hispanics in general is to bring someone on staff that speaks Spanish and has a Latino-sounding surname (Martinez, Gomez, Rodriguez, etc.), most of us aren’t doing a great job in effectively reaching this group.
The two main reasons are that Hispanic churches are still operating on old mental models and Anglo churches think one-size-fits all. What ends up happening is many Hispanic young adults leave the tradition of their parents’ church and end up at an Anglo church that has no clue about who they really are. They become a part of the crowd even though they have their own identity.

Somebody has got to step up and create a true 3G Network, one deigned to effectively minister to third- and fourth-generation Hispanics and beyond.

One thing to keep in mind when trying to reach this group, first and foremost, is that the old way doesn’t work. While this group appreciates and embraces its heritage and history, members consider themselves Americans and are fully assimilated into American culture. They shop at Banana Republic, drink Starbuck’s, own iPhones, and drive Jettas.

At church they prefer blue chairs, Media Shout, Hillsong United and Francis Chan. Another thing to consider is that, although they are American in every sense of the word, they are not Anglo. What this means is that they have a very deep sense of community and fellowship. They will attend church together, eat lunch afterward and hang out all afternoon and evening. A lot of what they do is very community and family oriented. This is who they are.

This is a group that has been saying “Can you hear me now?” for the past few years and that chorus is continuing to grow and get louder. I think it’s time that we stepped up to the plate and answered, “We can hear you loud and clear.” Someone has got to create a real 3G Network. Why can’t it be us?

Walk As Jesus Walked

1 John 2:5-6 "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did."
I have always found the above verse very intimidating. It says that if we are truly living in Christ, we ought to walk as Jesus did. How did Jesus walk? He healed the sick. He perceived the needs and situations of others supernaturally. He spoke boldly into the lives of the unsaved. He met the needs of people by leading them to the Kingdom of God. Jesus says we must walk as He did. So, I can only conclude from this verse that if we are each called to live this way, He will also equip us to live this way.

How did Jesus walk? He walked on earth as a human being, not as God, yet He was God. His miracles were done as a human being who tapped into the power of His Heavenly Father. This is why he can exhort us to live like He did not as God-like, but as a human being who could appropriate all the Father had for him. This is what He means when He says "live as He lived." We are to exercise obedience and faith just as He did.

I believe we live in a day that requires more than proclamation evangelism to break through in the workplace. We live and work in a skeptical society. It takes more than reasoning to see those in the workplace come to Christ. The workplace is trained to see past phonies. So, it will require the genuine love and power of Christ to be manifested to break through to a Muslim co-worker, a power-driven executive, or a foul-mouthed construction worker.

Jesus modeled a way of reaching the lost. He did not use reasoning to convince a person to follow him. He often operated in the supernatural revelation about a need in that person's life. Such was the case of the Samaritan woman. This encounter not only led to a woman placing her faith in the Messiah, but it led to the transformation of a city.

Be Intentional:
Next time you have an encounter with an associate, family member, or friend, find out about a need they have and ask God how you can meet it through His power.

A personal testimony is such an awesome thing because it's unique to that person in the sense that nobody can have "your" exact testimony. They can relate to it, and that's what make testimonies so wonderful. They give people hope and they bring glory to God. This past Friday at Waves of Faith we had 25 or so people share their testimony...on a piece of cardboard. As you can see from the video, a lot doesn't have to be expressed for a testimony to be powerful.

Somebody Loves Me

Nothing like the reality of knowing that somebody really loves you, right? On occasion I’ll be in deep thought or occupied managing a task at hand just to be suddenly surprised by the unexpected hugs and kisses of my 2-year old grandson. He will just show up unexpectedly and throw himself on me and give me kiss after kiss on my face. My wife says I’m the only one that he does this with. Wow, I feel special.   God also showed up when I least expected him. I wasn’t even born, yet he knew that one day I would be in need of his love. So he came and made his mark on a wooden tree that has lasted over the test of time when everything else is long forgotten. It too happened unexpectedly and full of symbolic hugs and kisses, the kind that would cost him his life. God wanted to make sure that I knew just how much of his loving approval I had. It would seem strange that I could be loved sacrificially to death by a “perfect” stranger. Only thing is, while I didn’t know him, he did know me. Wow, I am special.   Feeling unloved and unappreciated? Just look to the cross and it is more than enough to validate your value in love. You see, he did it for the whole world. That’s you and me. So look up! The greatest somebody of the world loves you! Lead Pastor Rey Martinez