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Multicultural Churches Experience Explosive Growth in NE From the paper entitled, “Great Awakening Passion Stirs in New England Once Again” The amazing growth of the multicultural church in New England is one of the remarkable evidences of the work of the Holy Spirit in this region.
Today we estimate that there are about 300 Portuguese speaking Brazilian churches in Massachusetts and Southern New Hampshire. The majority of the churches are believed to be in the range of 30 – 50 people although one large church serving the community of Somerville, MA has 2,000 members and has just leased a new building that would seat 5,000 people.
One of the most significant events demonstrating the strength of this multicultural alliance was an event held at the Fleet Center in Boston, MA in December 1999 in which both Hispanic and Brazilian churches gathered for an event with over 14,000 people present. In the city of Boston there are over 100 Hispanic congregations. These Spanish-speaking churches represent South American, Central American and Caribbean groups. They tend to have great vitality and dynamic worship. Although adult services are often conducted in Spanish, Sunday School and Youth Ministry tend to be English-speaking. Frequently there is a lack of male leadership and predominance of women involved in ministry. Pastors tend to be non-seminary or college trained with many still non-English-speaking. Challenges and tasks for effective ministry among Hispanics will include effective Youth Outreach and leadership formation, pastoral leadership training, family counseling, issues of bilingualism, children’s ministries, and the development of a vision for self and community development in the Hispanic community. The community of Lawrence, MA, population 70,000, has 40 Spanish-speaking churches and a population in the city approaching 80% Hispanic. One critical issue in Lawrence is the low percentage of high school students that are continuing education beyond the secondary level. The current estimate is that only 5% of students will pursue any education beyond high school. The Higher Education Resource Center at Spanish Evangelical Church is a model program seeking to integrate spiritual values and academic preparation. The Center offers Kaplan College Preparation Training Courses, computer training, and assistance in college selection and application process issues. The Multicultural Leadership Consultation held in Boston, November 2002, brought together Greater Boston church communities from African, Asian-American, Brazilian, Cambodian, Chinese, Greek, Haitian, Hispanic, Indian, Indonesian, Japanese, Vietnamese, and West Indian communities. The number of churches in Boston has more than doubled since 1965 to almost 500 churches serving the city today. This quiet revival has used effective church planting evangelism often in poor urban communities. The full report of the Multicultural Leadership Consultation entitled, Boston’s Book of Acts: 21st Century City, First Century Christianity, has been compiled and published by the Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston, MA. Multicultural Revival Statistics reported by Emmanuel Gospel Center, Boston, MA:
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