By Vanessa Alarcón – Boulder, Colorado … In the Rocky Mountain Conference, a church designated as Hispanic signifies that their church service is held in Spanish. Currently, there are 29 Hispanic congregations in RMC. The outside observer might assume these congregations are similar because of their shared language. But apart from language, there is a set of other similar values, religious traditions, and shared challenges.
“I would say that there are 15 countries represented in our Hispanic congregations,” remarked Rubén Rivera, RMC Hispanic Ministries coordinator. “About 65% of our members are first-generation Hispanics while 35% are a mix of second-generation and third-generation Hispanics. This mix of identities and backgrounds within our churches makes each congregation’s culture even more distinctive,” Ruben Rivera explained.
Some of the needs of Hispanic churches can include socio-economic, educational, and emotional requirements as well as immigration issues and barriers. “One cannot assume that just because someone is Hispanic, that they have immigration needs. It’s important to understand the needs of the individual,” commented Rivera. While these needs are not exclusive to Hispanics, the needs of the community are not always well represented in higher levels of power where decisions are made that can improve the quality of life of the Hispanic community.
Vanessa Alarcón, second- generation Hispanic and RMC lay pastor, commented on culture and the church. For her, the Seventh-day Adventist church has not created faith development resources catered to the unique experiences of second or third generation Hispanics, so exploring faith and culture was an important part of my upbringing.
Alarcón recently participated in a Bible study comprised of mostly second-generation Hispanics. “It was incredible that even though we all attended Hispanic Adventist churches across the United States, we each had similar struggles in exploring our identity in Christ in conjunction with our cultural identity,” commented Alarcón.
So, what will you discover when you visit a Hispanic church?
The answer—a community at the crossroads of challenges, but seeking opportunities to serve. There is a vibrant energy, a closeness that resembles family, an appreciation for family values and traditions, and a high commitment to service.
Michael Taylor, Boulder Adventist church member, shared his observations after visiting multiple Hispanic churches across the Front Range. “The most notable [aspect] was that people were very open and willing to share their talents–music, cooking, decorating, etc. People didn’t seem to worry [about] how good or talented the person was. They just seemed to appreciate people sharing their talents,” he said.
This full engagement in ministry is evident in almost every Hispanic church. During RMC Pathfinder events, there will be multiple Hispanic Adventurer clubs and Pathfinder clubs.
Hispanic ministry events also have high turnouts which have led to registration issues for Patty Rivera, Hispanic Women’s Ministries director for RMC. “Our event registrations fill so quickly that every year for the last ten years, we have had to turn away registrations for our retreat because all of our venues, even Glacier View Ranch, can’t hold the capacity of all those interested in participating,” Rivera said.
Registration issues are also a problem for RMC Hispanic camp meeting, which has an estimated attendance of 600 people every year. Even then, there are more Hispanic members who want to participate than can attend.
On average, one in every three new members in RMC is from a Hispanic congregation. “We are continuing to grow and, despite the setbacks of the pandemic, we are seeing how our Hispanic churches are making efforts to reach their communities,” Rivera said.
–Vanessa Alarcón is the Faith Engagement pastor at Boulder church; photos supplied
