The number of Hispanic Protestant churches in the United States is up sharply over the past 23 years thanks to both immigration and evangelization according to a survey released Tuesday.
About 4 out of 5 pastors of these congregations (79%) identify as evangelical Christians, while 16% said they affiliated with mainline Protestant denominations.
The news stands in contrast to continuing reports of departures from mainline Protestant and evangelical congregations, as well as church closings.
The study by Lifeway Research said that the churches are “newer, younger and more effectively evangelistic” than average U.S. Protestant congregations. The study had information from 692 pastors of congregations that are at least 50% Hispanic, Lifeway said.