Rise of Hispanic Church Plants
In 2025, Lifeway Research worked with 16 denominations or similar groups to
survey leaders at almost 300 new Protestant Hispanic churches to gain insight into what these new ministries look like. Sponsored by Exponential and the Church Planting Leadership Fellowship, the Hispanic Church Planting Study 2025 follows up on similar 2019 research. Here are some key findings:
Attendance Growth
Year 1: 31 people
Year 8: 85 people
First-Time Commitments to Jesus
Year 1: 10
Year 8: 15
A third (36%) of new churches say the largest number of attendees have Mexican origins, 27% say more people identify equally with multiple countries, and 11% say the plurality of their attendees are from Puerto Rico, while far fewer point to other Latin American nations.
Average Attendee Age
Under age 18: 17%
18-29: 18%
30-49: 39%
50 or older: 26%
Nine in 10 congregants (90%) are Hispanic or Latino.
* 65% are first-generation Americans (having been born outside of the U.S.)
* 24% are second-generation (born in the U.S. to at least one parent born elsewhere)
* 11% are third-generation (born in the U.S. to parents who were also born in the U.S.)
Of the pastors, 91% are Hispanic or Latino.
* 77% are first-generation
* 12% are second-generation
* 11% are third-generation
Half (50%) of the new churches are in the three U.S. states:
- Texas (25%)
- Florida (15%)
- California (10%)
When these congregations gather, 2 in 3 conduct their services entirely in Spanish (65%), and 4% are all in English. One in 5 (20%) are bilingual, while 12% have separate services for Spanish, English and/or bilingual.
Most pastors surveyed say they are attempting to reach all Hispanic people (63%). Around 3 in 10 (29%) are aiming for a cross-cultural or multiethnic group. Few say they’re trying to reach a specific Hispanic group like Mexicans or Cubans (6%) or none of these (2%).
Used by permission of Lifeway Research.
