Gaining African Americans and African Immigrants to the Church Life

Source: Washington Post

• General approach– Mobilizing existing saints to contact their African-

American friends, neighbors, workmates and college students

• Specific approach– 6 promising HBCUs that have saints who are

faculty– Contacting new immigrants from East Africa,

especially Ethiopia

Changing U.S. Demographics

2044: The year the Census

Bureau projects we’ll have more minorities than

whites in the U.S.

A Religious Portrait of African-Americans

Source: Pew Forum U.S. Religious Landscape Survey; Conducted in 2007, released in 2008

Religious Affiliation and Demographics

College-age Millennials (age

18-24) are considerably

more racially and ethnically diverse than the general

population.

Younger Millennials

report significant levels of

movement from the religious

affiliation of their

childhood, mostly toward

identifying as religiously

unaffiliated.

A Rising share of the U.S Black Population is Foreign Born

9% are immigrants; and while most of are from the Caribbean, Africans

drive recent growth

A record 3.8 million black immigrants live in the United States today, more than four

times the number in 1980

A Brief Snapshot of African Immigrant Christianity

• An example….the Redeemed Christian Church of God in North America, is a Pentecostal movement that started in Nigeria in 1952.

• It is one of Africa's largest and most influential Christian movements, claiming more than five million followers worldwide, mostly in Nigeria.

• Redeemed leaders say there are 720 churches in North America, nearly double from four years ago, and they claim 15,000 members in the US.

• Nearly all attendants of Redeemed Church are Nigerian or African immigrants.

Sources: Pew Research Center, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting

African International Students

The growth of the international student population in the United States reflects the

broader global trend of the increasing number of students who pursue higher education

outside their homelands each year.

Source: The Brookings Institute The Geography of Foreign Students in U.S. Higher Education: Origins and Destinations

Many African students are attracted to

campuses that have a high

percentage of international

students.

Source: Campus Explorer- “African International Students”

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States

that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community.

Source:Wikipedia; brandnewz.com

How many students are enrolled in HBCUs?

Where are the HBCUs located?

States # of HBCUsAlabama 15Arkansas 4District of Columbia 2Delaware 1Florida 4Georgia 10Kentucky 1Louisiana 6Maryland 4Michigan 1Missouri 2Mississippi 7North Carolina 11Ohio 2Oklahoma 1Pennsylvania 2South Carolina 8Tennessee 7Texas 9Virginia 6Virgin Islands 1West Virginia 2

Total 106

Source: Wikipedia

School City StateAlabama A&M University Huntsville Alabama

J. F. Drake State Technical College Huntsville Alabama

Oakwood University Huntsville Alabama

Arkansas Baptist College Little Rock Arkansas

Philander Smith College Little Rock Arkansas

Shorter College Little Rock Arkansas

University of the District of Columbia Washington District of Columbia

Howard University Washington District of Columbia

Edward Waters College Jacksonville Florida

Florida A&M University Tallahassee Florida

Clark Atlanta University Atlanta Georgia

Interdenominational Theological Center Atlanta Georgia

Morehouse College Atlanta Georgia

Morehouse School of Medicine Atlanta Georgia

Morris Brown College Atlanta Georgia

Paine College Augusta Georgia

Spelman College Atlanta Georgia

Southern University at Shreveport Shreveport Louisiana

Southern University and A&M College Baton Rouge Louisiana

Coppin State University Baltimore Maryland

There are 41 HBCUs located where there is a church life..

Source: Wikipedia

School City StateMorgan State University Baltimore MarylandJackson State University Jackson MississippiHarris-Stowe State University St. Louis MissouriBennett College Greensboro North CarolinaJohnson C. Smith University Charlotte North CarolinaNorth Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University Greensboro North CarolinaNorth Carolina Central University Durham North CarolinaAllen University Columbia South CarolinaBenedict College Columbia South CarolinaAmerican Baptist College Nashville TennesseeFisk University Nashville TennesseeKnoxville College Knoxville (Mechanicsville) TennesseeLeMoyne-Owen College Memphis TennesseeMeharry Medical College Nashville TennesseeTennessee State University Nashville TennesseeHuston-Tillotson University Austin TexasPaul Quinn College Dallas TexasSt. Philip's College San Antonio TexasTexas College Tyler TexasTexas Southern University Houston TexasVirginia Union University Richmond Virginia

Source: Wikipedia

HBCU's where saints are working as faculty

HBCU State City

Delaware State University Delaware Dover

Clark Atlanta University Georgia Atlanta

Southern University and A&M College Louisiana Baton Rouge

Jackson State University Mississippi Jackson

North Carolina Central University North Carolina Durham

Source: Wikipedia

College Campuses

• A good number of younger African-American students were gained on a college campuses not HBCUs; neither were they specifically targeted, but contacted in a general way just like other students.

• E.g. Campus teams at Georgia State University and Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA.

International Students from Africa

• Usually attend schools where there higher concentrations of other international students

• E.g. Zim Okoli an African Scholar Professor at the University of Kentucky (Lexington), raised up an African-American group meeting.

Community

• The saints can contact their neighbors and workmates who are African-American or African Immigrants

• E.g. Brother Caleb Chen brought some of his workmates who are African Immigrants to the recent Labor Day conference in Houston

Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)

• Private HBCUs may not be as easy to preach the gospel openly as public HBCUs – Atlanta campus team experience

• Need burdened faculty or students on these campuses; currently we have 6 HBCUs where saints are working as faculty– Delaware State University, Dover, DE– Clark Atlanta University, Atlanta, GA– Southern University and A&M college, Baton Rouge, LA– Jackson State University, Jackson, MS– North Carolina Central University, Durham, NC– Texas Southern University, Houston, TX (pretty soon)

New Immigrants from East Africa

• Gaining Ethiopian Immigrants – the largest group from East Africa to migrate to the United States

• Cities where we have clusters of Ethiopian immigrants in the church life– Houston, TX– Las Vegas, NV (Ben Tewolde)– Los Angeles, CA– Charlotte, NC