Many are surprised to find that it is actually the Hispanic wing of the Church in the U.S. that is growing the fastest. Many are surprised by this because they may have no interaction in the Hispanic community and when they see some of the "mega churches" on TV they assume all is well in a land that in many places within Christian circles substitutes "programs" for the Holy Spirit. The reality is that many of the "mega Churches" are built upon what, in missiological and church growth studies, is called "transfer growth" (i.e. Christians just switching to the latest, greatest, church with the most hip program down the road from a church they had been at).

Regardless of claims to the contrary by their leaders in these mega churches, this is what most research shows. Gathering a crowd is not the same as making disciples. And, as Chuck Van Engen, a professor from Fuller Seminary puts it, programs like the "Seeker-sensitive" movement for example, saw its peak over ten years ago, and are not nearly as effective as its promoters claim, yet they just keep selling their books and programs saying this is the way to go, and many keep implementing these programs as the all-encompassing answer.

There is something going on in the Hispanic Community we could do well to take notice of, and that is an openness and willingness by and large to have the Holy Spirit move in their midst. Hey, that's kind of Biblical, isn't it? "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and shall be my witnesses." Allow the Holy Spirit to move, and people get saved and healed, just like in the Bible. Unfortunately, some in the Anglo-Western wing think this is some optional choice they can substitute with a program instead, but the Bible never makes it optional and to act as if it were is error.

Many in the theological and missiological world are seeing that Latin America, Africa, and parts of Asia may produce the next wave of theologians, missiologists, etc. Recent works like The Next Christendom by Jenkins show that major portions of what we call the "Third World" are seeing great advances with the Gospel, most of this amongst Pentecostal/Charismatics - roughly 90% of Christian expansion in Latin America is amongst the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement, according to C. Peter Wagner, and which he also points out is the largest non-military, non-political movement in the world, while much of the Anglo-Western areas lag behind. A resistance to the Holy Spirit can be attributed to some of this lag. As once-vital movements who in the past embraced the Spirit's work move to replace it with human programs and institutional heavy structure, the inevitable slowing and hardening sets in. This is not often obvious to the casual observer however--the frog in the kettle can't feel the heat changing--things seem fine to someone gazing at the same bark on a tree up close over time, yet if one steps back and looks at the larger picture, one can see there are leaves that are turning brown and falling off. A recent book by Barna points to an increasing disillusionment amongst those in Christian churches in America who are burnt out on the overemphasis on human programs, tired of religious games, and wanting real vitality with Christ. They are dropping out of the Christian mainstream and seeking to follow Christ in different settings than the traditional. The replacement of programs for the Spirit's works is central in the cause of this phenomenon, some observe.

As Jesus clearly declared: "The Spirit gives life and the flesh counts for nothing..." (Jn.6:63). We need to wake up and see the reality of God's Word we say we so cherish. Our human programs, computers, and Power Point presentations can never substitute for God's Spirit. As Jesus and His Word declare, it is the Holy Spirit who alone gives life, meaning, power, and hope to our Christian existence. We should not consider ourselves so brilliant that we think we have jettisoned desperately needing the Holy Spirit's power and presence in every part of our Christian existence, experience, worship, and life.