The United States has been undergoing some dramatic culture shifts in recent decades. USA Today has been reporting on a few of them.

The Hispanic Shift (the article)

• The nation’s Hispanic population is growing fastest on the East Coast and in the Midwest, far from border areas that have been traditional immigration strongholds.
• The number of Hispanics more than doubled in 135 counties, with some of the fastest growth in suburban counties in Georgia and Virginia.
• In the 1990s, Hispanics accounted for 18.9% of the growth in suburbs. That number has jumped to 24.5% since 2000.

The African-American Shift (the article)

• The nation’s black population is decreasing around Northern cities as blacks continue moving to the South.
• Black population increased by the thousands in counties in Georgia, Florida, Texas, North Carolina, Maryland, and Virgina.
• In the 1990s, blacks accounted for 12.4% of the growth in suburbs. That number has jumped to 16.6% since 2000.

The new theme for blacks this decade is that they’re moving to places that had been primary destinations for whites. They’re moving to the suburbs and… fast-growing areas.
- William Frey :: Demographer :: Brookings Institution

The Dwindling Whites (the article)

•  Whites are now in the minority in nearly 1 in 10 U.S. counties.

The Young People Shift

• Young people are moving out of cities for neighborhoods in the suburbs and beyond. The 20- to 34-year-old population dropped in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Miami, New York, and Seattle, while their numbers grew rapidly in nearby counties where housing is cheaper.

When a church’s community undergoes a dramatic culture shift, what was effective ministry in the past may no longer work. Keep an eye on your community. How is it changing?