English or Spanish?
Q: My mother became Christian since before I was born, but she only spoke Spanish and took us to a Spanish church. I grew up with English and Spanish being both languages I spoke. As I got older I stopped going to church, then my mom passed away and really didn’t learn anything else about the bible besides what they would teach us at sunday school or my mom taught me. I have never owned a bible, how do I know what bible is best for me, English or Spanish?
A: If in USA, and English is your main language, use that. There's a lot of solid resources printed in English that's not in Spanish, that you can have access to here. So these are good benefits to do so.
Plus if you speak English you'd go to a diverse ethnicly mixed church which is English. So it's best to go with English, as US is a melting pot. If the church has outreaches in Spanish areas [to lead people to Christ, and help them into a Spanish church until they're proficient in English to transfer to a English speaking church] you can help there as a way to serve in the church.
I have been in a smaller church that had a Spanish outreach, as a part of the English church. I learned Spanish at work, and had worked with that pastor, and all the youth were in English youth group (which I was the director over), and most of them went to English church service since they knew English. As the adults became proficient in English they moved/assimilated into the English church worship service.
Many Spanish churches are small, don't have very good deep teaching, due to lack of education by the pastor, so they get fed little. And folk at most of those churches fall prey to leaders who have false teaching or legalism, or if you find a descent one, you only get light teaching (that doesnt go deep and keeps you spiritually stunted). There's very few solid Spanish churches in US. It's better for your overall spiritual growth to go into a solid English church where pastors are more educated in Scripture from solid colleges and seminaries (so you're getting educated in Scripture more robustly and maturing well at a good speed).
Our large church is very mixed, the members come from many countries/nationalities, and it is an English church. The weekly outreach Bible studies are avail. in varied languages to help the community, and those who are new to the States who aren't proficient in English yet. Then they move on into the Church worship hall once they do. Remember, we believers were never meant to segregate, Jews and Gentiles were one, and in one church body; in NT times they all gathered into one church. The dominant language of the country would be used there and all there would be familiar and fluent in it.
It's good you can speak 2 or more languages, because God can use you to help translate, and in outreach situations in sharing the Gospel in the community in town. May God bless those efforts! 😊
Hope that helps.
For a Bible... get a Solid Study Bible to use (& this one is cheap!), ...and its also avail in Spanish [which could be what you use for outreach in town. If you do outreach, then you can bring that Bible with you and use a web based or app version for English. That way you can talk to both folk. English for English church and Spanish for outreach purposes.] Both of these books say the exact same thing. So that's a bonus! And they're affordable.
Find a Church here ✨️
