New York Times columnist Charles Blow began his Saturday piece with a surprising question: “Which political party’s members are most likely to believe that Jesus will definitely return to earth before midcentury?” Answer: the Democrats.

Blow went on to explain why this wasn’t surprising at all. Noting the growing numbers of Blacks and Latinos in the Democratic Party, he cited data showing high rates of church attendance among non-white Democrats, as well as widespread belief in the second coming. So much for a Republican lock on pre-millennialism.

According to Blow, the diversification of American society means that Democrats will become more religious.

Though it seems odd at first, the Assemblies of God has something in common with the Democratic Party: it is undergoing a demographic shift.

According to denominational statistics, most of the growth in the 96 year-old body comes from non-white congregations. Between 2006 and 2007, the number of white adherents actually declined. According to one estimate, majority white congregations will make up only 50 percent of Assemblies of God churches by the year 2030.

As we noted in 2008, these demographic shifts have political implications for American Pentecostalism. If minorities in the Assemblies vote the same way as their brothers and sisters in the national electorate, the denomination may become less politically monolithic.

This is already happening on some issues. Though careful not to define things in ideological terms, Assemblies of God General Superintendent George O. Wood lent his name to a 2009 National Association of Evangelicals resolution on comprehensive immigration reform. According to a press release, Wood defended this stance by appealing to Deuteronomy 10: 18-19: “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing. And you are to love those who are aliens, for you yourselves were aliens in Egypt.”

This stance has drawn criticism from opponents of immigration reform. In an internet video last October, Wood called for civility, noting that “when people call and start swearing at our people that are answering the phone, you just have to say this is way overheated.”

Though Pentecostals remain divided on this issue, the surge in immigrants suggests that Wood is on the side of history. In a church of strangers and aliens, it is hard not to come to their defense.