The U. S. Census Bureau released some important information last week on the fastest growing areas in the country. You may find the press release HERE. As you look at the tables below, you’ll notice information on both metro and micro areas of the country.
As you prayerfully consider where to plant churches, it is my hope that such tables below may be of some assistance to you. Also, I would encourage you to compare these tables to my study released a couple of years ago on the evangelical concentrations in the United States and Canada. Many of these areas listed below are in great need of the gospel.
For example, not only is the Provo-Orem, UT area one of the fastest growing metro areas, it is also the least evangelical metro area, with a 0.6% evangelical population and 1 evangelical church for every 18,427 people. Williston, ND is the fastest growing micro area. Here is why I think we should send teams there as well.
The Church should never allow statistics and demographics to substitute for the leading of the Holy Spirit. However, the Lord often leads us by the use of such means. These resources are available to us. Let’s be wise stewards with them as we prayerfully move forward for the multiplication of disciples, leaders, and churches for His glory!
The 10 Fastest Growing Metro Areas from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
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| Percent Increase | ||
1. |
Kennewick-Pasco-Richland, Wash. |
4.3 |
2. |
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas |
3.9 |
3. |
Hinesville-Fort Stewart, Ga. |
3.4 |
4. |
McAllen-Edinburg-Mission, Texas |
3.0 |
5. |
Raleigh-Cary, N.C. |
2.9 |
6. |
Warner Robins, Ga. |
2.9 |
7. |
Provo-Orem, Utah |
2.7 |
8. |
Charleston-North Charleston-Summerville, S.C. |
2.6 |
9. |
Myrtle Beach-North Myrtle Beach-Conway, S.C. |
2.6 |
10. |
Yuma, Ariz. |
2.6 |
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The 10 Metro Areas with the Largest Numeric Increase from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
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| Numeric Increase | ||
1. |
Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas |
154,774 |
2. |
Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, Texas |
139,699 |
3. |
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, D.C.-Va.-Md.-W.Va. |
121,911 |
4. |
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, N.Y.-N.J.-Pa. |
118,791 |
5. |
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, Calif. |
115,964 |
6. |
Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, Fla. |
105,490 |
7. |
Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, Ga. |
90,345 |
8. |
Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. |
80,146 |
9. |
Phoenix-Mesa-Glendale, Ariz. |
70,349 |
10. |
Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, Texas |
67,230 |
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The 10 Fastest Growing Micro Areas from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
||
| Percent Increase | ||
1. |
Williston, N.D. |
8.8 |
2. |
The Villages, Fla. |
4.6 |
3. |
Andrews, Texas |
4.5 |
4. |
Dickinson, N.D. |
4.0 |
5. |
Dunn, N.C. |
4.0 |
6. |
Statesboro, Ga. |
3.8 |
7. |
Heber, Utah |
3.8 |
8. |
Minot, N.D. |
3.6 |
9. |
Tifton, Ga. |
3.3 |
10. |
Guymon, Okla. |
3.3 |
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The 10 Micro Areas with the Largest Numeric Increase from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
||
| Numeric Increase | ||
1. |
Dunn, N.C. |
4,578 |
2. |
Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, Ala. |
4,452 |
3. |
The Villages, Fla. |
4,336 |
4. |
Seaford, Del. |
3,185 |
5. |
Hilton Head Island-Beaufort, S.C. |
2,869 |
6. |
Statesboro, Ga. |
2,664 |
7. |
Minot, N.D. |
2,527 |
8. |
Lexington Park, Md. |
2,333 |
9. |
Gallup, N.M. |
2,172 |
10. |
Moses Lake, Wash. |
2,145 |
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The 10 Fastest Growing Counties (or Equivalents) from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
||
| Percent Increase | ||
1. |
Charlton, Ga. |
10.3 |
2. |
St. Bernard, La. |
10.2 |
3. |
Williams, N.D. |
8.8 |
4. |
Manassas Park, Va. |
7.4 |
5. |
Franklin, Wash. |
6.8 |
6. |
Fredericksburg, Va. |
5.8 |
7. |
Dallas, Iowa |
5.0 |
8. |
Hoke, N.C. |
4.9 |
9. |
Orleans, La. |
4.9 |
10. |
Williamson, Texas |
4.8 |
|
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The 10 Counties with the Largest Numeric Increase from April 1, 2010, to July 1, 2011 |
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| Numeric Increase | ||
1. |
Harris, Texas |
88,452 |
2. |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
70,451 |
3. |
Maricopa, Ariz. |
63,127 |
4. |
Miami-Dade, Fla. |
58,331 |
5. |
Riverside, Calif. |
49,979 |
6. |
Dallas, Texas |
47,875 |
7. |
Orange, Calif. |
45,513 |
8. |
San Diego, Calif. |
44,756 |
9. |
Bexar, Texas |
41,376 |
10. |
Tarrant, Texas |
40,776 |
I remember hearing Bob Logan more than once say, “We planted a church a mile away and if we could have gotten the property we would have planted a church across the street [here is the important part] because I knew it would reach people our church would never reach.” That is true nearly everywhere. Very good but little known research found that nearly all churches are sociologically full. A few churches regularly increase their capacity but most never do after they are 10 to 15 years old. that’s one reason new churches are needed nearly everywhere.