:: AIP#7 - Why Fort Worth? (part 1) ::

One question we've heard over the past couple months is "why start a church in Fort Worth?" It's a good question, and the answers came as a bit of a surprise to ourselves as well!

When we started exploring the world of church planting, “strategic cities” emerged as a recurring key term. Culture is created, populations are dense, and diversity thrives in cities. Cities are the most strategic place for the gospel. So we pulled out the U.S. map and looked for a growing city where people need Jesus. We were fairly open to go anywhere (we love the mountains, so of course we thought we’d land in Denver!), but as we researched and prayed, we discovered we already live in the perfect location*:

• Fort Worth is the fastest growing large city (pop. 500,000+) in the U.S., with a population increase of 25% between 2000 and 2007.
• In 2008 Fort Worth’s population passed the 700,000 mark, and is projected to reach over one million by 2030.
• The average U.S. church size is about 250 people. Just to keep up with the population growth over the past eight years, Fort Worth would need 600 new churches!
• The DFW metroplex is the second-fastest growing metropolitan area in the U.S, with a projected population of 10.1 million by 2040 (in 2000, it was only 5.2 million).
• 74% of people in the DFW metroplex do not attend church on Sundays, and in Fort Worth, only 52% affiliate themselves with any religion.
• Only 25% of churches are located in urban settings, like downtown Fort Worth.
• Over 5,000 new living units are currently being built along the West 7th St. corridor into downtown Fort Worth/Sundance Square, with another 5,000+ units planned northeast of downtown. A total of over 10,000 new living units are headed downtown, whose target audience is post-college single and young married professionals.
• Excluding this growth, over 80,000 people live within three miles of downtown Fort Worth, with a minimal presence of evangelical, Bible-preaching churches.

Fort Worth is among the most strategic cities in the nation right now! But this great city doesn't come without its own issues - there are even more reasons why Fort Worth needs a city-loving church, and those reasons are coming tomorrow.

[*email me if you want stat references]