:: AIP#8 - Why Fort Worth? (part 2) ::

Yesterday I started answering the question "why start a church in Fort Worth?" The first reason is that Fort Worth is experiencing huge growth, and people need Jesus! It's a great, strategic city! Plus, we love Fort Worth (except the August heat); it offers a great arts culture, a strong economy and job base prompting growth, and a substantial college-aged population, including TCU, TCC, and Texas Wesleyan. Fort Worth is our home. And a huge need for a city-loving church exists right here.

At the same time, our great, growing, thriving city is broken. Here are a few examples*:

• 20,000 refugees from 45 different ethnicities live in Fort Worth.
• 8,000 people in Fort Worth need nursing home care but are unable to afford it.
• 4,000-5,000 people are homeless in Tarrant County (61% of those are women and children).
• At least 17 strip clubs operate in Fort Worth, plus at least one prostitution ring, employing hundreds of women in the sex industry.
• The Fort Worth Federal Correctional Institution holds 1,815 inmates, plus we have four major jails, one juvenile center, and numerous half-way houses.
• 1 of every 6 males and 1 of every 4 females in Fort Worth are sexually abused before age 18.
• 200-300 gangs exist in Fort Worth, which together have 5,000-6,000 members.
  

Bottom line, Fort Worth needs another church because God has been on a mission for all of history, redeeming his people back to Himself. And he does this, in part, through the church. There are broken, hurting people who need the gospel, and who need to be restored to their Creator. And there are more of them moving here every day.

So the next logical question is "how is The City Church going to work for God's mission in the city?" Or, "what will make this church 'different'?" The answer lies in BEING the church, not just GOING to church. And that's where we're headed in the next post.

[*email me if you want stat references]