Researcher Ryan Burge has pointed out that increasingly churches are located where fewer Americans live, with fewer churches in the places people are moving. This statement is certainly true of the National Association of Free Will Baptists (NAFWB). Twenty-eight percent of all NAFWB churches are located where only 5% of the U.S. population lives. Further, exactly 50% of all NAFWB churches are located where 13% of the U.S. population lives. In sharp contrast, only 1% of NAFWB churches are located where 25% of the U.S. population lives—the largest metropolitan areas with a population of 5 million or more. See the figure below from the U.S. Religious Census.
The NAFWB is viewed as a rural denomination. Out of 372 religious bodies in the United States, the only group more rural is “Amish groups, undifferentiated.” Twenty-eight percent of NAFWB churches are located outside of a Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA). The churches in these areas are in communities of fewer than 10,000 people. Twenty-two percent of NAFWB churches are found in a micropolitan area with more than 10,000 people but fewer than 50,000 people.
Are These Churches Important?
Every church and community is important. Although these churches are in less populated communities, they play a vital role in the vitality of these communities. You might say they are big fish in small ponds. The county map below (also from the U.S. Religious Census) shows the percentage of Free Will Baptist adherents in U.S. counties. Note the locations of counties where more than 5% of the residents are Free Will Baptist. Although these counties have a lower population (micropolitan or outside a CBSA), the population is significantly impacted by Free Will Baptists.
The top five counties for Free Will Baptists in the U.S. are: Oregon County, Missouri; Johnson County, Kentucky; Lawrence Country, Kentucky; Lamar County, Alabama; and Miller County, Georgia.
Not All Free Will Baptist Churches Are in Rural Communities
The table below shows the other 50% of NAFWB churches are in more populated areas. Seventeen percent of NAFWB churches are located where 57% of the U.S. population lives (metropolitan areas with a million people or more). This includes Metro 3 areas of one million to five million people (16%) and Metro 4 areas, where five million or more people live (1%).
The other locations of Free Will Baptist churches can be broken down as follows: Metro under 250,000 or Metro 1 (15%) and Metro 250,000 to 999,999 or Metro 2 (18%). A healthy number of NAFWB churches are in more populous areas of the U.S., except for the most populated (Metro 4). However, these are the fastest growing areas of the country.
What Are the Implications of This Data?
Work Together. Churches in larger metropolitan areas face significantly different challenges and interact in more diverse communities than those in more rural areas (micropolitan and outside a CBSA). For example, while many Jews (65%), Muslims (53%), Hindus (42%), Buddhists (32%), and Baha’i (25%) live in Metro 4 areas, much smaller percentages are found outside a CBSA: Jews (1%), Muslims (2%), Hindus (2%), Buddhist (1%), and Baha’i (7%). See the figure on page 54. We must understand tension arises naturally among groups like ours when we minister in such vastly different settings.
Support and Strengthen Rural Churches. We need strong rural churches. Have you ever wondered how God is working through the pastor shortage? Perhaps He is pushing churches in close proximity together, to become stronger and more effective at reaching and serving their communities. See Creative Strategies (nafwb.org/blog). Rural communities have great needs and often have fewer resources than more populated areas.
Start and Support Churches in Metro 3 and Metro 4 Communities. We cannot ignore the cities.
Is God calling you to start a church in a metropolitan area? Is He calling you to work or go to school in a large city? Is He calling you to retire there? We all need to pray about these possibilities. God may be calling us to leave our comfort zones just like He called Jonah (Jonah 1:2, 4:11).
Can you support a church located in a metro 3 or 4 area? Note that 86% percent of Muslim adherents are in Metro 3 and 4 areas (where 57% of the U.S. population resides). When a church closes in these areas, it is possible groups from other religions will become the new tenant. Rather than retreat from these areas, we must expand our gospel footprint. Pray for these churches regularly, support them financially, and get to know them through mission trips.
Wherever we find ourselves, let the influence of the gospel go forward. And let’s commit ourselves to supporting brothers and sisters who minister in vastly different contexts.
