May
17

How to Double the # of Christians in Seattle The Association of Religion Data Archives recently released US Congregational Membership reports using the 2010 Census Info. You can also use their reports and GIS maps to zoom in on specific regions, states and cities for highly detailed information. Given the information provided, 5.5% of Seattle is Evangelical Protestant. That number jumps to 11% as you include other groups, including Mainline Protestant, in King County as a whole. There is debate around what it means to be a Christian, but for the sake of argument lets average those numbers in order to broaden the circle to include some slightly outside Evangelicalism, while tightening the circle of the Mainline. That leaves us with: 8.25%. The population of Seattle, per the 2010 US Census, was 608,660. If 8.25% of Seattle is Christian, that would be 50,214. Let’s assume church growth of existing churches is only off-setting current church decline in the area (even that is generous). To double the number of Christians in Seattle, we would need an additional 25 mega churches (defined as 2,000+) or 251 churches with 200 people - that’s just within Seattle city limits. Clearly there is no room for territorialism among existing churches. At times I’m asked, “Why would you plant a church downtown?” How could we not? Look at these numbers. Others have commented, “Well, it seems that ______ church has it pretty well covered.” Look at the graph above. This report says there are 1,204,580 people in King County that claimed no religious affiliation. That’s over 1 million people. Most of them are closest to the City Center. There is not merely “room” for more churches. There is a real, vital, critical need for church revitalization and new church planting in our city and region. If you’re interested in planting in Seattle, give me a shout.

How to Double the # of Christians in Seattle

The Association of Religion Data Archives recently released US Congregational Membership reports using the 2010 Census Info. You can also use their reports and GIS maps to zoom in on specific regions, states and cities for highly detailed information. Given the information provided, 5.5% of Seattle is Evangelical Protestant. That number jumps to 11% as you include other groups, including Mainline Protestant, in King County as a whole. There is debate around what it means to be a Christian, but for the sake of argument lets average those numbers in order to broaden the circle to include some slightly outside Evangelicalism, while tightening the circle of the Mainline. That leaves us with: 8.25%.

The population of Seattle, per the 2010 US Census, was 608,660. If 8.25% of Seattle is Christian, that would be 50,214. Let’s assume church growth of existing churches is only off-setting current church decline in the area (even that is generous). To double the number of Christians in Seattle, we would need an additional 25 mega churches (defined as 2,000+) or 251 churches with 200 people - that’s just within Seattle city limits. Clearly there is no room for territorialism among existing churches.

At times I’m asked, “Why would you plant a church downtown?” How could we not? Look at these numbers. Others have commented, “Well, it seems that ______ church has it pretty well covered.” Look at the graph above. This report says there are 1,204,580 people in King County that claimed no religious affiliation. That’s over 1 million people. Most of them are closest to the City Center. There is not merely “room” for more churches. There is a real, vital, critical need for church revitalization and new church planting in our city and region. If you’re interested in planting in Seattle, give me a shout.

May
10

God is moving in Brazil. Please pray for my friend, Jay Bauman, as he wraps up planning and preparation for the third Acts 29 (Atos 29) church planting conference in Rio de Janeiro, May 22-23. More information here. Also, if you’re interested, he and his team are also always looking for folks to join their team in Rio, short or long term.

May
09

I am incredibly excited for my friend and fellow church planter, Steve Youngren, in Quito, Ecuador. They are early on in the process of planting La Fuente. I wish this church was there while I lived in Quito. Please pray for the Youngrens, La Fuente and the great city of Quito. Also, consider taking a trip or applying to live on the ground as an intern for a longer stretch. For more information, go HERE.

May
02

Now that we’ve moved gathering spaces to make room for growth, celebrated our first birthday as a newly forming church, remembered Good Friday/Easter, and held our largest gathering ever on 4/15, what’s next? It has been a great season together, hasn’t it? Many of you, particularly our deacons, community leads, and ministry volunteers, are well deserving of a break to refresh and recoup. If you can, take some time to do just that. Thank you for your selfless service to this fledgling flock of Jesus-followers in the city. He has only just begun his work in, among and through us. You might be asking, “What’s next?” Glad you asked. TO READ FULL POST SELECT PHOTO. (via Downtown Cornerstone)

Now that we’ve moved gathering spaces to make room for growth, celebrated our first birthday as a newly forming church, remembered Good Friday/Easter, and held our largest gathering ever on 4/15, what’s next? It has been a great season together, hasn’t it? Many of you, particularly our deacons, community leads, and ministry volunteers, are well deserving of a break to refresh and recoup. If you can, take some time to do just that. Thank you for your selfless service to this fledgling flock of Jesus-followers in the city. He has only just begun his work in, among and through us. You might be asking, “What’s next?” Glad you asked. TO READ FULL POST SELECT PHOTO. (via Downtown Cornerstone)

Apr
03

We put this together to celebrate the first birthday of our church this past weekend. Thanks for all of your support, prayers and encouragement. Jesus is just starting his work in, among and through us.

Mar
30

The Northwest and Northeast Remain Least “Religious” Regions of the US

This week Gallup announced the “State of the States” - statistics on the state of “religion” across the United States. Not surprisingly, the Northeast and Northwest remain the least “religious” regions of the country. This is why God has called us to Seattle: to spread the supremacy of Christ from the avenues to the alley ways of this great city - and through the city to the region. (HT: Ed Stetzer)

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21

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17

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16

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05