Articles for tag: U.S. Census Bureau

September 19, 2018

A Snapshot of Rural America and Restoration Movement Churches

By Kent E. Fillinger Nonmetropolitan or “rural” counties make up 72 percent of the land area in the United States and are home to 14 percent of the nation’s population. The landscape of small towns and rural America is changing in distinct ways. Using U.S. Census Bureau data, Brookings Institution researcher William H. Frey reported, “Not only has the nonmetropolitan population remained much whiter than the rest of the nation, it is also getting older faster and shrinking in size” (www.brookings.edu). Almost three-fourths of these rural counties are at least 70 percent white, according to Census Bureau data. The age

September 14, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry

A Salute to Small Towns, Rural Areas, and Micropolitan Communities (Our Attempt at a Glossary of Terms)

By Kent Fillinger and Jim Nieman This issue of Christian Standard focuses on ministry in the lesser-populated regions of our country, but defining terms associated with our nation”s nonmetropolitan areas is surprisingly difficult. For instance, a town of fewer than 2,500 with a singularly dense pocket of population has what the U.S. Census Bureau classifies as an urban component. And a metropolitan county””defined as an urbanized area by the Census Bureau when 50,000 or more people live there””usually has at least one rural section. In 2010, in fact, only 29 counties in the United States were completely urban. By contrast,

September 8, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry Church Growth

If We Want to Reach Millennials, We Must Think Like Veronica

By Haydn Shaw My writing collaborator and I put together most of my book Generational IQ while occupying a corner table at a local Smashburger restaurant. We spent so much time there that the entire staff got to know us. One afternoon, the manager, Veronica, asked how the book was coming along. She said she reads business books, so we talked about my first book, Sticking Points. When I told her Generational IQ was a look at the spiritual lives of the generations, she lit up and told us her grandmother was a devout Catholic. Her mother had been raised

September 3, 2017

Christian Standard

Church & Ministry

An Inside Look at Urban, Suburban, and Rural Communities and Churches

By Kent Fillinger To reflect the themes this month and next””urban ministry and rural ministry, respectively””I”ve written a two-part article that captures the present realities for both and adds some insights on suburban areas as well. I”ve examined our recent church survey data and other relevant research to identify notable differences and national trends for each type of ministry location. I don”t intend to proclaim one location type as better than another, but rather to share some commonalities and differences based on research findings and facts from the larger story taking place in our country. My goal is to help