There is no doubt that the Twin Cities metro area has many good churches. Many cities in the U.S. are full of good churches, but that does not mean they do not need new churches. The question to ask when planting in a city is not “are there good churches?” Rather, the question to ask is “are there enough good churches to reach the whole city AND make disciples?”
D.A.W.N.(disciple a whole nation) is a ministry that seeks to mobilize “the whole Body of Christ in whole countries in a determined effort to complete the Great Commission by working towards the goal of providing an evangelical congregation for every village and neighborhoods of every class, kind and condition of man in the whole country.” Their aim is simple, and they accomplish this endeavor by making a “ratio that calculates the number of churches needed to reach a specific population. The ratio is 1 church for every 500-1,000 people” (CityView Report, 2008).
The D.A.W.N. ratio is not only for cities in other countries, but also for cities in our own. According to D.A.W.N., as reported by the CityView Report, there needs to be about 160 new churches planted in St. Paul. In light of this stat, I pray that this church plant will be the first of many in the city of St. Paul. Here are some of the other church planting opportunities both urban St. Paul and Minneapolis (CityView Report, 2008):
Urban St. Paul (All of St. Paul)
- Population: 287,805 (9% of total T.C. pop.)
- Total Number of Churches: 416 (14% of all churches in T.C.)
- Average Age of a Church in Years: 47
- Average Church Size: 208
- D.A.W.N. Ratio 1 (# of churches for pop.): 1 per 662.
- D.A.W.N. Ratio 2 (# of churches still needed for pop.) 160
Urban Minneapolis (All of Minneapolis)
- Population: 387,970 (12% of total T.C. pop.)
- Total Number of Churches: 694 (23% of all churches in T.C.)
- Average Age of a Church in Years: 43
- Average Church Size: 178
- D.A.W.N. Ratio 1 (# of churches for pop.): 1 per 559.
- D.A.W.N. Ratio 2 (# of churches still needed for pop.) 82
There is still even a need for between 695-3,319 new churches in the suburbs, which accounts for 79% of the total metro population. Ramsey County, where St. Paul is located, has 16% of the total metro population and still needs 429 new churches. Minneapolis is located in Hennepin County, which has 35% of the total metro population, and this area still needs 917 new churches.
There is no doubt, in light of these stats, that the Twin Cities do have good churches. However, there still needs to be a lot more planted in order to effectively reach and disciple this metro area.
We are excited to be one of the 160 new churches needed to reach St. Paul!
- Posted by Bryan
