Noticing that Charles page lives in Collierville,Tn., I thought that I would do a little demographic study of that area. In doing so I learned that it is about 40 miles S. E of Memphis and very near the Mississippi line. It must be an upscale community because the average household income is $ 104,000 about double the states average. According to City-Data.com, 48,642 live in the zip with a population density of 574 per sq. mile, with 78 % percent being white and 13% black.
The CoG state site shows one CoG in this zip and when I visited their website it was not working. There were other indications that the church was struggling. To start a CoG in an upscale community can be particularity challenging. Property is expensive and the culture usually is at odds with CoG worship patterns. This is strong SBC territory and so the competition is not only strong but has been in place a long time. Any comments?
This a very common scenario. I live in the Indianapolis area where we have hundreds of churches with an average attendance of more than 1,000. Most of these are not Pentecostal although there are couple of large A/G churches, one large Vineyard church, and a few large nondenominational charismatic churches. There are a handful of small COG congregations in the Indianapolis area and none in the city of Franklin where Iive. My community is the county seat in one of the faster growing areas in the state. The local COG was closed some 25 years ago after the overseer sent in a variety of incompetent pastors rather than try to develop the congregation. The culture of the local COG was totally foreign to that of the community at large. I have unfortunately seen this scenario all over the Midwest. I guess it is better to have no growth than to consider change.
Now aren’t u nosey!
Good post Jim and no offense taken
It is the FedEx headquarters with a major administration complex
Jim Price Normally you don’t do that well in posting but you dropped my name and that got attention. I am a shaker and mover and get the attention! I prize negativity as much as positivism. As long as we have good discussion.