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https://youtu.be/41k-7fpRFb0
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\nThere are between 350,000 and 400,000 churches in the United States. Is there really a church on every street corner? Ryan Burge joins Thom and Sam on this special episode to discuss the optimal number of churches in a community. The answer will likely surprise you.
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\n \t\u201cChurches Near Me\u201d is the new way people find you. Few people pay attention to your sign anymore.
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\n \tYou are invisible to your community without an outward focus.
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\n \tDistribution of churches is key: There are 356,000 religious congregations. That\u2019s about 113 per county. There\u2019s about 1 congregation for every 1000 Americans. For reference, there are 13,400 McDonalds and about 16,000 Starbucks.
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\n \tGeography is key: Houses of worship are not tracking with population growth in certain areas of the country.
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\n \tThe counties that grew the fastest over the last ten years are the most likely to have a very high ratio of churches to people. In other words, they need more churches planted there.
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\n \tA church on every street corner is a kingdom outpost for the gospel!
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\nResources:
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\n \tTithe.ly
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\n \t2023 State of Church Giving
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\n \t* \u201cHow Many Religious Congregations Are in Your County?\u201d by Ryan Burge
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\n \tRyan Burge
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\n \t\u201cFrom Bible Belt to Sunbelt: Plain-Folk Religion, Grassroots Politics, and the Rise of Evangelical Conservatism\u201d by Darren Dochuk (affiliate link)
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\n \t* \u201cHow Much of Church Growth Is Based on Demographics? The Data Provides a Compelling and Clear Answer\u201d by Ryan Burge
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\n \t* The Everything Church Resource Directory
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\n \t* The Hope Initiative
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\n \t* Get your FREE tool! Attendance Growth Projector
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\nEpisode Sponsors:
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\nTithely provides churches around the world with software tools to help them and their ministries thrive.
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\nNearly 40,000 churches use Tithely for online and text giving, managing their people\u2019s information, volunteer management, child check in, church apps and websites, and communicating through email and text messaging.
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\nMade up of a team of ministry-minded people, Tithely\u2019s heart is to see the local church empowered with the tools to fulfill their mission.
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\nYou can sign up for free at Tithely.com - yes that's right, it's free! Tithely's giving platform comes with no monthly fees and no contracts. Get started taking donations in just 5 minutes at Tithely.com.
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\nAlso, right now Tithely is offering a free report called \u201c2023 State of Church Giving Report.\u201d You can access that report free by clicking on the link in the show notes.