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The city of Parma has roughly 80,000 residents.  Parma Heights has approximately 20,000 residents.  Seven Hills, nearly 12,000 residents.  Combined, these communities are home to over 110,000 residents.

 

Based on Cuyahoga County data, roughly 60% of residents in these communities are affiliated with a religious congregation.  Of this subset, about 85% are Christian.

 

What this all boils down to is that, among the tri-city area, there are 56,000 residents that claim they attend some local Christian church, and 44,000 that are not affiliated with any religious congregation.

 

Furthermore, according to Gallup polls, only 40% of those who say they attend church, actually attend church.  Additional studies, however, have proven that Gallup’s figures are exaggerated and that the reality is only 20% of self-proclaimed Christians actually attend church.

 

So this would mean that out of 110,000 residents there are roughly only 10,000-20,000 people that attend a Christian church on any given Sunday.  If we consider that the average church size is 75 -150 members, these figures start making sense.

 

My point in sharing these statistics is simply this:  There are approximately 85,0000 people in Parma, Parma Heights, and Seven Hills that are not affiliated with or attending any church.

 

So it begs the question - What are we doing about that?

 

Jesus said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

 

77% of our community is in need of hope.  Where are they?  The harvest is all around us.  They are next door, across the street, at the grocery story.  We are surrounded.

 

I challenge and encourage every pastor and church worker in the Parma, Parma Heights, and Seven Hills area to think about how you are reaching these souls.  Evaluate your methods, seek God for wisdom, consider partnering with others in the Body of Christ to be more effective and efficient in ministry and outreach.  Too much is at stake to be casual about these 85,000.

 

I love you and am praying for each of you and your churches!  We are co-laborers in the fields of this community, proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom to the hopeless and helpless!