Is There Hope for Upstate New York's Dying Communities?

The Carpenters celebrate adding +1 to Otsego County's population in 2014.

Otsego County's most recent population numbers are in. We've experienced a 1.76% population loss since the 2010 census (-1,094 people). This trend is consistent with population changes in the surrounding counties, and upstate NY in general.

• Read more from AllOtsego.com, "Otsego County Loses 1,094 People, 1.76% Since Census."
• Read more from The Daily Star, "Census shows local counties are dwindling."

When Laura and I moved to Oneonta in 2009 to start The Redemption Movement, Otsego County's population change since 2000 was +0.9%, with Oneonta down 0.4%. This statistic is one of a handful that drew us to Oneonta--a move which most modern church planting organizations would have advised against. 

• Read more from The Redemption Movement, "Why Oneonta, New York?"

You see, when it comes to starting a new church, denominations will almost exclusively invest resources into growing communities. Unfortunately, such a focus comes at the cost of overlooking the dying communities. As commonsense as this strategy appears, there's actually one huge aspect of ministry that it neglects: hope, or to be more specific, the lack thereof.

The perspective I bring to this conversation is of someone who grew up in a dying rural community. My experience has taught me that communities struggling with population loss also struggle with hopelessness. And since moving to upstate New York, I can confirm that this attitude of hopelessness is prevalent in the local population. 

• Read more from Prntly, "Study shows Upstate NY is the worst place in US to live."

In fact, I would say that I know WAY more people living here who are only still living here because they can't scrape together enough money to move out of state. Plus, in my almost 7 years here, I've had an unusually high number of New York friends move to states with better economies and job opportunities. By far, these disenfranchised NY citizens far outnumber the people I've encountered who love living here and are committed to making the best of it.

Also in my background is time spent living in cities which possessed a growing population and a growing economy. The dichotomy between these two environments is stark, with the growing communities generally being a more positive place to live. 

Suffice to say, the dynamics of how one would conduct a church ministry in a growing community verses in a dying one are equally drastic. For example, cities that have found economic success are filled with people without want. Sadly, this can turn "going to church" into a consumeristic endeavor where the church with the best (fill in the blank) is sought after by the devout. Whereas people living in a dying community don't much care for the trappings of the mega church model with its light shows, big screens, and programs. Instead, these people are first and foremost, looking for hope.

I know that, statistically speaking, it doesn't make sense to start a new church in upstate NY, much less Otsego County. Although, when it comes to understanding that the church has been given a mission to spread hope to people that are lost, hurting, and hungry for hope, that's when starting The Redemption Movement in such an unlikely place begins to actually make sense.

Now, I'm not advocating that starting a new church in a dying community is a silver bullet that will turn everything around. However, it's my belief that, if a church movement successfully spreads hope to the hopeless, then good things will begin to happen and positive changes will take place in the surrounding community. Consider the following benefits of how a church can positively influence a community lacking hope, by giving it something to hope for.

• When people have hope, drug abuse and addiction loses its grip on lives, and drug epidemics are curtailed (drugs being a well-known problem for Otsego County).
• When people have hope, they believe enough in their future to invest in it.
• When people have hope, they believe enough in their future to fix their past mistakes.
• When people have hope, they have a purpose and a desire to share their hope with others.
• When people have hope, they long to participate in a spiritual community with those who share their hope (instead of believing the church to be irrelevant). 
• When people have hope, instead of looking for the first opportunity to escape the problems in their community by moving away, they become intentional about sticking around and looking for ways to remedy them. 
• When people have hope, instead of looking for the first opportunity to escape a tough family situation by divorcing or leaving, they stick to their wedding vows and do the work it takes to repair a broken marriage.
• When people have hope, people have babies and they stick around to raise families. This in turn ensures that a community will have a future. 

At The Redemption Movement, Jesus is our hope and we're on a mission to proclaim this Good News to all who are lost, hurting, and in need of hope.