The Short Version

I mentioned this on the homepage, but it's noteworthy that everyone involved on our church planting team independently and without prompting sensed God leading them to Fayetteville. Honestly, that in itself is miraculous! And at the end of the day, that internal peace and resolution from God is all we need. Of course, we're still continuing to envision our move to Arkansas, and the longer we do, the easier our decision becomes. Keep reading below to learn some of Fayetteville's uniquenesses that further drew us to the city. 

The Less Short Version

Some high points about our future home:

  • SEC Country
Fayetteville is Razorback country, home to the university of Arkansas, and we like that. Coming from Aggieland, we feel that we'll more effectively translate our ministry experience by moving to a relatively familiar environment.

  • College Town
College students are basically our secret sauce as a church planting movement. Compared to families, students are generally easier to gather, more open to spiritual conversation, and once they're committed to following Jesus, much more passionately devoted to Him. Practically, college students represent the future leaders of our world. Culturally, college students are our primary influencers and trend-setters. Historically, 18-25 year olds have pioneered nearly every spiritual awakening known to man. And despite all of this, college students remain one of the most unchurched groups of society, in large part because many churches fail to put forth the time, energy, and resources necessary to serve them. What an opportunity!
Me walking on the campus of Boston College
  • Population Growing Rapidly ​
Northwest Arkansas is one of the fastest growing regions in the United States, and more people moving there means we need more churches there, too! 

  • Culturally Relevant
Believe it or not, Fayetteville is actually one of the most highly desirable places to live in the country, ranked as highly as #5 by U.S. News. Seriously, Google it. As a city, Fayetteville has embraced certain values that have caught the attention of younger generations - such as environmental sustainability, natural and locally sourced foods, creative arts, beautiful landscape, and balanced lifestyle. As a result, we have the potential to influence and cross paths with people that we'd never meet living in an ultra-conservative town like College Station. 

  • Business Hub
Northwest Arkansas is home to three of our country's Fortune 500 companies: J.B. Hunt, Tyson Foods, and most notably, Walmart. Due primarily to business agreements with Walmart, 1,400 other national companies also have corporate offices in the region, which only further makes space for local food, service, and retail businesses to prosper. Fayetteville is not your average college town; it's a college town with a legitimate economy. ​

Fayetteville's Unique Potential

​When we plant a church, we're not just trying to reach a city; we're trying to mobilize a city - into business, government, schools, hospitals, missions, ministry, and more. As much as we long to see people come to salvation, we're just as passionate about equipping believers to go and impact their worlds for the better. Without a doubt, Fayetteville has spiritual need, particularly as its population increasingly leans towards humanism and post-modernism and away from traditional Christian values. But Fayetteville is also a well-churched town with a rich Christian heritage waiting to be activated. 
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What we've found to be the case in Aggieland we anticipate to be true in Arkansas as well: there are countless students who already associate themselves with Christianity but lack a clear demonstration of how to truly live as a Christian. All they've heard is 'go to church and be a good person.' To say it differently, there are so many who are already going in the right general direction, but have never shifted up from first gear - in large part because they didn't know they could.

Often, these people are just one catalytic experience - or one clear role model - away from trading their moderate Christian activity for a life of complete commitment to God and His purposes. And in our minds, there isn't a place on the earth we could better realize this vision than in Fayetteville, Arkansas!