Oct 27

Internet in the DC Metropolitan Area

Posted in: DC

There’s talk in DC of regional broadband access. It would be tiered access, depending on the service plan you choose, and each household in the District would be offered the service. They’ll (regional leaders) be meeting all day on Monday in DC to determine where this might lead. I hope they trash it and go for free wireless access city wide instead! Heh, I doubt it. Anyway, this is definitely something I’m keeping track of.

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Oct 27

“Accident” on the Metro

Posted in: Church Planting, Harmony Church, DC

In reading of my usual DC blogs (DCist), I heard of an incident on the Red Line. Turns out it was a suicide. Yet more confirmation that the Capital city needs Jesus. The WMATA (Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority) reported:

Eyewitnesses report the woman intentionally stepped in front of a six-car train, which was headed to Glenmont station. The woman, who was in her early 30s, was struck at the Bethesda station around 9:10 a.m. The station was closed and trains shared one track between the Medical Center and Friendship Heights stations on the Red Line for about three hours. Normal service resumed after noon.
Customers experienced significant delays in the area. Shuttle buses moved passengers between Medical Center and Friendship Heights rail stations.
Metro Transit Police and Montgomery County fire and rescue personnel responded to the scene.

The incident happened on the Maryland side of DC, just north of Dupont Circle and Adams Morgan. It affected three stations for three hours, but more importantly it ended the life of one woman who didn’t know of anywhere else to turn.

The urgency increases.

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Oct 26

About Washington, DC - Part Two

Posted in: Church Planting, Harmony Church, DC

In continuing the last post….

  • Washington, DC has the third-smallest households in the country. First and second smallest? Seattle and a surprising Cincinatti, OH, respectively.
  • This surprised me: DC has the smallest proportion of married couples and the highest proportion of singles living alone out of 23 major US cities.
  • The city I love actually lost married couples throughout the 90s.
  • The city is not surprisingly stable, with one in four of the people living there now arriving in the last five years.
  • The city is the second-most educated city in America, behind Seattle. 39% of DCitizens have their BA or BS.
  • The fifth-largest proportion of college students is in the DC area.
  • There are a decent number of jobs, as unemployment is surprisingly lower than major US cities.
  • One in four children live in a family where there is no working parent.
  • Poverty is steadily increasing, especially for children.
  • The wealth division is steadily increasing; the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer.
  • One-third of DC’s families with children live at or below the poverty line.
  • Half of all housing units in DC are multifamily buildings, second only to NYC.

What does this mean? DC’s children need our help. DC’s families need our help. DC is a very lonely city. Depression is high. People need to feel loved. There needs to be a college ministry. The teaching has to be informative and intelligent, but at a level to be comprehended. DCitizens aren’t uneducated, just lonely and confused. It’s ok, though. Jesus is there.

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Oct 26

About Washington, DC - Part One

Posted in: Church Planting, Harmony Church, DC

I’ve been doing some intense demographic studying on DC lately, and I’ve come to find these things out:

  • Due to familial suburbanization, the city of DC is primarily composed of singles and ‘non-family’ groups.
  • DC is very divided along racial and economic lines; moreso than other cities.
  • DC is growing among its Hispanic and Asian populations the most, especially an influx of El Salvadorans.
  • The majority of DC is in its twenties; young professionals and very few married couples.
  • Washington is the 21st largest city in the US.
  • The DC metropolitan area is the 7th fastest growing area in the country, behind Phoenix, Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Portland, and San Antonio.
  • DC has the fourth-highest proportion of African Americans among a group of 23 selected cities.
  • The Adams Morgan region of DC is a region of a high proportion of Hispanic peoples.
  • About 1 out of every 8 people in DC was not born in the US, only 3 out of 10 of foreign-born immigrants are US citizens. About one in five foreign-born citizens are from El Salvador, the other four are from anywhere.
  • There are only 48 children and seniors per 100 working age adults in DC. This is only worse than Atlanta, Boston, and Seattle.

So what does this mean for ministry? Well, there will have to be some sort of cultural aspect built in to harmony church that reaches and disciples Hispanics, especially people from El Salvador. There will have to be an emphasis on family, and the Biblical view of marriage and children. There will also have to be a strong emphasis on caring for the elderly, as the ratio is very steep. The city is very young and modern, so the ministry of the church will have to reflect this as well. Part two coming soon.

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