• Overview of Cleveland

    Take a look around in downtown Cleveland and you’ll see lots of churches—large churches, beautiful churches, historic churches.

    And, for the most part, empty churches. Forty-two percent of the people in the county that surrounds the city aren’t affiliated with a religious body—Christian or otherwise. Only 5.5 percent of metro Cleveland residents are evangelicals. Despite Southern Baptists presence in the city for five decades, only eight SBC churches call the city itself home.

     Forbes magazine calls it one of the “Ten Most Miserable Cities in America.” ESPN calls it the most cursed sports city in America. Others have called it “The Mistake by the Lake.”

    Clevelanders have heard these descriptions for generations. Once a proud city of manufacturing prowess in the glory days of the early 20th century, this “quintessential American city” has been called a city with a collectively low self-esteem.

    Every few years since the 1980s public officials have predicted comebacks for the beleaguered city. But new sports stadiums, banks, shopping centers, bicentennial celebrations, and even the opening of the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame haven’t been able to turn around the city.

    Yet the real need is for a gospel comeback in the city.

    With only one SBC congregation for every 50,000 people in the city and one SBC congregation for every 42,500 people in metro Cleveland, local Southern Baptists believe starting new evangelistic churches will be an essential part of this gospel comeback.

    A grassroots coalition of local Southern Baptists and others who want to reach the city are working together to see that happen. Churches like First Baptist Church of Concord, Tenn., have been a part of the team for the past two to three years. The church prays regularly for and sends mission teams to help Cleveland church planters. More than two dozen people from First Baptist Concord have been a part of church planting efforts in Cleveland.

    Churches that want to join in reaching Cleveland through church planting can do so by visiting namb.net and clicking on “mobilize me.”

    Let’s come together for a gospel comeback in Cleveland.

    Fast Facts

    Cleveland Fast Facts