Acts 17:16 says, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.” Today, we have a city right here in America that is wholly given to the idols of the Latter Day Saints church, Salt Lake City, Utah. The following statistics come from J. D. Payne’s 2014 “Unreached Peoples, Least Reached Places – An Untold Story of Lostness in America.”
Least Reached States
There are fifty million evangelicals in the United States. For the most part,
the Northeastern section of the country represents the least reached states. The
only exception to this reality is Utah. The ten least evangelical states are as
follows with their corresponding evangelical percentages:
- Utah 2%
- Rhode Island 2%
- Massachusetts 3%
- New Hampshire 4%
- Vermont 4%
- New Jersey 4%
- Connecticut 4%
- Maine 4%
- New York 5%
- Delaware 7%
Least Reached Counties
Counties also comprise a part of our untold story. More than 100 counties fall under 2 percent. But we will show you the top 20.
County and % of Population as Evangelical:
Keweenaw County, Michigan – 0%
Skagway Municipality, Alaska – 0.2%
Teton County, Idaho – 0.3%
Wayne County, Utah – 0.4%
Bristol County, Rhode Island – 0.4%
Beaver County, Utah – 0.4%
Madison County, Idaho – 0.4%
Garfield County, Utah – 0.5%
Utah County, Utah – 0.5%
Bristol Bay Borough, Alaska – 0.6%
Wasatch County, Utah – 0.6%
Storey County, Nevada – 0.7%
Sanpete County, Utah – 0.8%
Jefferson County, Idaho – 0.8%
Caribou County, Idaho – 0.9%
Oneida County, Idaho – 1%
Putnam County, Illinois – 1%
Franklin County, Idaho – 1%
Putnam County, New York – 1%
Clear Creek County, Colorado – 1%
Least Reached Metro Areas
We live in one of the most urbanized countries in the world. The cities are
not only places of great populations (unlike what we find in many rural counties),
but also places of great influence. What happens in the cities shapes the country
as a whole. Here is the list of the 20 metropolitan areas that are under 6% evangelical:
Metro Area and Percent Evangelical:
Provo-Orem, UT 0.5%
Logan, UT-ID 1%
St. George, UT 2%
Pittsfield, MA 2%
Kingston, NY 2%
Barnstable Town, MA 3%
Salt Lake City, UT 3%
Providence-New BedfordFall River, RI-MA 3%
Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH 3%
Norwich-New London, CT 3%
Ogden-Clearfield, UT 3%
Glens Falls, NY 4%
Utica-Rome, NY 4%
Springfield, MA 4%
New Haven-Milford, CT 4%
Portland-South PortlandBiddeford, ME 4%
New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJPA 4%
Poughkeepsie-NewburghMiddletown, NY 4%
Burlington-South Burlington, VT 5%
Scranton–Wilkes-Barre, PA 5%
Former Salt Lake Send City missionary Travis Kerns has said, “Though it is hard for many people to believe there is a place in the United States that is, basically, unreached, Salt Lake City fits that description. Although The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints controls much of the region, God has continually worked throughout the history of redemption through a small remnant.” Salt Lake has only one Southern Baptist church to every 40,460 people. And the number of evangelical Christians in the metro area is estimated to be 2.2 percent. According to J.D. Payne’s 2014 Lostness Report, Utah has 5 counties that rank in the top 11 Least Reached Counties in the U.S. and 4 cities in the top 10 Least Reached Metro Areas in the U.S. The hope is to change those statistics, because as Kerns explains, “those numbers represent people who need to know Jesus.” The Kentucky Baptist Convention is offering you an opportunity to see and experience this culture for yourself through its Salt Lake City Vision Tour 2020 on November 3-5, 2020. The cost for participants is $350. This will include airline tickets, meals, lodging and transportation in Salt Lake City. You can register here at this link:
