Category Archives: My Day

Last week I attended the Provo +50 Summit, an event “designed to engage community stakeholders in Provo in discussing the important trends that will impact Provo and Utah Valley over the next 50 years and to begin to take steps now to create a legacy that capitalizes on our community’s strengths and these trends.” My having resolved to stay put means that those trends will impact me and the ministry of New Morning Church and so I went to get a glimpse of what the future may hold.

I was particularly interested in the presentation on demographics. I learned that while the largest segment of population will continue to be those in their mid-twenties (the average age of Provo now is twenty-four), there will be a drastic increase in those who fall into the seventy and older category. I learned that nearly one third of the population will be ethnically diverse–a huge change considering that Provo is almost completely white. By 2060 the population of Utah County is projected to more than double, going from half a million to 1.4 million people. Provo is expected to see tremendous growth as well with the population reaching 185,000, up from 110,000. And with the city geographically restrained by the Wasatch Mountains and Utah Lake, that means more density. The bottom line is, there is a lot of change coming.

And as each speaker gave his or her presentation, the question that kept being asked was, “What are you doing to prepare for the growth [or, change] that is coming your way?” That struck me. Have you ever been in a church that seems frozen in a particular time or set of circumstances that have long since past? I don’t want that to happen here. So my take away is this: while I don’t know exactly what will be required to effectively reach my community in the decades to come, I must accept that it may look very different than what we’re doing now–just because we’re doing it this way today doesn’t mean that this will always be the best way to do it.

Did you attend the Provo +50 Summit? Have you attended a similar event?