'Exurbs' Hold Promise for Southern Baptists?

The Great Recession, which began with the collapse of the housing bubble in 2007 and officially continued through 2009, stalled population growth in rural areas as people moved to urban centers in search of work. But new census data indicates a swing back out to these outer rings of metropolitan regions, particularly in the Sun Belt -- and this boon appears to be good news for denominations like the Southern Baptist Convention, which in a 2009 report stated half of its congregations were located outside of metropolitan areas and primarily in the South.