In 1990, when the Evangelical Press Association met in Colorado Springs, convention planners billed the location as the “Wheaton of the West.” Today, many who live in sight of Pikes Peak believe their city has surpassed Wheaton, Illinois, as the “mecca” of American evangelicalism.
A handful of evangelical groups has called the Springs home for decades: Young Life set up shop there in 1946; the Navigators bought Glen Eyrie retreat center in 1954; Christian Booksellers Association relocated there in 1970; and International Students, Inc., arrived in 1972. But in the past six years, religious groups have moved to this mountain town of 281,000 in a steady stream.
In 1991, the stream turned into a flood as Focus on the Family, Every Home for Christ, Global Mapping International, OC International, and other groups moved to town. In October, HCJB World Radio Missionary Fellowship announced it would move from Miami to Colorado Springs by mid-1992.
The 31 evangelical groups who now call the city their home have a combined income of nearly $300 million (based on reports from 26 of 31 organizations). They employ 1,926 people, plowing nearly $40 million in payroll into the local economy.
By comparison, an estimated 33 evangelical groups, including Wheaton College, make the Wheaton area in suburban Chicago their home. But the numbers there are not growing like those of Colorado Springs.
One of the biggest single reasons for the rapid growth of Colorado Springs’ evangelical population is Alice Worrell, assistant director of the city’s Economic Development Council (EDC). A Christian who has been with the EDC since 1984, Worrell aggressively began courting Christian groups in 1988 when she learned that both the International Bible Society and the Christian and Missionary Alliance were looking for new homes. The groups moved to the Springs in 1988 and 1989, respectively.
“Being a Christian, it gives me a special pleasure and rewarding feeling to be able to work with these kinds of people,” says Worrell, who is currently talking to another dozen Christian groups looking at the Springs.
According to Worrell, a study of the city’s economy commissioned by the EDC three years ago suggested associations as potential settlers. Unlike many industries, their operations do not depend on large quantities of water, which is one resource the area lacks. The EDC has tried to lure trade and sports associations and membership organizations to the city, which is already home to a U.S. Olympic Training Center and other sports organizations.
When making her sales pitch to companies about moving to the Springs, Worrell cites cheap utilities, labor, and housing (the average home in Colorado Springs costs about $87,000; in Wheaton, it is about $150,000); slight traffic and no waits at the airport; and the kind of weather and natural environment that make employees happier and—as many organizational leaders believe—more productive.
In fact, several other ministries have tapped into the Rocky Mountain climate in Denver, just up the road from Colorado Springs, including Youth for Christ, Overseas Missionary Fellowship, and Denver Seminary.
The organizations settling in Colorado Springs—many of which are growing at a rapid clip—also benefit the city, which has been suffering from layoffs and sluggishness in the other two major employer groups in the city: electronics and the military.
One of the favorite hobbies of Colorado Springs residents is speculating about the reasons for the influx of big Christian organizations. Some cite practical benefits. Others see it as a work of God. The owner of a New Age bookstore sees a “cosmic” answer: the city’s astrological chart, which was determined the day the city was founded, is “heavy in the ninth house,” which is an area responsible for spiritual development and higher-plane activities. What is far more likely, the momentum of evangelical mobility currently works in Colorado Springs’ favor. Many groups that have moved there are satisfied, and other groups considering a move feel obliged to give the Springs a look.
By Steve Raney.
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