5 Reasons Why Millennials Love Nashville:

1. Jobs

2. New Apartments

3. Diversity

4. Culture

5. Long-Term Prospects

Millennials are flocking to Nashville faster than nearly any other city in the country, according to a new study released by RealtyTrac.

Millennials now make up 30 percent of Davidson County's population, and the growth rate for that age group has mushroomed 37.1 percent between 2007 and 2013.

"Millennials are attracted to markets with good job prospects and low unemployment but that tend to have high rental rates and high home price appreciation," said Daren Blomquist, vice president of RealtyTrac.

RealtyTrac analyzed Census population data between 2007 and 2013 in more than 1,800 counties nationwide to discover which markets are seeing the biggest shifts in populations.

I first met Daoud Abudiab on the night some skinheads burned down his mosque.

It was February of 2008, a few days after the presidential primary here in Tennessee. The skinheads had spray painted swastikas on the outside walls of the small storefront that housed the mosque, along with the words, “White Power, We Rule the World.”

Then they’d torched the place. It was still smoldering by the time I arrived to report on the fire for the Tennessean newspaper. Across the street, three men from the congregation sat stunned, their faces filled with disbelief.

“Call Daoud,” they told me.

Daoud, it turned out, was the president of the mosque. We talked that night on the phone and then in person the next day as he showed me around the ruins of the mosque. This kind of thing is not supposed to happen in America, he said.

I later learned that the skinheads who burned down the mosque claimed to be doing God’s will.

“What goes on in that building is illegal according to the Bible,” they reportedly told police after being caught.

Rather than becoming bitter, Dauod was gracious. He did not lose faith in America. Nor did he doubt goodwill of his Christian neighbors — some of whom reached out to help the mosque rebuild.

I work with college students at a local church. I’m the college guy. Aside from Bible studies and coffee shop conversations with local students, my job is prepping those who head off to college for a life of faith of their own. Can I say just how much I appreciate upon their return, hearing about the wonderful campus ministries they’ve gotten involved in? I love the great parachurch ministries like Campus Crusade, or FCA, or Navigators that shepherd and disciple our students while they’re away. I love the campus life ministries on Christian campuses that get our students involved in studies and missions. I love the summers of deep growth that happen when a student goes off to work at a Christian camp.

But if I’m honest, I have one significant issue with these ministries: all too often they are unintentionally setting our students up to fail in the local church.

See, in a lot of ways, ministries like this are better than church in their eyes. I mean, here, you have a lot of people your same age, asking all the same questions, and struggling with all the same issues. They’re all worshipping to the same G, C, D chord anthems, sold out for the same causes, excited, ready to go, full of life, and earnest. Special speakers who specialize in dynamically communicating to their niche segment are brought in for chapels or special events. The leaders’ sole interest is the spiritual life and vitality of 18-20-somethings and the meeting hours are designed around college students’ schedules. It’s beautiful. It’s what I call Christian Wonderland. It’s a magical place to visit, but doesn’t entirely reflect the reality of commitment to the church.