Rural county. Fayette is below the 50,000 urban
threshold, so a property sale here follows the general non-urban proceeds policy (¶4),
not the Urban Ministry Plan — see Part 3. The demographic and feasibility reads below are
still useful for district strategy.
1 · Demographic Profile of the Mission Field
Population
24,783
9 census tracts
5-yr growth
-1%
+-283 people · proj. 0%
Hispanic
22%
3,409 Spanish-speakers (5+)
Black
6%
non-Anglo total 28%
Under 18
20%
Median income
$75,489
population-weighted
Fastest-growing neighborhoods
Tracts with fewer than 1,000 residents five years ago
are excluded here so a handful of new residents can't read as a four-figure growth rate.
Place
5-yr growth
People added
Hispanic
La Grange
121%
2,514
26%
Fayette County (rural)
56%
1,423
27%
Fayette County (rural)
11%
220
7%
Fayette County (rural)
5%
193
38%
Fayette County (rural)
3%
62
15%
2 · Feasibility — mission, plants & ministries
3 Rio Texas North District UMCs
serve this county — 2 of them reach
non-Anglo communities (0 Hispanic-led, 0 Anglo+Hispanic ministry, 2 Black-led).
That is roughly 1 church per 8,261 residents
against a mission field that is 28% non-Anglo.
4 tracts
(11,993 people) have no UMC within a 15-minute drive;
the average tract is 6.1 mi from the nearest UMC.
Highest-opportunity neighborhoods
Composite of growth (35%), church-saturation gap (30%), demographic fit (20%),
and density (15%), 0–100, scored across every tract in the county. ◆ marks tracts that also
clear Lens A's 6-mile-from-any-UMC plant filter.
Place
Opportunity
5-yr growth
Pop
mi to UMC
Fayette County (rural)
65
56%
3,957
0.6
La Grange
64
121%
4,594
0.3
Fayette County (rural) ◆
56
5%
4,336
12.5
Fayette County (rural) ◆
49
11%
2,202
11.9
Fayette County (rural)
43
-10%
3,407
5.0
Fayette County (rural) ◆
42
3%
2,048
14.5
Existing North District UMCs in Fayette
Church
City
Serves
St. James UMC
La Grange
Black-led
Stevens Chapel UMC
Schulenburg
Black-led
Winchester UMC
Winchester
Anglo
3 · Proposed Restrictions & Priority for Proceeds
The Black population (6% of the field, +180% over five years) supports a Black-ministry priority — note the Plan's caution that the legacy footprint of historic Black UMCs does not track where the Black population is growing today.
Non-urban policy (¶4). Fayette is below the urban threshold, so the Urban Ministry
Plan's 75/25 split does not apply. Under the general policy for discontinued/abandoned property,
proceeds are handled as below.
20% of net →
Conference Trustees' Property Administration Fund (capped at $400k).
100% of the remainder
(the entire post-admin balance) → North District Strategy Team for use in the district.
No Conference-office share; no urban restriction is required.
The demographic profile above still argues for a Black ministry emphasis
if the District Strategy Team chooses to direct these funds intentionally. If the property was a
former Rio Grande Annual Conference congregation, the Latino/Hispanic highest-priority restriction
the Plan requires still applies regardless of urban status.