Mission-field Study · ministry priority: Hispanic/Latino + Black
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Rural county. Gillespie 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
27,202
7 census tracts
5-yr growth
4%
+994 people · proj. 3%
Hispanic
22%
3,130 Spanish-speakers (5+)
Black
0%
non-Anglo total 23%
Under 18
19%
Median income
$71,143
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
Gillespie County (rural)
39%
1,438
18%
Fredericksburg
27%
614
14%
Gillespie County (rural)
26%
1,015
31%
Gillespie County (rural)
-4%
-155
29%
Gillespie County (rural)
-8%
-356
15%
2 · Feasibility — mission, plants & ministries
2 Rio Texas North District UMCs
serve this county — 0 of them reach
non-Anglo communities (0 Hispanic-led, 0 Anglo+Hispanic ministry, 0 Black-led).
That is roughly 1 church per 13,601 residents
against a mission field that is 23% non-Anglo.
3 tracts
(11,166 people) have no UMC within a 15-minute drive;
the average tract is 3.5 mi from the nearest UMC.
Representation gap. The mission field is 23% non-Anglo, yet
none of the 2 North District UMCs here is positioned to reach
Hispanic or Black communities. The Plan is explicit that this gap does not lessen the larger
Church's responsibility to bring the gospel to the people who live here — it sharpens it.
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
Gillespie County (rural)
61
26%
4,946
4.8
Gillespie County (rural)
60
39%
5,148
2.4
Fredericksburg
49
27%
2,879
0.3
Gillespie County (rural)
48
-4%
3,991
2.0
Gillespie County (rural)
48
-8%
4,220
4.6
Gillespie County (rural) ◆
46
-9%
3,970
6.5
Existing North District UMCs in Gillespie
Church
City
Serves
Fredericksburg UMC
Fredericksburg
Anglo
Harper UMC
Harper
Anglo
3 · Proposed Restrictions & Priority for Proceeds
At 22% Hispanic and growing, the field warrants a strong Hispanic/Latino ministry priority alongside cross-cultural work in existing congregations. The Black population (0% of the field, +1396% 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). Gillespie 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 Hispanic/Latino + 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.