According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the top 10 fastest-growing U.S. counties from 2000 to 2006 are:

1. 66.7% Flagler, FL
2. 61.7% Kendall, IL
3. 60.5% Rockwall, TX
4. 58.5% Loundoun, VA
5. 53.4% Forsyth, GA
6. 51.0% Pinal, AZ
7. 50.0% Douglas, CO
8. 49.2% Henry, GA
9. 48.9% Paulding, GA
10. 48.5% Lyon, NV

And the top 10 U.S. counties with the highest numerical growth from 2000 to 2006 are:

1. 695,784 Maricopa, AZ
2. 485,653 Harris, TX
3. 481,416 Riverside, CA
4. 428,751 Los Angeles, CA
5. 401,801 Clark, NV
6. 289,898 San Bernardino, CA
7. 225,121 Tarrant, TX
8. 207,076 Collin, TX
9. 168,656 Gwinnett, GA
10. 165,950 Will, IL

Anytime a county’s population shifts this drastically, it is likely that the region’s culture has changed as well. Churches must understand how quickly and in what ways their community’s culture is changing. And when culture does shift, they must adequately invest the time to study the new culture and to understand what it will take to relevantly reach it.