Our Missional Context : Outgrowing Jordan Hare
Nov 17, 2023

Hoffman Rhyne, President & Academic Dean of Christ Our Redeemer Seminary

Auburn & Opelika are Growing Rapidly

In our last post, we saw that the population in Lee County grew by 24.2% between 2010 and 2020 and is now home to over 175,000 people. Not surprisingly, over 61% of people in Lee County live either in Auburn or Opelika. 


Auburn’s population increased by 42.6% between the two census periods - a rate of about 6 people per day (190/month or 2,276/year). As of October 2023, Auburn is home to an estimated 82,000. At this rate, by the 2026 football season, Auburn’s population will surpass Jordan-Hare’s seating capacity. Auburn is now Alabama’s seventh most populous city.


Opelika’s population grew by 17.1% over that same period - a rate of about 1.2 people per day (38/month or 455/year). Currently, Opelika’s population is around 34,000. Considering both cities together, the O/A community is home to over 116,000 people. 


If these trends continue, conservative estimates put Auburn’s population would surpass 90,000 and Opelika’s over 37,000 by the year 2030. To put it simply, the Auburn/Opelika community will be home to nearly 130,000 people by 2030. 

Some Implications for the Church 

There are so many implications that this has for the Church here, but I merely want to highlight here our posture towards the public service sector. City councils, law enforcement officials, the fire departments, public utility leaders, school administrators and faculty, healthcare professionals, and many others are grappling with how to serve and care for the growing number of people in our community. This is a daunting challenge with many complexities and often no clearcut solutions.


In Auburn/Opelika, many who work in public service are Christians and that is a tremendous blessing. But whether they follow Jesus or not, their service to our community reflects the character of God who orders, protects, and sustains our world so that life can flourish. God’s lovingkindness is mediated, albeit imperfectly, through the thousands of people serving our community in thousands of ways every day.


So while it is easy to complain about some problem or policy we don’t like, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are called to live differently. Here are three ways we can do that: 


  • Pray - First of all, we can commit to praying for those serving our community, from decision makers to the garbage truck driver.  Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:1–4, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”


  • Encourage - A life of public service usually comes with a lot of griping but not a lot of gratitude. Make an effort to thank those serving our community, bearing witness to how their service reflects the character and goodness of God.


  • Engage - In a culture that trains us to be consumers, the gospel trains us to be servants, to lay our lives down, to steward our influence and resources for the common good. There are many ways to do this, from attending city council meetings to serving on the school PTA. As Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote, “The Church is the Church only when it exists for others...not dominating, but helping and serving. It must tell men of every calling what it means to live for Christ, to exist for others,” Letters and Papers from Prison. 


Stay tuned for future blog articles and our podcast that unpacks other implications for the Church in light of our missional context. 

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