Why Plant Churches in Small Towns and Rural Areas?

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At the outset of the COVID quarantine, increasing numbers of people moved from large cities to more rural areas trying to escape government mandates, rising crime, and a higher cost of living according to a recent Bloomberg Business Week article. This trend continues today. (https://bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-09-11/pandemic-population-boom-in-rural-hotspots-sparks-resentment)

Belief in God continues to drop precipitously along with church attendance, while spiritual apathy is on the rise. These trends continue today. https://news.gallup.com/poll/268205/americans-believe-god.aspx

https://pewresearch.org/religion/2022/09/13/how-u-s-religious-composition-has-changed-in-recent-decades/ https://www.lifestream.org/five-factors-contributing-to-the-decline-in-church-attendance/

A recent Lifeway Research article reports that in 2019, 3000 churches were planted across the US, but 4500 closed.  This trend accelerated during the covid pandemic, and continues today. https://research.lifeway.com/2021/05/25/protestant-church-closures-outpace-openings-in-u-s/