St Louis, MO
The church in St. Louis (Download Report as PDF)
The saints began to meet in St. Louis in the 1960s and took the ground on May 18, 2003. Today, approximately 70 gather on the Lord’s Day mornings including approximately 6 young people and 14 children. About 20 saints attend the weekly prayer meetings. Additional meetings include a neighborhood children’s meeting on Mondays, a young people’s meeting on Saturdays and two group meetings focusing on the college students on Fridays (English and Chinese). There are 5 group meetings including a community meeting with local Christians on Wednesdays. The racial compo- sition of the church is mainly Asian with a small number of White, African and Hispanic saints.
The church in St. Louis is endeavoring to build up the church in truth, life, gospel and service as well as laboring on the children’s work, student’s work (young people and college age), and community work. The burden of the college work is to gain typical Missourians at University of Missouri – St. Louis (UMSL) and care for the college age saints at Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. Recent Bible distributions on the three campuses have shown the greatest response at UMSL. The church is endeavoring to build up the organic structure of the church through vital living, vital groups and small groups. The church is looking to the Lord for additional strength in the leadership and for more shepherding saints to join us as patterns of the flock.
Contact: John Robertson or Noah Lee, church in St. Louis: 11510 Old St. Charles Rd, Bridgeton, MO 63044
Email: GTCAStLouis@gmail.com
Location, Climate, and Health
St. Louis, Missouri is located near the geographic center of the USA along the western bank of the Mississippi River which forms the state line between Missouri and Illinois. Driving times to several localities in the region are: Chicago, IL - 4:45; Champaign, IL - 3:00; Normal/Peoria, IL - 3:00; Kansas City, MO - 4:00.
St. Louis has four distinct seasons. Spring is pleasant, with highs in the 70s and blooming flowers and flowering trees throughout the region. Summer is humid with highs averaging in the 80s. Fall is comfortable, with highs averaging in the 70s and a great deal of fall color. Winters are cold, with lows in the 20s and usually around four days of snow per year. Average annual rainfall is about 42 inches. Tornadoes are the important weather phenomenon noted in St. Louis due to its location in the Great Plains region of the United States.
St. Louis has three major healthcare systems: BJC Healthcare affiliated with Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, SSM Health affiliated with Saint Louis University School of Medicine, and Mercy health system: a high quality private healthcare organization. All three provide health care in multiple specialties in the metropolitan area.
Demographics
The city of St. Louis has a population of ~300,000 people, and the metro area has ~2,800,000. The St. Louis metropolitan area is the most populated area in Missouri. The city population has declined since its peak population in the 1950s and growth in jobs and population has mainly taken place west of city limits. The racial makeup of St. Louis city is 47% Black alone, 46% White alone, 4% Hispanic or Latino (of any race) and 3% Asian alone. The racial makeup of St. Louis County is 66% White alone, 24% Black or African alone, 3% Asian alone, and 4% Hispanic or Latino. The St. Louis metropolitan area is largely Christian with approximately 75% of adults identifying with a Christian faith group.
Economy/Employment
The economy of St. Louis has a variety of sectors, both historically and currently. The 2017 gross domestic product (GDP) of St. Louis was $161.3 billion - the 22nd highest GDP in the United States. According to the 2017 Economic Census, manufacturing in the city conducted nearly $11 billion in business, followed by the healthcare and social service industry with $3.5 billion, professional or technical services with $3.1 billion, and the retail trade with $2.5 billion. The sector employing the largest number of workers in the city was healthcare with 34,000 workers, followed by administra- tive and support with 24,000 workers, manufacturing with 21,000 workers, and food service with 20,000 workers. As of September 2019, the city of St. Louis had 1,499,400 workers in its labor force with 1,460,700 employed, 38,700 unemployed, and an unemployment rate of 2.6 percent.
The following are some of the top companies to work for in St. Louis:
The cost of living in St. Louis is 3.2% lower than the national average. Most residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area live in St. Louis County—the area surrounding the city of St. Louis—in single- family homes. The median home price in St. Louis County is $210,000, and its cost of living index is below that of most major cities in the U.S. The income tax rate in Missouri is progressive and ranges from 1.5 to 5.9%. The sales tax is 9.68% in the city 4.23% in the county.
Transportation
St. Louis Lambert International Airport (STL) is a major hub for Southwest Airlines, and the fol- lowing airlines also fly out of STL: American Airlines, Delta Airlines, United Airlines, Air Canada Express, Air Choice One, Alaska Airlines, American Eagle, Cape Air, Contour Airlines, Frontier Airlines, and Sun Country Airlines.
The St. Louis public transportation system, Metro, includes bus and light rail services. The light rail serves the airport, the major stadiums, Downtown St. Louis and crosses the Mississippi River to serve Southern Illinois. Both Uber and Lyft operate in St. Louis. Bike share and scooter share services operate in the city.
The automobile is still the predominant way to get around St. Louis. Two interstate highways inter- sect in St. Louis: I-70 and I-55. St. Louis ranks among the lowest of all major cities in the United States for traffic congestion.
Interests
Listed below is a variety of special interests served in St. Louis and the surrounding area. For more listings, see Explore St. Louis and VisitMO.com.
Science and nature: Missouri Botanical Garden, Forest Park, Saint Louis Zoo, Saint Louis Science Center, Grant’s Farm, St. Louis City Garden, Laumeier Sculpture Park, Katy Trail State Park, and the new St. Louis Aquarium at Union Station. Arts and culture: Gateway Arch, Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri History Museum, The Old Courthouse, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, The Fabulous Fox Theatre, The Muny (Municipal The- atre Association), National Blues Museum, and World Chess Hall of Fame.
Professional sports: St. Louis Cardinals (MLB) and St. Louis Blues (NHL). Area attractions and vacation destinations: Six Flags St. Louis, City Museum; Magic House - St. Louis Children’s Museum, Hidden Valley Ski Resort; Silver Dollar City in Branson, MO; Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum, LegoLand Discovery Center, National World War I Museum and Memorial, Meramec Caverns and Lake of the Ozarks.
Campuses
St. Louis is home to three major campuses located 5 to 10 miles away from each other: University of Missouri, Saint Louis (UMSL), Washington University in Saint Louis (WashU) and Saint Louis University (SLU).
University of Missouri - St. Louis (UMSL) - Student population ~16,000: UMSL is the only public university in St. Louis. Bachelor’s, Master’s, and doctoral programs are offered through the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Business Administration, the College of Education, the College of Nursing, the School of Social Work, and the College of Optometry. UMSL College of Optometry is one of 17 optometry schools in all of North America.
Washington University in St. Louis (WashU) - Student population 15,937: Founded in 1853, WashU is a private research university in the Greater Saint Louis area. WashU was recently ranked 11th by the Wall Street Journal and within the top 20 according to US news reports for undergraduate education. In addition, WashU ranked 8th in the nation in medicine, 18th in Law, 26th in Business, 10th in Architecture, and 2nd in social work. Starting Fall 2020, WashU will provide free education to any accepted student from Missouri or southern Illinois whose family income is under $75,000. This could be a great benefit for those with high school age children who are considering migration to St. Louis.
Saint Louis University (SLU) - Student population 12,649: SLU is a private Roman Catholic re- search university with campuses in St. Louis, and Madrid, Spain. The university is ranked 96th by US World Report nationally. SLU School of Medicine ranks 57th in the nation among US medical schools.
St. Louis Community College (STLCC) has eight campuses in the St. Louis area.
Other colleges in the St. Louis area include Harris-Stowe State University (historically Black, pub- lic), Webster University, Maryville University, Fontbonne University, St. Louis College of Pharmacy, and Missouri Baptist University.
Schools
The St. Louis metropolitan area has multiple school districts which span the full spectrum of quality of education. The top rated public school districts in the area are Clayton School District, Ladue School District, Parkway C-2 School District and Brentwood School District. St. Louis also has several highly-rated private schools.
Housing
The saints who are burdened for the campus work are encouraged to look for housing near UMSL or WashU. The UMSL area (Greendale, Bel-Nor, Bellerive, and Pasadena Hills) are lower cost than the WashU area, however the school districts are not rated highly. The WashU area (Clayton, Rich- mond Heights, and Brentwood) are relatively close to all three major universities and have good school districts; therefore, the cost of housing is higher.
The church meeting hall is located at a central location and is within a 20-minute drive from most areas of the city and county of St. Louis. The saints are scattered throughout the city/county and those migrating are encouraged to live near the campus or the saints.
In addition to low gasoline and electricity prices, affordable housing can be an incentive to the saints who are considering migrating from the West or East Coasts. St. Louis is comprised of real estate that ranges widely in price and is 3.2% lower than the national average for cost of living. Most residents of the St. Louis metropolitan area live in St. Louis County—the area surrounding the city of St. Louis—in single-family homes. The neighborhoods near Washington University and Saint Louis University are: Clayton, Richmond Heights, and Brentwood. Most residents in St. Louis own their homes due to a history of low risk of depreciation in property value and generally lower mort- gage payments when compared to cost of rent. All of these neighborhoods are in close proximity to a number of grocery stores, retail stores, and restaurants (i.e. Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, Target, etc.). The majority of the houses in these areas are older (built in early to mid-1900s), but in recent years, many developers have been renovating existing houses or building new construction.
