As Unitarian-Universalists, we are a welcoming people. We recognize the inherent worth and dignity of everyone and encourage each person to follow their own path of spiritual growth in searching for truth and meaning. The irony of being open to all is that it means we are only of interest to certain populations. Outside of our current membership, the types of people we connect to include religious liberals in other churches, the well-educated but unchurched, and religious seekers. When these people come to us, they are often at one of three stages of life - older people without family in the community, new people moving into the community, and young families looking for a religious education for their children.
        Before deciding whether or not our church should try to grow, we first need to ask, "Can we grow?" That is, have we already reached everyone who would possibly be interested in our church?  How is the population in our community changing? Are there potentially more people in the Quad-Cities who fit the profile of who we expect to attract to our church?

        The population of the Quad Cities is stable and is expected to remain stable for the foreseeable future. As the local economy has become more diversified, a population dip such as happened in the 1980s is not likely. Although the population is stable in numbers, the make-up is changing in interesting ways that indicate that the potential is here for our church to grow.
        First, there is a geographic shift taking place in the Quad-Cities. The population on the Illinois side of the river is decreasing, and is expected to continue decreasing. The population on the Iowa side is increasing, with most of the growth going to northern Davenport and outlying towns in Scott County. Where twenty years ago our church was on the northern fringe of the populated area, today it is more centrally located. Never before have so many people lived within a five-mile and a ten-mile radius of our church.
        The population is becoming more educated, less blue collar, and more professional. Statistics indicate that the numbers and proportions of individuals having some college, a four-year degree, and advanced degrees are all increasing in the Quad-Cities area. For example, the number of Scott Countians with advanced degrees increased by nearly forty percent (5,995 to 8,339) from 1990 to 1999. (See Appendix A)
        The distribution of population by age shows a very gradual trend towards an older population. However, the Quad-Cities is, and should continue to be, younger on average than surrounding counties as young people continue to move from rural areas to the city for more opportunity, better schools, etc. On average, Scott County is younger than Iowa as a whole. In age distribution, Rock Island County is very similar to Scott, but is older than average compared to the state of Illinois.
        The Quad-Cities population is becoming more diverse in all ways and local governments are proving themselves to be adaptable to this. Since 1990, all racial minorities have increased in both numbers and relative size, while the white population in the Quad-Cities has actually decreased slightly. In the 2000 census, Scott County had minority populations totaling 11.5% and Rock Island County 14.5%. While these numbers are small compared to the national average, they are larger than most counties in either state. Our GLBT population continues to become more visible and several local governments have passed tolerance ordinances.

        A final important factor in the potential of our church to grow is the presence of progressive causes and organizations in our community. There are not many of these in our community without a noticeable presence from our membership. These connections often open the doors to new members.
        Because those who came before us often succeeded, many of the marches of the past are over. But, some of their marches continue on and our times have created their own new marches. We live in a time of increased hardships by those in lower socio-economic groups. Materialism is at the center of another set of issues. The commercial exploitation of children is an ever-increasing concern in our society, and many of us are drawn towards less-materialistic simpler living. The involvement of our members and our church in these and other issues will continue to bring our church to the attention of people who fit the profiles of potential members.