Lexington, KY

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The Church in Lexington

The church in Lexington had its first Lord’s table in April 2011. The current church life in Lexington focuses primarily on home meetings with community saints and campus work at the University of Kentucky (UK). The community saints meet in two home meetings. The church in Lexington has a very diverse group of saints representing at least nine nations (Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Taiwan, China, USA, Canada, Korea, and Malaysia). Overall, the church is 45% Asian, 39% White, and 16% Black.

The church owns 4 acres of land and hopes to build a meeting hall in the near future. With approximately 38 saints meeting regularly, Lord’s table attendance consists of about 24 adults and 12 to 18 children. The church has seen growth while many students graduate and move away. The church welcomes all saints; in particular, we are looking for graduate and undergraduate students to come and join us in the church life and campus work. The church needs all ages, from stable shepherding grandparents to young couples and college students. We feel the church is well-positioned for a team with several graduate students and four professors on the UK campus. With children of nearly all ages, from 1 year old to seniors in high school, parents can be assured their children will have friends among the saints’ families.

Location, Climate, and Health

Lexington is located in the middle of the state of Kentucky, in the heart of the Bluegrass region. It is known as the “horse capital of the world” and is the second-largest city in Kentucky. The region’s driving times to several localities are Louisville, KY—1:30; Cincinnati, OH—1:30; Fairborn, OH—2:30; Knoxville, TN—3:00; and Columbus, OH—3:20.

Lexington is on the northern edge of the South in terms of both culture and climate, with hot, humid summers and moderately cold winters, with occasional mild periods. Springs are crisp and rainy with highs in the 60s; summers are humid with highs in the 80s, with about 23 days of 90°F or higher each year; falls are pleasant, with the temperatures tapering off from the 80s to the 50s; and winter is mild though cold, with temperatures hovering around 32°F and an average of 13 inches of snow a year. Temperature ranges for each season are spring, 34-74°F; summer, 61-86°F; fall, 36-79°F; and winter, 23-54°F.

Lexington has several major healthcare systems, including UK HealthCare, Baptist Health, and KentuckyOne Health.

Demographics

Lexington has a population of about 320,000 people. It is the second-largest city in Kentucky after Louisville, and because of its central location, it is a hub for the eastern and central portions of the state. The city ranks 10th in the U.S. for college education rates, with 39% of the population having a college degree. The racial makeup of Lexington as of 2010 is 75.7% White, 14.5% Black, 6.9% Hispanic, 3.2% Asian, 1.21% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races.

Christians
Lexington has 230 churches and synagogues representing 38 denominations, and many large church buildings are clustered throughout the city. About 54% of the population consider themselves religious.

Economy/Employment

The city of Lexington has a stable economy, with various employers in manufacturing, technology, and entrepreneurial support.

Major employers and industries

  • Academic: Lexington has two major universities, the University of Kentucky (UK) and Transylvania University (Transy), and is home to a community college called Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC). Eastern Kentucky University (EKU) is located 40 minutes away in Richmond, KY. The UK is the largest employer in the city, with 12,430 employees. Fayette County Public Schools employs 5,427 people.
  • Medical: UK HealthCare is the healthcare system based on the UK campus and employs people. Its Albert B. Chandler Hospital is the #1 hospital in Kentucky, according to U.S. News & Technical World Report’s Best Hospitals Rankings. UK’s pharmacy school has consistently ranked among the top 10 in the nation. Also, KentuckyOne Health and Baptist Health operate several hospitals in Lexington, employing about 4,900 people.
  • Technology: There are several big technology companies in Lexington, such as Xerox (3,000 employees), Lexmark (2,100 employees), and Lockheed Martin (1,400 employees). Tempur Sealy, the maker of Tempurpedic mattresses, is also headquartered in Lexington.
  • Manufacturing: This part of the country has a lot of manufacturing companies. Lexington is home to Link Belt Construction Equipment, Valvoline, Webasto Roof System, and Schneider Electric, to name a few. Toyota’s largest manufacturing facility is located in Georgetown, 40 minutes away from Lexington. Alltech, one of the largest animal feed producers in the country, is headquartered in Nicholasville, 30 minutes away from Lexington.
  • Shipping: UPS and Amazon have large operations in Lexington.

Present employers of the saints

  • University of Kentucky
  • KentuckyOne Health System
  • Conduent
  • Meijer’s
  • Delta Corp.
  • Dauenhauer Plumbing
  • Hitachi (Harrodsburg, KY)
  • Kentucky State Government (Frankfort, KY)

Cost of Living

The cost of living in Lexington is very reasonable, with median home values of $186,500. Lexington home values have gone up 5% over the past year, and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.8% within the following year. The median price of homes currently listed is $250,000, while the median price of homes sold is $178,700. The median rent price is $1,200. Kentucky has an income tax rate of 5%, and Lexington has a sales tax rate of 6%.

Transportation

Lexington has a small airport (Bluegrass Airport), providing about 13 nonstop flights and a total of 86 flights daily. Usually, the flights go to Chicago, Atlanta, or Dallas first. The city of Lexington has a bus service (LexTran) that has its hub downtown and serves the UK and community college campuses.

The best way to get around is by car. There are two interstate highways passing by Lexington, the I-75 on the east side and the I-64 on the north. Lexington has two main arterial roads: the inner loop of New Circle Road, a freeway for part of its circuit around the city, and Man o’ War Blvd as the outer loop. The main roads either circle downtown or radiate out from downtown like spokes on a wheel.

Interests

Lexington is best known for its horse industry but has many other cultural activities, including the arts and museums. See visitlex.com for more details.

Christian: Shaker Village of Pleasant Hill (an old Shaker settlement)
Horses: Kentucky Horse Park, local farm tours, and Keeneland Race Course
Historic Homes: Ashland (the estate of Henry Clay), the Mary Todd Lincoln House, and the Joseph Bryan House (grand-nephew of Daniel Boone)
Kentucky attractions: Noah’s Ark theme park (about 45 min from Lexington), Civil War sites, and hiking

Campuses

Lexington’s major university is the University of Kentucky, with a student population of over 30,000. It is the largest-growing university in Kentucky and the state’s flagship research institution, offering a broad array of degrees, with 12,000 staff and 2,000 faculty.

Bluegrass Community and Technical College have 9,527 students. It is the largest 2-year college in Lexington, with credits transferable to UK. Sullivan University is a small private university with 2,900 students.

Smaller schools in the region include Eastern Kentucky University—Richmond; Asbury University and Asbury Theological Seminary—Wilmore (Christian liberal arts college); Midway University—campuses in Midway and Lexington (Disciples of Christ liberal arts college); Georgetown College—Georgetown(Baptist liberal arts college); Kentucky State University—Frankfort (public historically black university); Berea College—Berea (private liberal arts work college, no tuition); Centre College—Danville (liberal arts college, loosely connected to the Presbyterian Church).

K-12 Schools

Kentucky has well-established public and private schools but no charter schools yet. The children of the saints attend several schools around the city. The better schools are found near the UK campus and in the west and southwest quadrants of the city, where most of the saints live. If you want to homeschool, Kentucky only requires that you cover the basic subjects and hold 170 school days a year. There are several homeschool co-ops in the city.

The school district in Lexington is Fayette County Public Schools. Most saints’ kids attend schools in the Dunbar and Lafayette districts. These are good communities to raise a family, where children will receive a solid education. The southern and western parts of Lexington typically have a low crime rate and many family-centered neighborhoods. Many saints live in these areas.

We also need saints willing and burdened to live near the campus(within the Lafayette and Henry Clay school districts). There are many good schools near the campus, although most home values will be higher.

To see the school districts, school ratings, and locations of public and private schools, visit:
https://www.greatschools.org/kentucky/lexington/schools/

Fayette County Public Schools: https://www.fcps.net

Homeschool Information Packet for Kentucky:
https://education.ky.gov/federal/fed/Documents/Kentucky%20Homeschool%20Information%20Packet.pdf

Housing

Home values have gone up 5% over the past year, and Zillow predicts they will rise 2.8% within the next year.

  • Median home value: $186,500
  • Median list price per square foot: $139
  • Median price of homes currently listed: $250,000
  • Median price of homes that sold: $178,700
  • Median rent price: $1,200