The Northwest Baptist Convention is a regional network of 425 churches in Washington, Oregon, and northern Idaho. The Northwest is a beautiful part of the United States with coastal beaches, the Coastal and Cascade Mountains, hundreds of waterfalls, high desert and semi-arid lands teeming with huge wheat fields and orchards. Seattle and Portland, two cosmopolitan cities with combined metropolitan populations over 5 million people, form a gateway to the Pacific Rim.
Northwest people have a deep appreciation for the natural resources and beauty of the region.
The environment is the number one political and cultural issue in the Northwest. Northwester people are very spiritual, but not very interested in traditional churches or denominations. Only about 30 percent of the population profess any specific religious affiliation. About 17 percent claim to be secularists, the highest percentage in any region in the nation. New age, eastern, and hybrid religions abound and prosper.