Does emergent work in Appalachia

Question I have had for awhile?
Does emergent Christianity work in the context of a culture that is impoverished and undereducated, aka Appalachia?

The Fresno Bee ran article yesterday (July 17) stating that the South Central Valley of California was a worse place to live than Appalachia. The radio talk shows which have a conservative bent were ambivalent about it. (podcast) I have struggled with this issue.

In the Valley there are places of wealth, not extreme wealth. However, as I look on careerbuilder for jobs, the jobs are not high paying jobs. There is not much opportunity. There is a concern about brain drain. The interesting part of the study to me is the dichotomy of California. In the report, some of the higher ranked places for education, livability, and life expectancy were in California and likewise some of the lowest were in California.

Visalia is that way as well. There is a dichotomy of rich and poor that live alongside each other. I am not sure how well the interaction is going? Do the wealthy see the poor as people, a nuisance or a project?

As a minister and minister with an emergent bent, I look at where emergent is thriving. Minneapolis, Seattle, San Francisco, Kansas City, Dallas, Capital Area, et al. Those are places ranked higher on the well-being index. The central valley is low on the index? Question, does Appalachia need an emergent church? Does a largely undereducated, underemployed, predominantly Hispanic culture find use for emergent ministry and Christians?

This is a missionary context and I am here not by own calling but God's. I would be in Newport, Oregon outside outside of the Rogue Brewery. I am trying to understand this mission field better. Sometimes, I wish that I had a couple of hundred thousand and I could build a barn church based solely on the attractional model but God does not let me go that route. So, can an emergent church be useful and make a significant impact in Appalachia or the San Joaquin Valley? If it can, what might it look like?