(Tulsa, Ok)--The numbers may not match the reality. Tulsa John 3:16 Mission director Reverend Steve Whitaker says the number of people asking for help is growing rapidly. He says John 3:16 will have helped three or four times the number of poor people by the end of this year compared to 2007. Yet a new Census report notes poverty in Oklahoma has dropped even though Oklahoma is ranked tenth in the nation in the number of poor. Reverend Whitaker says many of the new poor come from rural areas of the state and many do not show up in the statistics. The Census indicated more then 500,000 Oklahomans are considered living in poverty. Whitaker fears few have much hope for a change for the better.