From a Rural Church Pastor:
I serve a rural United Methodist Church in north central Kansas - a county
seat community.
The two characteristics of this community are:
1.) The impact of agriculture on the economy. The three major employers
beyond the government are agriculture related. There is a farm implement
mfg., a farm chemical business, and the Coop. The government is a key
piece as we have public schools, state, county and city government
employees as well as the support checks funded by the gov't - Social
Security, social services and farm subsidy.
2.) The family / church relationships that are generations deep in the
community. Since many families in this community are several generations
deep, the impact of family history is an integral part of the way in which
families relate within the community.
There is a significant Roman Catholic population that is balanced by a near equal population that relates to the protestant churches in the area.
These dynamics in a part of the United States that is depopulating and
being significantly impacted by the drought changes the way in which we
are able to do church.
In light of the above thoughts, there is still a place for the church as
it continues to seek that relevant connection between the people of God
and God's spirit.
2 comments:
To a Rural church Pastor: Yes, there will always be a place for the church. But there seems to be a critical number of congregants needed to make the church a vital part of the community and therfore attractive to the unchurched. Could the protestant churches in your town work together on outreach projects to bring the numbers to the level where those who want to be active Christians will not feel as though they must do things on their own? Could a couple of the churches even (gasp!) worship together to foster even closer community ties? Can you explore combining United Methodists with United Church of Christ or Episcopalians with ELCA? As one who is passionate about outreach, I would love to be approached by the United Methodists across the street from our Episcopal church to work together on a project. In fact I have approached them in that manner and we have had much success in the past.
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