I've been a rural pstor for 9 years and it is "embarrassing" when talking to churchy people of urban areas. They don't get it. It's not easy.

Rural america struggles financially and rural pastors do as well. If your god is your belly you won't make it.

If you don't have a pastoral life that closely mimics Paul's lists of pastoral qualifications you won't last either. People know you in a small town.

The rewards are tremendous. I'd occassionally trade it, but in the long run, this has been the most rewarding experience of my life.

I grew up in a Midwestern rural community. I went to one of these churches. I've served in churches just like this...

I am now a young pastor at 31.

There IS a strong reason why young clergy don't want to go to rural churches:

CHANGE.

Rural churches are much more traditional (not in service type, but in thinking), tend to be older, and are less in touch with the rest of the world.

For this reason, my experience (and many of my peers', of all ages, experience as well) suggests that rural churches really want 'chaplains' to baptize, marry, and bury...with the occasional visit in between it all.

However, there is to be NO change.

Now, I know some church starts in rural areas that start out with the right vision and mission, and they are still appealing to lead...

But, who wants to expend their time, energy, creativity, and their emotional and physical health beating their head against the brick wall that is the "unchanging church?"

Unless I receive the call of Isaiah from God...to go preach to those who won't listen or obey...I'm staying the heck out of rural, dying churches.

Shame on you, Frustrated Youngin'. Shame.

Some encouragement, perhaps, for "Frustrated Youngin"...

Seven years ago, my best friend's dad - a well-educated Baptist pastor who, perhaps because he was no longer young and hip, couldn't get an urban posting - accepted a position at a tiny church in a tiny community in the Canadian Maritimes. When I say 'tiny church' I mean a congregation of 30-odd pensioners in a building that's smaller than the average suburban mega-house. It wasn't easy going - the older people get, the more set in their ways they are, and of course there was the salary issue (the man in question has a wife and one of his daughters to support). The year after he started there, my friend and I spent the summer with them, planning and implementing a day camp for the local kids at the congregation's invitation. I saw first-hand some of the problems related to stubbornness and resistance to change; I also saw the incredible generosity and heart of these pensioners as they fully funded - trusting without question (now THAT was humbling!) the judgment of all budget requests my friend and I, experienced camp workers, made - a fantastic camp the community was still talking about two years later, and they sought to pitch in as they could, too, providing snacks, prayer, and even bringing my friend and I lunches when we worked on pre-camp preparation (that was our weekends, we were both working full-time jobs).

My friend's dad didn't give up on his often frustrating congregation. No, he kept getting more and more involved, he loved them and the community fiercely, and they kept blessing and being blessed. When he humbly asked to increase his salary out of necessity, the pensioners did so. Five years later, when we reconnected at my friend's wedding, I was told the church would be unrecognizable from the church I had known. The congregation, now multi-generational, fills the building. Attitudes have changed towards disputable issues that make a big difference when ministering to youth, like the music. What started as a handful of pensioners who just needed a loving shepherd has become a vibrant cornerstone of the community.

So you see, change happens. But it took five or six persistent years before it really took off. At any rate, I've seen my fair share of "brick wall" city churches - reticence to change and unrealistic salaries are certainly not limited to a congregation's age and location.

Yes, I've served in a rural church, too. Change does come hard for some. (What? A GPS in my combine!?!) But when you talk about reaching the next generation before they leave for the city, they KNOW that things for the young have to be different than things for the previous generation.

Actually, I really appreciate the forthrightness of FY.

I remember reading in the last few years that some churches have been looking for younger pastors precisely because the entrenched lay leadership believe they can "shape" and "control" a younger leader into the status quo.

I even experienced it myself within an urban setting too.

Fair or not, there is a perception about the general culture of the Midwest--especially outside of city centers. Having been raised there and worked in a church plant in the Midwest I can say that some of those perceptions are grounded in reality.

It's too easy to write off those observations as "coastal elite condescension," and to do so only serves to demonstrate the very problem that is trying to be named.

This article has given me a lot to think about.

Oh, man, FY. We've been in the same church. I've heard, and I quote, "We'd rather the church die the way it is than turn it into something to attract outsiders."

Those feelings may reside in urban churches, too, but they're usually better camouflaged.

Trying to shame people into rural ministry is an excercise in futility. Trying to shame people into doing anything isn't the way of Jesus.

As one who pastors in the city I have the utmost respect for those who pastor in small towns and rural areas. While all pastoral ministry has its challenges, the previous comments indicate just how difficult rural ministry can be. (Of course, there must also be plenty of unique joys to rural ministry.) I am grateful for those who serve in these oft-forgotten places.

I stand corrected. I wasn't trying to shame this young man into any kind of ministry. I think God handled the situation just fine in the way he dealt with Jonah. You go where God directs you. That part is simple. Knowing where that is - not so simple. I just thought he might feel some shame for the way he characterized small churches and small towns. I'd be interested in hearing Gordon McDonald's take on this, since he pastored a country church not too far from the small town where I grew up.

I served a rural church while in seminary 15 years ago, and looking back now, those were some of the best years of my life. I'd go back if the opportunity presented itself, and one of the most importan things that I learned is that the people were willing to change, but at a slower pace than what present congregation in the suburbs. Life is slower there, and is more closely linked to the seasons than here in Chicagoland.

Good article, Collin. Were you preaching to me? ;-) Two thoughts:

1. If Dever and Co. are right that pastors are best equipped by other pastors in the context of local churches, then perhaps the rural landscape refutes their point.

2. In one sense, one person committed and surrendered to Christ can make a big impact. However, apparent examples of this either (a) ignore the pure exceptionality of these individuals, or (b) ignore the social networks that enabled these individuals to attain large-scale impact (i.e., one person in a more urban environment, with more relational resources, can gain a lot of ground). In rural communities, however, pastors are stand-alone revolutionaries at best, and so quickly either burn out or give up on their ideals. The turnaround job is much too big for a pastor here and a pastor there—even quality, trained ones.

Secondly, missionally thinking pastors choose their ministry contexts strategically, i.e., where they will make the biggest "kingdom splash." Let's just be honest that most of us still hold onto a glimmer of the hope of the boomer ideal of the "evangelization of the world in this generation." We want to see widespread culture shift, and so we are committed to investing ourselves where the cultural movers and shakers are—in the urban centers. We want to mobilize diverse people—particularly college students and young professionals, in their formative decision-making periods—to give their lives to kingdom mission in diverse places and vocations. Again, the cities are the most strategic context for this by far.

Granted, the rural life can be a refreshing change of pace from the hyperactive urban culture that tends to be soul-numbing. I'm just not satisfied with the dichotomy of overstimulus and boredom. My ethos is opportunity with restraint.

Kudos,

matt

I feel I'm being called to serve the Lord on the beaches of Hawaii, specifically, Maui, north west side, facing Lanai and Molokai, right down the middle passage between the two islands.
There, my ministry will be one of calling the faithful to praise G-d's goodness by thanking him for the wonder that is Hawaii. Also, to give thanks for the amazingly blue seas, the incredible food, and the blessed serenity that comes with a cooperative group of people who longingly stare at the magnificent sunset plotting how they, and I can extend our time on the islands.
Which brings me to the point of this thread...I much prefer spending time with people who are more interested in living the way G-d wants them too, and less interested in whether or not others believe the same way they do...which seems to plague middle America's to do list.

Thanks for your post. I've served a rural church for ten years, it's where I came immediately following seminary. It is challenging but wonderfully rewarding. You're right about not having to spend time managing programs. I think one of the challenges is that most seminaries train ministers with an assumption of a suburban or urban ministry and teach how to manage a paid staff and run programs.
I'm still struck how we laud someone willing to become a missionary to a remote, third world country, but start making redneck jokes when someone is willing to serve in rural Mississippi.
Thanks again for the good post.

If I would have been called or appointed to a small town or rural church in my 30's or even my 20's I probably would have thought it was the end of the world. But at 51, after 8 plus years, I count it a privilege to serve in a small town/rural environment. Yes our unemployment rate is high (3rd highest in Indiana at around 13%). But is the Church that is stepping up to help with food issues. Finances are always a challenge in rural and small town areas, but where people, God is there seeking to have a relationship with each person no matter where they live. Thanks for this report!

I have to say that, as a rural Midwesterner a hundred miles from Chicago, I realized that urban folks just don't get us and likely won't put in the time they need to understand us. I am surprised, though, at the way we are being written off by some of these posts. Apparently, because we're small towns, we're not worth much to the Kingdom. Ouch. And actually wanting pastoral care--real shepherding, out with the sheep in the fields--is, well, keeping the pastor from ministering. And, of course, I can't blame anyone for being condescending because that only shows how right you are about me.

Do you wonder why I might be a bit peeved?

There is much I could say in answer to the stereotypes. But if you are not willing to find out who we are, and why we are who we are, then we honestly do not need you. And if you do not come willing to serve, then we do not need you. Sorry if that sounds angry, but you will do more harm than good.

I have seen bad pastor-congregation relationships up close, and in my experience both sides have usually contributed their share to the mess. I know a pastor who, 20 years into his current church, still talks about the wonderful spirit of the church he left and contrasts it with the one he serves now. Not exactly strategic leadership. Then there was the duo of pastors who held together a dying church out of sheer love and commitment to its people; they pastored my church when I was a teen and were the most influential spiritual leaders in my life. They embodied ministry to me. I saw the genuineness of their love for God and for us up close; they were a refuge for my mother when my father was unfaithful. They made me a Sunday School teacher, gave me scores of opportunities to minister, and counseled me through hard times. They were what my church, and I think every church, needs.

I'm a believer today in part because they didn't write us off.

I guess i forgot to mention that i lived in a rural town of 2,000 on a 1500 acre cattle farm in central Missouri from age 5 to 18, and my family still lives and works there today. My experience in rural America is the very reason i am reluctant to go back. Not that all parts of America do not need good pastors and churches. But i have shaken the dust off of my feet.

Being in a smaller town outside of an urban area, I totally get this. The rural areas are where the towns have a greater % of "evangelicals" living there - and they want to share their faith with their kids and their kids friends before they move away. There is a huge opportunity here, we just need people to help lead.

you know, i wonder if a lot of this simply comes down to 'big church' vs 'small church'. i'm in a sorta 'big church' now (4 weekend services, about 1500 ppl all totalled), and i really don't know anyone except the people i work at the pantry with - and i really just know their faces. i do know a couple of people from a small group i was in, but otherwise it's a sea of unknowns when i go to services. and, make no mistake, this church has programming down to a science.

or maybe it has a lot to do with the mobility of the people in the area where the church serves. generations pass through the church i grew up in - which is now very large, but in a town of individuals who pass through year to year.

but i will admit that my seminary seemed more geared towards graduating CEOs than training PMBs (preachers, marriers, and buriers). sure - there were references to being 'pastor-shepherd', but only once you had the well-oiled machine - and spotlights - in place.

you come out of seminary thinking you have all kinds of original ideas to turn modern-day christianity on its head. and some men and women actually seem to do just that - but in the end, preaching in torn jeans with a three-day growth of beard says more about the sheep than about the effectiveness (or importance) of what the particular shepherd is doing, doesn't it?

and then you get to be 48 - and the only voice that really seems worth listening to is solomon's:

there's nothing new under the sun.

Actually, our seminary is bent strongly toward turning out PMBs--sometimes to the relative neglect of structural, ecclesiological, and missiological issues.

There are many good things to think about in the commbox. However, allow me to make two observations.

1) There's a good deal of stereotyping going on from both sides. Some are stereotyping rural ministry; some are stereotyping those who (for whatever reason) come into rural ministry, perhaps unwillingly. There's much emotion (not surprisingly) but also a good bit of truth in both. Rural people aren't like New Yorkers. And, yes, we young seminarians can be idealistic to the point of foolishness or even rudeness. But the stereotyping leads to my next observation...

2) No one is actually responding to Hansen's own observations. Hansen is not looking down upon rural communities, rural churches, or rural ministry. He is, however, making a frank declaration of things as they stand.

No one can argue that rural communities - particularly in the Midwest - are declining and are expected to continue declining. No one can deny that most pastors in rural ministry are not seminary/div school educated. No one can deny that most rural churches are greying. No one can deny the HUGE cost of higher education that is required for many clergy in established traditions. No one can deny that educational debt places a significant role in determining a pastor's location in ministry.

The frustrations from those in rural communities and those leading rural churches should be noted. However, if we leave the situation as an airing of grievances (re: whining), we get no where. Churches need fruitful solutions. This WILL require change. As I've explained to the people in the rural church that I serve, "You cannot decide against change. The church is changing. The question is,'What sort of change will we have?'" Rural churches can be active agents in the shape of that answer.

has anyone heard of village missions? it's a mission organization that is completely devoted to sending pastors to rural america and canada.

instead of complaining why don't you people help them do something about it?

Unless you've been beaten up by these churches, you will never understand, Allison.

Case in point, have you ever been publically yelled at because you didn't say the pledge of allegiance after a church service? Being accused of being "a long-haired hippy" because I don't think the Pledge is appropriate for a church service (btw, I had and still have VERY short hair..I always laughed at that one).

Have you ever tried to get people to do outreach in their community but being totally shot down because...
Lay person: "We do an outreach. We invite people to our annual spaghetti dinner..." Me: "But you charge people, right?"
Lay person: "Yes, but it's still outreach because they come into the church."
Me: "How many people has it brought into the church on Sunday morning?"
Lay person: "I don't know [meaning zero], but we raise $5000 each year."

Or trying to teach that the Lord's Supper is an integral part of Christian worship..."We're not going to take communion more than once a quarter. We absolutely will not do it. We've never done it before [Oh, how I wish I had a nickel for every time I heard that], and we're not changing now!"

I could go on...

Also church size has nothing to do with this conversation. It is 100% about attitude. There are many, many Christians who are refusing to let the Church change its ways to reach new people. That's the issue, and from my experience, it's a widespread problem in rural areas due to the extreme conservativism (culturally not politically in this sense).

As I said, I grew up in the rural Midwest...and I actually do love my farm upbringing; however, I also know that many small, rural churches don't want/refuse to change.

All I'm saying is that many young clergy don't see their pastoral duty as "marrying and burying." It's guiding a community of faith in mission to God. It has nothing to do with spotlights and everything to do with the Missio Dei.

Shame on me? Possibly...Trust me, I wrestled with my calling every day I was in one student appointment and another part-time appointment...

After serving in the last two churches full-time who wanted to grow and be faithful to the mission of God (and who love me as a person), I'm not so sure all the shame was/is on me.

Guilt/shame throwing is such a great "church" weapon. It trumps just about everything except Jesus, but he's not welcome anyway...

PS I'm serving a small town Midwestern church now, and I love it...but then again, it strongly desires to grow in faith, serve the community, and is willing to change for the sake of the Gospel. We have a traditional service, and we have all generations present. God has called us here, and we are blessed.

PS I'm serving a small town Midwestern church now...

i pray that God heals your resentments and that they don't come through in the pulpit.

i also pray that you'll see that, as your church's 'servant leader,' you are not - nor can you choose to be - the sole vessel of knowledge, nor is your view of how to interpret things always inerrant.

(i know, melody, i know: the pot calling the kettle black and everything, right?... c'est la vie.)

For over sixty years, Village Missions has been dedicated to keeping country churches alive. We believe that a vibrant, local church is central to the spiritual and moral health of a rural community. We assign a dedicated pastor/missionary couple to a church at the request of a struggling church and provide salary and other forms of support so that the couple can live and minister in that community. We have served over 1,000 churches in this way during our existence—currently we serve approximately 200 churches in the U.S. and 30 churches in Canada. A video posted on my blog perfectly illustrates the importance of having a pastor in a small community. You can find it at http://www.village-missions.org/about/from-the-director/. Brian Wechsler, Executive Director, Village Missions

Oh, Youngin', I've been there. I know whereof I speak. I also want to add a negative that may not have been mentioned yet. Because small towns sometimes can't provide an adequate salary, it is often necessary for the spouse to work, and there aren't a lot of opportunities for employment in rural areas. And Brian, I'm glad you brought up Village Missions. It's a wonderful organization. My sister-in-law grew up in a Village Missions church in the country outside Oakley, Kansas.

I believe one of the origianl thoughts in the article referred to the fact that many rural churches can't afford to bring in a trained pastor. Then why don't those of you pastoirs who have the privilege of serving larger, urban churches offer to take on a small rural church as a "sister" and help with some of the finances needed for them to have trained pastors?

I currently pastor a church in a small town in WI, the members are in their 80s and I love it. I am only 31 years old and have a family but God has taught me a lot at that church. To many the church may be dying but I will pastor it to the end even without pay.

At first I came to that church thinking that it is just another church like all the old traditional churches and that it doenst embrace change and such but God started to teach me to love the churches traditions and embrace them instead of trying to change them. God taught me to serve instead of being a dictator. Once I learned that it is their church and I am to pastor and lead them out of a servants heart I started to see it become my church as well, instead of them resisting me and me them we were able to work together. I thought I was coming to that church to change them and to teach them but it is me who needed the changing and teaching. The church has become my home and the people my family, yes I like the new ways of doing church but I now love tradition and older folks just as much, I also found that the people arent against the new as long as you dont try and throw out the old and as long as you earn thier trust. But that is the problem many pastor dont take time to earn the trust and want to change everything and are not there to serve. Many pastors are also concerned with money, if you are after money go find another career, you shouldnt be a pastor period if you are after a job with a large salary. You only need enough to get by, did you know that I can support my whole family on 12,000 a year and I have a lot of kids. You only need enough money to meet your needs, TV and a brand new car is not a need and niether is a lot of other things people waste money on.

As long as pastors choose to not serve and be humble and as long as they are greedy and love money they wont come to rural churches.