The Rural Church: Challenges & Opportunities

It may be necessary for a church to change, even dramatically, if it is to survive, let alone thrive again. Some members may not yield to innovation, sometimes seeming even preferring the church’s demise rather than allowing anything new. And yet, rural and small church ministry can be a very fruitful, rewarding sphere for the discovery and advance of God’s Kingdom. Here, the church can be a place of mutual learning and discovery - of God, God’s Salvation, God’s world and of God’s purposes in it, as with patience and endurance pastors and congregations learn the natural and supernatural rhythms of New Creation and of the Eternal.

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