HOW RURAL CHURCHES CAN FOCUS ON THEIR STRENGTHS

Leah Krotz

I am a fan of the small and the rural. The rural church has been my home for all of the six decades of my life. I grew up on a farm in Nebraska and attended third through eighth grade at a tiny American Lutheran Church (ALC) Christian day school with a total of about seventy students in three classrooms. I had twenty-seven students in my high school graduating class. After university, my husband and I made a conscious choice to return to his small town in Kansas, choosing rural America to raise our children and shape our lives. We belonged to a Lutheran congregation that had been started as a mission church in the 1950s. As lay people, we watched as the congregation declined from around 100 in worship to less than half that by the time we left.

I took classes to become a certified lay minister because of the great need of help for pastors in our rural area. When I eventually attended seminary and entered my second career as an ordained pastor, I felt called to serve small, rural congregations, and that is what I continue to do today.

I’ve seen little country churches eventually succumb to changing demographics and close their doors. I’ve attended council meetings and heard the lament, “why don’t we have any young people in the pews?” I’ve sat through keynote addresses and webinars touting church growth and thought, “How does any of this pertain to us?” I’ve seen the wistful eyes of elder members who mourn how full the church used to be.

And yet, I’m hopeful for the future of the small rural church, and in this article, I will share some of the reasons why, as well as insights I’ve gleaned from others on how rural churches can focus on their strengths to serve God’s kingdom in their communities, and the world.

Small Churches Are Different

There are many differences between small churches and large ones besides the obvious ones of size and scale. I’d like to highlight a few of them here.

First, small churches and rural churches are often older congregations. Their buildings were sited when the demographics were vastly different than they are currently. “While large congregations make new investments in affluent, up-and-coming areas, small ones more frequently find themselves in economically stagnant areas. With many neighbors in need.”1

I’m hopeful for the future of the small rural church, and in this article, I will share some of the reasons why, as well as insights I’ve gleaned from others on how rural churches can focus on their strengths to serve God’s kingdom in their communities, and the world.

Secondly, small congregations are often served by pastors who are bi-vocational, part-time, retired from another parish or career, or serving multiple parishes. Pastors in small churches act as a “jacks of all trades,” and they may be the only staff member on the payroll. Because of this, small churches rely heavily on lay leadership and volunteer involvement.

Third, many small churches suffer from a feeling of being “less than.” I once had this conversation with a retired pastor at my son’s church in another state. “Oh, Nebraska,” he said. “I remember getting out of seminary and feeling sorry for the ones who had to go there for their first call.”

He later apologized, but this attitude is far from uncommon, particularly among those who haven’t experienced the many wonderful advantages of life in rural America first-hand. And after years of revolving short-term calls, as pastors stayed only a year or two before moving on to bigger churches and the brighter lights of city parishes, rural churches are often left feeling second-best, a feeling that’s only exacerbated by the church-growth movement.

As an example, Teresa Stuart cites the Effective Church Group website, “The language of size is conflated with ‘success,’ ‘influence,’ ‘excellence’ and ‘effectiveness.’ This logic paints small congregations as stunted, failure-to-thrive places. The site urges readers to re-tweet, ‘Every large church was once a small church,’ with the implication that thank God they got over it, and maybe you can, too.”2

It’s Not as Bad as We Think

The small-town church in which I grew up would be considered medium-small by today’s standards.3 I remember my dad serving as head usher, and he would comment that it was a bad Sunday if there weren’t 350 people at the worship service, with more than 500 packing the pews and sitting on folding chairs set up the aisles and in the narthex on Christmas Eve.

Many who grew up in the church have that kind of nostalgic view, and it can taint our current perception of how many people our churches are reaching. As a pastor, it can be disheartening to gaze out over rows of empty pews, to find the congregation huddled in the back quarter of a sanctuary built to hold four times as many. As a church member, it’s tempting to remember the “good old days” when Sunday School classrooms were bursting at the seams and arriving late to church meant you might need an usher to help you find a seat.

But in fact, in much of rural America, our population has decreased at a far greater rate than attendance at our churches. For example, Thayer County, Nebraska, where my current congregation is located, had a population of 14,775 in 1910.4 In 2020, the population had shrunk to 5,034.5

But in fact, in much of rural America, our population has decreased at a far greater rate than attendance at our churches.

The nearest comparative figures I could find show that the congregation had 650 baptized members in 1909, which was 4% of the county’s total population. In 2020, the church had 409 baptized members, which was 8% of the county’s population. So, while there may be fewer people in the pews, we are actually reaching a greater proportion of the population.

Growth in Numbers Isn’t the Goal

American churches sometimes place too much focus on size. Pastors, meeting each other for the first time, describe their churches by saying things like, “We worship about 150 each Sunday,” or “we have 400 members.” And, let’s be honest, we tend to round those numbers up!

The church growth movement has been much touted in recent decades. Mega-churches are lifted up as success stories in their various denominations. Church conferences and denominational gatherings usually feature speakers from large, suburban congregations, who often share programming and mission ideas that are impossible for smaller churches to emulate. Rather than feeling encouraged and strengthened for their calling, pastors of small churches can come home feeling inadequate and overwhelmed.

It’s true that looking at a row of declining numbers in a succession of annual reports can be discouraging, even if those numbers are due to population factors that are out of our control. But numbers don’t tell the full story, and shouldn’t be the primary way we describe, or think of, our congregations. Karl Vaters, author of The Grasshopper Myth and De-Sizing the Church, writes,

Certainly, over the last 2,000 years the church has seen massive numerical increase. In many places today, there are levels of church growth that are astonishing. But historically, every genuine move of God that produced numerical increase was the result of churches trying to honor God by going deeper, not because they were trying to get bigger. “Conversely, we all know of far too many examples of pastors and churches whose obsession with growing larger has caused them to compromise on the very principles the church should be standing for. In short, trying to grow doesn’t bring lasting growth. Making disciples does.”6

The end goal of discipleship is to get people to act like Jesus did, not to fill the pews or the bank account.

Our focus should be going deeper, not bigger. In other words, are the members of the congregation, however many there are, reading and studying the Bible? Is prayer at the center of congregational and home life? Are people sharing what Jesus is doing in their lives with their unchurched neighbors, friends, and co-workers? Are members reaching out generously to those in need?

We need to always remember that we are called to make disciples, not members. The end goal of discipleship is to get people to act like Jesus did, not to fill the pews or the bank account.

The Church Is Not a Building

Along with focusing too much on numbers, there are a couple of other pitfalls that small churches must be aware of, in order to avoid them.

Many congregations are rightly proud of their history, the stories of immigrant forebearers who built these lovely buildings with great sacrifice, who overcame hardships to leave a legacy of faith for their descendants. We care for these historic buildings and cemetery grounds faithfully, as we should.

But we need to be careful not to let our proud history and our buildings and cemeteries become an idol. Our finances, our church council meetings, our focus, should not be primarily on maintaining our structures, but on our mission in the community and the world.

In the words of the old children’s song,

“The church is not a building, the church is not a steeple, the church is not a resting place, the church is a people.”7

Our buildings are a means to serve the gospel, not an end in themselves. We should always be asking ourselves how we can best use this resource to serve our neighbors and reach out to our community. Would one of the Sunday school rooms be a good place for the local AA group to meet? Should our basement be designated as the community tornado shelter? Would our unused parsonage make an excellent preschool? Could the lot next to the church be used for a community garden?

And, if the maintenance of our building is too great a burden, do we need to downsize so that our resources can be used for outreach and mission, rather than utilities and property insurance? It may be that a congregation, freed from maintaining a too-large building, will find new life in a smaller, simpler meeting place. Some congregations have also worked out sharing arrangements with other congregations or been able to use their building to host a congregation worshipping in another language. There are exciting possibilities, if we remain open to the leading of the Holy Spirit and look at our situation with fresh eyes.

Don’t Try to Be What You’re Not

Another trap that we can fall into is trying to do things the way the big churches do them. We might overburden our volunteers by offering too many programs and events, or be disappointed when we can’t assemble the talent for a worship band. We might try to continue offering the same children’s programs we did forty years ago when we had three times as many helpers available.

A congregation of fifty people might be better served by one or two people leading songs at a microphone, accompanied by someone on keyboard or guitar. A church with eighty members might not be able to pull off an Easter extravaganza with live animals and a full choir, but they can certainly offer an inspiring sunrise service at the cemetery or someone’s creekside property. A small church might choose to offer a one-day Bible camp at the local park rather than a weeklong, full day vacation Bible school.

As we’ll see in the remainder of this article, smaller isn’t lesser, it’s just different. Rural and small churches have unique strengths that can be used to effectively do the work of God’s kingdom.

Interconnectedness Comes Naturally

Small and rural churches have a huge advantage that is a direct result of being small and/or rural—we are naturally relationship based.

Small and rural churches have a huge advantage that is a direct result of being small and/or rural—we are naturally relationship-based. Members of the congregation don’t just see each other on Sunday mornings, they cheer together at the high school football game, bump into each other in the aisles of the grocery store, and serve together on the village board or in the Lion’s Club. People know one another, and because of this interconnectedness, are able to reach out quickly when someone is hurting or needs help. It’s harder for people to fall through the cracks in small communities and churches.

In the same way, visitors and new members can be easily welcomed. The pastor can truly know each and every member, and is able to become a part of their lives. Inter-generational activities happen more naturally in small churches, where everyone worships together and attends church events and Bible studies that aren’t segregated by age or gender. People see one another in multiple roles. Teens might see their pastor refereeing their basketball game or serving as their 4-H leader. The nurse who gives your kids their flu shots might also be their Sunday School teacher and the chair of the library board. Your bank loan officer could also be the person teaching confirmation class and the one flipping burgers at the community picnic.

Because of all of the connections already in place, small rural churches are woven into their communities. They are often one of the largest buildings around and may be a community anchor in the downtown center. They host the Red Cross blood drive, offer their basements for disaster relief efforts, and hold benefit meals for those suffering a medical crisis. When a traveler is passing through and in need of help, they are easy to spot. In many places, their doors are always open to anyone who wishes for a quiet place to pray or reflect.

Scarcity Leads to Creativity

“American religious institutions are facing a crisis: they don't have enough clergy to lead congregations, particularly in rural areas.”8 This headline from a recent NPR “All Things Considered” segment is not news to leaders of small and rural congregations. But some are finding resources from within, either by raising up their own pastors or coming up with creative ways to find pastoral leadership that’s “outside the box” of a full-time, seminary-trained leader for each congregation.

Some congregations have worked out a shared pastorate with one or more nearby congregations. These can range from simply calling an existing community pastor, or they might involve a merger of multiple congregations. Some pastors have been called to a “tent-making” ministry, where they work at another profession as well as pastor a small church. Some pastors retire from ministry or another profession and then are called to a part-time ministry in a church. Some serve a congregation part-time while also working in another ministry role such as writing, teaching, chaplaincy, or consulting.

Many congregations are being served by a member of the congregation who saw the need and felt the call to explore pastoral ministry.

And many congregations are being served by a member of the congregation who saw the need and felt the call to explore pastoral ministry. Online and blended seminary programs have made it possible for these “home-grown” pastors to receive an excellent education while remaining in service in their congregations and embedded in their communities. In fact, not having a full-time pastor or staff can even be healthy for a small congregation, because it allows room for the lay people of the congregation to explore and use their gifts more fully, whether by stepping up to lead a Bible study, visiting the homebound, or planning worship services. The priesthood of all believers can be beautifully demonstrated in such an arrangement.

The author of Small, Strong Congregations, Kennon L. Callahan, says, “Small, strong congregations have reasonable pastoral resources. The art is to have almost enough in the way of pastoral resources to be helpful, but not so abundant an array of pastoral resources so as to be harmful…. Some congregations learn the syndrome of pastoral dependency. Healthy congregations want just enough of a pastor.”9

Authentic, Participatory Worship

“In countless small, strong congregations across the planet, people find the service of worship to be warm and welcoming. They have the feeling that the service includes them in open, encouraging ways. There is a sense in which there are no strangers in this service of worship. The feeling is that the service is the gathering of a warm, caring family.”10

Small churches may not have professionally trained musicians, worship bands, full choirs, massive pipe organs, or all of latest technological bells and whistles. But this very lack is an advantage in creating worship services that involve and include the community of believers.

In a congregation of fifty worshippers, four might be ushers, two communion assistants, one an acolyte, one a reader, one playing the keyboard, and one giving the children’s message. In this example, twenty percent of the people there are directly participating in leading the service.

In a small congregation, the preacher can more easily ask for responses during the sermon or encourage worshippers to spontaneously add petitions to the prayers of the people. Sharing the peace can mean that everyone has a chance to greet everyone else. Young people can accompany a hymn on the instrument they’re learning to master or bring forward a noisy offering.11 The goal is to use everyone’s gifts to the glory of God, not to strive for perfection.

Teresa J. Stewart explains that large and small congregations have different aesthetics. Large congregations have a performance aesthetic, which requires teams of experts, high production values, and predictable scripts. “The result is a kind of performative excellence. It works beautifully for big groups. But it comes at a cost: it risks turning worshipers into passive observers!”12

Small churches, on the other hand, have a participation aesthetic, which avoids the need for extensive resources. It allows for the active participation of the congregation and “offers a different kind of excellence: a collaborative creation from the actual contributions of ordinary folks…. When we participate, we are less likely to evaluate execution and more likely to experience belonging.”

Sharing the peace can mean that everyone has a chance to greet everyone else.

One in the Spirit

Ultimately, of course, every congregation, large or small, urban, suburban, or rural, is part of God’s Church, the whole Christian Church on earth. Small and rural churches are a unique, beautiful, and necessary part of that tapestry, ordained by our Savior to go and make disciples of all nations. My prayer is that the Holy Spirit strengthen and encourage all of us, no matter the size of our church, to “let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:16 (ESV)12

Rev. Leah Fintel Krotz is pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMC, in Bruning, Nebraska. She received her undergrad degree from the University of Nebraska and her M.Div. from St. Paul Lutheran Seminary. She and her husband, Rick are the fifth generation to live on their family farm and love spending time with their children and grandchildren. She also serves as an ambassador for Hope 4 Kids International.

Endnotes:

1Teresa J. Stewart, The Small Church Advantage: Seven Powerful Worship Practices That Work Best in Small Settings (Knoxville, TN: Market Square Books, 2023), 14.

2Ibid., 17.

3Sam Rainer, “The New Mid-Size Church Advantages,” Church Answers, September 9, 2024. https://churchanswers.com/blog/the-new-mid-size-church-advantages/.

4David Drozd and Jerry Deichert, “Nebraska Historical Populations Quick Reference Tables,” Nebraska Historical Populations Quick Reference Table, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.unomaha.edu/college-of-public-affairs-and-community-service/center-for-publicaffairs-research/documents/nebraska-historical-population-report-2018.pdf.

5U.S. Census Bureau Quickfacts: United States, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/US/PST045224.

6Karl Vaters, “Shouldn’t Every Church Try to Grow? (The Quick Answer Is ‘No’),” KarlVaters.com, January 27, 2025, https://karlvaters.com/try-to-grow/.

7Donald S. Marsh and Richard K. Avery, “We Are the Church,” Hope Publishing Company, accessed February 27, 2025, https://www.hopepublishing.com/find-hymns-hw/hw4145.aspx.

8Nina Keck, “Churches in America Are Having a Hard Time Finding Pastors,” NPR, November 25, 2024, https://www.npr.org/2024/11/25/nx-s1-5193755/churches-in-america-are-having-a-hardtime-finding-pastors.

9Kennon L. Callahan, Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for Your Congregation (Jossey-Bass, 2000), 146.

10Ibid.,158.

11A noisy offering is when the congregation's children collect loose change (or quiet bills) in tin buckets, trying to make as much noise as possible! They then pour their offerings into a big bucket held by the pastor and we pray over the offering. We have a noisy offering once a month for a special project. Right now, we're raising money for Water 4 Kids International. Our children love doing this!

12Stewart, 28.

13The Holy Bible, English Standard Version (ESV) (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016).