May 30, 2017
Allen T. Stanton: What can the rural church offer a declining community? Hope
Many rural communities face decline. The church has a unique ability to stand in the hard realities and still preach hope, writes a rural pastor.
March 8, 2016
Jacob Paul Breeze: Pray, believe, live — a rural congregation discovers the gift of liturgy
Everyone knows that a ‘small, country church’ isn’t interested in liturgy or making changes. But a young pastor found otherwise at Shady Grove UMC in Providence, North Carolina.
October 6, 2015
A community grows its way out of poverty
A pastor in rural North Carolina has developed a farming and beekeeping operation that improves the health of local residents while training a new generation.
October 6, 2015
Allen T. Stanton: Community engagement and the rural church
In declining rural communities, churches are some of the few viable institutions. They can use this position to help strengthen the wider community, writes the rural church fellow at the Institute for Emerging Issues.
June 16, 2015
Bristol Huffman: The frustrations and charms of serving a New England church
A surprising local gathering spot in a quaint Massachusetts town reminds a young Christian leader that community can be found in the most unlikely of places.
December 1, 2014
A small N.C. church reaches out in big ways
At Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Haw River, NC, numbers don’t matter, as the small rural church becomes a model of a kind of community outreach that many larger churches can only dream of.
December 2, 2013
Blessed are the stewmakers
A North Carolina pastor explodes some of the cherished myths surrounding church-made Brunswick stew. (Fill in the blank with your regional specialty.)
May 6, 2013
Cheryl M. Lawrence: Pentecost and the biker church
A pastor finds that the Holy Spirit descends upon her — on the back of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
November 7, 2011
Power for good
Over the past three decades, Good Works in Appalachian Ohio has created a model of Christian hospitality by offering its neighbors a hand up and a chance to help others.
March 29, 2010
The gifts of the small church
Jason Byassee recalls the Sunday morning when he called a time-out during his sermon. In that moment, he discovered grace — and an unexpected lesson in leadership.