Rural Ministry

The authors of Rural Ministry: The Shape of the Renewal to Come name the primary issues that leaders of Protestant and Catholic churches must ponder: the graying of the rural population; the closing of schools, hospitals, and factories; the corporate buyout of farms during the farm crisis of the 1980s; and the changing face of poverty in rural areas. In addition to telling the history of the rural church, the authors offer a compelling vision of how the church must work for justice and change in and beyond rural communities. They point to the hopeful sign of cooperative parishes and collaborative ministries in rural America, ventures whose participants represent a broad spectrum of theological and denominational perspectives. In sidebars throughout the book they employ the stories of rural clergy and laity to illustrate the distinctive opportunities and obstacles to the church's ministry in rural areas. Written for pastors, lay leaders, denominational workers, and others, Rural Ministry will be essential reading for all who are concerned for the health and thriving of the rural church.