The Rural Think Tank
…It's Different Out Here.
Small church partnerships in rural communities help congregations share wisdom, strengthen witness, and serve local families without acting like isolated ministries.
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Support Youth Workers in Rural Churches: Practical Ways Congregations Can Help. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Support Youth Workers in Rural Churches: Practical Ways Congregations Can Help. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The Long Decline Nobody Names in Rural Churches. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The Long Decline Nobody Names in Rural Churches. There is a decline that nobody preaches about in rural churches. It is not a scandal and …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Teaching Kids to Pray in a Church With No Children’s Program. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Teaching Kids to Pray in a Church With No Children’s Program. A rural church with three children and no children’s director faces …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Rural Churches and the Opioid Settlement Money. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Rural Churches and the Opioid Settlement Money. Settlement money from the opioid manufacturers and distributors is arriving in county budgets across rural America. The amounts are …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The Church Parking Lot as a Third Place. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The Church Parking Lot as a Third Place. Most churches worry about what happens inside the building and ignore what happens in the space around …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Small Church, Big Grief: Funerals in a Town Everyone Knows. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Small Church, Big Grief: Funerals in a Town Everyone Knows. In a rural church, the funeral is not an event the church puts …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: When the Hospital Closes: A Rural Church Stays. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: When the Hospital Closes: A Rural Church Stays. The announcement comes in a town hall or a Facebook post: the hospital is closing. In a …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The County Fair Is a Mission Field Most Churches Drive Past. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: The County Fair Is a Mission Field Most Churches Drive Past. For one week every summer the county fair gathers nearly everyone …
This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Rural Ministry Metrics: What Churches Should Measure Instead of Guessing. This article provides a clear and direct answer to the question: Rural Ministry Metrics: What Churches Should Measure Instead of Guessing. Many rural churches do not love the language of metrics. It can sound …