If many rural young adults will eventually leave for school or work, churches must make the most of the first eighteen years while children and teenagers are still in their care.
Social media and digital communities do more than entertain. They shape belonging, comparison, and identity, which makes them a discipleship issue for churches.
Many rural families now live inside year-round sports, fair, and travel commitments that reshape the weekly rhythm churches once assumed.
Rural churches cannot assume relationships are formed only locally. Social media, gaming, and interest-based online communities now shape belonging for many young people.
Rural churches often want to reach the next generation, but that work becomes harder when leaders use outdated assumptions about schools, schedules, and belonging.
School consolidation, charter options, and homeschooling are reshaping rural community life. Here is why churches serving children and teenagers need to pay attention.
This is an unscheduled Bonus episode this week that is a little longer form than the typical episode. This is because it is packed with two topics that deeply affect rural ministry – Demographics and…
The Gone Generation What happens when a generation leaves the rural area to seek education and employment in other parts of the country? The Southern Illinoisan Newspaper did a series looking at the students that…
The Phenomenon That Is Reshaping Rural America The phrase “Rural Brain Drain” originated from a book called Hollowing Out the Middle, which looked at the effect that adults were having in their community by preparing…
