By Dwight Duhon
Next Sunday morning the sun will rise; the smell of coffee, toast and bacon will fill the kitchens of many. And some 56 million Americans will get ready to attend one of 300,000 churches dotting the landscape of this nation.
Of those, less than 7 percent will attend Protestant and other Christian churches with 500 or more members, while 59 percent will attend those churches with less than 100 members.
Many of these smaller churches are located in rural areas, and in several of those small towns the church is the last institution left. Thanks to the new highway running through town, it’s easier to run to “the city” to buy groceries, have medications filled or conduct general business.
As a result, grocery stores close down, gas stations shut their doors and you certainly won’t find any coffee shops. Go to any small rural town and the only place you find 12 cars parked in the same location is the town church on Sunday morning.
I serve as pastor in a northeast Georgia community of 300 people. Our average church attendance is less than 60. The pastors of these churches may drive miles to minister to their congregation, or they might live in the old parsonage. Either way, they often feel as if their ministry is a solo act. They are the only staff. If the bulletin or newsletter is to be done, the pastor is responsible.
The pastor may have to arrive early if the air conditioner or heat needs turning on, or the sound system needs adjusting, or even to clear the snow off the front steps. In addition, pastors of these congregations rarely have a network of peers. If they do, they are likely to be located many miles away.
Pastors of these churches often seek “greener pastures” for their ministry. As a result the church could go years without a pastor, and may even eventually, without ceremony, close its doors.
In 2009, Time magazine interviewed Daniel Walpert, pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Crookston, Minn., about this issue. I sent him an e-mail and he quickly responded.
“I would say that rural America in general is being forgotten, but certainly churches as well,” he wrote. “When I go to work at conferences and events, there is usually nothing about rural ministry. Students who are interested in this subject feel marginalized and ignored and feel pressure to give up their interest. The figures are very grim. Thousands of churches will close in the next decade.”
One factor in the closing of many of these churches is the graying of these congregations. In my church the average age is over 60. These aging congregations, especially in rural areas, lead to higher death rates and rural communities find it hard to attract younger members.
If these areas are to survive and retain their Baptist heritage (which, by the way, began in a small rural church), Baptists need to be intentional in reaching out to rural communities.
These rural communities have plenty to offer. For new pastors they can be a place of learning and loving. The members often provide a sense of family not always present in churches located in larger towns and suburbs. Many pastors will tell you the leadership skills formed in leading rural congregations helped them become better pastors when they moved to suburban churches.
The good news is that this trend can be reversed. Many of these rural congregations that are unable to pay a full-time pastor would welcome a seminary student, retired clergy or trained lay person. With the efforts of colleges, seminaries and urban and suburban congregations, we can work together to ensure that Rev. Walpert’s prediction doesn’t come true.