Recognizing Rural Ministry
Recognizing Rural Ministry

Author: Carl P. Greene

Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers

Published: 2022-09-27

Total Pages: 175

ISBN-13: 1666749257

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Rural ministry can be a frustrating endeavor. Traditional metrics of success are misleading and anecdotal, one-size-fits-all approaches which often fall flat in the field. In Recognizing Rural Ministry, Carl Greene uses his research to suggest tools to customize your ministry to your community and effectively engage often-overlooked mission fields. These tools come from data-driven academic research presented through the lens of the author's lived experience as a dairy farmer, rural pastor, hospice chaplain, rural layperson, rural policy advocate, and administrator of a network of churches. The book is intended for rural ministry practitioners who want to use current scholarship to better examine the complexity and diversity of rural contexts. The book engages with the rural ministry impact of cultural phenomena such as the rise of the "Spiritual but Not Religious" (SBNR) phenomenon and "early old age" (EOA) demographics. The text also addresses key theories surrounding rural subcultures, demographic tools available to describe rural communities, and the shaping influence of rural community rituals on religiosity. Intended for pastors, seminarians, college students, and rural laypersons who are passionate about adding to their toolbox of rural ministry assessment.

The Forgotten Church
The Forgotten Church

Author: Glenn Daman

Publisher: Moody Publishers

Published: 2018-05-01

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 0802496458

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Winner of Christianity Today's Award of Merit for The Church/Pastoral Leadership 2018 Whether it’s because of the 2016 Presidential election or books like “Hillbilly Elegy,” Americans are beginning to understand the tremendous influence people in rural areas have in our nation. But rural America—not urban America—is also the new center of poverty. Thus, the rural church stands at the crossroads of strength and struggle. It carries the gospel, the very hope and power needed. Yet its ministry efforts are hamstrung because urban and suburban churches often don’t realize their need for rural churches, and the rural church itself rarely understands its unique assets and values. The Forgotten Church addresses these problems and: provides an overview of rural ministry explores opportunities recent trends provide showcases the remarkable benefits of suburban, urban, and rural churches working together This book is essential for any pastor—whether from the city or the sticks—because we are one body and we need each other.

Recognizing Green Skills Through Non-formal Learning
Recognizing Green Skills Through Non-formal Learning

Author: Margarita Pavlova

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2022-08-09

Total Pages: 287

ISBN-13: 9811920729

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This open access book looks into the roles and practices of small and micro-enterprises in formal and informal economies across seven countries and one territory in terms of how they contribute to environmental and sustainable development and green skills promotion. By taking into account the perspectives in these four sectors, catering, automotive, waste management and polyvinyl chloride production, this book maps environmental green practices in the region, identifying mechanisms used to assess existing skills (i.e. knowledge, skills and competencies), and evaluating the potential for green skills inclusion in recognition, validation and accreditation.

Handbook of Research on Urban-Rural Synergy Development Through Housing, Landscape, and Tourism
Handbook of Research on Urban-Rural Synergy Development Through Housing, Landscape, and Tourism

Author: Krsti?-Furundži?, Aleksandra

Publisher: IGI Global

Published: 2019-11-29

Total Pages: 437

ISBN-13: 1522599347

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As cities continue to grow with advancing technologies, the spatial and temporal gaps between rural and urban areas are shrinking, thereby requiring the sectors to interact with each other. While the prospect is to develop each area without hampering the newfound synergy between them, there are still many barriers and concerns that hinder this inevitable urban-rural relationship. The Handbook of Research on Urban-Rural Synergy Development Through Housing, Landscape, and Tourism is a pivotal reference source that focuses on the applications and challenges of creating cooperation between urban and rural areas along various fields. While highlighting topics including suburbanization, weekend-residence zones, and homeostasis, this publication is ideally designed for architects, sector managers, region developers, urban planners, urban developers, construction managers, urban studies professionals, academicians, researchers, and students seeking current research on lessening the urban-rural gap in both global and local contexts.

God's Country
God's Country

Author: Bradley Roth

Publisher: MennoMedia, Inc.

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 202

ISBN-13: 1513802402

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With the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Reclaiming God’s vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God’s Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God’s presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God’s glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem. Winner of the Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, The Church / Pastoral Leadership category. Free downloadable study guide available here.

Transforming Church in Rural America
Transforming Church in Rural America

Author: Shannon O'Dell

Publisher: New Leaf Publishing Group

Published: 2010-04-01

Total Pages: 210

ISBN-13: 1614582130

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"No matter what size church you are a part of, this book will challenge your traditional thinking, force you to look beyond the status quo, and enable you to grasp a bigger vision of what God has in store for your ministry and your leadership." -Ed Young, Fellowship Church "Shannon O'Dell's passion for the rural church in America is contagious" -Craig Groeschel, LifeChurch.tv Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals: how to generate growth through transformed lives ways to create active evangelism in your community no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers Focusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be. MORE INFO

Perspectives on Family Ministry
Perspectives on Family Ministry

Author: Timothy Paul Jones

Publisher: B&H Publishing Group

Published: 2019-11-15

Total Pages: 261

ISBN-13: 1535932805

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Every church is called to some form of family ministry, but this calling requires far more than adding another program to an already-packed schedule. The most effective family ministries refocus every church process to engage parents in discipling their children and to draw family members together instead of pulling them apart. In this second edition, Jones expands the definition of family ministry, and broadens the book's focus to address urban perspectives and family ministry in diverse settings.

Ministry in the Countryside: Revised Expanded Edition
Ministry in the Countryside: Revised Expanded Edition

Author: Andrew Bowden

Publisher: A&C Black

Published: 2003-05-15

Total Pages: 298

ISBN-13: 0826467652

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Some years ago, 'Faith in the Countryside', the report of the Archbishop's Commission on Rural Areas (Acora) was launched at Lambeth Palace. It was widely accepted as a good document, and a worthy companion to 'Faith in the City'. But while it seemed to put the rural Church on the agenda, it failed to come up with acceptable ministerial solutions. Andrew Bowden's book offers a model for future rural ministry which is practical, positive and a much needed follow-up to the Commission's report. He recognises that although rural dioceses have taken new initiatives, rural clergy and congregations need an overall vision and a practical strategy. This excellent handbook is as significant as the report itself for the future of rural ministry. It is now reissued with an expanded text to take recent developments fully into account.