Aware that pastors and church members need a new vision for evangelism in small towns and rural areas, Ruffcorn presents lively suggestions and new understandings gleaned from his workshops on rural evangelism and his own experience. He emphasizes the need for congregations to dwell on both the inward and outward aspects of nurturing their own members and reaching out to neighbors.
"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
Finding common ground and earning the right to be heard is the secret to lifestyle evangelism. In this classic bestseller, now released as a mass-market paperback, Dr. Joe Aldrich shows us how we can build genuine, caring relationships with nonbelievers that will open their hearts to the gospel message. The author's approach is biblical, practical, and natural. Lifestyle Evangelism is the definitive work in introducing people to the Savior in a way that displays God's authentic love for the lost.
As rural America continues to undergo massive economic and demographic shifts, rural churches are uniquely positioned to provide community leadership. Leading a rural congregation requires a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities facing these communities, as well as a strong theological and community-focused identity. Allen T. Stanton describes how in establishing this identity, rural leaders build a meaningful and vital ministry. Reclaiming Rural explores the myths and realities of rural places, and how those common narratives impact the leadership of rural churches. Ultimately, rural congregations must practice a contextual understanding of vitality, which understands both the strengths and challenges of leading in a rural setting. Arguing for a practice of evangelism imbued with this mission of vitality, Reclaiming Rural promotes the church as a leader in economic and community development, modeled upon a Wesleyan theology of grace. Acknowledging the many challenges facing rural churches, this book is an energetic and encouraging guide to overcoming social and economic obstacles to build a thriving congregation.
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.
Using a mix of theological reflection, sociological analysis, case studies and personal experience, this book explores ways forward for mission in a rural context in both traditional and fresh expressions of church. It offers insights into issues facing rural England and explores the nature of mission with reference to the rural situation.
Explores some of the issues facing the church, especially in rural areas, and some theological strands in the New Testament that underpin the way we go about mission. This book tells the stories of a range of mission initiatives actually taking place in rural areas and identifies good practice. It identifies opportunities for growth for churches.
Excerpt from Rural Evangelism It is encouraging, therefore, to see coming from the press a book on Rural Evangelism such as Dr. James Elvin Wagner has here written. Its simple, straightforward presenta tion of practical methods of leading a church to active participation in the task of winning others to the fellowship with Jesus Christ and service for him is so absolutely free from any academic flavor that it will be a positive force in the ministry of every pastor of a rural com munity who is fortunate enough to come in contact with its message. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.
One of the most difficult tasks confronting the small church is that of evangelism. Of all the various ministries of the church, it is this portion of the ministry that seems to be the most difficult and unproductive. Week long evangelistic services that once attracted many people within the community now attract only the faithful few. Home Bible Studies, which are effective in the larger communities, find only moderate success in the smaller communities. Door to door evangelism, popularized by Evangelism Explosion, not only is unappealing to the congregation, but seems an exercise in futility by those who do attempt to institute the program.
