Can rural churches and ministers play a significant role in the growth of Christianity in America? If history is an indicator, the answer is a resounding yes.

The most significant economic turmoil in modern history was the Great Depression (1929-1939), which devastated many segments of American Christianity. Historian Mark Noll observed that mainline Protestants faced economic uncertainties and theological uncertainties as liberal theology had begun to replace historic Christian beliefs. Many mainline congregations, schools, and ministries closed or drastically cut back. Institutions funded by endowments that disappeared with the Wall Street crash were running off fumes of the past.

However, a noticeable exception to the decline of religious institutions in the 1930s, evangelical and Pentecostal churches made significant gains. According to Noll, these “sectarian” churches “knew better how to redeem the times.”[1]

Religious censuses conducted by the United States Government in 1926 and 1936 revealed that the number of Assemblies of God (AG) churches almost quadrupled, and membership tripled during that ten-year period.[2] Significantly, much of that growth occurred in rural America.

An analysis of these statistics reveal some helpful insights about rural ministry. The government defined an “urban” area as a city or other incorporated area with a population of at least 2,500 people. Rural areas were defined as those areas not classified as urban.

1. Rural church membership grew significantly despite a mass migration away from rural areas. Total rural church membership grew at a higher rate (360%) than urban church membership (280%) from 1926 to 1936. When other social institutions struggled, rural churches helped provide stability and spiritual solutions in communities during social upheaval. Tough times can provide great ministry opportunities.
2. Pentecostals left rural areas in the Midwest and South, migrating to the West and North, and started congregations in almost every major city. In the providence of God, the painful social dislocation of the 1930s helped bring about the rapid spread of Pentecostalism. Like pollen scattered by a strong wind, Pentecostal refugees from rural areas planted churches wherever they happened to land.
3. Rural churches tended to be smaller than urban churches. In 1926, rural churches averaged 45 members, and urban churches
   averaged 100 members. This is not surprising, as fewer people live in rural areas.
4. The growth of God’s Kingdom does not necessarily mean that individual churches get larger. The number of AG members and churches grew at an astounding rate (tripling and almost quadrupling) from 1926 to 1936. However, the average size of churches shrank slightly; rural churches declined from 45 to 36 members, and urban churches declined from 100 to 86 during that ten-year period. Aggressive church planting and evangelism helped expand the Church, but this does not always translate into bigger numbers for the local church, as people leave existing churches to start new ones. It remains essential to be “Kingdom-minded,” prioritizing the Church and not solely on the local congregation.
5. Bible colleges helped lay the foundation for the expansion of the AG. Of today’s seven largest Assemblies of God colleges and universities, four started during the Great Depression: North Central University (1930), Northwest University (1934), Southeastern
   University (1935), and Valley Forge Christian College (1939). Students from these schools dispersed; some held high-profile evangelistic campaigns, but most started small. Countless rural outstations and Vacation Bible Schools took root and developed into churches.
6. Women ministers contributed to a significant portion of the growth in the 1930s. In North Dakota, women pioneered 29% of all AG
   churches and outstations through 1940.[3] Established congregations generally sought male pastors, leaving women with less desirable ministry opportunities. Many early young women ministers traveled in pairs. Typically, one preached, and the other led singing. The prospect of seeing female clerics often attracted crowds of curious onlookers in new Pentecostal fields. Women ministers proved their mettle by venturing into tough fields and achieved solid results.

Faced with the social chaos and financial uncertainty of the Great Depression, it would have been understandable if AG leaders had not invested in church planting, missions, and education. However, the difficult times reminded believers of the ripe harvest fields and Christ’s imminent second coming. AG pastors and members viewed the economic crisis as an opportunity to engage in ardent prayer and great personal sacrifice to advance the Kingdom of God.

These strong attitudes among rural pastors and members helped to lead the growth of the AG during the nation’s greatest economic upheaval.

[1] Mark A. Noll, A History of Christianity in the United States and Canada (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1992), 432.

[2] Bureau of the Census, Religious Bodies: 1926, Summary and Detailed Tables, vol. 2 (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing
Office, 1930), 60; Bureau of the Census, Religious Bodies: 1936, Summary and Detailed Tables, vol. 2 (Washington, DC: United States Government Printing Office, 1941), 63.

[3] Darrin J. Rodgers, Northern Harvest: Pentecostalism in North Dakota (Bismarck, ND: North Dakota District Council of the AG, 2003), 42.

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Foster Beckstrand grew up in a pastor’s home where he learned about small-town ministry and pastoring the church and community. Foster’s siblings all became actively involved in church; three of the six children currently serve in pastoral ministry. Their family provided a model for developing young people for ministry.

Foster and Kelly pastor a small congregation in Dazey, North Dakota, a town of 78 people. Multiplying leaders for ministry has been a vital part of Foster and Kelly’s lives. Three youth in the church have entered into pastoral ministry during the 25 years they have served in Dazey. Beckstrand believes pastors serve a crucial role in encouraging young people to consider God’s call and follow the Lord into pastoral ministry.

When students become involved in church and ministry, they have opportunities for God to call them into a place of service. The Beckstrands have mentored students in their church, and Kelly trained and launched them to assist in children’s church. They also introduced students to serving by having them teach children in Sunday School and other leadership roles.

They encourage involvement in the church’s life, which helps young people observe and experience ministry. Parental involvement and excitement about ministry created a ripple effect for students.

The Fine Arts teen talent program in the Assemblies of God provides an opportunity for students to use their gifts and explore ministry through experience. As a Fine Arts coach, Kelly assists students in preparation for the program by using their talent in the church services. The Beckstrands also schedule ministry in area churches, using the presentations of students who advanced to the national competition, providing ministry opportunities and a time for students to sense God’s call.

Two childless couples from the church have invested in the students’ lives. The blessing of being a small church allowed couples to invest in students and influence them for ministry. Foster Beckstrand observed, “A small church can provide encouragement and a culture of a commitment to serve Christ.” Small beginnings can have significant impact.

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In the fall of 2021, while serving on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association’s Youth Pastor Leadership Team to facilitate an evangelistic outreach, I worked with leaders from many denominations, including Laura from The Cathedral in Rapid City, SD.

We quickly became friends, and that spring. I attended several Masses and a Good Friday service with her. At a service, Father Brian emphasized evangelism and missional living; he concluded with a prayer for God to call ministers from their congregation.

The church weekly prayed a prayer of vocation, written by the diocese’s bishop, beseeching God to increase those going into ministry, which other regional churches also prayed every Mass.

A section states, “Look upon us with favor and choose from our homes those who are needed for your work. Send your Spirit to strengthen us and give us open hearts and minds ready to say ’Yes’ when You call.”

In the prayer, the parishioners asked God to choose ministers from their homes, that they would be willing, and that the church families would encourage people to follow God’s call.

Each time I went to Mass with Laura and heard the congregants pray in unison, it impressed me that they followed what Jesus told all the Church to do.

He instructed His disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into His fields” (Luke 10:2 NLT). The ESV further emphasizes to “pray earnestly.”

This command to the disciples continues today as the harvest is still great, and the harvesters are still few. The church must follow the Lord’s command to pray.

Jesus’ instruction to “pray earnestly,” as God remains the Lord of the harvest, applies today. He makes a way to preserve the harvest, which includes church participation. “The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results” (Jam. 5:16).

Prayer has great power and produces more than personal efforts alone can. God chose prayer as a vehicle to impact the harvest. Notice that He does not have the church pray for equipment or buildings but for workers. God moves through Spirit-filled laborers, and the church needs to pray for them to accomplish the harvest.

The Cathedral implemented Jesus’ command in a tangible and practical form as the church prayed together during each service. This practice accomplished several vital aspects; it taught people to follow Jesus’ command to pray for Him to call more people by regularly expressing this need. And secondly, it provided an opportunity to respond to the Spirit’s direction by setting an expectation to say “Yes” to His bidding.

As workers age, the church must continue to listen to the Lord of the harvest. Each church can follow this example by making space to pray weekly for laborers and create opportunities for earnest, Spirit-empowered prayer. Pray earnestly and prepare for God to speak.

Jesus continued in Luke, “Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.” God commissions us into the battle of harvest, won by intercession for the worker. As the church prays, the Spirit calls, saying “go,” and Jesus and His church send out (Acts 13:1-3).

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Organizations can find a crucial indicator for the future in the leaders they identify, equip, and launch today. How do we develop leaders, providing for a bright future? God puts His hand on leaders and makes them aware of His work. Leadership development begins with the identification or recognition of God’s call.

John Mott wrote more than 100 years ago, “It is inconceivable that God Himself has neglected to do His part in actually calling enough men [and women] to accomplish His will—and surely it is His will that the Church of Christ be ably led” (Mott 1908, 187-188). God calls people from every walk of life, every tribe and tongue to serve in His great mission.

He calls men and women to ministry from places no one would expect. Samuel did not immediately recognize David as the next king because he did not look for a boy caring for the sheep.

Yet, God did not choose the older brothers, “Man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart” (I Sam. 16:7).

Many would not look favorably on the people Jesus called as disciples: Matthew, a tax collector; Peter and John, fishermen; or Simon, a political zealot. Some would not have given Paul ministry opportunities because of his persecution of the church.

Pray for God’s direction to identify people for ministry. His future church leaders may attend your church. What mechanisms do you have to identify those called to pastoral ministry? Mott instructed, “There is something wrong if, in a long pastorate, a minister does not have, as a result of his life and work, young men consecrating themselves to the Christian ministry” (Mott, 142). God’s call to the work of the ministry includes the challenge of identifying and mobilizing others He is calling.

Steps to identifying people for ministry include: (1) preach often on God’s call to ministry, (2) observe those with a special anointing, (3) talk to them about ministry, and (4) challenge them to explore the possibility God has set them aside to serve the Lord and His Church.

Some will only respond to the call if they have encouragement. Dave Ferguson (2017) calls that process the ICNU conversation, I see the
grace of God in you, affirm God’s call. Then, ask them to pray about ministry; this process should become a common occurrence.

Equipping those called to ministry plays a crucial role in developing leaders. Many who sense a call from God do not know what to do next. When a pastor observes someone with a call, they can instruct and help that person experience the practical side of ministry. The learning process provides opportunities for hospital visits, outreach ministries, preaching, nursing home services, visitations thus accelerating development of these leaders.

Pastors and churches need to facilitate growth by encouraging formal education. Encourage Bible School attendance in a learning community dedicated to training for ministry. A scholarship or monthly gift could allow them to complete their education with little or no debt. Pastors should explore partnering in the cost of education so these leaders can promptly enter the ministry.

God calls in various seasons of life and from other careers, even those with family and other responsibilities. Others may study online or through district schools of ministry, requiring a commitment to provide practical experience in the local church.

The final phase launches the person into a place of ministry. Some pastors push leaders to remain in the home church, encouraging new
leaders to stay in the “spiritual house.” The greatest statement of successful ministry occurs when the church launches leaders to fulfill the Missio Dei. Successful multiplication releases leaders beyond Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, and the farthest regions of the earth (Acts 1:8).

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