You can purchase Small Church Essentials or Karl Vaters’ other books at the links below:

Small Church Essentials

The Grasshopper Myth

De-Sizing the Church

As always if you would like to reach out the show for encouragement, or with feedback and ideas, you can connect with our host Joe Epley at joseph.g.epley@gmail.com

The post Rural Resource: Small Church Essentials by Karl Vaters appeared first on Rural Advancement.

Many pastors and church leaders find themselves in a different situation than they expected for their lives and ministry. Some rural pastors have begun expressing their personal discouragement with the events of Covid-19, politics and disappointment with the response some members have shown toward faith and church. For some, the shine has come off the joy of ministry, giving pastors thoughts of leaving ministry. What most thought would be a few weeks of social distancing and extra precautions in March of 2020 now stretches into 2021 with no conclusion in sight. No class or seminar could have fully prepared church leaders for the events of recent months. Uncertainty that most thought would pass quickly and move back to normal now has become a new normal.

How do Christ followers navigate the dark paths of the unknown? What should guide and temper our response to the things we do not understand, do not like, and in the natural realm, cannot change? What can we use to provide a compass to find our way through the maze of months and even years of uncertainty? Those who follow Christ have some things that remain constant even in tumultuous seasons. Believers and leaders live under the lordship of Christ and the authority of scripture and in that understanding, find anchors to remain steadfast providing beacons for our paths.

God is good and He remains in control. Nothing in the season of uncertainty altars the goodness of God. We agree with Joseph when he said to his brothers, “God meant it for good” (Gen. 50:20). God’s goodness does not change during a pandemic or other areas of social, relational, or physical challenge. God works good in a fallen and broken world and He continues to work good even now. “Oh, give thanks to the Lord for He is good, and His mercy endures forever” (Psa. 136:1). Pandemics and political challenge do not alter the nature and goodness of God.

We must continue to fulfill the mission of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Nothing in the past year changes the call for believers to continue the mission God called them to fulfill. The church of Jesus Christ has always thrived through difficulty and it will continue in this season. The light of the gospel shines brightest in dark hours and it must continue to shine through each of us. People need the message of a Savior now in this season and God’s call to point them to His Son, who is the only one who can save, continues as our premium priority (John. 3:16).

The Lordship of Christ should never resurface as a question for a believer because surrender at salvation settled that fact. We must address the question of how to live out His lordship in present circumstances. A certainty remains, believers must continue to live out His love for each other and love for our world. We must be known by our love for one another as John the Beloved noted, “He who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8). Scripture does not require us to agree with our brother; however, we must love them and love our neighbors who may be far from God (Matt. 12:31). Those who live under the lordship of Christ continue to live and walk, in love.

The revealed word of God serves as “a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path” (Ps 119:105). Scriptures teach us how to respond in challenging seasons. The Bible gives clear instruction, although living out that instruction serves as a challenge. The New Testament continually reminds believers to live out life’s journey ‘in Christ.’ Current circumstances call for a biblical response in the daily lives as the people of God

This can only be achieved through the power of the Holy Spirit. We must all pray, “Lord help me to walk and live through the empowering work of the Holy Spirit.” He points people to the Savior, Jesus Christ and helps us to bear the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, meekness, self-control, and faithfulness. The Holy Spirit serves as the helper who enables believers to live out vibrant faith in a hostile and broken world.

Finally, prayer helps us in our meditation, conversation, and action, engaging the only one who has the ultimate power. Prayer in the Spirit becomes a lifeline for believers to remain encouraged and strengthened (Jude 20). Paul encourages believers in uncertain circumstances to pray in the Spirit (Rom. 8:26-27; Eph. 6:18-20). Praying in the Spirit provides an active way to address a world where we do not even know how to pray and refocuses our attention on the Omniscient One, who knows the future, provides comfort, and gives direction for individuals and the church. Congregational and individual prayer provides strength as renewed joy, peace, and faith arise in the face of uncertainty.

Where do go in the seasons of uncertainty? We find our way forward by following the ancient paths. We find peace and direction with the security of following the ancient words in scripture and the knowledge that the scripture repeats multiple times, “I will never leave you or forsake you” (Heb. 13:5-6, Deut. 31:6-8, I Chron. 28:20, Is 41:10-13, Ps 55:22, Matt. 28:20).  People of faith from Genesis to the current hour have leaned into the life of faith. We pray your faith will increase and the challenges of today will strengthen you and your ministry. Take courage, do not quit, God is for you and you will make it through this season!

Questions for Reflection

1. How can I encourage myself in the LORD?
2. Who should I contact to encourage them?
3. How should I pray in this season?

The post Navigating the Unknown: From the Directors appeared first on Rural Advancement.

If you were to ask me what these rural multisites have in common, I could list two distinct things I know about them. The first is that these towns and community centers can be found geographically in western South Dakota. The second is that each of them is the site of a rural church or community center, planted and parented by Bethel Church located in Rapid City, SD. These churches have popped up during the ministry tenure of Gerad Strong, who pastored Bethel Church from 2012-2020.

As I sat down with Pastor Gerad for a phone interview, it quickly became apparent that he had created healthy and growing churches in rural contexts. As much as this result caught my attention, I was captivated more so by the principles that produced this success. While not every church can succeed at producing feasible multisites, they all can generate healthy culture and impact their community. Once this became clear, we shifted our discussion to these principles, namely the celebration of change, the shift from a scarcity mindset to an outreach mindset, and the raising of leaders from within the local church.

1) The Celebration of Change.

Change can often seem like a curse word in churches. From Pastor Gerad’s point of view, change is a comprehensive retooling of what one believes about church and how one acts on that belief. During his tenure as pastor, he tackled challenge after challenge. He worked tirelessly to involve more lay people in ministry, to free up his time as a pastor to follow God’s vision, and to properly balance church boards and internal church concerns with community outreach. In some respects, many of these challenges are felt in rural churches across America, especially by the pastors who serve in them.

The question becomes simple: “What do you celebrate?” Pastor Gerad insisted that in order to change the DNA of the church, different things have to be celebrated. Instead of celebrating goals that only existing believers would cherish, he instead decided to celebrate the pivotal moments where unbelievers entered the church. Whether it was a community outreach or a new salvation or water baptism, Gerad became convinced that churches reproduce what they celebrate.

Sometimes growth is as simple as a fresh perspective. For a portion of his time at Bethel, Gerad also joined the sheriff’s department. This experience in the community led to a humbling moment of clarity. One of the heaviest thoughts that came to him was whether or not his community would notice if their church suddenly disappeared. If the answer was no, it meant the church was not doing enough to show true love to those around them. The second thing he realized was that Christians who have attended church for a long time (as well as the pastors that lead them), often spend time arguing about things that do not truly matter. While it may seem important to speak of the internal affairs of the church, it is, in Gerad’s opinion, much more important to look out toward the unbeliever and see what can be done to reach them.

2) The Shift from a Scarcity Mindset to an Outreach Mindset.

Gerad grew passionate as he discussed the need for a drastic shift in mindset within rural churches, pastors, and people. Many rural communities have, at one time or another, been affected by a deeply rooted sense of lack. Accompanying this is an impending sense that resources must be looked after or even hoarded because eventually they will not be there anymore. Gerad gave a solid rebuke to this mindset, instead calling for a reckless generosity on the part of churches, or at the very least a willingness to invest in outreach even if it does not yield immediate financial returns.

As pastors, this can be incredibly challenging to hear, and even harder to lead others into. However, once a shift in mentality takes place, a church begins to invest resources into the people of the community. From Gerad’s perspective, these churches experience God’s blessing and frequently see their community begin to open up to the Gospel.

3) The Raising Up of Leaders Within the Church.

Gerad spoke of developing leaders and it became apparent that he was both experienced in this area and an excited spectator who simply enjoyed watching people answer God’s call. Pastor Gerad truly listened to God’s heart for calling people, and in doing so found within himself a burden to disciple them well and prepare them for ministry. He began to ask himself and his church how they were fostering and cultivating the call of God in their local congregations. This culture eventually produced churches that are spreading the Gospel over an entire region of South Dakota. Even more surprisingly, or perhaps not surprisingly at all, this culture eventually gave rise to Gerad’s own replacement as lead pastor.

Keith Culver, who recently took over as lead pastor, represents the comprehensive journey of leadership development provided by Bethel Church. While sitting under the leadership of Bethel Church, Keith became aware of the call of God on his life. He then proceeded to share this call with Pastor Gerad, expressing desire for more training. During this time, he became the main campus pastor for the growing church and was in that role for seven years before expressing a desire to be a lead pastor. Gerad worked with him, giving him more and more opportunity and insight into leadership within the church, intending to send him out as a lead pastor. However, when Gerad received the call of God to minister elsewhere, it became clear to him, and eventually Keith, that God had been preparing him to take over as lead pastor at Bethel Church.

Keith’s story is inspiring because it holds lessons for us as rural pastors. We must be concerned enough about the call to ministry that we invite people to hear God’s call through our regular church meetings. We must weave the call of God into how we preach and teach. The challenge for us as ministers is to allow space for the Holy Spirit to call people directly into God’s service. Keith’s story teaches us the importance of leadership development. The call of God in a lay person must be matched with our intentionality to fan that call into flame and equip them to succeed. Finally, we must be willing to send people out if need be, knowing that God will take care of our own church even as we send people out.

Some rural pastors could not feasibly do multisite church, especially if the next closest “community” is nothing more than a herd of cows grazing over the next hill. However, every rural pastor can learn to embrace change, shift from a scarcity mindset, and develop leaders locally. It is precisely this fact—that this goal is entirely within the grasp of the rural church—that has caused Pastor Gerad Strong to so persistently practice these principles in his context. The combination of change, abundance mindset, and leadership development allowed a partnership that launched rural ministries in the western South Dakota communities of Edgemont, Sturgis, Summerset, Wall, and Cornerstone Rescue Mission. God is looking to instill in us the same persistence and intentionality, as we do our best to faithfully serve Him. As we practice these principles, God will continue bringing people to Himself through the rural church.

Questions for Reflection:

• What are some roadblocks in your church to meaningful change?
• What is a good first step you can practically take to overcome these roadblocks?
• What is one thing your church could better celebrate in order to reach the lost?
• How much does your church invest in outreach financially? Are there ways to increase or better utilize these available funds?
• What are you doing on a regular “Sunday Morning Service” to cultivate the call of God in believer’s lives?

The post Rural Multisite in South Dakota: A Celebration of Change appeared first on Rural Advancement.