What do you do? Join the discussion below.

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There are a lot of things that we do in Rural Ministry that simply do not work. Many of fall under the following categories: Culture of the Town, Culture of the Church/Denomination, Ignorant/Too Well aware of History, It Worked Someplace Else, or I Have No Clue What Happened… (Note: Some of the following 10 may bridge several of these categories. )

10. It worked at _________(Church across Town or Church Somewhere Else) so it will work here….
Rarely happens. Sorry.

9. It’s only 10 kids, we can “wing it’, what could possibly go wrong?
5 P’s – Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance. – Learn it, live it, balance it with the moving of the Holy Spirit.

8. We have to compete with __________ (bigger church across town) and have more students
They are not your competition. If they are, chances are that you are on the wrong side… Numbers are not always an indicator we can trust in Rural Ministry. (another whole post for another day…)

7. We used to do it this way in 19__, so it will still work the same now…
There is so much that has changed in the last 12 years since I accepted the call to Youth Ministry that it really makes my head spin!

6. “No, I didn’t test that object lesson before church this morning…”
You know, the one involving the rubbermaid tub full of water and water dynamite in “Big Church”
(true story, thankfully not me…)
See also #9 

5. “No, I didn’t check the reviews on TripAdvisor.com before booking the hotel rooms” (Guilty…)
Remember, the students’ parents and your supervisors are trusting that you have the safety of the students on your trip in mind. Don’t let them down! 

4. Middle School students without concrete rules and expectations are simply apologies to parents, Sr. Pastors, or law enforcement you’ll be giving later…
Spell it out. You may have to explain it several times, and in several different ways, but it is worth it later, when things go relatively smoothly…

3. If you’re expecting to use the “latest technology available” to reach students, you’re about 2 years too early…
Twitter finally hit the town where I serve about 4 months ago….Use that “lead time” to your advantage.

2. If ministering to multiple school districts, the weekend where “nothing is going on” does not exist.
Some students are going to miss activities due to school. Some will miss because of family, boy scouts, or any number of other commitments.  Remember, it is a PRIORITY decision that the student or their family is making. You just pray they are making the right ones.

1. To modify a phrase from Tony Horton – “You did your best, so stop worrying about the rest”
Give yourself some grace. We all make mistakes. Sometimes we have no way of seeing the end result of the decisions we make. We just have to roll with it and pray God is going to work through it.

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I am thankful and privileged to know a couple that have chosen this as their “Jerusalem” from the command in Acts 1:8..

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The picture you see above is one that I took in September of 2010. I was visiting my mom and step-dad at the farmhouse  where I grew up in Illinois. We looked out across the field and saw a little smoke, not an uncommon sight, maybe someone burning some trash or brush. We went back to what we were doing. Then about 10 minutes later, we realized that it was something far bigger. Our neighbor’s barn was ON FIRE! This barn housed honey-making equipment that provided extra income for the retired couple that had lived across the field from us for longer than I had been alive. I played in that barn with his grandchildren. They bought it from my dad in the early ’60′s when my dad purchased the farm fresh out of the US Army. In 35 minutes, it was gone. Fireman and EMS crews came to do nothing more than contain the fire, treat heat and smoke inhalation for the fireman, and let it burn to the ground.

From across the field, there was nothing we could do. Several neighbors came to our house to make sure that first – it wasn’t our farmhouse, and second – do the same thing we were doing…watch helplessly.

There is an Emergency in Our Rural Towns…

Jude 1:22-23 ESV says:

And have mercy on those who doubt;  save others by snatching them out ofthe fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh.

 

Our small and rural towns are drying up. The churches there are either closing up or circling the wagons to try and maintain what they have. Mark Willard stated it very well..

The church used to be the cultural center of the community. Now the church is where the community goes to bury its dead. #revival

Our Neighbors are being consumed by the destroying fire of poverty, of distracting amusements, of materialism, or worst of all of ignorance! We have no one to blame for that ignorance but ourselves – believers who simply ignore the commands Christ gave us in Acts 1:8. We cannot simply stand by helplessly when we have the living water that will quench all that is consuming their lives (John 4:13).

We must run to the fires, tell them there is a better way, and show them the abundant life that we have been given in Christ. With the power and hope that the Gospel provides, we can make a difference, one conversation, one life at a time.

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The key to building relationships in your community is connecting on the levels and values that your community sees as important. If sports are a key foundation that rallies people in your community, screaming against it as an alternative to worship is not going to resonate well or do much.

Study. Listen to key stakeholders in your community, both churched and unchurched. Remember that the Kingdom of God is THE Solution to problems of this world, not another problem that screams at them…

No go make a difference, one church at a time.

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Some of us expect it to be easy. It is not. You must work at it. But the payoff is amazing!

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Your love never fails, it never gives up on me.

Thank you God for that truth.
Breathe, take that in, and look at what that means for your life. No matter what, God still loves you. Receive that love. Walk in that. Let shape how you do ministry.

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Lord,

Let us close the club we have been calling “church” for so long. Let us push aside our agendas so that Yours may be in the center of what we do. Let us stop worshiping comfort and start worshiping You. Let us realize how much we need You, and not just the stuff you give us. 

Let us open a Hospital in its place. Let us reach out to those who are broken, hurting, and lonely, so that in turn You will show us how broken, hurt, and lonely WE really are. Let us be THAT CHURCH in the community; The one that welcomes and loves everyone. Let us be a welcome beacon of hope in these dark times that point people toward You –  not us, our programs, or our egos.

Let us be a welcoming place to all who enter. Not for the sake of numbers, influence, or pride – but for the sake of building Your kingdom.

Let us speak Your truth (in love, not judgement) to all who are here, so that You may have ALL the glory from what you are doing around us.

AMEN.

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What strategies do you use to make the Gospel a priority in every youth group meeting?

1. Share it every week. I don’t mean a predictable droning on every week that students (and also watching friends) tune out. Take C.H. Spurgeon’s advice and “start with the text and make a beeline for the cross.

2. Use different medias. Videos, talking, pictures, testimonies. These are only a few of the options available.

3. Don’t forget training your students. They can share with more friends and peers than you could ever hope to. Think more along the lines of a coach training his team, and less about being the Quarterback throwing the touchdown pass…

4. Remember, it’s not about you, but yet it’s all about you. You are not the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit do His work, but don’t forget to do yours in being ready, prepared, and obedient to share the Gospel!

What tips would you add?

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…One of the clearest places where we should find eternal hospitality is at the Lord’s table, a banquet memorial where we proclaim the Lord’s death till he comes. The reason we come is that we are hungry–hungry for mercy, hungry for friendship, hungry for help, hungry for hope. There is no place for the self-righteous, the insiders who think they belong there. Jesus came to help those who are sick, and as in the days of old, there’s a bunch of sick people in the world….

[Full Article Link]

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