Kansas pastor says future of rural churches is tied to the future of their communities

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A Kansas pastor has written a book exploring how rural churches can survive in a changing world. Brad Roth is the pastor of West Zion Mennonite Church in Moundridge, and has spent much of his life in rural areas, from his childhood on a farm in central Illinois to past ministry jobs in Washington state and Peru. In God's Country: Faith, Hope and the Future of the Rural Church, Roth argues that rural churches can thrive by making sure the community around them is thriving too, Patricia Middleton reports for The Hutchinson News.

Brad Roth

"It’s a way of thinking about the rural church that starts with where the church is at, rather than kind of an idealized vision of the church,” Roth told Middleton. "It begins in that place, but then dreams about where can the church go and how do rural communities thrive and grow."

He may be onto something, since an increased sense of community can help rural residents cope with problems when government resources are scarce. "Plugging into the daily lives of their communities is vital for churches to reach out to both members and non-members," Roth told Middleton.