Small Town Church

Small Town Church Growth

To some, “small town church growth” may seem like an oxymoron, like “found missing” or “same difference.” To the RHMA family and many small-town pastors across the country, small town and rural churches can grow. They just require different church growth methods than the methods that are effective in cities.

What You Can Do to Grow

Effective evangelistic town and country churches have a sense of urgency, credibility, and they take a multi-faceted approach. Instead of focusing on one program or method to grow, look at multiple. Successful small town churches look at problems from many different angles — sometimes dozens of them!

There are many ways rural churches can become more attractive to newcomers. This includes:

• Looking for building improvements. This includes painting, creating a pleasant foyer, remodeling the nursery, and more.
• Improving church ministries, such as the music or children’s program.
• Creating lots of opportunities for their people to be involved in evangelism. A couple ideas are starting a Vacation Bible School or hosting a children’s rodeo.

At Rural Home Missionary Association, we believe in the small town church. That is why we conduct conferences for small town pastors. We also present workshops and seminars at pastors’ gatherings, counsel with churches that seek our advice, provide resources that benefit the small town pastor and church, and provide pastoral training for pastors and seminary students going into town and country settings.

As your church becomes more intentional about growth, the pastor will need to wear many hats. To attract newcomers and grow in your community, your pastor will need to act as cheerleader, equipper, mentor, orchestrator, and more.

Joining RHMA

RHMA’s purpose is to plant and strengthen small town churches. Join us by attending one of our conferences, courses, or by visiting our Opportunities to Give and Serve pages.

You can contact us online or call 866-263-2350 to learn more about us or learn how you can grow your small town church. You can also visit our TACT Program’s website here for specialized, accredited classes for students and pastors going into rural and small-town ministry.