Posted: 11/05/04
Isolation, economics make it hard
to find pastors in some rural areas
By Ken Camp
Managing Editor
More than eight in 10 pastorless churches affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas average 100 or less in Sunday school attendance.
Economics and isolation make it hard for many of those churches to find–and keep–pastors, said Bob Ray, director of BGCT bivocational and small-church development.
Churches in some rural areas where the population is dwindling need to rethink whether they can afford a fully supported pastor who lives in the community, he observed. They might consider calling a student or bivocational minister.
“The problem is they may see that as taking a step backward,” Ray said. “They need help in looking at it as doing things in a different way, not seeing it as less than first class.”
In particularly isolated areas where job opportunities are scarce, churches may need to allow a pastor to live somewhere other than in the immediate community, he added.
That relates closely to another new way of thinking Ray tries to promote in rural churches. He firmly believes most congregations define their church field too narrowly–particularly in communities where residents are used to driving an hour from home to shop.
“How far will people drive to shop at Wal-Mart?” he asks. “That's how far they may be willing to drive to church.”
At Fairy Baptist Church in Hamilton Baptist Association, where Ray is pastor, “There are only 63 human beings within a three-mile radius around us. … But people will drive 35 miles to Stephenville to shop. And we have regular, active members from up to 35 miles away.”
Ray urges small, rural churches to define their church fields in terms of the reach of their members' relationships, and to develop a particular niche ministry.
“For us, our niche ministry is youth,” he said. “The average age in our church is about 25. We have more youth than adults. But by working on our niche, it enables us to relate to other people, like the parents of those youth.”
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