A Common Goal of Rural Vitality

The Duke Endowment is investing $3.8 million over five years to help rural pastors and churches take the lead in creating more viable communities.

Insights

The Reverend Jeremy Troxler, who oversees the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative at Duke Divinity School, offers these insights and lessons learned:

1. Recognize the power of partnership. A spirit of genuine partnership among the stakeholders has been crucial to Thriving Rural Communities. Getting the right people around the table, seeking “win-win” scenarios, ensuring avenues of communication, sharing decision-making responsibility, and reaching out to other potential partners have multiplied the initiative’s impact.
2. Identify and invite the outliers. Beginning with the assumption that one congregation can inspire another, the initiative began with a deliberate effort to identify rural North Carolina United Methodist churches that already show signs of thriving. It is always good to ask: “Who already is doing this well, and what can we learn from them that might apply to our unique context?”
3. Start with a committed core group. The initiative began by focusing on a core group of the Rural Ministry Fellows and the partner Thriving Rural Churches. By fostering a communal identity within this group, a critical mass has been created that will draw others into the work.
4. Speak the word of grace before the word of challenge. Rural congregations and communities are places of great gifts and beauty, cherished by God. Many rural churches and communities suffer from low self-regard, and need first to hear a message of their own worth and power. They also need to be listened to. Only then can a word of challenge and change be heard. Empowerment happens when acceptance, affirmation, respect and challenge are offered in the right proportion.
5. Plan for flexibility. Undertakings such as Thriving Rural Communities rarely follow the initial blueprint. They must learn from successes, failures and new opportunities, and then discern the right course corrections.
6. At the same time, keep the end in mind. Amid the unexpected experiences that are part of any endeavor, it has been important to keep the end goal in mind.

Impact

Since the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative began, 26 Rural Ministry Fellows have been selected for the program. Of these, 15 are from the North Carolina Conference and 11 are from the Western North Carolina Conference. Four have graduated from the program and two are serving in rural churches. Four others withdrew for various reasons. The 18 Fellows currently enrolled have formed a close-knit group, and attend activities such as monthly Rural Ministry Colloquia and an annual Fellows retreat. They also have encouraged their peers on campus to attend colloquia and learn more about rural ministry. Inquiries about the Rural Fellows Program and rural ministry in general have increased.

Six of the seven model churches taking part in the Thriving Rural Churches program, part of Thriving Rural Communities, have hosted Rural Fellows and four have received grants through the program to develop new programs for their communities. The Fellows speak highly of their experiences and their relationships with the mentor pastors.

The intentional collaboration among the four key stakeholder organizations has resulted in a stronger environment and support system for up-and-coming rural pastors and for many rural churches in North Carolina. The group is attempting to create a Certificate of Rural Ministry program through Duke Divinity School as a specialty area of focus for Master of Divinity candidates.

Collaboration also has increased engagement among rural church pastors and leaders in North Carolina. Participation has increased at a number of retreats, colloquia and laity weekends at Duke Divinity School. Nearly 225 people attended seven colloquia in the past year. The Thriving Rural Communities Initiative also partnered with Duke Divinity Continuing Education to create a Convocation on the Rural Church, attended by 120 clergy and lay leaders.

The Hispanic/Latino initiative has completed early planning and is entering implementation, including initial course offerings and field placements in language immersion programs in Spanish-speaking countries.

Contact Us

Robert R. Webb III
Director of Rural Church
704.927.2251