Additional Resources

In North Carolina

• Duke Divinity School is a primary partner of The Duke Endowment for many activities in the Rural Church program area. This site offers information about the school's role in the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative, as well as applications for continuing education and professional development.
• The North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, based in Raleigh, covers 56 counties in eastern North Carolina. The website includes a way for visitors to find a church in their area.
• Based in Charlotte, the Western North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church covers the 44 western counties of North Carolina. The website includes information about its 1,100 churches, mostly rural.
• The Covered Dish: Meditations on Rural Life and Ministry is the blog of the Rev. Jeremy Troxler, who oversees the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative at Duke Divinity School. It shares his insights on various aspects of the initiative.
• The N.C. Rural Economic Development Center is a resource for rural communities and the people who live in them. The website includes research and information tools.

In the United States and Abroad

• The website of the United Methodist Church contains articles that explore the challenges facing rural churches in the United States and around the world.
• The Center for Rural Affairs is a leader in rural issues and advocacy. The site contains information and commentary on issues affecting rural communities in the United States.
• Hosted by Wartburg Theological Seminary, Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the Center for Theology and Land website offers online courses for a Certificate in Town & Country Ministry.
• Rural Church.US is a blog relating to rural churches and community life. The site includes articles and opportunities for interested participants to discuss rural church issues. It includes resources for pastors and a searchable archive of posts.

Evaluation

The Duke Endowment is in the middle of its first evaluation of the Thriving Rural Communities Initiative. The evaluation includes survey data collected from all United Methodist Church rural pastors in North Carolina. About 25 percent of the survey responses have been received so far, and roughly half of those pastors are aware of the initiative. Evaluation work performed by the Center for Assessment and Policy Development has shown that the initiative is on track and ahead of expectations to date, which it attributes to a clarity of goals, consensus among all partners about priorities, and a sufficient number of components in place to achieve goals.

Contact Us

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Director of Rural Church
704.927.2251