Welcome to a new corner of the blogosphere.  Every few days I'll be posting something about the Church as it appears in America's small towns, villages, and countryside.  Because I'm still working out the bugs in the technology, I'll keep this one short, but I do want to invite you to respond with your comment and questions about ministry in rural America.

For starters, let's consider Jesus as a rural minister.  Mark 6:56 talks about His healing ministry taking place in the villages (koma) the towns (polis) and the countryside (agrous).  The scope of Jesus' ministry included all the little villages and even the open country.  Matthew 9:35 tells us what He did there: teaching, preaching, and healing.  A ministry strategy that includes benevolence, evangelism, and spiritual formation was Jesus' pattern for ministry in a rural context.

If you know me, you know I have a lot more to say about this, but we're just getting started.

Answer a question for me, please.  What do you think makes a minstry "rural?"