I have really appreciated the chance to participate in workshops and more formal discussions during this time, but my favorite part has been the informal conversations that occur during breaks and mealtimes. I have been able to talk with rural clergy, lay leaders, and farmers to get different perspectives on the challenges and joys of rural ministry, and have been greatly encouraged by what I’ve heard.

Geographical isolation, farming difficulties, and the retention of a community’s young people are challenges that many rural communities and congregations face, but they are coming up with many creative solutions for their situations.

A major way that the ELCA is helping rural congregations to addresses their specific contexts is through the Small Town and Rural (StaR) Ministry Alliance. StaR allows congregational leaders in rural and small town areas who are interested in specific issues (i.e., rural evangelism, economic issues, rural youth) to give and receive dialogue and support from other leaders in rural contexts across the country, in small groups of six to eight participants.

These alliance groups, as they are called, help rural ministries to flourish not only here in the Nebraska Synod, but across the country.

The sun sets over a pond behind The Leadership Center in Aurora, Nebraska.