While I have posted many times on urban issues, I want to turn our attention today to the rural regions of the United States and Canada. For it is here that we find over 65 million people, comprising about 20% of the population in both countries.
The rural areas of North America still have significant concentrations of lost populations. For example, see my report HERE on evangelical concentrations in the U. S. and Canada, particularly the counties. In 2000, Logan Co., Nebraska had a population of 774 people with no evangelicals present. Storey Co., Nevada had a population of 3399 people with no evangelicals present. Buffalo Co., South Dakota had a population of 2032 people with no evangelicals present.
Where are the missionaries to rural North America? Is the Lord calling you to go there?
Unfortunately, few resources exist when it comes to missions in this context. I hope this post will assist in making a difference. Here are a few resources that I hope you will find helpful.
The North American Mission Board has developed a general profile of the rural population HERE.
Dr. George Garner, one of the leading rural missiologists in North America, has written an excellent article titled, “The North American Rural Mission Field.”
Few excellent books exist on the topic. The following tend to be the most commonly referenced:
Tom Nebel, Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities
Shannon O’Dell, Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All the Rurals
Kent Hunter, The Lord’s Harvest and the Rural Church: A New Look at Ministry in the Agri-Culture
Ron Klassen and John Koessler, No Little Places: The Untapped Potential of the Small-Town Church
Pingback: Missiologically Thinking » Growth in U. S. Urban Population