Karl Vaters interviews Brad Roth, a Mennonite pastor in rural Kansas, a blogger at DoxologyProject.com, and the author of God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church.

Brad and Karl talk about four concepts from his book:

1. The importance of Rural church
2. Acedia
3. The importance of Place
4. A New Way to Measure Growth

They also have an important conversation about replacing the typical metrics of demographics and attendance with what Brad calls “getting weird” as we assess church health and growth. Specifically, Brad raises the idea of using “rule” rather than metrics as our baseline.

This episode will encourage you who serve in rural areas, and hopefully will inspire pastors in transition to keep small towns on your list of ministry options.

Links from this episode:

• The Daily Yonder
• Rural Advancement
• Small Town Summits
• Rural Home Missionary Association
• DoxologyProject.com
• Book: God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church
• Book: The Hunger Inside: How the Meal Jesus Gave Transforms Lives

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