A Plea to Big City Churches from Country Churches

Picture by fakhar at free images.com

Picture by fakhar at free images.com

It is graduation time again, which means for lots of rural churches their home-grown kids will be gone soon.  Most will not return except for visits.  They go off to school, fall in love, and settle down in large cities where jobs are located.

This is the case for most of the kids I grew up with at my rural home congregation and it is the case now for the congregation I serve in Mayfield, Kentucky.

Our hope is always that our young people will be faithful to the Lord and His church wherever they live.  Most will attend school and settle down in larger cities.

Here is my plea, and I know I speak for so many churches and parents in rural congregations, to the big city churches they will attend.

  • Welcome them into your church family.  It takes a lot of courage to attend a new congregation by yourself especially.  Greet them with a smile, a handshake, and learn about them.  Invite them into your home, help them connect with other Christians their own age, and genuinely be their family when they are away.
  • Hold them accountable.  Get their name and number.  Look for them each service and encourage them to be a part of Bible class, a small group, or the university student center.
  • Be faithful to the Word of God.  Rural churches have a great concern for the doctrine and faith of city churches.  Not only because we love our brethren and the Lord’s church, but because our young people will often be members of city churches.  Our plea is that you will be strong in the Lord.  Preach the truth and seek to practice New Testament Christianity.
  • Don’t be derogatory of their home congregation.  Each church has their own atmosphere and unique way of doing things, and this is certainly the case when thinking of larger, city churches, and smaller, rural churches.  Young people often are impressed with the size and all of the activities.  It can be easy for them to become negative upon their home church and how their new congregation does it “so much better.”  Rural congregations can certainly learn, but let me ask you to be respectful and not derogatory when talking about their home church.  Avoid labelling them and encourage them to be grateful for their home congregations.
  • Use their talents and abilities.  We desire that you put our young people to work.  From college age on through the young professional years, find ways to keep them active in the service of the Lord.  We have tried to put within them a desire to serve, so use it.  Rural church leaders often lament the drain of talent and abilities by young people leaving to go to the city for jobs and life, while local churches may suffer some because of this, the Lord’s universal kingdom should not.  Find and use their talents, don’t let them be pew potatoes!
  • Be grateful for their training.  When your congregation is blessed by new students or a new couple remember the services they offer came from somewhere else.  You are drinking out of wells you did not dig.  Be grateful for the Lord’s body.
  • Treat our kids, the same way you would want your own kids treated.  Finally, I would suggest for each member to look at these new church attendees, who come from rural areas, as if they were their children.  Look at them with the eyes of a dad or mom who has sent their child away.  Be their family and encourage them in the faith.

This is my prayer and plea.

What would you add this plea?  

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1 comment

  1. Thanks for writing about things that we sometimes don’t think about.

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