Across rural America, the same pattern repeats: high church density, persistent poverty, substance abuse crises, and the absence of systems capable of addressing problems at scale. Why do individual Christians often appear more effective than the organizations built in Christianity’s name?
In this bonus edition of A Public Witness, editors Brian Kaylor and Beau Underwood look at vaccine hesitancy among Christians, especially White evangelicals, and consider its causes and ways of addressing it. With the spread of the Delta variant raising alarms, time is short for
Ryan Burge writes that there’s been a cultural shift that has gone basically unnoticed in small-town America: mainline Protestant churches have become an increasingly endangered species. This poses a problem for people who would still like to be a Christian but can’t be an evangelical.
Wade Paris writes about small churches, their rich history, and their continued ministry. He argues that they are the faithful who keep the spirit of God alive until God does a new thing.
Lyz Lenz’s new book examines not just the impact of rural church closures, but also the larger ways that evangelical faith has shaped the culture and mentality of America's heartland -- and why so many depictions of Jesus look like Brad Pitt.
Rural churches, often the bedrock of the community, are facing declining membership. They are increasingly teaming up in hopes of surviving — with clergy sharing programs.
The address for Union Mound Baptist Church says Elkland, Mo. Like many rural churches, one needs to know how to get there before leaving the
Although large churches dominate headlines, churches with more than 1,000 members account for only about 2 percent of U.S. churches, and about 50 percent average less than 75.