NWC Rural Ministry Webinar – Leading the Rural Church is Like Trying to Solve a Rubik’s Cube Part 2
Building off Part 1, in this webinar we explore additional contextual factors that impact our understanding of leadership in the rural church. We give primary attention to unpacking the growing phenomena identified as reverse migration—that being growing numbers of people moving from urban/metropolitan settings now into the countryside. With this migration we observe a newer cross-cultural intersection for rural communities to navigate—the intersection or collision of the rural mindset with the urban (metropolitan) mindset. It’s within these relational encounters that dynamics like contrasting cultural assumptions, lifestyle distinctives, and varied perspectives on resources, decision-making and leadership surface and must be led through well.
In addition to this featured area of the webinar, participants identified and discussed other contextual factors like the pace of change and the related levels of grief and loss experienced within communities/congregations; competing political and sociocultural voices/movements outside and within the church; dramatic shifts to the scope and scale of farming and other land-based enterprises; and generational differences also being critical areas for leadership awareness and approach.
The following links provide access to the supporting presentation and other resources provided: