by Able Baker | Dec 16, 2015 | Small Town Church
Every Church wants a pastor that best represents them and their vision. Here are 7 things every pastoral search committee should look for in a pastor. (1) Can he hide his liquor? Pastors should not drink, so finding a great secret place to drink is a true skill of...
by Luke Geraty | Apr 17, 2015 | Church Life, Church Planting, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelism, Leadership, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Town Church
At this year’s Society of Vineyard Scholars annual meeting, focused on “Thinking with the Church, Thinking with the Vineyard,” features a panel featuring three of our ThinkTheology.org contributors: Brad Blocksom, Kenny Burchard, and Luke Geraty....
by Luke Geraty | Sep 26, 2014 | Church Life, Church Planting, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelism, Messy Church, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Groups, Small Town Church
As we’ve entered into the fall, our attendance at Trinity Christian Fellowship has been growing and we’re seeing new and old faces, together. It’s beautiful to see Jesus’ community gathered to experience the Spirit’s presence/empowerment....
by Luke Geraty | May 21, 2014 | Church Planting, Cross-Cultural Ministry, Cultural Engagement, Disciple Making, Evangelism, Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Town Church
Here’s a quick round up of some short articles I’ve written or contributed to in regards to small town rural church ministry: Ministry Longevity in Small Towns – Bob Logan was kind enough to allow me to reflect on the importance of ministry longevity...
by Luke Geraty | Apr 15, 2014 | Church Planting, Cultural Engagement, Evangelism, Messy Church, Missional, Small Town Church
For those of you interested in small town missional theology, I’ve written a piece for Multiply Vineyard called “Small Town Missiology: Contextualization & Outreach.” Feel free to head over there and read it. I’m convinced that we need to...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 28, 2014 | Leadership, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Town Church
Here is a guest post from my friend, Michael Houle. Mike is the c0-Senior Pastor of Valley Vineyard Church in Chippewa Falls, WI. He’s a good friend of mine and what follows are some excellent thoughts on being a welcoming community!...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 21, 2014 | Church Planting, Disciple Making, Discipleship, Evangelism, Missional, Practical Theology, Small Town Church
What is a disciple? Some people say that a disciple is someone who is “following Jesus together as their Master and Teacher so that they may become just like Jesus.” Years ago, Walter Henrichsen said that Disciples are Made Not Born. Jesus himself said that the...
by Able Baker | Sep 13, 2013 | Small Town Church
Many smaller churches need a new roof, computer, projector, carpet, curriculum, sound system, & building repairs all at the same time. The problem is that so much of the church’s income goes to trying to afford the pastors salary. Many rural churches cannot...
by Luke Geraty | Mar 1, 2013 | Church Planting, Cultural Engagement, Small Town Church
I did my final MDiv Practical Theology project on rural church ministry. This is back when the whole “Emerging Church” thing was going on, so I basically took a lot of the ideas floating around and tried to contextualize it and reflect upon it with a small...
by Luke Geraty | Feb 28, 2013 | Leadership, Small Town Church
When pastors first start serving in a new church, they can quickly make observations on areas of ministry that can be improved. Perhaps the the church isn’t as welcoming as it could be or maybe he/she will notice that the children’s ministry has some areas...
by Luke Geraty | Feb 1, 2013 | Leadership, Small Town Church
Last year my wife and I entered into the world of being a homeowner. The process of buying a house is pretty intense. The buyer makes an offer and hopefully the seller accepts. Sometimes the seller will counter and ask for a lot more money than the buyer is interested...
by Able Baker | Nov 20, 2012 | Cultural Engagement, Ecclesiology, Leadership, Small Town Church
The General Synod in the church of England today was just 6 votes short of allowing females to become Bishops. According to Wikipedia “the synod is tricameral, consisting of the House of Bishops, the House of Clergy and the House of Laity. There are currently 467...
by Luke Geraty | Oct 10, 2012 | Leadership, Small Town Church
I have a theory about rural communities that have populations under 2,000 people. It’s not based off of any scientific research… it’s purely an observation. Here it is: the vast majority of people in rural communities are passive and not naturally...
by Luke Geraty | Sep 19, 2012 | Ethnic Reconciliation, Missional, Small Town Church, The Kingdom of God
I’m excited that our small rural church that has historically been full of lots of white people is becoming more diverse. A few months ago I spent a Sunday morning casting vision to the congregation I serve about the need to be a community that is not...
by Luke Geraty | Sep 15, 2012 | Church Planting, Ecclesiology, Small Town Church
I’m fortunate to pastor in a rural church that has a really great building (and it’s paid off baby!!!) Okay, sorry. I was getting a little excited there. But along with a nice building, there is a really nice sized office with the title...
by Able Baker | Sep 5, 2012 | Church Planting, Leadership, Small Town Church
Among the comments from a recent blog article I wrote (11 Mental, Emotional & Spiritual Challenges Unique to Rural Pastors) a guy named Joe asked “what advice would you give someone leaving suburbia to do ministry in a rural context?” There is so much I could talk...
by Luke Geraty | Sep 4, 2012 | Church Planting, Cultural Engagement, Small Town Church, Theological Training
One of the questions raised in the comment section of Able’s infamous blog on the 11 mental, emotional, & spiritual challenges unique to rural pastors was a question: “So what advice would you give to someone contemplating leaving a suburban ministry...
by Luke Geraty | Aug 29, 2012 | Church Planting, Conflict Resolution, Leadership, Small Town Church
Being a leader can be really disheartening. The amount of slander and criticism that pastors go through has caused thousands of early retirements, I’m sure. Bearing the brunt of people’s focused aggression when you are doing your best to serve God and love...
by Able Baker | Aug 25, 2012 | Ecclesiology, Leadership, Small Town Church
Eleven mental, emotional and spiritual challenges unique to the rural pastor: 11. Multi-denominational non-denominationalism. The rural pastor can often be stretched when they are the only church for 20 miles and they are ministering to Charismatic’s, fundamentalists,...
by Able Baker | Aug 16, 2012 | Church Planting, Cultural Engagement, Ecclesiology, Leadership, Missional, Small Town Church
When God called me into ministry (before I was born) he knew exactly what kind of home and what kind of people he wanted for my seedbed. The kind of garden I grew up in was not well groomed, weeded and tended to in a professional way. I was among the kind of flowers...
