The God of Small Places: A Rural Church Institute Resource - Hardcover

by Glenn Daman (Editor), Jeffrey Clark (Editor), Jason R. McConnell (Foreword by)

The rural church is facing a crisis. Churches are struggling to find pastors, and many are being closed by denominations that would rather focus their resources on urban ministries. As a result, rural communities are becoming a spiritual wasteland where people are unreached with the gospel, and a gospel-driven church is no longer present to give them the hope of salvation. Today, there is a need for a new theological vision for rural ministry that sees rural ministry as an expression of the Great Commission and an outgrowth of God's character. The purpose of this book is to develop a theological vision for rural ministry by describing how the theology of God's character and purpose gives purpose, vision, and perspective for rural churches and communities. It serves a clarion call for a new vision for the spiritual transformation of rural communities that is grounded in an understanding of God and his desire for the salvation of rural people.

Author Biography

Jeffrey Clark served the West Virginia Convention of Southern Baptists, overseeing church planting and evangelism, and was Executive Director of the Montana Southern Baptist Convention. He served for thirteen years, training rural church planters in East Asia. Clark served as Director for Wheaton College Billy Graham Center's Rural Matters Institute and is currently the Rural Mobilizer for the International Mission Board. Clark and Daman are also co-authors of the book Retooling the Rural Church for the 21^st Century (forthcoming).



Glenn Daman has served for over thirty-five years as a pastor of rural churches in Montana, Oregon, and Washington. He is the author of five books related to rural and small church ministry: Leading the Small Church, Shepherding the Small Church, Developing Leaders for the Small Church, When Shepherds Weep, and The Forgotten Church.