Rural Church Institute
Providing support, learning, and community for churches ministering in non-urban contexts.
people, or one in five Americans, live in rural America.
A movement is emerging to plant, resource, and multiply life-giving, spirit-filled ministries in rural America.
Greetings from the Director:
Dear Friends,
It is my joy to welcome you to the Rural Church Institute at the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. Our mission is simple yet profound: to serve, strengthen, and amplify the voice of rural congregations across America. We believe rural churches are not only vital to the spiritual health of their communities but also essential to the broader witness of the gospel.
For too long, rural ministry has been underrepresented in national conversations. Yet in small towns and countryside communities, pastors and congregations continue to embody resilience, faith, and creativity. The Rural Church Institute exists to shine a light on these ministries, to provide research and resources that equip leaders, and to foster collaboration among those who share a passion for rural church vitality.
Through initiatives such as the Lifeway Research Rural Churches Today report, rural evangelism cohorts, ongoing training opportunities, and partnerships with organizations committed to rural ministry, we aim to offer both encouragement and practical tools. Our work is grounded in listening to pastors, learning from their experiences, and helping them navigate the unique challenges and opportunities of rural ministry.
Whether you are a pastor, denominational leader, student, or simply someone who cares deeply about the future of rural churches, we invite you to join us in this journey. Together, we can celebrate the remarkable strengths of rural congregations and invest in their flourishing for generations to come.
Thank you for your interest in the Rural Church Institute. Please take a look at our team, our partners, our approach, and the valuable resources provided here, and let us know how we can help you. We look forward to walking alongside you in the important work of rural ministry.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Jason R. McConnell
Director, Rural Church Institute Wheaton College Billy Graham Center
The Rural Churches Today Report
The Rural Churches Today report, produced by Lifeway Research in collaboration with the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center Rural Church Institute, the Rural Home Missionary Association, and Grove City College’s Center for Rural Ministry, offers a comprehensive examination of Protestant congregations in rural America. Supported by funding from the Lilly Endowment, the study combines both quantitative data and qualitative insights to illuminate the realities of ministry in communities often overlooked in national conversations.
“While national surveys of Protestant churches include rural congregations, very few studies have focused exclusively on them,” noted Scott McConnell, executive director of Lifeway Research. “These interviews with a probability sample of Protestant pastors provide not only an overview of ministry realities but also a window into what pastors find both rewarding and challenging.”
The findings underscore the enduring importance of rural congregations within America’s religious landscape. Despite demographic shifts and economic pressures, these churches remain vital centers of faith, resilience, and community life. For denominational leaders, ministry partners, and policymakers, the report highlights both the pressing needs and the remarkable strengths of rural ministry, offering a roadmap for support, investment, and renewal.
Key areas explored include:
- Pastoral calling and wellbeing
- Evangelism and community outreach
- Leadership development and service
- Current successes and challenges
- Optimism and opportunities for revitalization
In the months ahead, directors of the sponsoring organizations will release additional resources to help rural pastors and church leaders contextualize the report’s findings.
To ensure broad accessibility, the full report is available below and on our resources page.
As more people and resources move to urban settings, the rural heartland has gradually become under-resourced, overlooked, and often forgotten. Mainstream church-planting resources are often not helpful. Rural church-planting strategies are markedly different from strategies in any other context.
RCI is a community for pastors and Christian leaders serving in non-urban contexts that was created to provide support, learning, and community for those working in non-urban contexts in North America and around the world.
The term “rural” means different things to different people. For many, it evokes images of farmlands and pastoral landscapes. For our purposes, we define rural based on the official Census Bureau classification. What is urban and what is rural is defined after each decennial census using specific criteria related to population thresholds, density, distance and land use.
In general, rural areas are sparsely populated, have low housing density, and are far from urban centers. Urban areas make up only 3 percent of the entire land area of the country but are home to more than 80 percent of the population. Conversely, 97 percent of the country’s land mass is rural but only 19.3 percent of the population lives there.
Want to Learn More?
if you are a pastor or church leader in rural America, contact us today for more information on the Rural Church Institute.