The Church and COVID-19 Archives - The Project on Rural Ministry

October 8, 2020

It Is Time to Lead!

Steve McVey
As rural pastors make unwinnable decisions every week, some are choosing to retire early or resign. Are there other options?

August 20, 2020

Leadership Pain

Allan Copenhaver
No pastor can avoid pain entirely. Thriving in ministry over the long haul requires that we navigate challenges and the resulting pain well.

July 8, 2020

How Do We Lead Without the Answers?

Glenn Daman
Perhaps the greatest challenge we face today is not that we lack all the right answers, but the fact that we are asking the wrong questions.

July 24, 2020

Quarantine Songs: History and Tradition in a Changed World

Adam Loretto
Used well, history and tradition can be the soundtracks that help rural churches adapt and develop new practices that meet the needs of a world in flux.

May 21, 2020

Church Re-imagined: How Drive-In Worship and A Willingness to Adapt Have Helped One Rural Church Thrive

Jason Schepp
The last few months have brought many changes in the church. They have also offered an opportunity to re-imagine what church looks like.

April 23, 2020

Feed My Sheep: How One Small-Town Church Is Continuing to Bless Its Community

Elizabeth Yale
As social distancing became the norm, St. John's Church had questions about how to move forward with feeding ministries--ministries that were now more important than ever.

April 9, 2020

Wilderness Wanderings: The Faithfulness of God in Uncertain Times

Nick Marlatt
For the Israelites, the wilderness was not just a physical place. It was a state of mind defined by uncertainty and complete dependence on God.

January 26, 2022

The Badlands: Finding Life During Difficult Seasons

Nick Marlatt
How can we find life in the midst of difficult seasons of ministry? For one pastor, the answer involved rediscovering a few simple practices.

March 10, 2021

COVID-iversary: Pastoral Reflections on a Year Like No Other

Nick Marlatt
After a physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting year, one pastor describes learning to heal in the midst of trauma.

March 31, 2020

Being the Church during COVID-19: Reflections from a Small-Church Pastor

Mike Matthews
Like many churches, we had to temporarily stop holding physical services over the past few Sundays. Now we are in our homes rather than a church building, but we are still the church and are still called to worship Jesus and tell others of his glory.