CRM—Faculty - The Center for Rural Ministry

Connecting Church
and College

CONNECTING CHURCH & COLLEGE

Show students the connection between the local church and course content, and make a tangible difference for local churches.

Service Learning Projects

The CRM’s service learning projects combine learning and service in a powerful way. In these courses, students have an opportunity to work with faculty and pastors to put the learning objectives of their courses to work in the context of the local church.

So far, we’ve seen students develop websites, marketing plans, branding, research-based studies, prayer apps, apiary projects, and much more. These projects are a great way to bring learning to life for the good of students, pastors, and local congregations!

Partner with CRM

Plowshare

Faculty members who are interested in proposing a potential service-learning project can contact CRM academic director, Paul Kemeny.

CONTACT

Let Your Pastor Know

Partner with CRM

We love partnering with pastors and faculty through service-learning projects, Plowshare, and more. Help us grow CRM by letting your local pastor know about our program offerings.

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT

Hear from Grove City College faculty who have engaged with the CRM through service learning projects.

SHANNON BARRIOS

Instructor of Communication Arts

Department of Communication & Visual Arts

"Working with the Center for Rural Ministry has been a wonderful learning experience for my Research Methods students. Through service-learning initiatives, they have had the opportunity to engage with research in a hands-on and meaningful way. By working with pastoral clients, they get to put their faith into action by partnering with local churches to examine and bring recommendations toward solution to the challenges these church communities face."

NATE MUCHA

Associate Professor of Design

Department of Communication & Visual Arts

"My design students have thoroughly enjoyed and benefited from creating brands and logos for various CRM churches. The real-world experience collaborating with them as clients not only enhances the our education, but it provides real, practical value to our partner churches."

DON SHEPSON

Professor of Christian Ministries

Department of Biblical & Religious Studies

“What an honor to work with amazingly talented and Godly students towards a life changing prayer and worship retreat. Zion Church of Petroleum Valley offered the students such a warm welcome and engaged with us as we led them through the Lord’s Prayer as an ongoing pattern for prayer. Many communicated a renewed hope in prayer and for the church’s future leadership. It was great to experience the wider body of Christ, to pray, worship, and fellowship with new friends.”

KEN SMITH

Assistant Director, Center for Entrepreneurship + Innovation (E+I); Assistant Professor

Department of Entrepreneurship

"CRM service-learning projects have provided students with a great way of practicing what we are learning in the classroom, while serving local churches. We have done a variety of projects ranging from developing post-COVID community engagement strategies to designing a micro-sabbatical program for pastors to strategizing prayer app implementation. The students love meaningful engagement with church leaders and making a difference while learning."