The Project

Made possible through the generosity of Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Project on Rural Ministry is a five-year grant-funded initiative that focuses on the unique circumstances of pastors serving rural and small town communities in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and southwestern New York.

Made possible through the generosity of Lilly Endowment, Inc., the Project on Rural Ministry is a five-year grant-funded initiative that focuses on the unique circumstances of pastors serving rural and small town communities in western Pennsylvania, northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and southwestern New York.

What’s our purpose?

The Project on Rural Ministry (PRM) is grounded in the fundamental insight that Christian colleges are uniquely positioned to amplify the voices, strengthen the networks, and facilitate the ongoing learning of local pastors and ministry leaders. This initiative aims to bolster the partnership of college, church, and community by connecting three regional cohorts of pastors to an interdisciplinary team of faculty to examine and address together a wide array of social, economic, and ministry challenges frequently encountered in rural areas.

Who are our partners?

During the initial grant period (2019-2023), we will work with thirty partner churches located in a selected group of counties that surround Grove City College. We are seeking solo or senior pastor participants who are excited about the prospect of collaborating with one another and with our faculty and students to strengthen local ministry in rural and small town contexts.

Our partner churches will be located in one of three geographic regions. You can learn more about what pastor participants can expect and what will be expected of them here.

Though not every church will be eligible for participation at this time, in the future we hope to partner with a greater number of churches from across these regions.

Rural Ministry Spotlight

Pastor Janet Pratt

As the pastor of a five-church UMC charge in Mercer County, Pennsylvania, Pastor Janet Pratt is no stranger to the joys and long-days of ministry.

#cohorts

Rural Ministry

The PRM seeks to learn more about rural ministry from the very people who do it—pastors—and to facilitate various types of partnership between college, church, and community to determine the most effective institutional supports for ministry in the rural context. To achieve this goal, the PRM is working with a diverse group of churches representing the challenges and opportunities unique to each of these rural contexts.

We invited applicants for three regional cohorts that represented well the challenges and opportunities of life and ministry in three generally defined rural regions: Agricultural, Rust Belt, and Appalachian.

The PRM seeks to learn more about rural ministry from the very people who do it—pastors—and to facilitate various types of partnership between college, church, and community to determine the most effective institutional supports for ministry in the rural context. To achieve this goal, the PRM hopes to select a diverse group of churches representing the challenges and opportunities unique to each of these rural contexts.

We invite applicants for three regional cohorts that represent well the challenges and opportunities of life and ministry in three generally defined rural regions: Agricultural, Rust Belt, and Appalachian. Potential participants are invited to begin the application process by completing our Inquiry Form.

Agricultural

The Agricultural Region includes farming communities stretching across Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York from roughly the Interstate 80 corridor in the south to Lake Erie in the north. We are accepting applications to the Agricultural Region cohort from pastors who serve churches in the following counties:

Pennsylvania
Clarion, Crawford, Erie, Forest, Mercer, Venango, Warren

Ohio
Ashtabula, Trumbull

New York
Chautauqua

Rust Belt

The Rust Belt Region includes communities on the outskirts of urban centers in eastern Ohio, the northern panhandle of West Virginia, and southwestern Pennsylvania that have faced the social and economic challenges of deindustrialization. We are accepting applications to the Rust Belt Region cohort from pastors who serve churches in the following counties:

Pennsylvania
Armstrong, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence, Westmoreland

Ohio
Columbiana, Mahoning, Jefferson

West Virginia
Brooke, Hancock, Ohio

Appalachian

The Appalachian Region includes communities historically linked to natural resource-dependent industries in the mountains of southeastern Ohio, southwestern Pennsylvania, and northern West Virginia. We are accepting applications to the Appalachian Region cohort from pastors who serve churches in the following counties:

West Virginia
Doddridge, Harrison, Marion, Marshall, Monongalia, Preston, Taylor, Tyler, Wetzel

Ohio
Belmont, Monroe

Pennsylvania
Greene, Fayette, Washington

The Project

About Us

Cohorts

Questions?

Project on Rural Ministry
100 Campus Drive, Box 3042
Grove City, PA 16127
(724) 458-3897
office@ruralministry.org

ruralministry.org