Evangelizing a happy small town

A university survey released in July suggested that Australians who live in small regional towns of under 1000 are the happiest people in the country. Living in a rural village of 950 or so in NSW, I can say that there are definitely some happy people here! However, just as in the big cities, people in small towns need to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus.

I’ve been the Anglican minister here for six years, so here are some tips for any Christian living in a small community, and then some thoughts for those who are pastoring a church.

Tips for all Christians

Rural villages are small, so get to be known personally by as many people as possible. They won’t see Jesus in you if they don’t see you. If you play a sport, or have a favourite hobby like gardening or drama, go and join a sporting club or hobby group. Usually there will be something for you to join. If not, start one yourself! I play tennis in the local competition on Thursday nights, and you’d be surprised (or not) at how many arts patrons, teenagers, farmers and publicans love beating the minister. I’ve met more people that way than by any other means. You could also think about joining or starting a fun regular gathering for seniors, or a parents-with-toddlers group.

In small towns, if you don’t actively contribute to community then you are wasting your time sharing the gospel of Jesus. So be useful to the people in your rural village. Meet the needs of the community as they come up. For example, here there are a quite a few people with cancer and we seek to help them with transport to medical appointments, meals, and other practical necessities.

Pray for businesses in town. If businesses are going well, then everyone is going well. Ask for prayer points when you walk in, and then say you’ll come back in a month to see how God has answered those prayers. (Do actually go back!)

Be smart with your time. When you arrange to meet someone, meet them in town, like at a café or in some other open public space. When you do this, you’ll bump into another five locals you can also say hello to.

Don’t let difficult situations burn your bridges with people. Instead be a bridge-builder, no matter how long it takes, in order to make the aroma of Jesus attractive to the community. Otherwise you will just be another bad smell in an area that has plenty of stinky animal smells already!

Tips for pastors

The church congregation most likely will have the widest community connections of any group in the village, so remind your people of this, and encourage them to develop their own disciple-making ministries. Don’t forget to think about what skills and training you can pass on to them.

If there is a local paper then usually the minister still has the opportunity to write a regular column in it. Pray about what you write about for each edition, and get it in before the deadline. If you don’t have a personal column, then contribute articles for publication anyway, because chances are you’ll be one of the few who writes regularly and reliably!

If you’re not evangelizing, your congregation will not evangelize either. If you have a story to share each week in your sermon about your evangelism then your congregation may well start the habit of being open about Jesus. And if you can’t think of an example from the past week, then you may need to rethink how you’re spending your time.

Do local funerals and weddings with a gospel edge as best you can. These occasions are often huge events and significant moments in a rural village community.

One final word for ministers wanting to work in a rural village: if you don’t like being recognized as the minister, don’t come. You are never anonymous, so once you walk out the door you must be prepared to give a reason for the hope that you have! In a small town, people relate the minister directly with Jesus and what a Christian is like—so you need to reflect Jesus. All your strengths and weaknesses will become known quickly and widely, so don’t be a jerk! When you need a break (and you will), be proactive and ring up a ministry peer to have lunch and debrief every now and then. That will help you continue to help others without losing it.

God is saving people in rural villages and rural Australia as well as in cities and regional centres. Three people became Christians here last year, and three others a couple of years before. It’s a challenging environment in many ways, but we are glad to be here so that happiest people in Australia can finally know real joy.