Planting Seeds of Hope: How Churches Can Support Rural Church Planters

Last week I came across this tweet from Brian Croft which resonated so much with me, and also my experience of church planting in rural Ireland. You can follow Brian on Twitter at @pastorcroft

I admit that I had to stop reading the thread for a while because it truly saddened me to see so many pastors in the same position. However, what did encourage me is that there were some others on the thread wondering how they could support rural planters from another context. As I mentioned, our church and others like ours are in very similar circumstances with one preacher covering 50 weeks a year of teaching, playing guitar, setting up and a lot of other responsibilities, so I wanted to list a few ways that you could consider drawing alongside a rural church or pastor in a practical way.

There are several ways that other churches can support rural church planters, including:

Prayer: The most important thing that other churches can do is to pray for the church planters and their ministry. This can be done through regular prayer meetings or by setting up a prayer chain specifically for the church planters. Keep in touch for regular updates, follow up with pastors to see how prayers have been answered. Often times you might find that prayer for some practical elements of planting can be met from within your congregation or church family.

Financial Support: Rural church planters often have limited resources and may struggle to fund their ministry. The majority of church planters in Ireland will go through their whole ministry self-supporting, and very few churches are self-sustainable or able to pay a pastor. Other churches can provide financial support through regular donations, fundraisers, or even by adopting a specific church planter and providing them with ongoing financial support.

Volunteer Assistance: Rural church planters often have to wear many hats and may not have enough volunteers to support their ministry. In an Irish context church planters are often the set up crew, preacher, musician, administrator, social media communicator, kids worker etc. etc. Other churches can send volunteers to help with tasks such as children's ministry, music, or even administrative work. Covering a few weeks preaching per year will mean that a pastor can get a break to be refreshed, or covering music responsibilities or kids teaching will be a blessing far more abundant than you might realise.

Training and Mentoring: Church planting can be a challenging and lonely ministry, especially in rural areas. Other churches can provide training and mentoring for church planters, helping them to grow in their ministry and stay motivated. Consider including pastors in some training that your church offers, either in person if feasible or via Zoom. It can be hard to squeeze soul care into a busy routine, and often a planters personally spirituality suffers because of it.

Partnership: Churches can form partnerships with rural church planters, providing them with ongoing support, encouragement, and resources. This can be done through regular communication, joint events, or even through shared ministry projects. I know many rural pastors have benefitted greatly from this. Churches who adopt smaller churches enable the advance of the Gospel in amazing ways. For many people, Ireland appears to be saturated with churches, and yet has a Gospel need beyond what many people imagine. Partnering and supporting a church will enable growth, stability and support that will last for generations.

Overall, the key is to build relationships with rural church planters and provide them with the support and encouragement they need to continue their vital ministry in rural areas. One of the things that I have found, in my own life and in the life of other rural pastors is that we are really poor at knowing what we need, or how to ask for it. Of course we know we need to rely on God, His grace and His power, but I’ve had a few conversations with isolated pastors which normally include the words, “if only I knew.” So many struggling pastors don’t feel they have the time to look up from what we are doing, so if you read this, have read the thread that Brian shared, and feel convicted to reach out, don’t hesitate. You will likely find someone who will jump for joy and be blessed and encouraged by even being thought of.

If you feel this way about churches here in Ireland, and are from Northern Ireland, the UK, the US or other countries, send me a message on the site, or email me at info@glunta.com and I’d love to let you know practical ways you can help smaller churches in Ireland, encourage pastors and planters here, and partner together for the cause of the Gospel.