Small Town Pastor: What Should You and Your Family Expect?

Beautiful sunny day earlier in the semester!

     Hello! Here I am back on my pretty much non-existent blog! I thought I could be consistent with this, but never mind that theory! I will likely post when I should be doing homework, but my mind is on other things. So, here I am at Trinity International University, thinking about life, cold weather, and ministry. I am loving it here and it is really beautiful as the leaves change and fall really sets in!

Chapel steeple and changing leaves!

     The title of this blog sounds so official, but really, it's not. Today I have been thinking about ministry and ministry in a small town, like where I am from and where my dad is the pastor! I was inspired by our guest speaker in my Introduction to Ministry class today. He grew up in a very suburban area and his first job as an associate pastor was in a very rural community. He mentioned how big of an adjustment is was for him and how some things that seemed normal for the people in the congregation were really shocking to him. It is the opposite for me, coming from a very small rural community (population approximately 600), school, and church, to a suburb of Chicago (28th largest city in the world), a much larger school, and much larger churches! I thought that in light of this all, I would make a list of 10 things that you and your family should expect while living in and shepherding the flock in a small rural community.

Disclaimer: There is a lot of variation from church to church, but from my experience, these are some tips that might be useful. This is also NOT meant to be in any way disrespectful to anyone! I love love love being a small town pastor's kid! I love my family, I love the church, I love my school, I love my community!

1. You will have people stopping in unscheduled on a regular basis.

     If the pastor is at the church, he is available, no appointment necessary.

2. Everyone knows who you are.

     If you are the pastor's kid, you very well may include a note that your dad is the pastor of such and such a church, because people will recognize his name. Chances are though, that everyone in town will already know who you are anyways.

3. Being your own associate pastor, secretary, worship leader, etc.

     If not all the time, the occasion is very likely to occur. You are probably the only paid staff of the church.

4. Similarly, pastor's wives, you may be the Sunday school teacher, pianist, and children's church teacher all on the same day.

     Alright, maybe that is a little extreme, but you will likely serve all three of those roles during your tenure at the church.

5. Farm talk.

     If you have not been exposed to farm talk, prepare to be exposed. This will show up anywhere from general conversation to prayer requests. Learn to ask questions about how the crops are doing, how the cows are doing, if your buddy got his tractor fixed and what was wrong with it (even if you don't necessarily understand every word), what the corn and bean (soybean, but referred to as "bean") prices are like for the year, things like that.

6. Do not schedule guy things on the day of the deer season opener. Also, expect to see dead animals and appreciate their size.

     Your congregation will be out hunting- especially the men. All around town you will see deer in the backs of pickups and in trailers - these should be admired, learn to appreciate how many points they have (and in turkey season, how large the turkey is). You may be gifted with some venison sausage (it is delicious)!

7. The rules for opening doors are not the same.

     If people are bringing something over, they may knock once, but if you don’t respond and the door is open, they very well may open the door and bring it in themselves.

8. Traffic, but not the kind you are used to.

     There really is not a lot of traffic, but the busiest times are spring and fall - planting and harvest. Expect tractors! Also, hay, corn, and manure in the roads is not uncommon.

9. Workdays and delicious food.

     I love workdays! Some days, the workdays are a guy thing- at least the outside work- but I always tagged along with Dad and loved hanging out and working with the guys! Workdays really do have men and women though. The women do a lot of the detail work like pros and the guys do the heavy lifting. Another definite plus is food! Workdays have good food! Eating together really builds community! The ladies bring in amazing casseroles (please know what this is), the guys bring in some meat, there are baked goods, pop (or "soda" if you must), and coffee of course! Workdays are a beautiful thing! Working together really creates a sense of community and ownership! I could go on, but really, just try one, they are great!

And finally...

 

10. Expect a lot of love!

     You are a family! All a part of the body of Christ! People will love you, you will love them! Some people might take a little bit of getting used to, but really, you will appreciate them! People will help you out, they will help you at crazy hours! You will help them, you will help them at crazy hours! Whether it is plowing someone's driveway so that they can get to work and school (tractors are really handy!), or staying with a family as their loved one is dying. You will feel the pain and the joy in your congregation and in the community. It is really something to be treasured and I would not trade my experience for anything!

Thanks for reading! Leave any comments or questions below!

     In Christ,

          Kristina