I have received a good dozen e-mail requests over the last two weeks regarding “rurban” church ministry. Every pastor/request so far is from a small town in the upper Midwest. I have forwarded various chapters of my doctoral thesis to them.

Mike Brubaker is pastor of Christian Life Chapel in Colchester, Conn. He wrote the article Rurban Living: Crossing cultures in our small town and wrote his doctoral thesis on ministry and preaching in rurban America.

I was so impressed with the EFCA issue on rural and small-town ministry. It was excellent! Thirty years ago I had a wonderful experience at Dallas Seminary, but in my outbrief (required then) with the dean, my only critical comment was that while the seminary spoke glowingly of faithful service at whatever size church, the only speakers invited to lecture in chapel were scholars or pastor of large churches. What I would have welcomed would have been chapel messages by faithful and capable small-town pastors. Thanks for those encouraging stories.

Lt. Col. Stan Giles is an ordained pastor and EFCA chaplain with the Air National Guard in Knoxville, Tenn.

Thanks for recognizing the power and importance of small rural churches and pastors. There are a lot of us out here who feel small and insignificant compared to the megachurch pastors who are always trotted out at conferences as examples to emulate.

Dwight Warden is pastor of Blackduck (Minn.) EFC.

Thank you for giving print and promo to what God is doing in small churches. My heart celebrates the pictures of God’s creativity to reach out and be bigger in influence than numbers!

Ruth Westerholm is the director of Christian education at Branford (Conn.) EFC.

I loved the article “Increase our Vision.” The message is a great one for small churches to hear. The version of that message at our church is the new mission movement that has grown out of the ministry of our associate pastor, Ion Cheptene. It is a dba (doing business as) of Cornerstone that we call International Leadership Training. You can check it out at the web site here. It is really the next step in the process that began with the article “Church in a Church With a Russian Accent,” which I wrote [for EFCA Today] a couple of years ago. You’ve done small churches a big favor by writing this article. I hope they will listen to the message and move out.

John Ritland is an elder at Cornerstone EFC in Webster Groves, Mo.

Thanks Neil for the good reminder of when big happens in the center of small! Abbot, Maine, may be thought of as in the middle of nowhere to some, but for those who know the heart of one of their former pastors, Daryl E. Witmer, we see places like the people of Abbot as rising stars in the kingdom!

Joe Bubar is the pastor of Grace Bible Church in Arroyo Grande, Calif.

I love how the small town church articles were put together. This really shows the impact they can have in the world and their communities.

Daniel Holmquist is a member of the Asia Division Leadership Team with ReachGlobal.

I wish to thank you so much for this issue. I began pastoral ministry over 25 years ago as a staff member of a large church. From there, I’ve only ever pastored smaller churches (the “biggest” of those three was just over 125 when I moved to the next church). I’m not sure I can say that I’ve chosen small churches, but they have chosen me and God has placed me there. Now, after all these years, I can’t see myself anywhere else.

The sense of community and connectedness is what makes the small church so special. We have a few extended family members at Cornerstone EFC, but it seems that the whole congregation is like an extended family. Sure, there are some of the troubles that come with being family, but there is a love and caring for one another that can’t be matched in some larger churches. And, even like families, there is a desire to grow and expand.

These snippets and slices of small church life strengthen my heart. Thank you.

Kevin Sorensen is the pastor of Cornerstone EFC in Rochester, Minn.

Thank you for writing such an encouraging message not only to all of us in the EFCA, but especially to the pastors of smaller churches who serve so faithfully. I serve in a larger EFCA church, but, nonetheless, this was a refreshing article and sends the biblical message that kingdom work happens through God’s presence regardless of the “size” of someone’s church. Amen!

Doug Thuen is the pastor of Sparta (N.J.) EFC.