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Engaging Leaders in Community Learning
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E-mail:
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gary.goreham@ndsu.edu or |
| kate.ulmer@ndsu.edu |
Unit 1. Overview of the Rural Church in America
This unit covers two aspects of the rural church in America-- first, the history of the rural church, and second, the theology of the rural church. Before 1920, most Americans lived on farms or in small, rural communities. Those who wrote about churches then were, to a large extent, writing about the rural church. By 1990, the population had shifted to the point that only about one in every four Americans lived in rural areas. This shift has not been without an impact on the rural church, nor on what has been written about it. Thus, we begin the unit by looking at the history of the rural church.