Rural Ministry Bibliography

Glenn Daman

Recommended Reading in Bold. 

Rural Church Ministry

Andrews, David. Ministry in the Small Church. Kansas City, MO: Sheed & Ward, 1988.

Basham, Will, Rural Mission: Insights From a Rural Church Planter, Independently Published, 2021

Bell, James, Jill Hopkinson, and Trevor Willmott. Reshaping Rural Ministry: A Theological and Practical Handbook. Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2009.

Benesh, Sean, The New Cartographers, Missional Challenge Publishing, 2019

Benton, John. The Big Picture for Small Churches, and Large Ones, Too:. Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2005.

Benton, John. Why Join a Small Church? Fearn, Scotland: Christian Focus, 2008.

Bickers, Dennis W. The Healthy Small Church: Diagnosis and Treatment for the Big Issues. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 2005.

Bricker, Garland A., The Church in Rural America, Cincinnati: The Standard Publishing Company, 1919.

Brown, Carolyn C. Developing Christian Education in the Smaller Church. Nashville: Abingdon, 1982.

Brown, Miriam, Ed.  Sustaining the Heartland, Exploring Rural Spirituality, New York: Paulist Press, 2005

Burt, Steven E., and Douglas Alan Walrath. Activating Leadership in the Small Church: Clergy and Laity Working Together. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1988.

Burt, Steven E., and Hazel A. Roper. Raising Small Church Esteem. N.Y.: Alban Institute, 1995.

Burt, Steven E., and Hazel Ann. Roper. The Little Church that Could: Raising Small Church Esteem. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2000.

Bush, Peter, and H. Christine. OReilly. Where 20 or 30 are gathered: leading worship in the small church. Herndon, VA: Alban Institute, 2006.

Byassee, Jason. The Gifts of the Small Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2010.

Byers, David M., and Bernard Quinn. New Directions for the Rural Church: Case Studies in Area Ministry. New York: Paulist Press, 1978.

Callahan, Kennon L. Small, Strong Congregations: Creating Strengths and Health for Your Congregation. Place of publication not identified: Jossey-Bass, 2012.

City and Rural Kids Count Data Book. Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2004.

Clark, Carl A. Rural Churches in Transition. Nashville: Broadman Press, 1959.

Cogswell, James A. The Church and the Rural Poor. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1975.

Collinson, C. Peter. All Churches Great and Small: The Church Scene in the United Kingdom. Carlisle: OM, 1998.

Coote, Robert B. Mustard-Seed Churches: Ministries in Small Churches. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1990.

Crandall, Ronald K., and L. Ray Sells. There's New Life in the Small Congregation. Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 1983.

Crandall, Ronn. Turn Around Strategies for the Small Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1995.

Critchfield, Richard. Trees, Why do You Wait?: Americans Changing Rural Culture. Washington (D.C.): Island, 1991

Dale, Tony, Felicity Dale, and George Barna. Small Is Big! Unleashing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches. Carol Stream, IL: Barna Books/Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., 2011.

Daman, Glenn.  The Forgotten Church: Why Rural Ministry Matters for Every Church in America. Chicago, ILL: Moody Press, 2018

Dale, Tony and Felicity, Small is Big: Unleasing the Big Impact of Intentionally Small Churches, Barna, a Division of Tyndale, 2011

Davis, Jonathan, Sea Change: Equipping rural Churches for the Tides of Cultural Upheaval, Warrenton: Freiling Publishing, 2021

Dudley, Carl S., and Douglas Alan Walrath. Developing Your Small Church’s Potential. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1989.

Dudley, Carl S. Making the Small Church Effective. Nashville, TN.: Abingdon Press, 1993.

Earp, Edwin L. Rural Church: Serving the Community (Classic Reprint). S.l.: FORGOTTEN BOOKS, 2015.

Earp, Edwin Lee. Rural Church Movement. New York, NY: Hardpress Ltd, 2013.

Economic Restructuring and Family Well-being in Rural America. University Park: Penn State Univ Press, 2014. First published in 1889

Farmer, Jeffrey C, ed.  Small Church, Excellent Ministry, Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2017

Farnsworth, Kirk E., and Rosie Farnsworth. All Churches Great and Small: 60 Ideas for Improving Your Church’s Ministry. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 2005.

Farris, Lawrence W. Dynamics of Small Town Ministry. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute, 2000.

Felkner, Myrtle, and John P. Gilbert. From Faith to Faith: Growing Through Christian Education. Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2001.

Foltz, Nancy T. Caring for the Small Church: Insights From Women in Ministry. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1994.

Foster, Virgil E. How a Small Church can have Good Christian Education. New York: Harper, 1956.

Francis, Leslie J. Rural Life and Rural Church: Theological and Empirical Perspectives. Routledge, 2014.

Funk, Abe. Hope for the Small Church. Belleville, Ont.: Essence Pub., 2005.

George W. Garner, Rural Church Planting: A Missional Footprint. Alpharetta, Georgia: North American Mission Board, 2011.

Gillespie, J. T. Reaching Rural Churches. Atlanta, GA: Home Mission Board, Southern Baptist Convention, 1959.

Gilley, Gary E. This Little Church Stayed Home: A Faithful Church in Deceptive Times. Darlington, England: Evangelical Press, 2006.

Goreham, Gary. The Rural Church in America: A Century of Writings: A Bibliography. New York: Garland Pub., 1990.

Greene, Carl P. Recognizing Rural Ministry, Eugene: Wipf & Stock, 2022

Green, Lynn, and Chris Forster. Small Church, Big Vision: How Your Church can Change the World. London: Marshall Pickering, 1995.

Griggs, Donald L., and Judy McKay. Walther. Christian Education in the Small Church. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1988.

Gunther, Peter F. The Fields at Home: Studies in Home Missions. Chicago: Moody Press, 1967.

Hassinger, Edward Wesley., John S. Holik, and J. Kenneth. Benson. The Rural Church: Learning from Three Decades of Change. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1988.

Holck, Manfred. Accounting Methods for the Small Church. Austin, TX: Church Management, Inc., 1989.

Hood, Baxter. A Little Book for Small Churches that Want to Grow. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1991.

Johnston, Jon and Bill M. Sullivan, ed.  The Smaller Church in a Super Church Era, Kansas City: Beacon Hill Press, 1983

Jung, L. Shannon. et al.  Rural Ministry: The Shape of the Renewal to Come. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1998.

Kemp, Bill. Holy Places, Small Spaces: A Hopeful Future for the Small Membership Church. Nashville, TN: Discipleship Resources, 2005.

Kassen, Ron, Maximize! Leveraging the Strengths of Your Small Church, Deep River Books, 222.

Klassen, Ron, and John Koessler. No Little Places: The Untapped Potential of the Small-Town-Church. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2002.

Kloppmann, Karl W. A Men’s Ministry for the Small Church. Maitland, FL: Xulon Press, 2001.

Kotan, Kay and Phil Schroeder, Small Church Checkup, Discipleship Resources, 2017

Lacy, Brent, Rural Youth Ministry, Independently Published, 2018

London, Lisa, and Vickey Boatright. Church Accounting: The How-to Guide for Small and Growing Churches. Sanford, NC: Deep River Press, 2014.

Longenecker, Harold. Building Town and Country Churches. Chicago, IL: Moody, 1973.

Maddox, Lisa M. Did God Abandon Us? Helping Small Churches Heal, Cleveland: The Pilgrim Press, 2013.

Maxwell, Patrick L. Big Ministry in Small Places, Independently Published, no date.

Mead, Loren B. The Once and Future Church, The Alban Institute, 1991

Mavis, Walter Curry. Advancing the Smaller Local Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1957.

McIntosh, Gary. One Size Doesn’t Fit All. Grand Rapids, Mich: F.H. Revell, 1999.

McIntyre, Ralph L. Big Ideas for Small Sunday Schools. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1976.

McMullen, Shawn A. Unleashing the Potential of the Smaller Church. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Pub., 2006.

McMullen, Shawn A. Releasing the Power of the Smaller Church. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Pub., 2007.

Miller, John E. Restoring Buildings, Restoring Lives: How Small Churches can lead Big Impact Ministry in rural Communities, Nazkine TV Publishing LLC, 2025

Mondy, Robert William. Pioneers and Preachers: Stories of the Old Frontier. Chicago: Nelson-Hall, 1980.

Moore, Eric W. Pastoring the Small Church: Remaining Faithful in a Big Church World. Eugene, Or.: Resource Publications, 2013.

Moore, W. Scott. Rural Revival: Growing Churches in Shrinking Communities. Rogersville, AL.: Eleos Press, 2012.

Moore, W.  Scott. Not from Around Here, are You? Five Common Challenges to Growing the Rural Church. Rogersville, AL: Eleos Press, 2016.

Morrow, Aaron. Small Town Mission: A Guide for Mission-Driven Communities. Austin, TX: GCD Books, 2016.

OBrien, Brandon J. The Strategically Small Church: intimate, nimble, authentic, effective. Minneapolis, MN: Bethany Housel, 2010.

ODell, Shannon. Transforming Church in Rural America. Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 2010.

Pappas, Anthony, and Douglas Alan Walrath. Money, Motivation, and Mission in the Small Church. Valley Forge (PA): Judson Press, 1989.

Pappas, Anthony, and Scott Planting. Mission: The Small Church Reaches Out. Valley Forge: Judson Press, 1993.

Pappas, Anthony. Entering the World of the Small Church. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute, 2002.

Pappas, Anthony. Inside the Small Church. Bethesda, MD: Alban Institute, 2002.

Patton, Jeff. If it Could Happen Here---: Turning the Small-Membership Church Around. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2002.

Pentz, Holly, Small Church, Big Harvest, Independently published, 2020

Pigg, Kenneth E. ed. The Future of Rural America, Boulder: Westview Press, 1991

Puryear, Les, The Beauty of the Small Church, Lewisville: It’s All About Jesus Ministries, INC, 2010

Rawls, Thomas H.  Small Places: In Search of a Vanishing America, Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1990.

Ray, David R. Small Churches are the Right Size. New York: The Pilgrim Press, 1981.

Ray, David R. The Big Small Church Book. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 1992.

Ray, David R. Wonderful Worship in Smaller Churches. Cleveland, OH: Pilgrim Press, 2000.

Rich, Mark. Rural Prospect. New York: Friendship Press, 1950.

Rhodes, Dale and Sherry, How to Make a Small Church Grow, Independently Published, 2010

Richardson, John, ed.  Ten Rural Churches,  Published by MARC, 1988

Risley, Jean F. A Place Where Everybody Matters: Life and Ministry in a Small Church. Eugene, Or.: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2010.

Roth, Brad. God’s Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church, (Harrisonburg: Herald Press, 2017.

Roth, Brad, Flyover Church, Harrisburg: Herald Press, 2024.

Rural Matters: A Focus on Church Planting in Rural America, Rural Matters Institute, Wheaton, 2017.

Schaller, Lyle E. The Small Church is Different! Nashville, TN.: Abingdon Press, 1992.

Schaller, Lyle E. The Small Membership Church: Scenarios for Tomorrow. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1994.

Schaller, Lyle E. Small Congregation, Big Potential Ministry in the Small Membership Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.

Schnucker, Calvin. How to Plan the Rural Church Program. Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1954.

Shears, George III, Rules of the Rural Church, Independently Published, 2021

Smith, Alan, God-Shaped Mission: Theological and Practical Perspectives from the Rural Church, Norwich: Canterbury Press, 2008.

Smith, David B. Small Does not Mean Struggling. Enumclaw, WA: Winepress Pub., 2011.

Smith, Craig Stephen, Whiteman’s Gospel, Winnipeg, Indian Life Books, 1997.

Stanton, Allen T.  Reclaiming Rural: Building Thriving Rural Communities, Lanham: Rowman and Littlefield Publishing Group, 2021.

Sullivan, Bill M., and Paul M. Bassett. The Smaller Church in a Super Church Era. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1983.

Thompson, Richard P. The Tiny Church in a Big Church World. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Pub. House, 1991.

Trebilcock, Robin J. The Small Church at Large: Thinking Local in a Global Context. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2003.

Tucker, Ruth A. Left Behind in a Megachurch World, Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 2006

Vaters, Karl, Desizing the Church, Chicago Moody Publishers, 2024

Vaters, Karl, Small Church Essentials, Chicago:  Moody Publishers, 2018

Vaters, Karl, The Grasshopper Myth, Published by New Small Church, 2012

Vitarelli, Chris, Small Church Big Deal, Independently Published, 2019

Van De Weyer, Robert, The Country Church, London: Darton, Longman and Todd, 1991

Wallace, Robin Knowles. Worshipping in the Small Membership Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2008.

Warden, Michael, Small Church Youth Ministry Programming Ideas, Loveland, Group, 1994

Weinert, Richard C.  Four Essentials: Leading Effective Change in a Rural Church Context, ChurchSmart Resources, 2023

Wilkinson, Vernal, The Bible, Live: A Basic Guide for Preachers and Teachers in Small Churches, Denver, Outskirts Press, INC, 2011

Witmer, Stephen, A Big Gospel in Small Places, Downer Grove, InterVarsity Press, 2019

Woolever, Cynthia, and Deborah Bruce. Beyond the Ordinary: Ten Strengths of U.S. Congregations. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2004.

Zunkel, Charles Wayne. Growing the Small Church: A Guide for Church Leaders. Elgin, IL: David C. Cook Publishing Co., 1984.

Rural Culture and Sociology.

Apps, Jerry, On Farms and Rural Communities, Wheat Ridge, Co: Fulcrum Publishing, 2024

Bailyn, Bernard: Voyagers to the West, New York: Vintage Books, 1986

Beale, Calvin L., and Peter A. Morrison. A Taste of the Country: A Collection of Calvin Beales Writings. University Park: Pennsylvania State Univ. Pr., 1990. 

Beals, Art, and Larry Libby. Beyond Hunger. Portland: Multnomah Press, 1987Belknap, Helen Olive. The Church on the Changing Frontier: A Study of the Homesteader and His Church. New York: G.H. Doran, 1922.

Berry, Wendell, The Unsettling of America, Berkeley: Counterpoint, 1977

Blake, Raymond and Andrew Nurse, ed. The Trajectories of Rural Life: New Perspectives on Rural Canada, Regina: Saskatchewan Institute of Public Policy. 2003.

Boyd, Gregory A. The Myth of a Christian Nation, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005

Brown, David L., and Louis E. Swanson. Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-first Century. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2003

Brown, David Louis, and Kai A. Schafft. Rural People and Communities in the 21st Century: Resilience and Transformation. Cambridge, UK: Polity Press, 2011.

Brown, Miriam. Sustaining Heart in the Heartland: Exploring Rural Spirituality. Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2005

Bryson, Bill, The Lost Continent, William Morrow, 1989

2Bunce, Michael F. The Pressures of Change in Rural Canada. Downsview, Ontario: York Univ., Atkinson College, 1984.

Carney, Timothy P. Alienated America, New York: HarperCollins Publication, 2019

Carpenter, Nora Shalaway, ed. Rural Voices, Somerville, Candlewick Press, 2020

Carr, Patrick J., and Maria Kefalas. Hollowing out the Middle: The Rural Brain Drain and What it Means for America. Boston, MA: Beacon Press, 2011

Castle, Emery N. The Changing American Countryside: Rural People and Places. Lawrence, KS: University Press of Kansas, 1995.

Conkin, Paul Keith. A Revolution Down on the Farm: The Transformation of American Agriculture Since 1929. Lexington, KY: University Press of Kentucky, 2009

Conn, Steven, The Lies of the Land: Seeing rural America for What It Is—and Isn’t, Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 2023

Convery, Ian, Gerard Corsane, and Peter Davis. Making Sense of Place: Multidisciplinary Perspectives. Woodbridge: The Boydell Press, 2014.

Danbom, David B. Born in the Country: A History of Rural America. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 2017.

Davidson, Osha Gray. Broken Heartland: The Rise of America’s Rural Ghetto. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press, 1996.

Diaz, Harry P. Farm Communities at the Crossroads: Challenge and Resistance. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2003

Duncan, Cynthia M. Worlds Apart: Why Poverty Persists in Rural America. London: Yale University Press, 1999.

Edward, Ruth W. ed.  Drug Use In Rural American Communities, Binghamton: Harrington Park Press, 1992

Elder, Glen H., Rand Conger, and Valarie King. Children of the Land: Adversity and Success in Rural America. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2014.

Emerson, Michael O., and Christian Smith. Divided by Faith: Evangelical Religion and the Problem of Race in America. Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press, 2001.

Finke, Roger, and Rodney Stark. The Churching of America: 1776 - 1990; Winners and Losers in Our Religious Economy. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Univ. Press, 1997.

Flora, Cornelia Butler, Jan L. Flora, and Stephen P. Gasteyer. Rural Communities: Legacy and Change. 5thedition Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2016

Flora, Jan L., Cornelia Butler Flora, and Elizabeth Houdek. Rural Communities. Legacy and Change. Boulder: Westview Press, 1992.

Ford, Jean Otto, Rural Crime and Poverty. Philadelphia: Mason Crest Publishers, 2008

Fulkerson, Gregory M and Alexander R. Thomas, Urbanormativity, Lenham, Lexington Books, 2019

Gallaher, Art Jr. and Harland Padfield, The Dying Community, Albuquerque, University of New Mexico Press, 1980.

Gaustad, Edwin and Leigh Schmidt, The Religious History of America, New York: HarperOne, 2002

Gibson, Tim. Church and Countryside: Insights From Rural Theology, London SCM Press, 2010.

Goreham, Gary. Encyclopedia of Rural America: The Land and People. 2nd Edition (2 vol.) Millerton, NY: Grey House Pub., 2008.

Gurley, Alving J.  The Deline of African American Males in the Rural Baptist Church, Independently Published, 2023

Hagenstein, Edwin C., Sara M. Gregg, and Brian Donahue. American Georgics: Writings on Farming, Society and Culture, and the Land. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2012.

Hahn, Steven, and Jonathan Prude. The Countryside in the Age of Capitalist Transformation: Essays in the Social History of Rural America. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1987.

Hayden, Karen E. The Rural Primitive in American Popular Culture, New York: Lexington Books, 2021

Hoeft, Jeanne M., L. Shannon Jung, and Joretta L. Marshall. Practicing Care in Rural Congregations and Communities. Minneapolis, MN: Fortress Press, 2013.

Hurt, R. Douglas. American Agriculture: A Brief History. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2002.

Judy, Marvin T., and Murlene O. Judy. From Ivy Tower to Village Spire. Dallas, TX: Southern Methodist University Printing, 1984.

Jung, L. Shannon, and Mary A. Agria. Rural Congregational Studies: A Guide for Good Shepherds. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.

Kaufman, S. Roy, The Drama of a Rural Community’s Life Cycle, Eugene: Wipf and Stock, 2020

Knowlton, Christopher, Cattle Kingdom: The Hidden History of the Cowboy West, New York: Mariner Publishers, 2017

Kristof, Nicholas D. and Sheryl WuDunn, Tightrope: Americans Reaching for Hope, New York, Afred A. Knopf, 2020

Leopold Classic Library, The Rural Church and Community Betterment, Originally published in 1911.

Lincoln, C. Eric, and Lawrence H. Mamiya, The Black Church in the African American Experience, Durham: Drake University Press, 1990

Luloff A.E. and R.S. Krannich, ed, Persistence and Change in Rural Communities, New York: CABI Publishing, 2002.

Lutzer, Erwin W. Christians, Politics, and the Cross, Chicago: Moody Church Media, 2020.

Lyson, Thomas A., and William W. Falk. Forgotten Places: Uneven Development in Rural America. Lawrence, Kan.: University Press of Kansas, 1993.

Martin, Simon, Caroline Hewlett, Rona Orme, Becky Payne, and Jill Hopkinson. Resourcing Rural Ministry: Practical Insights for Mission. Abingdon, United Kingdom: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2015.

Morrison, Peter A. ed. A Taste of the Country: A Collection of Calvin Beale’s Writings, University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1990

Morse, H. N. Country Church in Industrial Zone. London: Forgotten Books, 2016 originally published in 1922.

Morse, H. N. The Social Survey in Town and Country Areas. New York: George H. Doran company, 1924.

Nurse, Andrew, and Raymond Benjamin. Blake. The Trajectories of Rural Life: New Perspectives on Rural Canada. Regina: Canadian Plains Research Center, 2003.

Orme, Rona. Rural Children, Rural Church: Mission Opportunities in the Countryside. London: Church House Publishing, 2007.

Paxson, Fredric L. History of the American Frontier 1763-1893, Originally published 1924, republished November 2022.  Publisher unknown. 

Peckham, Colin N. Heritage of Revival: A Century of Rural Evangelism. Edinburgh: Faith Mission, 1986

Pinchot, Gifford, Charles Otis Gill, Six Thousand Country Churches, Published by BiblioLife, originally published  by The MacMillan Company, 1919.

Putnam, Robert D. Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 2007

Quinn, Bernard. The Small Rural Parish. New York: Parish Project, National Conference of Catholic Bishops, 1980.

Ramirez-Ferrero, Eric. Troubled Fields: Men, Emotions, and the Crisis in American Farming. New York, NY: Columbia University Press, 2005.

Riney-Kehrberg, Pamela. The Routledge History of Rural America. New York: Routledge Taylor & Francis Group, 2016.

Rich, Mark, Rural Prospect, New York: Friendship Press, 1950

Robinson, Thomas A.,  Who Were the First Christians? Dismantling the Urban Thesis, New York: Oxford University Press, 2017.

Robertson, Elizabeth B. et al. Rural Substance Abuse: State of Knowledge and Issues. NIDA Research Monograph 168, National Institute on Drug Abuse, 1997

Schaller, Tom and Paul Waldman, White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy, New York: Random House, 2024.

Seale, Elizabeth and Christine Mallison, ed. Rural Voices: Language, Identity and Social Change Across Place, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2018.

Sherman, Jennifer. Those Who Work, Those Who Don’t: Poverty, Morality, and Family in Rural America. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

Slack, Tim, and Bonnat, Shannon M, Rural and Small-Town America, University of California Press, 2024

Smith, Kristen E. and Ann R. Tickamyer, Economic Restructuring and Family Well-Being in Rural America,  University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 2011.

Smith, Paul Chaat. Everything You Know about Indians is Wrong. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2009.

Smith, Rockwell Carter. Rural Ministry and the Changing Community. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1971.

Speltz, George H. The Importance of Rural Life, St. Pius X Press, 1944

Stewart, Edward C., and Milton J. Bennett. American Cultural Patterns: A Cross-cultural Perspective. Yarmouth, ME: Intercultural Press, 2006.

Stewart, Ellen Greene, Mental Health in Rural America, New York: Routledge, 2018

Sturm, Circe. Becoming Indian: The Struggle over Cherokee Identity in the Twenty-first Century. Santa Fe: School for Advanced Research Press, 2011.

The Christian Mission in Relation to Rural Problems. Vol. 6. Report of the Jerusalem meeting of the International Missionary Council, March 24th.-April 8th., 1928. London: Oxford Univ. Press, 1928.

The Rural Church and Community Betterment. Middletown, DE: Leopold Classic Library, 2017.

Thomas, Alexander R. et al. Critical Rural Theory, Lanham: Lexington Books, 2013 

Tickamyer, Ann, and Jennifer Sherman and Jennifer Warlick, Rural Poverty in the United States, New York: Columbia University Press, 2017.

Vance, J. D. Hillbilly Elegy. New York: Harper Collins, 2017.

Vidich, Arthur Joseph., and Joseph Bensman. Small Town in Mass Society. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1968.

Walzer, Norman, and Christopher Merrett, Rural Areas in Transition, New York: Routledge Publishers, 2023

Wilkinson, Kenneth P. The Community in Rural America. Middleton, Wisc.: Social Ecology Press, 1999

Wood, Richard E. Survival of Rural America: Small Victories and Bitter Harvests. Lawrence: University Press Of Kansas, 2010.

Wuthnow, Robert, In the Blood: Understanding America’s Farm Families, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2015

Wuthnow, Robert, Saving America, Faith-Based Services and the Future of Civil Society: Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2004

Wuthnow, Robert, The Left Behind, Decline and Rage in Small-town America,  Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2019.

Wuthnow, Robert, Small-Town America, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2023.

                                                       Rural Pastoral Ministry.

 Adcock, Ralph: What Am I Doing Here, Mustang OK: Tate Publishing 2004

Bickers, Dennis W. The Tentmaking Pastor: The Joy of Bivocational Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2000.

Bierly, Steve R. Help for the Small-Church Pastor Unlocking the Potential of Your Congregation. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan, 1995.

Bierly, Steve R. How to Thrive as a Small-Church Pastor: A Guide to Spiritual and Emotional Well-Being. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1998

Canada, David. Spiritual Leadership in the Small Membership Church: Ministry in the Small Membership Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2005.

Chang, Patricia M. Y. Assessing the Clergy Supply in the 21st Century. Durham, NC: Duke Divinity School, 2004.

Daman, Glenn. Leading the Small Church: How to Develop a Transformational Ministry. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2006.

Daman, Glenn. Shepherding the Small Church: A Leadership Guide for the Majority of Today’s Churches. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic & Professional, 2008.

Daman, Glenn. Developing Leaders for the Small Church: A Guide to Spiritual Transformation for the Church Board. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2009.

Daman, Glenn. When Shepherds Weep: Finding Tears of Joy for Wounded Pastors. Lexham Press, 2015.

Hewitt, Arthur Wentworth. Highland Shepherds: A Book of the Rural Pastorate. Chicago: Willett, Clark, 1939.

Horn, David and Jason R. McConnell, ed.  Return to the Parish, Eugene: Cascade Books, 2022.

Hughes, Kent and Barbara, Liberating Ministry from the Success Syndrome, Wheaton: Tyndale, 1987.

Kalinowski, Caesar. Small is Big, Slow is Fast: Living and Leading Your Family and Community on God’s Mission. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.

Killen, James L. Pastoral Care in the Small Membership Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2005.

McCarty, Doran. Leading the Small Church. Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1991.

Moore, W. Scott.  Rural Pastor’s Handbook, EleosPress.com, 2014

Parks, Lewis. Preaching in the Small Membership Church. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009.

Philpott, Kent. For Pastors of Small Churches. Mill Valley, Cal.: Earthen Vessel Pub., 2000.

Harry Rimmer, How Christ Came to the Lumberjacks. Abbotsford: Aneko Press, 2015.

Rowell, John. Magnify Your Vision for the Small Church. Atlanta, GA: Northside Community Church, 1998.

Smith, Lee J. Reflections of a Small Town Pastor. Minneapolis, MN: NextStep Resources, 2013.

Smith, Rockwell C. Rural Church Administration. Nashville: Abingdon-Cokesbury Press, 1953.

Thiessen, John Caldwell. Pastoring the Smaller Church. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publish, 1968.

Tyson, John H. Administration in the Small Membership Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007.

Walrath, Douglas Alan. Making it Work: Effective Administration in the Small Church. Valley Forge, PA: Judson Press, 1994.

Walston, Jarod, Pastoring the Small Rural Church, Independently Published, 2023.

Wiebe, H. Andy. Rural Pastor. Independently Published, 2015.

Wilkinson, Vernal. The Bible Live: A Basic Guide for Preachers and Teachers in Small Churches. Denver, CO: Outskirts Press, 2011.

Willimon, William H., and Robert Leroy Wilson. Preaching and Worship in the Small Church. Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2001.

Work, Daniel and Virginia, On the Wings of Eagles: A Handbook for Pastors of Rural Churches, Independently Published, 2021

                                                Rural Church Revitalization.

Beckett, Robert, Fanning the Revitalization Flame. Bloomington, IN: WestBow Press, 2022

Beckett, Robert, God’s Pattern for Revitalization, Eugene: Resource Publications, 2023. 

Cheyney, Tom, Church Revitalization in Rural America, Orlando, Renovate Publishing Group, 2018

Clifton, Mark, Reclaiming Glory: Revitalizing Dying Churches, Nashville: B&H Publishing, 2016

Cushman, James E. Beyond Survival: Revitalizing the Small Church. Parsons, W. Va.: McClain Print. Co., 1981.

Edloe, Leonard L. Restoring the Glory: Breathing New Life into the Rural Black Church, Chaleston: Palmetto Publishing, 2023

Hazelton, Paul N. 7 Steps to Revitalizing the Small-Town Church. Kansas City, MO: Nazarene Pub. House, 1993.

Henslee, Matt and Kyle Bueermann, Replanting Rural Churches, Littleton: Acoma Press, 2019. 

Maner, Robert E. Making the Small Church Grow. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1982.

Nebel, Thomas P. Big Dreams in Small Places: Church Planting in Smaller Communities. St. Charles, IL.: Church Smart Resources, 2002.

Sanders, Jon, Rural Church Rescue, Independently Published, 2018.

Sims, Rose. New life for Dying Churches: It can Happen Anywhere! The Villages, FL: New Life Church Growth Ministries, 2005.

Weyer, Robert Van de. The Country Church: A Guide for the Renewal of Rural Christianity. London: Darton, Longman & Todd, 1991.

Wilson, Charles R., and Lynn Davenport. Against all Odds: Ten Stories of Vitality in Small Churches. Frenchtown, NJ: Jethro Publications, 1982

                                                        Rural Evangelism.

Dorsett, Terry W. Mission Possible: Reaching the Next Generation Through the Small Church. Bloomington, IN: CrossBooks, 2012.

Garner, George W. Rural Church Planting, North American Mission Board, 2011

Griggs, Donnie. Small Town Jesus: Taking the Gospel Mission Seriously in Seemingly Unimportant Places. Damascus, MD: EverTruth, 2016.

Hunter, Kent R. The Lords Harvest and the Rural Church: A New Look at Ministry in the Agri-culture. Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City, 1993.

Ruffcorn, Kevin E. Rural Evangelism: Catching the Vision. Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1994.

Scott, Marvin, 25 Reasons Why Small Churches Aren’t Growing, Xulon Press, 2006

Sells, L. Ray, and Ronald K. Crandall, The Small Membership Church-Growing, Caring, Serving: A manual for  Evangelism Ministries, Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 1982

Speidel, Royal, Evangelism in the Small Membership Church. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 2007

Strong, Gerad, The Forgotten Field: Using Multisite Models to Reach and Revive Rural Communities with the Gospel,  Independently Published, 2022.