God's Country: Faith, Hope, and the Future of the Rural Church

Award of Merit, Christianity Today 2018 Book Awards, The Church/Pastoral Leadership category

With the poetic force of Kathleen Norris and the pastoral warmth of Eugene Peterson, Kansas pastor Roth sets forth a vision for vibrant rural churches, for ministry in congregations that bear a profound sense of both loss and possibility, and for harvesting fruits of transformation and renewal. Rooted in stories from Scripture, his own ministry, and interviews with rural church leaders, Roth offers a sturdy theological and practical alternative to church-growth strategies that rely on success stories and flashy metrics. Reclaiming God's vision for the rural church, Roth writes, means learning how to praise, abide, watch, pray, grow, work the edges, die, befriend, and dream. In God's Country, rediscover the stunning abundance of God's presence in rural communities. Name the ways that the rural church testifies to God's glory and goodness. Learn to live and love and minister right where you are, no matter how small or unassuming it may seem.

Brad Roth is a pastor in rural central Kansas. He grew up baling hay, tending sheep, and shearing Christmas trees on a farm in Illinois. He is a graduate of Augustana College, Harvard Divinity School, and Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary. Brad has a heart for serving God and God’s people in rural communities. He’s passionate about sharing faith in word and deed and living out God’s love in the community. He and his wife enjoy getting outside, tending a garden, and hanging out with their three sons.