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Author:   Stephen Witmer ,  Raymond C Ortlund, Jr.
Publisher:   InterVarsity Press
Imprint:   Inter-Varsity Press,US
Dimensions:   Width: 14.10cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 21.60cm
Weight:   0.268kg
ISBN:  

9780830841554

ISBN 10:   0830841555
Pages:   216
Publication Date:   05 November 2019
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In stock  
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Table of Contents

Foreword: Ray Ortlund Introduction: My Small-Place Story Part I: What Are the Small Places Like? Small Places Are Better and Worse Than We Think 1. Taking a Fresh Look at Small Places 2. Why Small Places Are Better Than We Think 3. Why Small Places Are Worse Than We Think Part II: How Can We Minister Fruitfully in Small Places? Developing a Theological Vision for Small-Place Ministry 4. The Source and Goal of Small-Place Ministry: A Shaping Gospel and a See-Through Church 5. Strategic Isn't Always What We Think 6. Small Is Usually Better Than We Think 7. Slow Is Often Wiser Than We Think 8. Fruitful Small-Place Ministry: The Circle and the Arrow 9. Battling Joy Killers in Small-Place Ministry Part III: Should I Be Ministering in a Small Place? Reasons Not to Do Small-Place Ministry, Reasons You Should, and Reasons to Consider 10. Good and Bad Reasons Not to Do Small-Place Ministry 11. Good and Bad Reasons to Do Small-Place Ministry 12. Common Reasons to Prioritize Big-Place Ministry Conclusion: Pray Big, Trust God, Work Hard Acknowledgments Notes

Reviews

There are billions of people living in small places, yet they are often ignored by ministry-minded people like me. Sure, rural areas are downstream of mainstream ideas, innovation, and trends, but small places are thick with culture and rife with opportunity for gospel ministry: poverty, depression, suicide, racism, injustice, and souls stranded in sin unacquainted with the love of God in Christ Jesus. As Stephen points out, both rural and urban places are easily romanticized. What the world needs is Christians who value the small even in the big--disciples who move slowly and are attentive enough to bring a grand gospel into the nooks and crannies of life. This book has just about everything you need to help you do that, especially if you live in a small place. It offers rigorous research on rural trends, demographics, and the subtleties of smallness; it motivates ministry in those areas with the gospel of grace; it equips you to develop a theological vision for the place of your calling; it immerses you in real stories of rural ministry; and it challenges urban ministry biases with winsome wit, but most of all it calls us to love in place and discover something more of the immeasurable love of God in Christ Jesus for all the world. --Jonathan Dodson, lead pastor of City Life Church, Austin, founder of gcdiscipleship.com, author of The Unbelievable Gospel and Here in Spirit This is a book whose time has come. I've long appreciated Stephen Witmer's advocacy for ministry in the small places. And now we have an apologetic, a theological vision for this particular work. He makes the case for small places without patronizing them or denigrating ministry in other areas. I even appreciated his pushback to the urban thesis of the early church. That's what makes this book an important read, even if you could never imagine living in the places where Stephen and I grew up. --Collin Hansen, editorial director for The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir Go Big or Go Home is a motto our culture lives by. Such language is seeped into the church realm leading many to neglect ministry in rural areas in search of assignments in or around the big city. I'm grateful for Stephen Witmer's reminder that we have a big gospel that can make an eternal difference in small places, and that it should be the size of our King driving the steering wheels of our hearts. --Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College Stephen shows how every place, no matter the size, needs the gospel. This book provides a theological foundation and shows the importance of ministry in rural America. And not only does Stephen provide this theological foundation but he also gives practical ways to do ministry in smaller communities and places. As a pastor of a rural church and a supporter and planter of small-town churches across the country, this is one of the few books on small-town ministry that truly provides insight into what it means to take the gospel to villages and towns. --Michael Houle, small town specialist Vineyard USA, Multiply Vineyard, senior pastor, Valley Vineyard Church As someone who has written a book on small-town ministry, and has spent countless hours speaking on small-town ministry, and coaching small-town pastors, I highly recommend this book. Whether you are considering the importance and validity of small-town ministry or currently in the trenches loving and leading people in small towns, you need to read this. It's encouraging, helpful, accessible, thoughtful, and clear. Great work, Stephen! --Donnie Griggs, author of Small Town Jesus Stephen Witmer's latest book reminds me of my mom's Sunday dinners. The aroma of the well-prepared content drew me in, each savory mouthful deeply satisfied, and the lasting value has given me ongoing nourishment. I'm excited to invite church leaders from urban, suburban, and rural places to feast on this much-needed book. And like mom's Sunday meals, Stephen wrote the last chapter as a memorable dessert. --David Pinckney, pastor at River of Grace Church, Concord, NH, and codirector of Acts 29 Network's Rural Collective This is one of the more important books written about the gospel and missions in recent decades. Stephen Witmer takes the gospel seriously: he is more interested in the good news than in church-planting strategies. He takes people seriously: he is more concerned for people than for programs. He understands success in terms of faithfulness to God's calling rather than in terms of fame, in terms of the transformation of people's lives rather than in terms of the numerical size of a congregation. Here writes an academic who wears his scholarship lightly, a pastor who challenges his audience to think deeply, a follower of Jesus who follows Jesus to all the places where people live. Witmer explains that strategic thinking about ministry must acknowledge one of the great truths about God who lavishes his grace on city people, on small-town people, and on village people alike. This book is a pleasure to read, indeed a must-read for professors, students, and pastors who think about gospel ministry in the twenty-first century. --Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament, associate editor, Bulletin of Biblical Research What a long-awaited, welcomed book! What rare, refreshing, and compelling insights that validate the selfless investments faithful men and women--my heroes--are making in places that some consider unstrategic. Thank you, Stephen Witmer, for stirring our thinking and quickening our hearts for mighty gospel-oriented work in small places! --Ron Klassen, executive director of RHMA (Rural Home Missionary Association) Jesus is for everyone everywhere. Unfortunately, the lure of big cities and their amenities seduces many into feeling the need to plant and pastor churches in areas where there's a perception that a bigger opportunity to reach the lost exists. In the meantime, our small and rural towns have been left behind. In this book my brother Stephen presents us with an amazing opportunity to check our hearts and become intimately informed about the needs of our brothers and sisters in these all-too-often forgotten places. --Belafae Johnson, pastor of Purposed Church, Mascoutah, IL Stephen Witmer has written an accessible, experiential, and theologically rich book. It's a vital read. Drawing on the latest research and tapping into the abiding treasures of the Scriptures, Witmer challenges the prevailing missiological trend to prioritize the city. He calls rural and small-town leaders to 'love deeply what God loves perfectly.' This is Witmer's rallying cry, and it rings true. It's time for the rural church, from its unique vantage, to point the way for the church universal to reclaim its cruciform message, question the prevailing metrics of success, and embrace its vocation to become, in Witmer's apt phrase, 'see-through to the gospel.' --Brad Roth, pastor of the West Zion Mennonite Church, Moundridge, KS, author of God's Country We need churches wherever there are people. My friend Stephen Witmer has written a very useful book on how Christians can minister fruitfully in small places. This book is rooted in a robust gospel-centered theological vision that helps Christians to disentangle their value from any particular zip code, whether in a city or in a small town. I found the last chapter on the reasons for prioritizing big-place ministries to be a gracious response to the urban apologetic. --Stephen T. Um, senior pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church of Boston, author of Micah for You

This is a book whose time has come. I've long appreciated Stephen Witmer's advocacy for ministry in the small places. And now we have an apologetic, a theological vision for this particular work. He makes the case for small places without patronizing them or denigrating ministry in other areas. I even appreciated his pushback to the urban thesis of the early church. That's what makes this book an important read, even if you could never imagine living in the places where Stephen and I grew up. --Collin Hansen, editorial director for The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir This is one of the more important books written about the gospel and missions in recent decades. Stephen Witmer takes the gospel seriously: he is more interested in the good news than in church-planting strategies. He takes people seriously: he is more concerned for people than for programs. He understands success in terms of faithfulness to God's calling rather than in terms of fame, in terms of the transformation of people's lives rather than in terms of the numerical size of a congregation. Here writes an academic who wears his scholarship lightly, a pastor who challenges his audience to think deeply, a follower of Jesus who follows Jesus to all the places where people live. Witmer explains that strategic thinking about ministry must acknowledge one of the great truths about God who lavishes his grace on city people, on small-town people, and on village people alike. This book is a pleasure to read, indeed a must-read for professors, students, and pastors who think about gospel ministry in the twenty-first century. --Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament, associate editor, Bulletin of Biblical Research Jesus is for everyone everywhere. Unfortunately, the lure of big cities and their amenities seduces many into feeling the need to plant and pastor churches in areas where there's a perception that a bigger opportunity to reach the lost exists. In the meantime, our small and rural towns have been left behind. In this book my brother Stephen presents us with an amazing opportunity to check our hearts and become intimately informed about the needs of our brothers and sisters in these all-too-often forgotten places. --Belafae Johnson, pastor of Purposed Church, Mascoutah, IL Stephen shows how every place, no matter the size, needs the gospel. This book provides a theological foundation and shows the importance of ministry in rural America. And not only does Stephen provide this theological foundation but he also gives practical ways to do ministry in smaller communities and places. As a pastor of a rural church and a supporter and planter of small-town churches across the country, this is one of the few books on small-town ministry that truly provides insight into what it means to take the gospel to villages and towns. --Michael Houle, small town specialist Vineyard USA, Multiply Vineyard, senior pastor, Valley Vineyard Church Stephen Witmer has written an accessible, experiential, and theologically rich book. It's a vital read. Drawing on the latest research and tapping into the abiding treasures of the Scriptures, Witmer challenges the prevailing missiological trend to prioritize the city. He calls rural and small-town leaders to 'love deeply what God loves perfectly.' This is Witmer's rallying cry, and it rings true. It's time for the rural church, from its unique vantage, to point the way for the church universal to reclaim its cruciform message, question the prevailing metrics of success, and embrace its vocation to become, in Witmer's apt phrase, 'see-through to the gospel.' --Brad Roth, pastor of the West Zion Mennonite Church, Moundridge, KS, author of God's Country As someone who has written a book on small-town ministry, and has spent countless hours speaking on small-town ministry, and coaching small-town pastors, I highly recommend this book. Whether you are considering the importance and validity of small-town ministry or currently in the trenches loving and leading people in small towns, you need to read this. It's encouraging, helpful, accessible, thoughtful, and clear. Great work, Stephen! --Donnie Griggs, author of Small Town Jesus There are billions of people living in small places, yet they are often ignored by ministry-minded people like me. Sure, rural areas are downstream of mainstream ideas, innovation, and trends, but small places are thick with culture and rife with opportunity for gospel ministry: poverty, depression, suicide, racism, injustice, and souls stranded in sin unacquainted with the love of God in Christ Jesus. As Stephen points out, both rural and urban places are easily romanticized. What the world needs is Christians who value the small even in the big--disciples who move slowly and are attentive enough to bring a grand gospel into the nooks and crannies of life. This book has just about everything you need to help you do that, especially if you live in a small place. It offers rigorous research on rural trends, demographics, and the subtleties of smallness; it motivates ministry in those areas with the gospel of grace; it equips you to develop a theological vision for the place of your calling; it immerses you in real stories of rural ministry; and it challenges urban ministry biases with winsome wit, but most of all it calls us to love in place and discover something more of the immeasurable love of God in Christ Jesus for all the world. --Jonathan Dodson, lead pastor of City Life Church, Austin, founder of gcdiscipleship.com, author of The Unbelievable Gospel and Here in Spirit Stephen Witmer's latest book reminds me of my mom's Sunday dinners. The aroma of the well-prepared content drew me in, each savory mouthful deeply satisfied, and the lasting value has given me ongoing nourishment. I'm excited to invite church leaders from urban, suburban, and rural places to feast on this much-needed book. And like mom's Sunday meals, Stephen wrote the last chapter as a memorable dessert. --David Pinckney, pastor at River of Grace Church, Concord, NH, and codirector of Acts 29 Network's Rural Collective What a long-awaited, welcomed book! What rare, refreshing, and compelling insights that validate the selfless investments faithful men and women--my heroes--are making in places that some consider unstrategic. Thank you, Stephen Witmer, for stirring our thinking and quickening our hearts for mighty gospel-oriented work in small places! --Ron Klassen, executive director of RHMA (Rural Home Missionary Association) Go Big or Go Home is a motto our culture lives by. Such language is seeped into the church realm leading many to neglect ministry in rural areas in search of assignments in or around the big city. I'm grateful for Stephen Witmer's reminder that we have a big gospel that can make an eternal difference in small places, and that it should be the size of our King driving the steering wheels of our hearts. --Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College We need churches wherever there are people. My friend Stephen Witmer has written a very useful book on how Christians can minister fruitfully in small places. This book is rooted in a robust gospel-centered theological vision that helps Christians to disentangle their value from any particular zip code, whether in a city or in a small town. I found the last chapter on the reasons for prioritizing big-place ministries to be a gracious response to the urban apologetic. --Stephen T. Um, senior pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church of Boston, author of Micah for You

There are billions of people living in small places, yet they are often ignored by ministry-minded people like me. Sure, rural areas are downstream of mainstream ideas, innovation, and trends, but small places are thick with culture and rife with opportunity for gospel ministry: poverty, depression, suicide, racism, injustice, and souls stranded in sin unacquainted with the love of God in Christ Jesus. As Stephen points out, both rural and urban places are easily romanticized. What the world needs is Christians who value the small even in the big--disciples who move slowly and are attentive enough to bring a grand gospel into the nooks and crannies of life. This book has just about everything you need to help you do that, especially if you live in a small place. It offers rigorous research on rural trends, demographics, and the subtleties of smallness; it motivates ministry in those areas with the gospel of grace; it equips you to develop a theological vision for the place of your calling; it immerses you in real stories of rural ministry; and it challenges urban ministry biases with winsome wit, but most of all it calls us to love in place and discover something more of the immeasurable love of God in Christ Jesus for all the world. --Jonathan Dodson, lead pastor of City Life Church, Austin, founder of gcdiscipleship.com, author of The Unbelievable Gospel and Here in Spirit This is a book whose time has come. I've long appreciated Stephen Witmer's advocacy for ministry in the small places. And now we have an apologetic, a theological vision for this particular work. He makes the case for small places without patronizing them or denigrating ministry in other areas. I even appreciated his pushback to the urban thesis of the early church. That's what makes this book an important read, even if you could never imagine living in the places where Stephen and I grew up. --Collin Hansen, editorial director for The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir Stephen Witmer's latest book reminds me of my mom's Sunday dinners. The aroma of the well-prepared content drew me in, each savory mouthful deeply satisfied, and the lasting value has given me ongoing nourishment. I'm excited to invite church leaders from urban, suburban, and rural places to feast on this much-needed book. And like mom's Sunday meals, Stephen wrote the last chapter as a memorable dessert. --David Pinckney, pastor at River of Grace Church, Concord, NH, and codirector of Acts 29 Network's Rural Collective This is one of the more important books written about the gospel and missions in recent decades. Stephen Witmer takes the gospel seriously: he is more interested in the good news than in church-planting strategies. He takes people seriously: he is more concerned for people than for programs. He understands success in terms of faithfulness to God's calling rather than in terms of fame, in terms of the transformation of people's lives rather than in terms of the numerical size of a congregation. Here writes an academic who wears his scholarship lightly, a pastor who challenges his audience to think deeply, a follower of Jesus who follows Jesus to all the places where people live. Witmer explains that strategic thinking about ministry must acknowledge one of the great truths about God who lavishes his grace on city people, on small-town people, and on village people alike. This book is a pleasure to read, indeed a must-read for professors, students, and pastors who think about gospel ministry in the twenty-first century. --Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament, associate editor, Bulletin of Biblical Research What a long-awaited, welcomed book! What rare, refreshing, and compelling insights that validate the selfless investments faithful men and women--my heroes--are making in places that some consider unstrategic. Thank you, Stephen Witmer, for stirring our thinking and quickening our hearts for mighty gospel-oriented work in small places! --Ron Klassen, executive director of RHMA (Rural Home Missionary Association) Go Big or Go Home is a motto our culture lives by. Such language is seeped into the church realm leading many to neglect ministry in rural areas in search of assignments in or around the big city. I'm grateful for Stephen Witmer's reminder that we have a big gospel that can make an eternal difference in small places, and that it should be the size of our King driving the steering wheels of our hearts. --Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College Jesus is for everyone everywhere. Unfortunately, the lure of big cities and their amenities seduces many into feeling the need to plant and pastor churches in areas where there's a perception that a bigger opportunity to reach the lost exists. In the meantime, our small and rural towns have been left behind. In this book my brother Stephen presents us with an amazing opportunity to check our hearts and become intimately informed about the needs of our brothers and sisters in these all-too-often forgotten places. --Belafae Johnson, pastor of Purposed Church, Mascoutah, IL Stephen shows how every place, no matter the size, needs the gospel. This book provides a theological foundation and shows the importance of ministry in rural America. And not only does Stephen provide this theological foundation but he also gives practical ways to do ministry in smaller communities and places. As a pastor of a rural church and a supporter and planter of small-town churches across the country, this is one of the few books on small-town ministry that truly provides insight into what it means to take the gospel to villages and towns. --Michael Houle, small town specialist Vineyard USA, Multiply Vineyard, senior pastor, Valley Vineyard Church Stephen Witmer has written an accessible, experiential, and theologically rich book. It's a vital read. Drawing on the latest research and tapping into the abiding treasures of the Scriptures, Witmer challenges the prevailing missiological trend to prioritize the city. He calls rural and small-town leaders to 'love deeply what God loves perfectly.' This is Witmer's rallying cry, and it rings true. It's time for the rural church, from its unique vantage, to point the way for the church universal to reclaim its cruciform message, question the prevailing metrics of success, and embrace its vocation to become, in Witmer's apt phrase, 'see-through to the gospel.' --Brad Roth, pastor of the West Zion Mennonite Church, Moundridge, KS, author of God's Country We need churches wherever there are people. My friend Stephen Witmer has written a very useful book on how Christians can minister fruitfully in small places. This book is rooted in a robust gospel-centered theological vision that helps Christians to disentangle their value from any particular zip code, whether in a city or in a small town. I found the last chapter on the reasons for prioritizing big-place ministries to be a gracious response to the urban apologetic. --Stephen T. Um, senior pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church of Boston, author of Micah for You As someone who has written a book on small-town ministry, and has spent countless hours speaking on small-town ministry, and coaching small-town pastors, I highly recommend this book. Whether you are considering the importance and validity of small-town ministry or currently in the trenches loving and leading people in small towns, you need to read this. It's encouraging, helpful, accessible, thoughtful, and clear. Great work, Stephen! --Donnie Griggs, author of Small Town Jesus

This is a book whose time has come. I've long appreciated Stephen Witmer's advocacy for ministry in the small places. And now we have an apologetic, a theological vision for this particular work. He makes the case for small places without patronizing them or denigrating ministry in other areas. I even appreciated his pushback to the urban thesis of the early church. That's what makes this book an important read, even if you could never imagine living in the places where Stephen and I grew up. --Collin Hansen, editorial director for The Gospel Coalition, coauthor of A God-Sized Vision: Revival Stories That Stretch and Stir This is one of the more important books written about the gospel and missions in recent decades. Stephen Witmer takes the gospel seriously: he is more interested in the good news than in church-planting strategies. He takes people seriously: he is more concerned for people than for programs. He understands success in terms of faithfulness to God's calling rather than in terms of fame, in terms of the transformation of people's lives rather than in terms of the numerical size of a congregation. Here writes an academic who wears his scholarship lightly, a pastor who challenges his audience to think deeply, a follower of Jesus who follows Jesus to all the places where people live. Witmer explains that strategic thinking about ministry must acknowledge one of the great truths about God who lavishes his grace on city people, on small-town people, and on village people alike. This book is a pleasure to read, indeed a must-read for professors, students, and pastors who think about gospel ministry in the twenty-first century. --Eckhard J. Schnabel, Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of New Testament, associate editor, Bulletin of Biblical Research Jesus is for everyone everywhere. Unfortunately, the lure of big cities and their amenities seduces many into feeling the need to plant and pastor churches in areas where there's a perception that a bigger opportunity to reach the lost exists. In the meantime, our small and rural towns have been left behind. In this book my brother Stephen presents us with an amazing opportunity to check our hearts and become intimately informed about the needs of our brothers and sisters in these all-too-often forgotten places. --Belafae Johnson, pastor of Purposed Church, Mascoutah, IL We need churches wherever there are people. My friend Stephen Witmer has written a very useful book on how Christians can minister fruitfully in small places. This book is rooted in a robust gospel-centered theological vision that helps Christians to disentangle their value from any particular zip code, whether in a city or in a small town. I found the last chapter on the reasons for prioritizing big-place ministries to be a gracious response to the urban apologetic. --Stephen T. Um, senior pastor of Citylife Presbyterian Church of Boston, author of Micah for You There are billions of people living in small places, yet they are often ignored by ministry-minded people like me. Sure, rural areas are downstream of mainstream ideas, innovation, and trends, but small places are thick with culture and rife with opportunity for gospel ministry: poverty, depression, suicide, racism, injustice, and souls stranded in sin unacquainted with the love of God in Christ Jesus. As Stephen points out, both rural and urban places are easily romanticized. What the world needs is Christians who value the small even in the big--disciples who move slowly and are attentive enough to bring a grand gospel into the nooks and crannies of life. This book has just about everything you need to help you do that, especially if you live in a small place. It offers rigorous research on rural trends, demographics, and the subtleties of smallness; it motivates ministry in those areas with the gospel of grace; it equips you to develop a theological vision for the place of your calling; it immerses you in real stories of rural ministry; and it challenges urban ministry biases with winsome wit, but most of all it calls us to love in place and discover something more of the immeasurable love of God in Christ Jesus for all the world. --Jonathan Dodson, lead pastor of City Life Church, Austin, founder of gcdiscipleship.com, author of The Unbelievable Gospel and Here in Spirit Stephen Witmer's latest book reminds me of my mom's Sunday dinners. The aroma of the well-prepared content drew me in, each savory mouthful deeply satisfied, and the lasting value has given me ongoing nourishment. I'm excited to invite church leaders from urban, suburban, and rural places to feast on this much-needed book. And like mom's Sunday meals, Stephen wrote the last chapter as a memorable dessert. --David Pinckney, pastor at River of Grace Church, Concord, NH, and codirector of Acts 29 Network's Rural Collective What a long-awaited, welcomed book! What rare, refreshing, and compelling insights that validate the selfless investments faithful men and women--my heroes--are making in places that some consider unstrategic. Thank you, Stephen Witmer, for stirring our thinking and quickening our hearts for mighty gospel-oriented work in small places! --Ron Klassen, executive director of RHMA (Rural Home Missionary Association) Go Big or Go Home is a motto our culture lives by. Such language is seeped into the church realm leading many to neglect ministry in rural areas in search of assignments in or around the big city. I'm grateful for Stephen Witmer's reminder that we have a big gospel that can make an eternal difference in small places, and that it should be the size of our King driving the steering wheels of our hearts. --Ed Stetzer, executive director of the Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College Stephen shows how every place, no matter the size, needs the gospel. This book provides a theological foundation and shows the importance of ministry in rural America. And not only does Stephen provide this theological foundation but he also gives practical ways to do ministry in smaller communities and places. As a pastor of a rural church and a supporter and planter of small-town churches across the country, this is one of the few books on small-town ministry that truly provides insight into what it means to take the gospel to villages and towns. --Michael Houle, small town specialist Vineyard USA, Multiply Vineyard, senior pastor, Valley Vineyard Church Stephen Witmer has written an accessible, experiential, and theologically rich book. It's a vital read. Drawing on the latest research and tapping into the abiding treasures of the Scriptures, Witmer challenges the prevailing missiological trend to prioritize the city. He calls rural and small-town leaders to 'love deeply what God loves perfectly.' This is Witmer's rallying cry, and it rings true. It's time for the rural church, from its unique vantage, to point the way for the church universal to reclaim its cruciform message, question the prevailing metrics of success, and embrace its vocation to become, in Witmer's apt phrase, 'see-through to the gospel.' --Brad Roth, pastor of the West Zion Mennonite Church, Moundridge, KS, author of God's Country As someone who has written a book on small-town ministry, and has spent countless hours speaking on small-town ministry, and coaching small-town pastors, I highly recommend this book. Whether you are considering the importance and validity of small-town ministry or currently in the trenches loving and leading people in small towns, you need to read this. It's encouraging, helpful, accessible, thoughtful, and clear. Great work, Stephen! --Donnie Griggs, author of Small Town Jesus

Author Information

Stephen Witmer is the pastor of Pepperell Christian Fellowship in Pepperell, Massachusetts, and is an adjunct professor of New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is also cofounder of Small Town Summits, an organization that serves rural churches and pastors.

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