Now it is a significant part of rural ministry in many places. In 1992, my spouse, Margaret, and I founded a special ministry called Shalom Hill Farm. Since 1995, the issues surrounding new multicultural realities have been a part of every rural ministry program we have conducted. This new reality is ripe with possibilities. Yet this rapid change is challenging for rural congregations and their leaders.
Most clergy come from metropolitan backgrounds.
Small rural communities and congregations function differently than the context these leaders know. So just living and serving in a rural area is a cross-cultural experience. Mix in the challenge of understanding various immigrant cultures and the sensitive task of facilitating interaction between established rural communities and the newer cultures, and you have a very complex cross-cultural nexus. Cross-cultural education is key. Seminary education programs at The Farm help students understand the dominant rural culture and reflect on how to empower that culture to reach out to new immigrants.