Transforming Church in Rural America by Shannon O’Dell

I grew up in rural America, I’ve seen my fair share of rural churches. What O’Dell has done at his church is nothing short of a Holy Spirit party. The church has grown, one congregant at a time. He shares how their church is organized and how they interact with leadership within the church.

Unfortunately, as is true with most ministry helps, this book is not geared towards a small congregation. The outline of leadership is not for the highly structured mainline denominations.

One of the very helpful parts of the books is O’Dell’s discernment process for going to the rural church. He lays out the conflict of not wanting to go, but knowing that he was called.

The online resources are plentiful and the call to connect with others in rural ministry are a vital part of insuring those that say yes to rural ministry continue to be able to answer that call.

Overall, I would say that it’s a good read, even if you are not in a rural church, because the dynamics can be the same in any small church.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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