Rural Work

PK’s Corner                                                                               August 2013 

Matthew 9:37-38

³⁷Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; ³⁸therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’ 

I have spent most of my life in rural communities.  The town I grew up in had more cows than people, and more dogs than kids.  In fact my dad often jokes about living on “poke and plum” street, it is where you poke your head out of the window and you are plum out of town.  Small rural communities have been the life blood of this country since its founding, and still they have a lot to offer.  

But, it seems the church and the world would just as soon leave them behind.  Big farming is making the family owned farm untenable, and factories are shutting down that brought hope to the economy of the rural communities around them.  Whole denominations are turning their back on the people of those rural areas for the more lucrative crowds of urban communities.   

We need to stop letting this happen, and we can start right here.  These rural areas are areas of harvest that can bring change to a hurting world.  People in these areas need to know Christ and what Christ can do in their lives.  We as a church need to start working the rural fields again, and start harvesting what was planted and then plant what will be harvested later.  

It isn’t easy work, but it is a mission.  It is a mission that Doniphan and Neelyville UMC will share in as we explore and implement ways to change the world through these rural communities.  We don’t have to do a mission trip to Honduras to reach people for Christ, we have our mission cut out for us right here. 

In the coming months, I ask that you lift up our mission in prayer, and that you pray the Lord will send workers to the field.  We have people in our midst that need to know Christ, and we need to get to work.  

Amen