Transforming Church in Rural America: Breaking All the Rurals

by Shannon O'Dell

Small church buildings dotting the countryside are home to ministries that often struggle with limited attendance, no money, and little expectation that change can revitalize their future. In Transforming Church in Rural America, Pastor Shannon O'Dell shares a powerful vision of relevance, possibility, and excellence for these small churches, or for any ministry that is stuck in a "rural state of mind." The book reveals:

how to generate growth through transformed lives
ways to create active evangelism in your community
no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, enhancing the worship experience, and inspiring volunteers
Focusing on vision, attitude, leadership, and innovation, you can learn the practical strategies and biblical guidance that helped to grow a church of 31 into a multi-campus church of several thousand, with a national and global outreach. Discover effective structure and ways to cast God-given vision so others can follow and make an impact. Experience the blueprint for transforming into effective, dynamic, and thriving churches no matter where the location or how small it may be.

Genres: Church, Leadership, Theology

200 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2010

About the author

O'Dell, a pastor, explains how he led a small rural Arkansas church from a handful of members to a multi-site church of thousands. A unique feature of the book is inclusion of photos and perky illustrations and rich graphics to move readers through important points. O'Dell's is a fresh, no-holds-barred voice in Christian nonfiction, and he makes the case for a strong connection between marriage and ministry: "Now this book is primarily about growing the rural church, and I feel that having a red-hot marriage and a functional family is an extremely important element of that." He advocates V.A.L.U.E.: vision, attitude, leadership, understanding, enduring excellence. For all the crisp selling and innovation in the book itself, it doesn't break all the rules. Instead, it uses some of the tired phrases found in many books on church growth; and, for all the good pictures and talk of transformation of lives, the majority of the photos are of buildings and illustrations for the pastor's sermons.

Reviews

[Tony · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are planting a church in rural America, you are doing yourself s disservice if you don't read this book. Super helpful in many ways.

[Rocky Henriques · Rating 5 out of 5]

Challenging...

...and full of hope for those of us serving rural churches, where it seems sometimes that things are stuck in the past. O'Dell's experience may not be typical, but that doesn't mean it can't be reproduced elsewhere. At the very least, this book shows that change can happen, that everyone may not like the change, but that there is a mission and a vision which can propel and guide through rough waters. One thing he doesn't mention, though, is that many pastors of rural churches have tried to lead their congregations into the future, only to ruffle enough feathers that they wind up out on the street. Sometimes in a rural church, change doesn't come with a stick of dynamite...it comes with a chisel.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some sloppy exegesis and ecclesiology, but you can’t help but love the vision, passion, love, and endurance of the author. Encouraging book for pastors laboring through change in small churches in rural America.

[Jeff Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very easy read and any pastor struggling in the rural setting should pick this up. It isn't a "How to" manual so much as a "this is what worked for me" story, but very helpful regardless.

[Jessica Little · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book definitely hits where we are. If you’re a rural pastor or leader, it’s worth at least a skim.

[Eric Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first met Shannon O’Dell at The Sticks Conference a year and a half ago in Ohio. I thought he was one of the coolest rednecks I’d ever met. And I heard his story of Brand New Church and how God was doing something unbelievable in rural America… He was moving powerfully in small towns and growing the church in rural areas. The dude knows what he’s talking about… and I got his book on Saturday and couldn’t put it down… literally! I kept it with me until I finished it. It may be one of the best stories of God working in obscurity I’ve ever heard. Shannon reminded me of things about my calling that had gotten lost because I’ve been trying to grow a church instead of growing congregants. Each chapter of the book encourages me, trains me, stretches me and kicks me in the butt because I sometimes get down about the size of my church in relation to the size of other megachurches! With a population 56000 and a large university, it’s debatable whether Auburn, AL would be considered “Rural America”… but then again, there’s more tractors, farmland, agriculture and camo around here than a lot of small towns I’ve been in. I think the principles in Shannon’s book are right on target and I needed to hear them again. Reading this book reminded me of a few things:
1. I am called! God didn’t just bring me here as a joke… He really has a purpose for me being in this community— and He has called YOU too!
2. God works in obscurity. Even though I feel like I’m on the back side of the desert, I’m in good company because He did the same thing with Moses. And I know He’s working in me so He can work through me.
3. VISION… it’s critical.
4. My attitude stinks sometimes. And attitude reflects leadership (that’s a quote from one of my favorite movies- Remember the Titans)
5. I must work hard to keep my marriage red-hot and my family focused on following Jesus.
6. Don’t ever Settle. That’s the end of leadership and vision… when we settle. When the bills are getting paid, when everyone’s happy, when everything is trucking along nicely and we’ve become comfortable… and settled. Lord, don’t ever let me settle for anything less that fulfilling your complete mission for my life, my family and my calling and my church .
7. God may want to push me to the end of myself before he can use me. There’s still too much of me lurking in the shadows. I must crucify the old flesh (Gal 2:20)
8. If I’m doing what God’s called me to do I will face opposition and criticism… it happened to every other leader in the Bible, why would I think I would be immune?
9. Don’t give up on God because He’s never given up on me! Stand in there and fulfill your calling!

[Stephanie Christmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

At first I have to admit that I was thrown off because of things I had previously heard...but once I doublechecked all sources and just really set my heart to reading the book. It's a really good book. The pastor makes some wonderful points!!

[MrWalterN · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not every book on ministry can be exceptional. Transforming Church in Rural America is one of these perfectly acceptable, but probably not outstanding, works dealing with American Christianity.

Initially I was quite put off by what seemed to be O'Dell's attitude toward ministry in general and toward rural ministry specifically. It was a good reflection of the problems and dangers of a "corporate/professional" ministry outlook. When ministry is little more than your career, and each church a stepping stone on your path to personal success and power, you are severely misguided. Unfortunately, all too often those in ministry adopt this line of thinking. With that said, O'Dell himself recognized the folly of these attitudes, and certainly appears to have followed God's specific call.

To some extent, I feel ambivalently about this book. It has been generated along with an entire host of similar books which proclaim to hold some secret for fixing your church, or for making it explode with growth and vitality. The system here is V.A.L.U.E (oh, how convenient! the entire system fits nicely into this acronym!), standing for Vision, Attitude, Leadership, Understanding, Enduring Excellence. O'Dell's VALUE system seems like it probably is a valid approach to doing ministry in a rural setting. I would not understand it to be the only usable system, and perhaps it is not even the most effective. Who really know? A quick read-through makes the system look plausible at least.

Now, with all that said, there are great parts to this book. I tremendously appreciated O'Dell's challenge to truly believe and to truly live out your belief. Christianity certainly holds to some crazy things. We believe that a supernatural being created everything. We believe that this being communicates to us through a collection of fairly ancient writings. We believe that a man rose from the dead, and that that guy was actually both God and man, and that he is alive today....I could go on. If we really believe all those things we say we hold to....then our lives should reflect these radical beliefs!

I love the inherent challenge in this book to dream big, to be ready for God to step in, and to not be afraid of controversial change. The last 75 pages of the book really pick up, and do a great job of communicating excitement and a desire to see God work. We need this excitement and desire in the rural church.

Thus, the book gets 3/5 stars. A worthwhile read, but mostly the story of how one (seemingly highly effective) church is doing ministry.

[Lenore Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

As I have said before I live in a very small rural town. Now it is quiet around here. But that also means there in not a large influx of people moving to our area. This is great for having a small community that you tend to know most people. But it is not good for growth of the economy or community. Especially for the growth of our church.

You know in your church you talk about how to bring in new members. How to reach out to others in your community. How to grow. Well take that same thought and then place it in a area that has a limited amount of people to draw from. Of course you can see that it makes it that much harder to grow. And even easier for a church to die in 80 years or so. Yes that is the average life span of a church. You did not know that there was lifespans of churches did you. That is why I was so excited when I returned to my home church a few weeks ago for our homecoming. They have been around for 136 years and 100 of that in the same location. Thankfully that church is in an area that is growing in population by leaps and bounds.

But now I am in this small town of 2 miles by 2 miles. The next town of a lil size is over 30 miles away. And large towns are over 100 miles away. Well I do worry (as you may have guessed) on how the churches here can continue. Granny M's church has an 99% elderly congregation. Other than the largest of churches around here, that seems to be the norm. So I was happy to send the book 'Transforming Church in Rural America' with Granny M for her church family to learn from. I love that in this book they can find no-cost solutions for staffing challenges, ways to upgrade worship, and generate teams of volunteers. There are innovative strategies for growth through transformed lives, relevance in meeting needs, and creating active evangelism in your community. Pretty good resources in my opinion.

If your in a small town like I am, then this may be the gift for your pastor. Or you can read it and help in ways to transform your own home church. I am thankful that my home church has grown but it is over 100 miles away from me now. And I am a part of a small town and need to think of how I can contribute here in a meaningful way. Hopefully I can be part of the change and not just the status quo.

[Brenda · Rating 2 out of 5]

was anxious to receive and read this book. I have lived all my life in rural America. I have always attended tiny community churches so I was anxious to read Mr. Odell's ideas on how to grow a rural church.

It only took me reading this book for a few pages to realize that while Mr. O'Dell has some good ideas, some of the ways that he gets his ideas across really didn't appeal to me. One thing in particular he mentioned on page 24 was aging out of youth ministry, I really didn't understand that statement at all. I don't really think there is an age limit when it comes to youth ministers, as long as the youth of the church are learning from the leadership of the youth minister to me it wouldn't matter the age.

Another area of the book that really was off putting to me was when he was discussing the little memorial plaques on the pews, and then went on to mention that there was even one of those memorial plaques on a seven dollar clock, my thinking was that perhaps the family that wanted a memorial to a loved on could only afford seven dollars for a clock. I honestly think it is great to grow a church and get new members but not at the expense of alienating or hurting the members you already have. I for one love attending my tiny church, I love that fact that everybody knows each other, and I love the history of those tiny memorial plaques attached to our pews, its the history of our church, the people who worshipped before us.

I always like to say something positive about every book I read, and for this book, I do believe that Mr. O'Dell is very passionate about what he is writing, and I feel he does want to make rural churches become more relevant. I also think that rural pastors may come away with a few ideas, but it would really depend on the church as to whether these ideas would work, and I would hope that pastors would try to build there churches in a way as to not alienate there members.
I received a copy of this book from Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze program in exchange for an honest review.

[Elisabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Transforming Church in Rural America by Shannon O'Dell is a great book for a pastor or leader who wants to grow their church. Who doesn't want this?

I found this book informational mostly because I really don't know anything about the inner workings of a church. I could also clearly see some of the things he referred to being problems in my own church. I chuckle each time I leave my own sanctuary with its dedicated pews and brass plaques on everything from the Chandeliers to the stained glass windows. I could only imagine the fight over removing some of these things. Our church building dates back to the 1800's and even though it burned to the ground once it was rebuilt and dedicated to the original families that built building one. Oh yes, what a fight that would be.

While I don't lead a church I can see where the information presented could be used in other work related areas and plan to use it with my own teams in the future. This also gave me some ideas to get more involved in the church and offer my talents to helping build the team.

This book also made me reflect on church splits. What caused them and where the two sides are now. So as a non-Pastor I found this book brought me a lot of insight and wisdom I do plan to pass my copy onto my Pastor. I don't hold out much hope for removing the brass plaques though.

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.”

[Pastoralmusings]

Shannon Odell has experienced much success in the pastorate. That success came with a price, however. This book chronicles the trials, struggles, heartaches, and the joys of finding success in rural ministry.
Odell writes in an engaging manner, and it is easy to enjoy the book.
The positive things that I must note is that Odell did not seek to model his church after any particular place. He sought what was best for them. He admits to mistakes. He also was painfully honest about being ignorant of the invisible power structure that is prevalent in rural churches. Odell also dealt with growth in an interesting manner: he wanted to grow people as well as crowds. Odell didn't simply set out to make a small church large; he set out to lead the small church into personal growth as well as numerical growth. It was more than a numbers game for him.
The negative that I take away from the book is the fact that I was left with the feeling (though I think Odell worked hard to not leave this feeling) that many will be led to think that Odell's way is the way to grow a rural church. It is not the only way, and I think Odell would want to state that quite loudly. There is no cookie-cutter approach to church work and church growth. Odell seems to know that, and I believe he wanted to express that by presenting chapters 4-8 that tell us of the need to establish certain attitudes, mindsets, and character traits in ourselves as we labor.
In the end, this book is well worth the 4 star rating.

[Evan Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Transforming Church in Rural America (TCiRA) hit a topic that I haven't really seen approached before. The rural church. I've been working in rural churches for over 10 years, and their is usually a stigma in the ministry world that smaller towns mean unsuccessful ministry or ineffective pastors. This book challenged me personally, as I've always have had the thought in my mind that I've finally have arrived in ministry when I make it to the suburbs. Shannon's speaks to the fact that God has called people to the rural. That the rural can be more difficult than the suburbs.

TCiRA is centered around basic leadership principles that I've seen in other leadership books, but what struck me were the chapters that spoke specifically to the smaller community. Shannon addressed issues that rural churches face.

TCiRA challenged me that just because your ministering in the rurals: that you can be a church of thousands in a town of hundreds, to pursue excellence, and to break every small town stereotype.

Every small town pastor needs to read and allow this book to encourage and challenge them take their church's to places they never have before.

[Blake Chenoweth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Transforming Church in Rural America is one of the books I read because some other preachers around me recommended it to me. I was blessed by about half of the book. Shannon O'dell does a good job of encouraging us in small town churches in America and I found myself nodding along with many things that he was saying. I am in a town of 750 people and serve at one of the two churches in town, so this was a great encouragement to me.

However, I get disappointed in "ministry help" books so often because they tell the story of how they do things and how it will benefit every place. This book is no exception. Shannon tends to lend to the idea that "this is how we did it, and it works" idea. I am glad that it worked for them, but it doesn't mean that will work everywhere. Even if the place is so much like what he describes in the book.

I appreciated the thought that you don't have to be in a city to transform the world for Christ. We can continue to reach people for Jesus here in our little town of 750.

[Renae Deckard · Rating 3 out of 5]

"I'm becoming more and more convinced that leadership in the rural church has little to do with what happens on the stage and everything to do with what happens on the stage of life in the public arena, because in rural America, there really is very little that's private. Everybody knows your wife, everybody knows your kids, everybody knows your junk, and everybody knows your marriage.

"That's why I'm convinced that leadership must begin in the home...a functional family is the most powerful evangelistic tool in rural America."

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need to write a better review of this - but that'll have to wait until after my vacation. For now, it doesn't have a lot of "new" stuff in it, but it puts a bunch of really good church leadership stuff into a rural context & challenges pastors/leaders not to settle for survival mode.

I liked it a lot, even though my community is rural/suburban rather than pure rural.

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

I did not know how I would feel about this book before reading it.

I don't really come from a rural church and never have but there are some great insights found in these pages. I would so far as to say that any aspiring pastor should skim through this book. There is a ton of wisdom contained in simplicity in this book.

[Patrick Breck · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book started well and had a few good "nuggets" of wisdom near the end, but the author lost me in the middle as he chased several tangents that didn't seem to fit the overall model he set out for. At times, I felt like I was reading portions of his Sunday sermons instead of a book on rural leadership.

[Rebecca Basden · Rating 5 out of 5]

How do you take "organizational structure" from the Word to the Church and make it work? If the church is to be an example to the world, we need to be an example in everything, including organization and team building to make an organization, especially a church, work and work well. Pastor Shannon O'dell has done just that and then added what was needed to make it work in rural america.

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mixed bag: clichéd, repetitive, and conversational along with some odd use of Scripture and some glaring typos (Paul involved in choosing the 7 in Acts 6). But some good stuff, too: conversational, a great chapter on leadership, and the constant, important refrain of investing in people. Parts of it are worth noting and referring to again.

[Ken Beckner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not completely "transferable" but lots to consider. Many basic principles that any rural church pastor can do and any rural church can do beginning with the question of our personal commitment to Christ. Good read!

[Stephanie]

At first I have to admit that I was thrown off because of things I had previously heard...but once I doublechecked all sources and just really set my heart to reading the book. It's a really good book. The pastor makes some wonderful points!!

[John]

I thought it was an encouraging telling of the growth at their Church. Did not find much practical help for our rural church

[Luke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Encouragement and vision for those of us in rural ministry, and that is good. Other parts are not so helpful.

[J Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for pastors or leaders in a small rural setting. It has helped me see what's needed, coming from a large urban area to a rural area has it's limitations and blessings.

[Jeff Randleman · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read my review here: http://jeffrandleman.net/2010/10/26/t...