Tailgating: The Rural Church

Amidst fields of soybean, corn, and rolling pastures; amidst trails of dust and the aroma of livestock in the air; amidst (SMV signs) slow moving vehicles; amidst starry skies and moonlit nights – lays the church in rural America. To those who live in the rural area of Greenleafton, Minnesota, this truly is God’s country – “in the middle of nowhere, yet, in the middle of everywhere.”

The rural church is far more than just a community center. It is the community of believers who dig in to help their “so-called” neighbors some ten miles away who have lost a machine shed to a fire, their building site to a tornado, or need help completing their fieldwork. Pastoral visits may take place in the back forty with a quick picnic lunch spread out on a fresh, green blanket of clover; in the farmer’s office, a tractor or combine cab with an instructional buddy seat; or a pickup truck, either resting with both arms extended over the side of the pickup’s box or sitting on its tailgate.

The day of people stepping foot into the rural church seeking a new home on account of its character, appeal, and stained-glass windows is a thing of the past. If we wait for people to come to us, we will wait a long time. Who would come to Greenleafton? There is nothing here! The only reason they might stop in is on account of their asking directions because they are lost.

One of our missionaries once asked, “If your church were not in the community, would people miss you?” Like all churches, the rural church needs to serve the people surrounding it. Seven years ago, Greenleafton Reformed Church (GRC) began hosting its annual National Night Out event. National Night Out, held the first Tuesday of August, is a time of gathering neighbors together for food, fun, and fellowship; it’s a night when people reacquaint themselves with their neighbors. On that night, the hamlet of Greenleafton swells from 65 to 550 in population as the church offers free pork sandwiches, baked beans, milk, and entertainment for all ages. The evening is given to the Lord with a Sunday morning prayer walk within the community and a prayer drive down the dusty gravel roads surrounding Greenleafton.

GRC also reaches out to its rural community by hosting an annual Easter egg hunt in the church’s park (1800 eggs), offering Vacation Bible School, walking a neighboring town’s parade route handing out 1,400 bottles of water, adopting a highway project, broadcasting worship services on two radio and three community cable stations, and advertising in a small movie theater. GRC’s goal is that our neighbors might miss us if we were not here.

The church is Christ’s church. As Christ’s servants, we are called to reach out and serve our neighbors. In humility we pray to God, seeking forgiveness, wisdom, and grace as we represent Christ’s visible presence within our communities.

Roger Lokker is pastor of Greenleafton Reformed Church
Greenleafton, MN.