There is important, impactful ministry to be done in America’s rural communities. There are people everywhere waiting for a leader to come alongside them, as Rev. Emily Zeig Lindsey said in a video we filmed last year.

But there is a storm brewing in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and other protestant denominations, and that looks like a shortage of pastors. Like many tornadoes, this “storm” is exacerbated in the rural Midwest. This month on this blog, we’re taking a close look at Nebraska as a microcosm of this crisis, and are publishing a series of blog posts this month that examine the lack of pastors in the Presbytery of Central Nebraska as a way of focusing on this larger problem.

It’s time now for us to hear from a rural Nebraska church that’s seeking a pastor. I talked to Chuck Price, who is head of the pastor nominating committee for two yoked congregations, First Presbyterian Church in O’Neill and Ewing Presbyterian Church in Bethany. You can see their MIF (Ministry Information Form) here.

Just how rural are we talking about? The nearest big box store is 80 miles away, and the population of O’Neill is 3,700.

Lack of applicants

A few things to establish about this call right away: these churches are willing to accept a first call pastor, and the salary is good when you consider that the pastor will have a manse provided, which is very helpful and pragmatic, particularly in such a small community.

Chuck is frustrated by the lack of applicants, and you can hear it when he talks about serving on the PNC. He compares his experience today seeking a pastor with what he experienced 15 years ago. “That search was more hopeful,” Chuck says. “That pastor was here five years. They were an excellent pastor in the pulpit and in the community.”

Today’s search is different, though, and his church’s efforts to find and call a pastor are an entirely different endeavor. There are fewer candidates, he says, and the number who are willing to move to a town of 3,700 is even fewer.

Chuck is frustrated not only the small number of willing candidates, but the fact that many candidates “ghost” without even indicating why they’re no longer interested. “It is important to follow up,” Chuck says. “I have never been more frustrated in my life when you send an email or leave a voicemail when you get a referred PIF, the assumption is you’re looking. If you reach out to someone, they need to respond.”

ICE raid emphasizes need for pastor

You may have heard of O’Neill because it was the location of an ICE raid, arresting 130 people for immigration violations, gutting the community. Chuck works for the school system and says it was one of the most brutal things he’s witnessed. Area churches staged a protest and rally at the courthouse in O’Neill, and members of Chuck’s congregation participated. But the pastoral leadership that was needed to help the community heal was missing, and Chuck, among others, noticed it. “There were kids who are eight years old and under who didn’t have parents to pick them up on that day from school,” Chuck says. “It was brutal. It was one of the worst things I’ve ever seen as a member of what is supposed to be a civilized society.”

Chuck also knows that the practicality of moving a family to O’Neill when the other spouse needs a job, too, is challenging. Someone from an urban setting in the Northeast, he says, probably isn’t even going to consider a call to O’Neill. While the PNC wouldn’t rule out a candidate from a larger city, they know the reality of that candidate even considering O’Neill is remote.

Chuck readily admits he’s too pragmatic. Having worked in a recruiting role for a company out of state for 20 years, he says he views it sometimes as filling a job – and doesn’t consider enough the spiritual and somewhat mystical nature of being called. But the practical matter of serving in a small community that doesn’t have the amenities many of us have come to expect and enjoy weighs into the church’s ability to attract a pastor.

“We have a great situation here, but the greatest challenge is trying to find someone who fits,” Chuck says. “We get impatient with it because it takes a year or more. There is more a sense of urgency now because we can feel our numbers slipping away. It’s like water in your hands, and without strong leadership, that process is being sped up.”

What YOU can do

What can we do to encourage pastors to consider a call to Nebraska? We need to encourage more people in these Midwestern communities and rural areas to consider seminary. We aren’t doing that quite enough. Those who are more familiar with a rural setting may be willing to return as pastors. We need to grow the number of people willing to consider serving in rural America by encouraging them to attend seminary from a young age.

Look around your own churches. Are there young people with gifts for ministry? Have you mentored them? Have you encouraged them to consider going into ministry? There are jobs, certainly, and more importantly, every church deserves to have a pastor.

From the church perspective, I’d encourage congregations to be more open to pastors who don’t look or sound like them. Yes, we’re saying churches need to be willing to accept a female head of staff, or a person who identifies LGBTQ, or someone who is African American, Hispanic or diverse in many other ways. This is a tough part of this conversation, as we also know that someone who is not white may not want to live in a place where they will be one of only a few people of color, or perhaps one of only a handful of gay residents.

The acceptance has to go both ways, and it is part of this equation – and the part that’s probably the most difficult to solve.

What haunts me about my conversation with Chuck is just how nice he is and how engaged he is in his church and community. He is a real and hopeful Christian witness in his own discipleship walk. He spoke compassionately and passionately about standing with and loving immigrants and children.  During our conversation I could hear the laughs and shouts of young women softball players he coaches. There is life in O’Neill, Nebraska and Chuck and other Presbyterians need a partner as a pastor to walk alongside them during difficult and joyful days ahead…. And soon!
Read the rest of the series:

God’s call to rural communities (October 4, 2018)

Midwestern Ministry Context: A glimpse of the good life (October 14, 2018)

A limitless God called me to Nebraska (October 20, 2018)

The call to rural Nebraska: a seminary perspective (November 4, 2018)

O’Neill, Nebraska needs a pastor, too (November 7, 2018)