Flyover Church: How Jesus' Ministry in Rural Places Is Good News Everywhere

by Brad Roth

Christ is present and at work in rural communities. How do we lead from that reality?   The tensions unleashed over the past few years, which led to skepticism, breakdowns of trust, declining church attendance, and uncertainty around community ministry, continue to linger in and among our rural churches. The temptation to operate from a scarcity mindset is stronger than ever. Yet God’s loving, redemptive work is happening in all places—no matter how small or far-flung.   In Flyover Church, Brad Roth, the author of God’s Country, approaches rural ministry in a way that recognizes its soul-deep commonalities with the church in every place. And he speaks a hopeful message into the distinct challenges—and promise—faced by rural communities. Tracing Jesus’ ministry and bountiful work among rural and small-town people and places in the gospel of Mark, this book offers a vision for ministry tailored to rural settings. Pastors and leaders everywhere will be encouraged to approach ministry from the reality of God’s abundance.  

160 pages, Paperback

Published August 13, 2024

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 4 out of 5]

When young people are leaving their small communities and moving to the city, are rural areas still important? In this era of mega-churches, are the small rural churches even still alive, still relevant?

Roth has a passion for the rural church. He has served in small communities and calls on his and other pastors' experiences to explore the importance of the rural church. He writes about the social interactions (you know everyone in the town) and about a slower pace of ministry. I really liked his section on Gelassenheit, the Anabaptist spiritual posture of yielding to God in all things, learning to do less for Christ rather than creating an impressive agenda of ministry events.

Roth writes of his insights in the context of the gospel of Mark. In addition to rural spirituality, he has some good general insights on topics like evangelism and deep listening. There is a resurgence of small community living as some are moving out of the urban pressure so this book is a timely one.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My comments are an independent and honest review.

[Michelle Kidwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

Flyover Church
How Jesus’ Ministry in Rural Places Is Good News Everywhere
by Brad Roth
Pub DateAug 13 2024
Herald Press
Christian



Netgalley and Herald Press have provided me with a copy of Flyover Church for review:



There is a presence and work of Christ in rural communities. From there, how do we lead?

As a result of tensions unleashed in and among our churches over the past few years, skepticism, breakdowns of trust, declining church attendance, and uncertainty around community ministry continue to linger. We are more tempted than ever to operate from a scarcity mindset. It doesn't matter how small or far-flung a place is, God's loving, redemptive work is happening everywhere.


Author Brad Roth, who wrote God's Country, approaches rural ministry in Flyover Church in a way that recognizes its soul-deep similarities with church everywhere. He offers a hopeful perspective on the distinct challenges and opportunities rural communities face. This book presents a vision for rural ministry based on Jesus' ministry and bountiful work in Mark's gospel. Throughout the world, pastors and leaders will be encouraged to approach ministry from a place of God’s abundance.


I give Flyover Church five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

[Joel Shenk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roth presents a narrative manual for ministry in Flyover Church. I am also a pastor, and while I'm not in the same kind of context as the author, I found it to be very relatable and inspiring. It made me want to be a better pastor in my place. The subtitle says it all... this book speaks about good news "everywhere." It was interesting to read his examples and illustrations, but also encouraging to relate his rural context to my ministry in a mid-sized city.

Read along side of it other books such as "Diary or a Country Priest" by Georges Bernanos, or anything by Wendell Berry. It will rekindle your love of place and call to ministry. And for we urbanites, it will also expose some of our own stereotypes and biases toward rural small towns and teach us a few things along the way as well.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Roth writes in the spirit of Eugene Peterson’s “Working the Angles,” David Hansen’s “The Art of Pastoring,” and Henri Nouwen’s “In the name of Jesus.” Flyover church is a must read for pastors of any location, but especially those looking to cultivate a Christlike heart for ministry at the margins, which is to say, the kind of ministry that truly matters in the end.

[Melanie Springer Mock · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully written book, and although I'm not part of flyover country, Roth reminds me to be present in the places where I've been planted. A full review will appear in a forthcoming edition of Anabaptist World.

[Mary Hess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish this book had been available 10 years ago when my husband and I moved to rural community to plant a church. I think it would have saved us a lot of frustration. Sometimes you have to detox from "mega church mode" and if you don't know how, it can be detrimental to rural community church growth.

Brad does an amazing job of bringing 'normalcy' back to small community church life. One of the things I wish we had known was simply to just dig into the community and not worry about how fast the church was growing or not growing. I honestly just loved his fresh, simple-yet-wise perspective on small town living and how we can be 'successful' (even though I hate using that word) in kingdom-building in rural communities.

Every rural pastor should read this book and be encouraged!