Churches can be an important player in helping struggling rural communities regain their footing and move forward with confidence and optimism.
That was one of the key messages delivered at a recent conference in Lloydminster designed to examine the role churches and church leaders can play in rural development.
The conference was organized by the Centre for Rural Community Leadership and Ministry, a non-profit registered charity formed in 2007.
Cam Harder, executive director of CircleM, as it’s called, said the centre works to provide resources, tools and training to help rural communities deal with the problems they face.
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“We’re trying to fill a huge gap, which is helping rural churches learn how to partner more effectively with other organizations and groups in their communities,” he said, including educators, business, health care, police and other churches.
He said rural churches and other groups need resources specifically designed to meet their needs and that will enable them to look at their situation in positive ways.
Local communities often have to deal with a boom and bust cycle, he said.
One day oil companies are knocking on the door and money is flowing in, while the next day a health care facility or elevator is closing down.
“We need to find ways to increase the resiliency of the community to deal with that kind of thing,” Harder said.
CircleM is not designed to help individual churches increase their membership or proselytize their particular religion, he added.
About 80 people, mostly from Western Canada, attended the three-day conference, which featured guest speakers, panel discussions, workshops on subjects such as leadership training and recovering from crises, and open sessions at which participants could bring up any subject they wanted to discuss.
“People got very enthused,” Harder said, as they shared experiences and told stories about ways their churches engage with local communities.
“I was thrilled with the interest and participation.”
This was the first such conference organized by CircleM, but it won’t be the last, Harder said.
The plan is to hold one in Western Canada in odd-numbered years, while a similar organization holds one in Eastern Canada in alternating years.
