meet these needs.

CHAPTER VII

RURAL CHRISTIAN FORCES

CHAPTER VII

RURAL CHRISTIAN FORCES

_The Community-Serving Church and Its Allies_

I. _Opportunity and Function of the Country Church_

Its necessity to rural progress.
Stages in its evolution, and its changing ideals.
The test of its efficiency.
The church's broad function: community service.
Its high responsibility: spiritual leadership.

II. _Some Elements of Serious Weakness_

A depleted constituency. Economic weakness.
Lack of social cooperation. Wasteful competition.
Poor business management. Moral ineffectiveness.
Narrow vision of service. Inadequate leadership.

III. _Some Factors Which Determine Its Efficiency_

A worthy constituency.
Local prosperity and progressive farming.
Community socialization. A community serving spirit.
A broad vision of service and program of usefulness.
United Christian forces in the community.
A broad Christian gospel; not sectarian preaching.
A loyal country ministry adequately trained and paid.
A liberal financial policy. Adequate equipment.
Masculine lay leadership developed and trained.
A community survey to discover resources and needs.

IV. _Some Worthy Allies of the Country Church_

The country Sunday-school.
The Rural Young Men's Christian Association.
The County Work of the Young Women's Christian Association.

V. _Types of Rural Church Success_

Some real community builders.
The church in the open country.
Oberlin, the prince of country ministers.

CHAPTER VII

RURAL CHRISTIAN FORCES

THE COMMUNITY-SERVING CHURCH AND ITS ALLIES

I. The Opportunity and Function of the Country Church.

_Its Necessity to Rural Progress_

The city man's judgment of many things rural is apt to be warped. The
country is a better place than he thinks it is. Country institutions are
doing better than he thinks they are; and the country church is by no
means as dead and useless as he is apt to imagine. Ridiculing the plan to
federate three village churches, a typical city man remarked, "What is the
use? Three ciphers are just as useless together as alone!" Such a
superficial verdict must not be accepted. The church in the country is
certainly involved in a serious and complex problem. In many places