s of
Methodist and Presbyterian pastors living in the same village and
going on alternate Sundays to another village, in one instance larger
than that wherein the ministers live. The facts as to the growth and
decline of churches with resident or non-resident ministers elsewhere
present (see Church Growth and Decline in Ohio) are a sufficient
indication of the effects of maladjustment of pastoral residences to
rural community needs. Since the modern demand of rural life upon the
church is for community leadership as well as for holding Sunday
worship, it is clear that no adequate program of church leadership in
rural life can be worked out until this vital need of readjustment of
pastoral residences to community service is met.

A third serious problem is that of lack of coordination of
denominational effort in community service. Where two or more
religious organizations find a place in the same small community, no
plan has yet been successfully tried whereby these organizations as
such have been brought into harmonious and continuous action for
community service. The presence of two or three ministers of social
vision in the same small community is not always an asset, since small
communities do not have a place for more than one leader and sectarian
interests forbid cooperation under the leadership of either of the
church pastors. This situation has given rise to such organizations as
the Christian Associations, the Sunday School Associations, and a
large number of nonreligious agencies now trying to provide for
community leadership independent of the church. It is intended here to
call attention to the problem. A suggestion as to methods of solution
will be taken up more at length in a succeeding chapter.

A fourth serious problem resulting from the above is lack of adequate
support for rural religious institutions. Owing to the general lack of
financial resources of rural communities as compared with the urban
centers, they have not been able to compete financially with city
churches in bidding for men who have high standards of living and who
demand large financial returns for services rendered. This condition
will probably continue indefinitely because of the tendency of
large-scale industrial production to centralize wealth control in
urban centers; that is, unless the economic motive is taken from
Christian service through the equalization of salaries. This is a
solution much to be desired, but it is feared th