Aug 9, 2022
The NC Rural Center received a $3.2M grant from The Duke Endowment to continue its successful Faith in Rural Communities (FIRC) program for another five years. Since 2017, the Rural Center has partnered with The Duke Endowment to provide training, coaching, and grants...
Sep 21, 2021
A nationwide study of Christians found that church leaders can play an important role in convincing more people to get the COVID vaccine. In our rural communities, there are people like Naaman in 2 Kings 5: 1-19, people who may seem initially hesitant to take the...
Mar 5, 2021
“How can we help this community?” is the question Smith Grove United Methodist Church began asking when they merged with a church located in Cooleemee, North Carolina. Rather than drawing any conclusions on their own, they decided to engage in community dialogue. ...
Nov 25, 2020
When the pandemic began, I was skeptical of the possibility of living and operating in a faith community by virtual means. How could I possibly partake in the life of the church through Zoom? Is it true that the church can worship, I mean really worship, God while I...
Jun 9, 2020
The congregation of Harmony United Methodist Church understood that the town of Harmony was hungry, and they had several successful programs in place that served food to community members in need. As a part of the pilot cohort of Faith in Rural Communities-affiliated...
May 22, 2020
Even though many churches have had to cancel worship and shift to online services to protect congregations from COVID-19, that doesn’t stop Jordan Memorial United Methodist in Ramseur and Boonville United Methodist in Yadkin County from continuing to serve and support...
