Six Thousand Country Churches

by Charles Otis Gill; Gifford Pinchot

Community life has been made attractive through special instruction and entertainment, social gatherings, athletics, and all kinds of healthy amusement.

There still are two churches, but one of them meets not oftener than once a month, is attended by only two or three families, and has ceased to be a factor in the life of the community. The other church is well attended and is generally recognized as the community church. The members of the two churches which have dropped out have, for the most part, united with it, while the building of one of them has become the gymnasium of the community church.

Though the work of this successful pastor was begun before the modern country life and country church movement had been developed, his program and methods of work in no way differ from those which are common to the nation-wide movement. In fact large numbers of country pastors, widely scattered over the United States, entirely independent of one another or of the literature of any special movement, have made and carried out programs for church and community betterment which in their essentials are substantially alike. The pastors have all studied the needs of their communities and have tried to meet them. Similarity of needs in the different communities has naturally resulted in the adoption of similar programs.

The pastor who did at Ashley the work just described began by making a thorough study of his parish. He then led the young people into active work for their community, and later on stimulated the older men to do their part also, until finally it became recognized in Ashley that the duty of the Christian and the church is not to work mainly for the church, but mainly for the common welfare and the development of all the people.

This minister never emphasized any form of sectarianism. He thought of himself as pastor of the whole town and countryside rather than of his church alone, so that whatever he did was entirely free from the spirit of competition. The people did not fail to recognize his aims, and, in consequence, were satisfied with his leadership. Thus it became possible for him and his church to work to satisfy the needs of all the people. The Presbyterians and Friends, therefore, willingly joined his church and gave up their own. But if in speech or deed he had attempted to build up his own church at the expense of the others, there would undoubtedly be four churches in Ashley to-day.

The Ashley community church secured the creation of a community library, itself provided a community reading room, gave special attention to the day school and its teachers, held each year free university extension lectures on agriculture and home economics, lectures on sanitation and prevention of diseases, gave socials and festivals, promoted athletics, maintained a church gymnasium, and formed farmers’ clubs and helped them in their work. Though there were lodges in Ashley which held occasional gatherings, still the church was generally recognized as the institution which supplied the opportunities for social life for the whole community. The church became preëminently the most democratic and most popular institution in the town.

Simplicity of organization was the aim of the pastor. Sunday school classes, including a men’s Bible class, were organized, and were stimulated to do their best to meet the social and other needs of the community. So well did they do their work that other organizations were found to be unnecessary. One unusual feature of the pastor’s work was the combining of the Bible school session on Sunday morning with the service of the church, making one service of worship, at which communion is administered and members are received.

No collections are taken up in the church, but a budget is made at the beginning of the year and the money is raised through a church committee. Contributions for benevolences have been greatly increased during this pastorate, and large sums have been spent for building and improvements. Yet nevertheless the community did not furnish adequate support for its pastor, undoubtedly because as in the case of nearly all pastors, he refused to work for an increase in his own salary, while, as in nearly all small communities, no one else took the matter up. In this respect, therefore, the people acted unjustly towards their minister.

It should be noted that the minister was well trained and of high character; that he lived in the community he served; that he was given a long term of service; and that he cherished a right conception of the work of minister and church.

Such work as this is badly needed in multitudes of communities in Ohio. It is the only thing that can preserve or restore their wholesomeness and make them suitable places for the rearing of children. The church, as a whole, should spare no effort in providing large numbers of such men to do this kind of work, for the total result of so doing would be an increase of untold value in the strength of the very foundations of Christian civilization in America.