Of the 6,642 country churches in Ohio, therefore, 3,451, or 52 per cent, are in villages containing from 51 to 2,500 inhabitants, and 3,191, or 48 per cent, in the open country.
In the strictly rural districts, 1,207, or 20 per cent, of the churches are in villages or towns of moderate size, having from 501 to 2,500 inhabitants, while 2,046, or 34 per cent, are in small villages of from 51 to 500. No less than 4,853, or 80 per cent, of the churches in the strictly rural districts are either in the open country or in the small villages of 500 inhabitants or less. In addressing ourselves to the rural church problem, therefore, we are almost exclusively concerned with the smaller villages and the open country.
TABLE IV
Number of Churches in Villages and in the Open Country
| Rural townships | Per cent | Other rural sections | Per cent | All rural sections | Per cent | |
| No. churches in villages containing from 51 to 2,500 persons | 3,253 | 54 | 198 | 34 | 3,451 | 52 |
| No. churches in open country | 2,807 | 46 | 384 | 66 | 3,191 | 48 |
| No. churches in villages or towns having from 501 to 2,500 inhabitants | 1,207 | 20 | 76 | 13 | 1,283 | 19 |
| No. churches in villages having from 51 to 500 inhabitants | 2,046 | 34 | 122 | 21 | 2,168 | 33 |
| No. churches in open country and in villages having less than 501 inhabitants | 4,853 | 80 | 506 | 87 | 5,359 | 81 |
We have assumed 50 persons as the line which separates a small village from the open country, just as the United States Census has assumed 2,500 persons as the lower limit of the town. In rural Ohio there are 1,477 villages whose inhabitants number 51 to 2,500 persons. (See [Table V].) Of these, 673, or 46 per cent, have from 51 to 200 inhabitants; 487, or 33 per cent, have from 201 to 500 inhabitants; while 317, or 21 per cent, have more than 500 persons.
Of the smallest villages, or those of 51 to 200 persons, 234, or 35 per cent, have one or more ministers living near the church he serves and 270 ministers in all; while 440, or 65 per cent, have no resident ministers whatever.
In the 487 country villages whose inhabitants number from 201 to 500 persons, 360, or 74 per cent, have one or more ministers and 527 ministers in all, while there are 127, or 26 per cent, without resident ministers. Of the 317 villages whose inhabitants number more than 500 persons, 308, or 97 per cent, have one or more resident pastors and altogether 896 ministers—(which is 53 per cent of the whole number of ministers living in villages), while only 9, or 3 per cent, are without any ministers at all.
Of the 1,477 country villages of all sizes, 901, or 61 per cent, have one or more resident ministers and in all 1,693 ministers, while 576, or 39 per cent, of the villages have no minister living in them.
These 1,477 villages have only 3,253, or 54 per cent, of the churches, but they have 1,693, or 82 per cent, of the ministers; while the open country, with 2,807, or 46 per cent, of the churches, has only 360, or 18 per cent, of the resident ministers. More than 87 per cent of the open country churches, or 2,447 of them, are without a resident minister.