Hunter Clamp
The Lord had been stirring within my heart to pastor in a rural context for quite some time. I knew it was only a matter of time until the Lord called me elsewhere to serve. My time in the Upstate was filled with many great memories, but soon I would be trading those beautiful downtown Greenville views for the rolling hills and cattle farms of northern Lancaster County. I was living in a beautiful home in Greenville with a godly roommate and mentor who served with the IMB in Central Asia.
However, I soon found myself in a single-wide trailer tucked back off a gravel road. The nearest grocery store was no longer three minutes away but now 30 minutes away. I had left the life I was accustomed to, and now I was all by myself serving as a youth and children’s minister at a rural Baptist church in Tradesville, S.C.
I spent the months of August, September and October reflecting on God’s faithfulness toward me and the call He had placed on my life. Many of my friends thought I had lost my mind since I had left the Upstate and the church where I was serving to go to a town with fewer than 300 people. The transition from Greenville to Lancaster was not the easiest; however, I am thankful for my new church family because they came alongside me, welcomed me and, most of all, loved me.
I spent many evenings walking the gravel road by my house, praying and seeking the Lord. A verse that guided me, and continues to guide me, is Psalm 40:8: “I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.” The reality is that, as believers, we must seek to do the will of God and not our own.
Unfortunately, many young pastors now desire a big salary and notoriety on social media. Being a young pastor in a rural town has been a tremendous blessing in my life. No, you will not see me on Instagram or on the front page of The Baptist Courier in South Carolina, but you will find me surrounded by church family, eating Sunday lunch after church. You will find me walking along old country roads ministering to those in my town, and you will find me at the high school football game on Friday nights.
The reality is we need more young men to step up and pastor in rural areas. The U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2017 that 60 million Americans live in rural areas, so that means roughly 1 in 5 Americans live in a rural area. These places, which some claim are the “middle of nowhere,” are actually the middle of somewhere to many Americans.
Pastoring in a rural context provides unique opportunities and experiences you would not get if pastoring in a big metropolitan area. It allows you to minister to the whole town and share the gospel with those who are unchurched. I have ministered to many who are not members of my church but live in my town because I am active in my community. Pastoring in a rural area also provides many opportunities to connect with youth and children at the local schools. Schools in rural areas tend to be more welcoming of pastors and church ministries, unlike many schools in big cities.
The biggest lesson I have learned while pastoring in a rural area is that the congregation longs to hear the Word of God preached and proclaimed in the pulpit and in Sunday School classrooms every week. Many of them haven’t been exposed to expositional preaching.
It is crucial to get young men who have graduated from a strong Bible-believing seminary pastoring in a rural context. I am reminded of John Piper’s book, The Supremacy of God in Preaching. Piper constantly states that the preacher must lift up the glory and splendidness of Christ in every sermon. Through such preaching, the people of God will truly see the beauty of King Jesus in all of His glory.
Lastly, the rural congregation also longs for fellowship with fellow believers. I cannot tell you how many potluck meals I have had since coming to my rural church. Every meal has brought me immense gratitude and blessings. The rural congregation truly loves their pastor and wants to take care of him. When I moved to my small single-wide trailer, I had no furniture or kitchen appliances. Yet the members of my congregation stepped in and blessed me in ways I could not have imagined. It has been one of the greatest joys and blessings of my life pastoring in a rural context.
To live out God’s calling on your life is such beautiful thing. If you are a young man, or perhaps maybe even an older gentleman reading this, I pray that you take into consideration doing ministry in a rural area. You may never become famous on social media or have a large paycheck, but you will be playing a vital role in God’s kingdom here on earth. I have seen God work in miraculous ways the last few months, and I’m now planning to baptize three students. May we never forget the power of our Lord and what He is doing within the rural church here in America.
— Hunter Clamp is youth and children’s minister at Spring Hill Baptist Church in the Moriah Baptist Association.
