A Church That Sees Opportunities When None Are in Sight

It’s easy to get discouraged in the Devils Lake region of North Dakota. The lake has no outlet, so in just 20 years, rising waters have destroyed 150,000 acres of farmland, a million trees, hundreds of homes and two towns. After spending $1 billion, no long-term fix is in sight. Meanwhile, the rural population has hemorrhaged by 20 percent in the same time period—with even larger percentages for young people.

In this challenging setting, Bethel Evangelical Free Church is not only growing but also looking beyond itself. This congregation of 200 has adopted the 60-mile radius around it as its local mission responsibility. The vision: to come alongside smaller, rural churches that can no longer support a pastor but still want to reach out to the people in their area.

Bethel EFC provides a DVD of its previous week’s sermon to each partner church. The lay leadership of the partner church is then responsible for most everything else and can funnel its funds toward mission projects. Bethel EFC also hired a “pastor of rural church care” to provide each remote church with about 10 hours a week of more specialized pastoral help, such as weddings, funerals, leaders meetings and visitation.

Farmers and video venues—it might seem an unusual combination, but these churches don’t want to give up their impact on the world. Bethel EFC’s lead pastor, Bruce Dick, believes there are many churches in his area with 10, 20 or 30 people who are otherwise healthy.

Faith EFC in Grace City is one such church. Grace City has no school and a population of 67. If the church were to close, this congregation of 11 people (three of whom are children) could drive the 62 miles to Bethel EFC, where they would continue to grow spiritually. But who in this world would think about reaching those 67 residents or other people in the surrounding tiny towns? Pastor Dick and the 11 people of Faith EFC believe that God still has a mission for them.

The harsh environment hasn’t discouraged either Bethel EFC or the three tiny congregations they partner with. Together, they are joining God in doing what they never dreamed before.