Saving Our Small Town Churches

This morning I signed a petition to save a church I don’t attend. St. Martin’s Church, which has been part of our community since 1877, was told last Wednesday that it will have to close its doors sometime in 2021 and the church itself will become nothing more than a building. The community is now rallying around the church by signing a petition with hopes to reverse this decision.

St. Martin’s Church, Odebolt, Iowa

This strikes a chord with me because the threatened closing of this church could have a significant impact in our community. The primary purpose of the Church as a whole is to worship God, grow in our faith, reach the lost, and love our neighbor. But the church also serves a purpose beyond that. The people that attend this church are deeply rooted in our community, and the presence of this church (and the other churches in town) is a part of our community identity. It’s where we gather to worship and celebrate many monumental milestones in life. It’s also where we go for community events like the annual turkey supper and spring salad luncheon. It’s more than a place of worship; it’s a social center as well.

In The Forgotten Church: Why Rural Ministry Matters for Every Church in America, author Glenn Daman writes, “In rural communities, the church plays a more important role than just offering a meeting place for the local congregation. It brings stability and supports the whole community. Because of the lack of social services, many times people will look to the church to fill the gap in food and clothing. Thus, in rural communities, the civil and social well-being of the community is interwoven with the vitality of the local church.”

These congregations not only serve and give to our community, providing help and assistance and fulfilling local needs, but they teach and instill morals and values, cultivate a sense of belonging, show compassion and love toward others, and bring unity to the community. 

A nationwide Barna Group study shows that three-quarters of U.S. adults believe the presence of a church is “very” (53%) or “somewhat” positive (25%) for their community, providing evidence that churches are perceived to be an important element of a community, even among the unchurched.

It’s also worth mentioning that their presence fuels support of other local businesses as well. When people come to town for church services and activities, they also stop to fill up their car with gas and pick up a few groceries or other necessary items and eat out at a local restaurant — all of which support our community at a greater level.

Closing this church means means an important lifeline of our community will be taken away. It means its parishioners will have to attend their denomination’s church in other towns. It means this community will no longer be the primary focus of the church’s outreach. It means some people may choose not to go to church at all. And it means those nearby towns will get the benefit of having these people shop and support their local businesses — at the cost of our town’s businesses missing out. All of this contributes to further decline in our town — something we’re trying so hard to reverse.

At the end of the day, our small towns cannot afford to lose our churches — for so many reasons. And saving THIS church means saving a part of our small town.

>> Danna Larson, Rural Revival Founder

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Your signatures matter!
If you live in the Odebolt area and have a vested interest in the church and our community, please make time to sign this petition.