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Working the Soil for the Kingdom
“ Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord...
Ruth Leigh


Church without walls
Think about surfing and your thoughts probably turn to the wide, sandy beaches of Cornwall, awash with lithe folk in wetsuits with boards...
Ruth Leigh


Between the River and the Sea
The Wilford peninsula in East Suffolk is a wild and beautiful place, bounded by the North Sea and the River Deben. Kathy Wilson moved to...

Nick Jones


Coast to Coast: Guests in the Community
England’s most westerly county, Cornwall, is a tourist hotspot in the summer months and it’s often associated with picturesque harbours,...
Ruth Leigh


Lent 2025 Book Reviews
We are bringing you three book reviews to help you choose something helpful to read this Lent. Praying by Heart: The Lord’s Prayer for...

Jon Timms


The Slow Growth Crown of Glory
On Father’s Day weekend this year, I shall be raising money for the awesome charity Chapter2 by embarking on their Father’s Day...

Jon Timms


Do not resuscitate?
If you are to pose the question “How can you help a dying church?” in an internet search engine, the resources, books, and responses...

Simon Mattholie


How have we been taught to read the Bible....and where do we need humbling?
A tree with deep roots sinking into the ground, each one representing scripture and how it has rooted my faith. Some of the roots are...

Jo Allen


Rural Hub update
Rural Mission Hubs are an integral part of the calendar for the pioneers, practitioners, and permission givers, as well as those looking...

Nick Jones


What is your dream for your community?
When I was studying at Spurgeon’s College back in the late 1990s, one of the lecturers posed two critical questions that he believed any...

Simon Mattholie


Responding to an uncertain political climate
There’s a pattern in political history of stability and comfort, followed by a time of uncertainty leading to people seeking hope and...

Jo Allen


How do I look?
On a recent trip to London, I was struck by the number of people who were glued to their phones or tablets, barely aware of what was...

Simon Mattholie


Lent Book Review: Lent with the beloved disciple
Some people’s plans to give up chocolate may be derailed because the beginning of Lent falls on the same day as Valentine’s Day this...

Simon Mattholie


Faithfulness in a 'day of small things'
Why might words written twenty-five centuries ago resonate so strongly with us today? Reading Zechariah recently, I found the phrase,...

Guest Author


The prophetic and creativity
Within the church family, ‘the prophetic’ is a term both avoided and leaned into. It’s something that fuels ministry for some, whilst...

Jo Allen


Introducing Jon Timms
Jon Timms, who will be working with us for the next year while Ali Birkett takes some time off after the passing of his wife, has joined...

Nick Jones


The challenge of indifference
The subject of this article is not what you think. It’s not about apathy or a lack of care. Far from it. It’s about discernment,...

Nick Jones


A Welcome Interruption
It’s a warm day and I’m running through a meadow with our dog. There are flowers of every shade and the warm tones of tall summer grass....

Jo Allen


Get Onboard with Open Blue
Imagine a double decker village hall on wheels—with comfy seating, play spaces, cooking area and games consoles. That’s what Open Blue...

Nick Jones


Derbyshire Rural Chaplaincy
Offering spiritual and pastoral support to the agricultural and rural community Derbyshire is a beautiful county of varied landscapes,...

Nick Jones


Introducing.... Jo
If you receive our weekly reflections you will have met our newest member of staff, Jo Allen, when she put together a short video about...

Jo Allen


What might we do in Liminal Seasons
2016 is what has become jokingly known as the year of no baptisms! Of course there were many across the globe but for the first time in...
Ben Lucas


Fresh thinking in Abbeydore Deanery
It was more than six years ago that the Nicholas Lowton, our Rural Dean at the time, suggested that Abbeydore Deanery needed to start...

Nick Jones


The Missional Opportunities of a Missing Cat!
Or, nothing is wasted with God, as Joy Dimond, Missional Listener in Stow on the Wold explains. My cat, Bertie went missing!!! The first...

Nick Jones


Resurrection People: Worshipping the Risen Christ
Sam Hargreaves of Engage Worship Do you ever feel that Easter Day goes by in a blur? You may have been building up steadily for weeks...

Nick Jones


Time and Space: Going Deep
‘I will never forget the time people gave to me, no matter what I did, or how I was, they didn’t give up on me’. When the phrase...

Nick Jones


Raising awareness of safeguarding in church
Most people will be familiar with Criminal Record checks if they work with people in their church or community groups. They may have been...

Nick Jones


Messy Church Goes Wild
RM's Simon Mattholie caught up with the new Messy Church Ministry Lead, Aike Kennett-Brown. Aike has been involved with Messy Church...

Simon Mattholie


The church of today, not tomorrow
Alistair Birkett shares how rural churches are engaging with young people As he was nearing the end of his ministry, the evangelist...

Alistair Birkett


Book Review; ‘Failure - What Jesus said about sin, mistakes and messing stuff up’ Emma Ineson
Alison Griffiths reviews The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Book for Lent 2023 "Sometimes you feel you get it right, and it is glorious....
Alison Griffiths


The role of a Pioneer Minister: Prophet or Pastor?
An interview with Julie Bryan, Pioneer Minister, West Craven Baptist Church and Alistair Birkett, RM Director for Scotland and Northern...

Alistair Birkett


A Boomer apocalypse?
"Baby boomer" or "Boomers" is a term used to describe a person born between 1946 and 1964, when birth rates worldwide spiked. The baby...

Simon Mattholie


Remembrance
I came from a church tradition that didn’t pay too much attention to Remembrance Day or Remembrance Sunday but I have grown in my...
Alison Griffiths


How village churches thrive
- an interview with Robert Atwell, Bishop of Exeter Over the summer, a new book will be released by Church House Publishing, called ‘How...

Nick Jones


Quality not quantity? An interview with Declan Flanagan, former RM CEO
Simon Mattholie, CEO I recently caught up with Declan Flanagan, the previous CEO of RM, and asked him some questions looking back on his...

Simon Mattholie


Keeping church relevant - an interview with former RM General Secretary Eddie Vass
Simon Mattholie, CEO Eddie Vass was the General Secretary of Rural Ministries from 1990 to 2005 and now lives just outside Ipswich. Still...

Simon Mattholie


The story behind the two-fold vision of Rural Ministries
Nick Jones Although, 2022 marks 60 years since the official founding of Datchet Evangelical Fellowship, our true origins go back over...

Nick Jones


Village Church - a vision for rural Aberdeenshire
RM's Alistair Birkett visited one of the latest joiners to our Network in Oldmeldrum, Aberdeenshire - this is what he found.

Nick Jones


‘Open the doors and love people’
Sutton St James Baptist Church Sue Hensby, Pastor ‘Open the doors and love people’ – this was the call that God laid on the hearts of Sue...

Nick Jones


Salt, Light and a Wild Heart.
Discovery Church, Dunbar, East Lothian, Scotland If you were to visit Dunbar in the beautiful East Lothian region of Scotland, you’re...

Nick Jones


Missional listening
Ben Lucas, Missional Listener, Charlton Down, Dorset It was April 2017 when Ben and Emma Lucas and their four children moved to Dorset to...

Nick Jones


Love It or List It!
Alnwick Baptist Church, Alnwick, Northumbria Chris Friend Chris & Caroline Friend, co-pastors at Alnwick Baptist Church, have been taking...

Nick Jones


Jesus & Emotions
Sara Hargreaves from engageworship talks about their ‘Jesus & Emotions’ creative journal for families, featuring stories of Jesus that...

Nick Jones


Renew Wellbeing
Small rural villages such as Sutton St James always look so idyllic when the sun is shining and the days are long – however, behind the...

Nick Jones


Mission ‘with’
In May 2018, Barney and Sara Barron moved as a family to Looe in Cornwall, having previously served as pioneer ministers on a council...

Nick Jones


The Story of Bardney
Our Mission Partner, the Open Door in Bardney has its roots in the Threshold Community there. Learn how this community, and the Open...

Nick Jones


Learning to listen
Sam and Suzie Abramian have lived on the North West Norfolk coast for the last seven years. They initially moved to the area for Sam to...

Nick Jones
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