It's hip and cool to be urban-focused these days as an evangelical. But our nation would not function well with the loss of either the urban or rural populations. Just as the nation needs to be concerned with both, we as evangelicals would do well to do the same. Urban ministry is not superior to rural ministry. Poverty is poverty, whether surrounded by hip restaurants and shiny skyscrapers or dinky diners and dusty roads. And just as more than a few of today's resident urban influencers grew up in rural America, more than a few of tomorrow's city dwelling influencers are growing up today in small town America.
Newsweek reports that "To research the decline of rural America, [Patrick] Carr and [Maria] Kefalas spent six months in a 2,000-resident town in northeastern Iowa (given the pseudonym Ellis in the book), where they interviewed hundreds of current and former residents, whom they categorized as Achievers (those who leave), Stayers (those who remain), Seekers (those who leave to travel or join the military), and Returners (those who leave and come back). They spoke to NEWSWEEK about their experience there and about what they believe can be done to stop the emigration from this country's heartland."
Kefalas describes the "brain drain" that results when small towns lose their brightest to the big city and the need to pay attention :
Sixty million Americans [one in five] live in rural America. I strongly believe we wouldn't be asking the question, should we let the inner city die? Should we let other communities wither and fall by the wayside? I think we have a moral obligation to these communities, an economic need to sustain them—this area is where our food comes from, and it's going to be ground zero for the renewable-energy revolution, so I don't think it's good for America or for these communities to say, "Well, let's just go through some Darwinian process of natural selection and the strong will survive and the weak will die." With an investment, with a plan, with renewed energy, it will be great for America and the region. We won't be able to save all of the small towns, but saving a number of them will be good for the country as a whole.
