No matter where a child lives in America, Christmas is a time for celebration, food, and presents. But not every child in this country gets to live out the dream of waking up on Christmas morning to find gifts under the Christmas tree and the aroma of a Christmas meal coming from the kitchen, especially if the child lives in one of America’s 8,000 rural towns with fewer than 500 residents. A child in a family of four who lives in a rural area is more likely to live in a family with an income below poverty level of $31,200 per year. That child has a higher chance of going to bed hungry and not receiving a Christmas present or enjoying a Christmas meal, than a child who lives in a town of more than 500 residents.

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It’s not that the pastors and church members in rural areas do not want to help their neighbors, usually their reluctance is due to a lack of resources. Recently several nonprofits and mega churches have found ways to help revive smaller community churches by underwriting outreach programs or providing them with the resources that enable the church to not only help the people in the town but revive the church by giving it a part in helping those in need, which is what the church is called to do.

Christmas is a time for giving and thinking of others. During this time, exploring what is working may help those with resources develop programs where they are most needed.

Underwriting Outreach Programs

The opioid overdose rate in rural communities is 45 percent higher than in large cities. Rural communities also have higher rates of alcohol abuse than larger cities and those who live in rural areas misuse methamphetamine almost twice the rate of those in urban areas. This crisis has prompted many larger churches to help by underwriting the cost of weekly programs like Celebrate Recovery programs, as well as providing Christmas meals and toys for families.

Feeding programs and Christmas Toys

Christmas is the ideal time to provide meals for families, especially in rural communities. Many children in rural communities depend on their local public school for breakfast and lunch on school days. Those children often need food in the evenings, weekends and during the summer vacation months. Christmas is often not even a possibility for these families. That’s where ministries like Bridging Hunger become a lifeline for families in need. Every month Rod Baker, founder of Bridging Hunger Ministries, unloads fresh fruits and vegetables, bread, meat, and canned goods to over 100 rural churches that empower the local churches to reach their communities. Christmas gifts are included in December’s delivery. Already, Bridging Hunger has delivered over 1000 toys and Christmas gifts to enable these small church to reach out to their communities.

Rural Compassion founded in 2003 by Steve Donaldson was one of the first ministries to reach out to rural communities. Donaldson’s heart for underserved rural communities and churches prompted him to devote his full attention to bringing light and hope to forgotten places by helping local pastors grow their church by meeting the needs of the people in their communities. Christmas is one of the best times to help a church reach those in need, and Rural Compassion is there to assist in making Christmas a special time for families who need it the most.

America’s rural areas cover 3.5 million square miles and is where one in five Americans live. The need for spiritual revival, exasperated by isolation, could make America’s rural churches one of the greatest and most rewarding mission fields in the world. This Christmas while traveling to visit friends and relatives, pray for the small communities you pass that those cities would experience God’s love as He reaches to every corner of our nation.

This Christmas, share your prayers for those less fortunate in the comments below.

Nancy Huff is an educator with a mission to equip believers to pray strategically for the Cultural Mountain of Education. She has authored Taking the Mountain of Education: A Strategic Prayer Guide to Transform America’s Schools, Safety Zone: Scriptural Prayers to Revolutionize Your School, and Decrees for Your School. She leads prayer groups to pray at key educational locations across the US. For additional information go to: https://takingthemountainofeducation.com/author/nancyahuff/. Photo Credit: Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.