Greetings in the name of Christ, the Lord of the Church!

Rural and Small Town Mission exists to support and encourage congregations in rural and small town settings in their work to engage their communities with the love of Christ. In partnership with the Southern Illinois District, RSTM invites your congregations to join us at Messiah Lutheran Church, 1031 13th St. Carlyle, IL 62231 on Saturday, September 8th at 8 am until 3 pm for the Engaging Rural Communities Event. We are thankful to the members of Messiah who are ready to host this event at their facilities in the Southern Illinois District for professional and lay leaders.

This Engaging Rural Communities Event is geared for single and multi-point parishes in rural and small town settings. Ideally, a pastor and three to four lay leaders will attend together. Congregational leaders will examine their communities and consider ways in which they can serve the unique needs of their particular communities. Participants will identify personal and congregational assets they have in place and to make plans for utilizing their resources to engage their respective communities. One of the important themes of the event will be on building and strengthening partnerships as multi-point parishes and individual congregations explore ways to work together for the needs of their communities.

Many rural congregations today are concerned about shrinking membership and fewer children and families in worship. There is no "one size fits all solution however congregational leaders will be encouraged as they see new opportunities for engaging their communities and are filled with hope for the future.

Rev. Timothy Scharr, Southern Illinois District President, Dennis Klussman, LCEF and Rev. Mark Nebel, along with Rev. Dr. Lee Hagan, RSTM, will assist each congregation present to go home with some practical approaches on engaging and touching the community with the Gospel. Each congregation will receive personalized demographics for their community. These are studies are an invaluable resource. Be sure to register early so that there is time to prepare your congregation's demographics!

The cost per-participant is $25.00. If desired, you can make overnight reservations on your own in the Carlyle area. Be sure to register for the Event by Friday, August 31st, Call RSTM at 888-463-5127 or e-mail amy.gerdts@lcms.org.