When it comes to country living, things just aren’t the same anymore. While nobody ever said it was easy, huge changes in agricultural and resource-based policies and practices, the centralization of education and health services in urban areas and the subsequent migration of youth and seniors to larger centres have drastically changed life in rural Canada.

These days when rural residents crowd into their local cafes to share a cup of java, things like border closures, Avian flu, plummeting resources and soaring costs dominate the conversation. Replacing the image of rural serenity is the brutal reality that farming is being replaced by agribusiness; in other rural resource sectors, thousands of workers have been turned into unemployment statistics.

Community groups such as the local agricultural society, the district hockey team or the seniors’ home auxiliary used to be able to count on community-wide support from local and district residents. Not anymore. Young people are moving to the city in droves and for those who choose to stay on the farm, economic survival often means both husbands and wives must take on several jobs, leaving little time for volunteer work.

No institution, including the church, remains untouched. The challenges facing each congregation are as diverse as the geographic area they occupy.

Rolla is a tiny settlement in northern B.C. of about 200 residents and half that number of buildings. But tiny doesn’t describe Rolla Bible Baptist Church, a congregation of between 200 to 250, some members of which drive up to an hour to get to church on Sunday.

Although some congregants are employed in the oil patch and forest industries, the majority are involved in the agricultural sector. Pastor Gary Henderson is not only well acquainted with the day-to-day challenges facing his church, he has first-hand experience with the devastation brought about by sustained drought and bottom-of-the-barrel market prices. Henderson pastors but he also farms, raising cattle and horses.

"If your cow is your god," he says, "if that’s what you’re trusting in, you have a pretty anaemic god." Henderson isn’t discouraged, though. "The people are still giving and the church is still growing," he says.

Scott Penner has pastored Truro Alliance Church in Nova Scotia for the past 13 years. Far from the sprawling cattle and grain operations of Western Canada, BSE and closure of the U.S. border aren’t a problem. Instead, concerns centre on the fluctuating prices of commodities like pulp, paper and stud wood.

"Churches are struggling and pastors have to work part time. It’s a huge problem in rural communities," Penner says. Penner’s wife is a nurse; her income lets him devote his time to serving the congregation.

"Our people are so good," he says with genuine enthusiasm, "The board has been so good to free me to do my work [at home in order to be with his children]. The creativity and working together keep us here."

Remaining in one place is, to Penner, a major factor in the health of a rural church.

"The longevity of the pastor makes a big difference," he says. "It takes a long time to capture the people’s hearts. I would like to get that message out. ‘When you’re good, you move on’ is too much a part of our church culture. Pastors must stop looking at rural churches as mere starting points."

Grenfell, Saskatchewan has a population of 1,100 and is located 127 kilometres east of Regina, its boundaries skirting the TransCanada Highway. Its residents understand the good and not-so-good seasons of agriculture and politics.

Agricultural crises "certainly have raised fear levels," says John Taylor, pastor of Grenfell Apostolic Church. Taylor cites some of the results: marriage breakdowns, financial distress that for many verges on bankruptcy and the forced relocation of families seeking employment.

Brian Munroe lives not too far from Grenfell, in the small town of Balgonie.

"There is an unsettled, unsure feeling where people don’t know what the future holds next," remarks the Balgonie Baptist Church pastor. "Agricultural policies are moving targets and there isn’t anyone in Canada who can tell you when the border will open.

Farming is taking on the nature of 14th century indenture to major corporations."

As he sees its, the greatest impact is felt in the "hole" left by the departure of young people in pursuit of higher education. The sad reality is that few return.

"The cities are becoming the economic magnets and the rural area continues to weaken. In our church, only one son out of three farming families will pursue an agricultural degree and come home to farm."

Another challenge for the rural church is growing "rurban" phenomenon—city dwellers who move to the country, bringing with them a different outlook on life.

According to the Rural Home Missionary Association Web site, people moving from the city to the country are often "less traditional, more contemporary, highly educated and working in white collar occupations." God and church attendance don’t usually merit priority in their mammoth schedules.

For many rural churches, this influx of "foreign" culture and lifestyle creates suspicion rather than new life.

Knowing how to reach out and help through the transition troubles Munroe. "How do we minister? The transition can’t be changed and there is a long mourning process involved," he says, as farm families watch their traditional way of life disappear.

The rural churches located along the picture-perfect shores of the Pacific West Coast have their own set of challenges. Kelly Creek Community Church meets in a cedar building, nestled beside a country road south of Powell River, B.C. They don’t have a pastor, but John Dalziel serves the congregation as an elder and recognized spiritual leader.

"We must have everyone become active in order to fulfill our mission," he says. "The issue of a pastor has come up but we don’t have the budget."

Dalziel cites the small number of adherents, plus on-going community conflicts in the logging and fishing industries as major challenges. "But it hasn’t affected the giving level of the people—they continue to give," he says.

In Port McNeill, which overlooks Broughton Strait on Vancouver Island’s northeast corner, multinational business interests have taken over many major forestry companies, leaving its employees and communities without the support they once enjoyed. Full-time workers are being replaced by contracted labour. The spectre of so easily losing their jobs drives people to work weeks on end with no days off.

"There is a general feeling of uncertainty that is reflected in people’s willingness to commit to long-term activities such as teaching Sunday School or leading a home group," says Rick Ivens, pastor of Full Gospel Church of Port McNeill.

As the fabric of country living unravels and reweaves itself, challenges to adapt, to refocus and to rebound are both gigantic and urgent. The traditional family farm no longer exists; commercial, sport and First Nation fishermen vie for fish stocks once thought inexhaustible. Decades of poor logging practices have denuded land and stripped workers of their jobs. There are plenty of questions but few answers.

But even as they struggle, Christians throughout Canada continue to trust God, support local churches, care about their neighbours and share what they have with those at home and around the world.

Linda Wegner, a writer and speaker, is also a workshop consultant with Agricultural Institute of Management in Saskatchewan. For information about her heart for rural people and a listing of her workshops, visit www.wordsofworth.ca