Rural America is a mission field.
Core Values
Missionary Mindset
At DRN we believe that rural America is a mission field. As a mission field, small towns and villages across America need missionaries-people who are called to serve and share the gospel. As missionaries, we believe it is vital for us to know and understand the community and accommodate the specific needs of each community-ministering to the members in ways that reach them where they are.
“Jesus taught in cities and villages caring for the people and having compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” (Matthew 9:35-38)
Discernment
All great moves of God begin in prayer. We seek to discern the will and direction of God through prayer. When we press in to prayer, we set our ears and heart to listen for the voice of God, receive His direction, and act in obedience.
“If Christ is alive, then he desires to lead his church. If Christ desires to lead his church then his will should be sought. And if his will can be sought then it can be discerned. If it can be discerned then it deserves to be obeyed. This is nothing more than the basic Christian Life.” - Paul Anderson
“Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.” (Acts 16:6–10)
Rivers not Lakes
At DRN, we believe that rural churches are meant to raise up missionaries and send them into their respective mission fields. The mark of a successful rural church is not judged by the number of people gathered, but by their relationship with God and the discipleship and impact they have in their harvest fields.
People are lost without God, out of compassion, we are moved to reach those who are far from God. This is accomplished by sending out disciples to reach as many as possible.
“Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” (Matthew 9:38)
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.
Matthew 9:38
Beliefs
We are an evangelical, Bible-believing, network of churches. We are united around the uniqueness of the Christian faith and the authority of Scripture. We fully affirm the Article of Religion of The Wesleyan Church.
Mission
Establish a network of rural & small town, disciple-making, life-giving, transformational church plants throughout the country.
Create rural and small town church revitalization cohorts that guide congregations through the process of church revitalization.
Inspire rural and small town pastors to adopt a missionary mentality as they fulfill the call to transform their rural communities with the Gospel.
Encourage rural and small town pastors and congregations around the country by providing rural/small town specific training and conferences.
Distinctives
Essential ecclesiology. The church of Jesus Christ comes in many different forms. House churches, missional communities, and traditional American church models are all legitimate expressions of the church. We allow each congregation to form in a way that best enables them to fulfill The Great Commission.
Freelance and bi-vocational missionaries. We fully affirm the worth and importance of ministers supporting themselves through other employment in order to serve in rural settings. Other forms of employment often provide connections to the community and relieve some of the financial strains involved in rural-church planting.
Women in leadership and ministry. We believe the whole of Scripture teaches that God’s giftings and calling for ministry are not dependent on gender. We will actively encourage women and men to pursue the calling God has placed on their life.
Kingdom over partisan politics. Our mission is to usher in the Kingdom of God on earth. We will promote justice and advocate for the poor, but our churches and leaders will not promote political parties or candidates. Our beliefs and causes will be biblically based with no regard to partisanship. We choose to have a prophetic voice rather than a partisan voice. We intentionally choose to be peacemakers in the divided countryside we are called to reach.
Dirt Roads Network
“His Story”
God is at work in rural America. This is particularly evident in the story of Dirt Roads Network. In the early 2000s, God called a city-guy to pastor a small church in a town of 40 in southeast Kansas. Through prayer and obedience, Lamont Wesleyan Church experienced tremendous growth and became a regional church.
Over time the story of Lamont Wesleyan Church was heard around the country. It began in 2008 when Steve shared the story of Lamont at a conference in Wisconsin. Over the next eight years Steve continued to travel, sharing the story of Lamont Wesleyan Church and encouraging rural pastors throughout several states including Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Minnesota, and Iowa.
God continued to work through Lamont during this time. A satellite location in Burlington was opened to meet the growing need for space. Then in 2017, the leadership of Lamont Wesleyan Church shifted from a satellite church model to a church planting model. Within 12 months three church plants were fostered: Radiant Life in New Strawn, The Watershed Collective in Iola, and Embrace Church in Emporia.
A country church based in a town of forty planting three churches caught the attention of Exponential, the nation’s largest church planting organization. Exponential invited Steve to participate in a learning community. He traveled to several large cities to learn about church planting and multiplication with this group. Through this time Steve began to realize that there were good-hearted, Jesus-loving, Kingdom building people, who truly didn't understand the needs of rural congregations and leaders.
It became clear to Steve that rural pastors needed rural specific conferences, training and networks. Additionally, the concept of church planting needed to be brought to rural communities. In August of 2019, God brought together a collection of people with the same heart and passion for rural communities. Representatives from 7 different states joined Steve in Indianapolis to develop what was to become Dirt Roads Network.
Shortly after this meeting, DRN held its first conference in Imperial, Nebraska. Two additional conferences for the spring were scheduled for Michigan and South Carolina, but COVID required the organization to pivot. In response to canceling the in-person conferences, the cooperative program was developed and became a valuable resource for pastors facing similar challenges across the nation.