Lipscomb teams with small but mighty churches in Middle Tennessee

Lipscomb teams with small but mighty churches in Middle Tennessee

Thrive program is part of a nationwide effort to strengthen small town churches while also learning from their strengths.

Janel Shoun-Smith | 615-966-7078 | 01/13/2026

Ask anyone on the street today to describe a "rural church" and one image will likely come to mind: small.

From the Bomont First Christian Church in Footloose to scientific data from national research houses, the emerging picture of America's small town churches is small, if not declining.

What the average American may not know, however, is that such churches may be small, but they can be mighty.

Mike Cope, director of the Empower and Equip: Rural and Small Town Church Initiative, says "those congregations enjoy spiritual gifts that make them rich and strong in things that matter."

Bart Croasmun, youth minister at Sulphur Wells Church of Christ in Springville, can tell you what some of those things are: "Small town churches care about how well you pastor more than they care about how well you preach," he said, borrowing a quote from American pastor and author Tim Keller.

"One thing our eldership continually asks is, 'Are we being attentive to our neighbor?'" said Croasmun, whose congregation has an attendance of 250 to 300, putting it among only 9% of Church of Christ congregations that still boasted that size as of 2021.

Cope, Lipscomb's College of Bible & Ministry and Croasmun, along with leaders from three other rural churches in Tennessee, will come together in February to "empower and equip" rural churches to draw on those spiritual strengths and magnify them in the face of a daunting societal decline in church attendance and engagement.

Lipscomb's program, lead by Bible alumnus Wilson McCoy (BA '05, DM '16), is called Thrive: Empowering Rural Churches, and will work to build better relationships between the university and rural churches, develop a network of rural church leaders in Middle Tennessee, and develop resources and workshops to help rural congregations feel healthy and equipped to lead in their communities.

"Growing up, some of my most formative moments happened in various rural churches in Middle Tennessee," said McCoy, who is from Clarksville. "One thing I am learning is that every church is different. Sometimes we assume a lot about a church simply because of where it is. I think we will begin to see that while there is some commonality, each church offers its own flavor and texture, and that is important to understand the real life dynamics of people doing real ministry in real places."

The first cohort of church leaders from four Church of Christ congregations in Springfield, Springville, Fayetteville and Shelbyville will begin a one-year series of activities in February, including monthly check-ins with Lipscomb leaders and the network members, one-day intensive learning opportunities, retreats, one-on-one coaching and special gatherings designed to enrich that specific group of churches.

Lipscomb plans to coordinate at least three cohorts over three years, thanks to a $400,000 pass-through grant awarded by Pepperdine University to Lipscomb. Last year, the Lilly Endowment Inc. awarded $7.5 million to Pepperdine, where Cope is the director of ministry outreach, for the Empower and Equip program, which relies on seven of the nation's Church of Christ universities, including Lipscomb, to develop outreach programs in their local areas.

The regional partners like Lipscomb will draw on research on Church of Christ trends and growth conducted by the Siburt Institute for Church Ministry at Abilene Christian University to inform the resources and programs they develop, such as publicly accessible libraries where sermons, classes and community engagement guidance will be available.

"In this region, there are scores of small town and rural congregations of Churches of Christ, many of them struggling and in decline," said Leonard Allen, dean of the College of Bible and Ministry. "We envision forming cohorts where their experience together will include engagement with the literature on small churches, an assessment of their congregations' life cycle, a focus on the particular priorities needed for greater health and vitality, and coaching for each pastor," he said.

"Both humans and churches face the reality of aging and ending, but unlike humans, churches have the possibility of reversing the aging process to some degree and revitalizing their mission. We will help pastors discern their congregation's life-stage and how to address its particular needs."

Croasmun, one of the first ministers to sign up, said he liked the program's emphasis on building a network of church leaders, allowing him to share some of the successes at Sulphur Well, but to also learn from other churches in different circumstances.

Sulphur Well "has a spirit of innovation to some degree," said Croasmun, but its location in unincorporated Henry County can make the church leaders feel isolated. As in most small towns, Springville tends to be on the tail end of new ideas and trends sweeping the nation.

"Hearing from the other cohort members will be vital, because you get to find out where you are all the same in your struggles, standing shoulder to shoulder. Or we discover that we are the only ones who are thinking this," in which case that church can serve as a leader, he said.

"Another important part of this is what the broader Church can learn from these rural congregations," said McCoy, who has preached at a small-town church in Texas and worked at Lebanon's College Hills Church of Christ for 15 years. "Part of the program's research is about learning with the leaders and learning from them as well… We are trying to better understand the dynamics of these churches so that we can plant seeds in other churches."

The program's one-day, in-person intensive sessions will be focused on the health and well-being of the individuals enrolled, finding ways to partner with other church leaders, methods to bring out the best within a congregation allowing every member to flourish and developing a healthy mission for the church.

The coaching culture developed at Lipscomb's Hazelip School of Theology will also benefit the enrolled leaders who will receive training and guidance from some of the Lipscomb faculty as they journey through the program, said Allen.

"We have seen very positive impacts from our investment into coaching among our ministry students," said Allen. "Improved problem-solving skills and deeper commitments to ongoing professional development are benefits we expect to see among the small church cohort."

After a year, the participating church leaders will receive a non-credit Certificate of Leadership & Ministry.

"At Lipscomb, we have long recognized the powerful impact of churches as anchor institutions in their communities," said Allen. "We are deeply committed to strengthening that foundation of support in order to nurture the viability of their communities."