Rural Church Development

05/24/2026

Come join us! Tomorrow!!!!

05/20/2026

It’s going to be a great evening! Come join us! Plus . . . mark your calendars . . . July 13 & 14 we are hosting our second annual Camp Meeting (think old-time revival w a new spin) at Horseshoe Bend Park with live bluegrass/gospel and free food cooked by folk straight from Baton Rouge.

04/26/2026

This evening at 6:00! What a great way to start your week. We sing classic hymns from differing traditions as well as a new tune here and there. Come join us if you’re able!

04/23/2026

04/17/2026

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04/17/2026

Great gathering of Southern Appalachian Rural pastors in Clarkesville, GA! Sooo encouraging to hear what the Lord is doing in and through these men. Rural pastors need this encouragement so very much. They are certainly unsung hero’s behind the scenes for the sake of God’s kingdom. If you remember, please pray for rural pastors. They undergo all of the same trials and temptations as the more prominent church pastors but with far fewer people praying or acknowledging their ministries.

04/06/2026

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The Hebrew verb for sanctify is קדשׁ (qadash), which means “to make holy or remove from common use." Sanctification is often misunderstood merely as moral improvement or good works. While good works are important, they do not make us holy; God does.

Holiness belongs exclusively to God (Rev. 15:4; Isa. 6:3). Humans cannot sanctify themselves any more than they can make themselves divine. Holiness is a 100% God thing and a 0% human thing.

We can exercise ourselves into physical shape or study ourselves into mental shape, but we cannot sanctify ourselves into holy shape. So when the Bible speaks of people “consecrating” or “sanctifying” themselves (Lev. 11:44; Exod. 19:22), it does not mean they make themselves holy. Rather, they are to remain in the holiness God has already given them.

Holiness is always received from God, never self-generated.

In the Old Testament, holiness was about proximity to God. The closer something was to his presence, the holier it was, whether people, places, or objects. God's holiness rippled outward from the inner sanctum of the temple, the Holy of Holies, to the Holy Place, the holy courts, holy city, and holy land.

In the New Testament, holiness is no longer tied to the Jerusalem temple but to Jesus Christ, the embodied temple. He is the true Holy of Holies (John 1:14; 2:21), the one who sanctifies us through his sacrifice (Heb. 10:10). His blood makes us holy (Heb. 13:12), and we are sanctified in him (1 Cor. 6:11).

Even ongoing sanctification is God’s work, not ours. Paul prays, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely” (1 Thess. 5:23). Jesus prays, “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth” (John 17:17). The Holy Spirit draws us into Christ’s presence, "holying" us through Baptism, the Word, and the Lord’s Supper.

Good works naturally flow from sanctification, but they are not its cause but its effect. Because God sanctifies us, good works result.

Holiness is not what we do but what God does in us and for us through Jesus Christ.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES ON THIS TOPIC:

-Article: "What is Sanctification? Revisiting the Old Testament for the Answer" https://www.1517.org/articles/what-is-sanctification-revisiting-the-old-testament-for-the-answer

-Video: "Sanctification: A Matter of Proximity" : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VOhUH7z5Bzc
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03/23/2026

What a fantastic week gathering with rural pastors from Virginia on their first annual Central Appalachian Rural Pastor’s Retreat. New church planters, potential recruits, and those who have pastored for years came together for encouragement, prayer, and discussion about planting healthy rural churches.

03/21/2026

Come start your week with some hope from the hymns. This Sunday at 6:00pm.