Together for the countryside: Rural Missions at LoveRural 2026 

Rural churches have experience, creativity and faith to share. Bringing people together creates an opportunity for that learning to travel beyond one village, congregation or denomination.

That was at the heart of LoveRural 2026, the National Rural Mission Conference held at Yarnfield Park in Staffordshire on 19–20 October.

Rural Missions was one of the main partners helping bring this gathering together, working alongside others with a shared commitment to mission in the countryside.

The conference was designed to connect rural practitioners, church leaders and mission agencies across denominational boundaries. Its focus included sharing practical learning, exploring disciple-making in rural communities and encouraging prayer and praise for what God is doing.

For Rural Missions, this partnership reflects something central to our work: local churches benefit when people make time to listen, share experience and explore possibilities together.

Our contribution included Lois and Becky leading seminars, sharing insights and engaging with others around the opportunities and challenges facing rural churches. As well as Bob helping to host the conference.

The programme made room for themes that matter deeply to the communities we serve, including mission with children, young people and families, different expressions of church, and the possibilities within small congregations.

These are questions we encounter throughout our work. How can a church build relationships locally? What might its next step look like? Where could encouragement or practical support help?

A national gathering creates space to explore those questions with people from different settings, while recognising that each community needs an approach shaped around its own circumstances.

We’re grateful to our fellow partners, contributors and everyone who took part. Working together helps us keep rural mission in view and connect people who have much to offer one another.

It’s only with your support that we can continue contributing to partnerships like LoveRural alongside our direct work with churches. Your generosity helps us invest time in shared learning, practical encouragement and relationships that support mission in the countryside.

Give to Rural Missions, or explore how your church could help another church.