The Greatest Rural Church in America: How One Man’s Vision Became an Amazing Reality

W. Scott Moore. Rogersville, Ala.: Eleos Press, 2014. 230 pp. (Paperback).

There is a place in Gulf Shores that claims to have the best fried chicken in the world. We keep meaning to stop at that service station and see if the claim is true because my husband loves fried chicken. But a service station? 

How about the greatest rural church in America? Pleasant Grove Baptist Church, Moulton? In nearby (to me) Lawrence County? Hmmm. I had to read about this. 

I soon discovered “The Greatest Rural Church in America” is not really about Pleasant Grove Baptist at all; it is about a former pastor, the late Jackie Shelton, and how he grew the church. The author served under Shelton’s leadership on two occasions but focuses in the book on the period from 1984 to 1987, a period of tremendous growth. While Shelton’s techniques might not work everywhere, the author tried them in Ohio and had quite a bit of success.

I sometimes complain about authors failing to give their readers enough information; Moore must have been reading my reviews. He included an author’s note, a foreword (by the beloved evangelist Junior Hill, no less), an introduction and enough charts, graphs, photos and references to satisfy even the most demanding reader. 

All this and an interesting, well-written book too? Ah … I’m happy.