The project begins with study of demographic information concerning the state of the LGBTQ community in rural America, social and cultural factors, and the recent wave of anti-LGBTQ legislation being proposed across southern states. The project will move beyond review of the literature, news, and legislation to engage in surveys of congregations that fit the profile of being situated in a rural community and have a publicly articulated and practically supported stance of being open and affirming. Field research will follow and will include attending worship, interviewing clergy and lay leadership, interviewing local LGBTQ leadership if possible, and exploring cultural and civic organizations in each community, for at least 5 congregations. From each site visit, a community portrait will be compiled, including the practical theology, community engagement, political advocacy, and history of social engagement and LGBTQ inclusion of each congregation in their contexts. These portraits will offer best practices for my own work as a minister in the rural south, and be analyzed and compiled for publication to share with other practitioners, church and community leaders.