As Americans, when we think of poverty (if we do), we think of pockets of poverty: the Appalachia region, inner cities, the Mexican-American border. But the extent of poverty in America spans from California to Georgia, from the bottom of Texas to the top of Michigan. And even though I know all of this, as we’ve been driving around, it’s been hitting me on a very different level. We’ve driven for miles and miles and miles with no sign of gas stations, much less a health care center. There are no grocery stores, much less healthy food options. There are no social services, and the schools-well-they look like they’re struggling.

But this description doesn’t do justice to what I’ve been seeing and feeling over the last few weeks. Over the next few months, we’re going to be looking at some of these atrocities and-more importantly-some of the solutions on this blog. But we’re also going to be looking at another aspect of what’s going on in these rural and poverty-ridden areas: churches, the one social service that exists where no others do.

Churches abound in these areas where we can’t seem to get health care providers, grocery stores, or good education systems. They dot the roadsides, there are signs leading down dirt roads to even more churches, and there are people gathered on the church steps and fixing the roofs. These churches are the backbone of these rural areas. They are the common thread running through these communities. They are the safety nets, the elder care centers, the mental health providers, the social gathering place, and the shoulder to rely on.

We won’t ignore this critical piece of American culture and life: the one system that is trying to respond to the needs of these communities that are sometimes just struggling to get by.