DALLAS (ABP) — The “cowboy churches” that are springing up throughout the United States are about more than worshiping God while wearing boots and cowboy hats. They are about finding ways to be relevant in the rodeo-circuit, country/Western culture.
In many ways, congregations that identify with the so-called “Western Heritage” movement are like traditional ones, with minor differences.
For example, boots placed at the back of the worship space as receptacles sometimes replace collection plates and offertories. Baptisms often take place in horse troughs. And, of course, country/Western, Southern gospel and bluegrass music often feature prominently in worship services.
Ron Nolen, founder of the Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, said that some traditionalists have criticized cowboy churches for building rodeo arenas. But Nolen believes that's no different than a traditional church building a family life center or gymnasium. He said that, while the appearance may be different, the message is the same: Christ, and Christ alone.
The cowboy-church movement has its roots in Pentecostal ministries from the middle of the 20th century, but has spread significantly among evangelicals — and especially Southern Baptists in rural areas — in the last 10 years.
In 2000, Nolen, whose son competed in rodeos as a roper, began wondering where all the people he always saw at rodeos went to church. He found out that most of them didn't.
To reach the rodeo community, he helped found the Cowboy Church of Ellis County, in Waxahachie, Texas. With an average weekly attendance of more than 1,200, the congregation bills itself as “the largest cowboy church in the world.” And it was one of a growing movement.
Cowboy-church leaders from other states have recently organized an American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches. So far, about a dozen churches have affiliated with it — from states such as Louisiana, Arkansas, Tennessee, Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Alabama.
Todd Hervey, AFCC's nationwide strategist, believes that the spread of cowboy churches is just getting started.
“We are trying to remove the barriers that have kept lost men from coming to church,” he said.