Comments

There is a cowboy church in the county in NW GA where I live. I know people who attend. My son worked for the local newspaper last summer for an editor, not a church-going Christian, who wrote an amusing piece on this phenomenon. He was perplexed by the idea of a church that was segregated by the interest of cowboyism. So he claimed he was going to start a pirate church, where everyone said ARRRGGGH but only the pastor could have a parrot. A church for cowboys sounds as absurd to many people. It's one thing to start a mission for the rodeo circuit; it's another to identify the church for whom Christ died with one sub-sub-group.

When I lived in Colorado Springs, Colorado in the early Fifties there was a Cowboy Church that met in a drive-in theatre. (You remember what those were don't you?) This church was solidly Biblical and did much for the poor in El Paso County.

There is a 'Cowboy Church' out here in Tomball and/or Montgomery Texas and I must say I have always thought the idea to be pretty cool. I have not been, but I do know some that go regularly and they seem to be growing spiritually. As a matter of fact, my brother who we have been trying to 'reach' has started attending one of these churches. I believe that something like this does break the barriers that sometimes us traditional churches not knowingly put up.
Remembering my 'unchurched' roots and knowing where my brother is coming from, I can see where as a non-christian seeking something different in their life would find this to be a step towards a life with Christ.

One thing I appreciate about my church is the diversity of cultures/occupations/etc. However, being a Montanan, I also recognize that there needs to be a bridge between the average church and the Western (cowboy) culture - a culture that values machismo and the tough life of living on the land. Walking into a "fancy" church is a foreign concept to this cowboy culture. Cowboy churches do meet that need.

Whatever it takes to gather believers, and honest seekers of God together to recognize Him and each other, I say is OK. The key to this successfully working will be the accurate and Spirit-inspired preaching/teaching of the Word, and real, honest, fellowship of the believers together....no games. Whatever interests we have in common together soon takes it's proper place in priorities as the real Common Ground is recognized together. With all the "stuck in a rut" meeting styles today, and false teaching/doctrine abounding, the Lord will feed His sheep faithfully no matter what barriers/distractions man or spirit present to hinder. Seek Him together by the markers He gave to recognize Him. Know His Bible well. Discern and rightly divide the "blaze-marks" on the Way as we follow our Shepherd. We will all recognize each other as we go.....and so will the world. Many will follow if we're true.

there have been seamen's churches for hundreds of years...they are not on boats but are in places accessible to seamen...this is no different. whatever gets someone in the doors...

How is a cowboy church any different from a hip 20-something emergent church, a hip-hop church, a rural church or any of the other 31 wonderful flavors of churches that make up the mosaic of the Church in America. It seems to me that instead of lamenting unique cultural expressions of the body of Christ, we should rejoice in the diversity of the Church and how it is represented in different ways. The alternative would be a bland uniformity in worship styles.

Several times I've visited the "Cowboy church" the article was about and found more professions present than cowboys. People generally expect it to be casual dress and welcoming, and it is. The pastor does have a heart for ministering to men and women on the rodeo circuit and his downhome style just fits this particular church. They use their on-site rodeo activities as an outreach to young people too. The gospel has always been clearly given and the church is active in the community. Seems to me they are doing what God expects us to do as part of the body of Christ. As long as they are on track with Scripture - I don't care about the rest.

Rev. 5:9 says that Christ's blood purchased "men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation." A tribe is a sub division of a nation which has a different culture, tradition or background.

How is a cowboy church so strange? Folks from that "tribe" feel at home there worshiping God as do others in their own "tribal" church like African-Americans, Chinese in a house church in Beijing, Messianic Jews, or the proverbial 50 million dollar country club church. Why is it that all other tribal churches are off base, shallow & un-Biblical except our tribal church?

Let's face it, every Church has an identity and you can feel it the moment you walk in. The Cowboy Church is simply honest about its identity and does not pretend to be something tha it is not. As long as it is Biblically sound and is spreading the Gospel, you cares if they attract more cowboy hats than business suits.

So since when is "God's extraordinary project to transcend cultural divisions by uniting a diverse and motley lot under the the Lordship of God's Christ" the definition of church? God doesn't bring us to unity by dismissing our diversity amd motley-ness. God, in Christ, rather joins us and meets us where we are. The God who took flesh for our sake would most probably take a cowboy hat with no problem.

If they are preaching the gospel and taking care of the poor and are known by their love, more power to them. Why would anyone care? Worrying about being "tribal"! You have better things to think about!

In Florida we don't have much in the way of open ranges, but we definitely have a lot of "rednecks" (which basically began as "southern Irish"). They seem to be the same sort of cultural subgroup of people who are adept in the physical requirements of agility, strength, daring, and excitement that vocations such as construction, signal tower climbing, roofing of tall condos, fire fighters, power line workers etc. etc. require. A lot of them are also bikers. The one thing they seem to have in common is that so few of them show up at church. They tend to not like to dress up and prefer playing in the mud holes with their pickup trucks than sitting for an hour on a church bench. Few church people pay much attention to them at the local 7-11 where they sometimes show up in mass at lunch time. We have cowboy churches in Florida where card carrying "rednecks" might feel more at home. I haven't seen any church calling itself a "redneck church" so I applaud anyone out there who are attempting to reach this forgotten part of our population. We need to pray for them to truly succeed in evangelizing and discipling these energetic people for the cause of Christ and his kingdom.

I attended a cowboy church this past sunday for the first time. The building seats 800 people and it has become so full they have recently gone to two services. There are over 125 cowboy churches in Texas and they are baptizing between 30 - 35 people per year and their average attendance is about 150 per church. Not many churches baptize that many people per year. 75% of those baptized are adults. Most churches just baptize children and very few adults. The SBC has commented that by 2030 they will have half the number of churches as they have today. The SBC is not reaching people and growing and the cowboy church is growing by leaps and bounds. Who has it right? The western culture people have not been welcome in churches. The most amazing thing is that the cowboy churches are reaching men and blended familes. Neither of which are being won to Christ by your average church. It is a ministry for the "common man". There has been nothing like it since the beginning of the Salvation Army movement. Don't take others words about it, go visit your self. I will never fit in a cowboy church but I am giving money to it and trying to raise money for them so they can start more churches all across America. I go to a First Baptist Church and I am jealous just like you.

I have visited the Cowboy Church on several occasions. One thing that is quite obvious is that it's a man's environment. The decor is manly as it caters to the cowboy culture. Men are called to be the spiritual leader of their homes and yet most churches are very feminized with lace table clothes and flowers in the front of the church and banners that are frilly. Some men do not feel comfortable in that environment but they do feel comfortable in a place that looks rugged and manly. In the Cowboy Churches I've visited I've seen more men than I do in the other churches. I've seen them able to witness to non-believers through outdoor ministries, fishing trips, hunting trips, roping competitions and buckouts. I tried it myself when a young non-believer visited the property where I have our horses. As we saddled up I mentioned "you know putting on the tack is a lot like putting on the armor of God". The kid said "the what? what do you mean?" Wow! I couldn't believe how easy the door opened to share the Bible truth with a non-believer. I have not heard anything contradictory to scripture in a Cowboy church but I see them bringing men in the door who would otherwise not be in church on Sunday. The Cowboy Church monthly men's breakfast I've attended has a little over 100 men in attendance. How many attend a breakfast in your church? They're bringing in the men and teaching them that real men can love Jesus and be the spiritual leaders in their homes. To that I say Amen!

For over 30 years the Cowboy culture has been changing in the area of Christianity and professionalism. My husband and I have had the honor of witnessing the changes in attitude toward Christ and going to church on a personal level with all types of people including Rodeo people. We are the pastors of Lone Star Cowboy Church, yes the one in the article. I was amused by the comment of the masculine decor, I am the one who designed and decorated all of the facilities on campus. By no means am I masculine but admit that a little more than half of our adult members are male. The arena, it is our "fishing pond". People come to the arena for events, not all events are rodeo events, then are drawn to church. Christ is always the focus. We are asked continuously what is different about our church, the answer is nothing. We are bringing the same gospel as any other Bible believing church, it is just packaged differently. This package is in a casual atmosphere, that attracts people who may not feel comfortable in a traditional church or have never gone to church. Why would they not feel comfortable? Does it really matter? What matters is that the gospel is being presented and people are falling in love with their Saviour more every day. Lone Star Cowboy Church is not affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, but with the Assemblies of God. There are many Cowboy Churches, not all are affilitated with a denomination, most are non-denominational. Bottom line, find a church, cowboy or not, that teaches the uncompromising Word of God and stick with it, you will find more satisfaction and freedom than you can imagine. Look for out of the box ways to make Jesus Christ attractive to others, whether it is boots or a suit, a relationship with Christ is what it is all about. LSCC is not about the outward appearance of a culture, but the inward heart of a relationship with Jesus, bringing families back together, and help for the hurting.