Every Tuesday night, cowboys and other horse enthusiasts meet at a barbecue restaurant in Chesnee to worship God. They sing songs, collect offerings in an eight-gallon feed bucket, listen to a message from their pastor, and, in just a few weeks, will baptize two new believers in a horse trough. If this doesn’t sound like your weekly church experience, hang on, partner – learning about cowboy churches is one exciting ride.
Church members Rick Childers (left) and Sherwin Lindsey (center) talk with pastor David Kite at the first meeting of Cross Gate Cowboy Church on Jan. 5. Kite leads the weekly worship service designed to reach unchurched horse lovers in the Upstate.According to 2004 equine census data, South Carolina is home to 84,000 registered horses owned by about 35,000 individuals. They represent a $478 million annual industry that includes the care and sale of horses, and activities such as rodeos and arena competitions.
David Kite is passionate about reaching the cowboy community with the gospel. Kite is the full-time pastor at Cooley Springs Church, Chesnee, and is also pastor of Cross Gate Cowboy Church, the one that meets at the barbecue restaurant. He says Christians should see the cowboy community like other cultures and unreached people groups.
“These people are hard-working, with high morals and ethics. Some are searching for God’s will for their life, some for a place to serve and others are new to the gospel message,” Kite said. Since its first service on Jan. 5, Cross Gate has reached 130 individuals, and 50-75 people attend services each week.
In addition to Cross Gate, there are two other cowboy churches currently affiliated with the South Carolina Baptist Convention, including Happy Trails Cowboy Church in Simpsonville and Riding for Jesus Cowboy Church in Pacolet. Three more churches are meeting in Lancaster (Carolinas Cowboy Church), Pageland (Sand Hills Cowboy Church) and Starr (Country & Western Harvest Worship). The Cowboy Church Network, an international ministry that supports the Cooperative Program, reports there are 682 cowboy churches across North America.
According to Ronnie Cox, SCBC Acts 1:8 strategist, people in the cowboy community have horse-related weekend activities that prevent them from attending Sunday worship services. Many of the folks who attend cowboy churches wear blue jeans, cowboy boots and hats, which can also set them apart in a traditional church setting.
“Cowboys and other horse lovers are not going to come en masse to a traditional church because they would feel out of place. There is a specific calling for someone to work in this culture to reach these people for Christ,” Cox said.
Floyd Tidsworth is a former North American Mission Board missionary working with SCBC equestrian ministries. He is also a member of the oldest cowboy congregation in the state, Happy Trails Church in Greenville, that began more than a decade ago. Tidsworth uses U.S. Department of Agriculture data to identify dense horse-population areas in the state, then partners with existing cowboy churches to begin a ministry there.
Fifty-eight Cross Gate Cowboy Church members participated in a trail ride Feb. 27 at a local state park. After the trail ride, members enjoyed a cookout and devotional and spoke with other riders in the park.“The goal is to reach more people for Christ, and this segment of the population can be better reached by offering these churches to them. Cowboy churches are doing all things the New Testament teaches – baptizing people, developing disciples, giving to missions and fellowship. We look for where God is at work, and join him there,” Tidsworth said.
Jim Goodroe, director of missions of the Spartanburg County Baptist Network, embraces the cowboy ministries in his association. “Cowboy churches are a great example of what the Bible describes in 1 Corinthians 9,” he said. “They identify with a different type of people to win them to Christ, and remind us that our Great Commission is to go make disciples rather than waiting for them to come to us.”
Cox agrees that horse lovers are open to the gospel, but it has to be brought to them. “Our understanding of church should be redefined to reach them for Christ, disciple and encourage them in their Christian walk,” Cox said.