Cowboy churches rope in new Christians

An alternative to traditional churches
Some Baptist leaders say their cowboy churches have grown so quickly because they offer an alternative for those who associate churches with long sermons and pressure to donate or accept Jesus as their savior.

Many cowboy churches never mention tithing and don't have offering plates; they tuck envelopes into the service programs or put boots out for those who want to give. Also, some pastors don't have "altar calls" but encourage folks who want to follow Christ to see a minister privately.

"People think we've hung boots and hats on traditional Baptist churches, but we found a plan that was radically different," said the Rev. Ron Nolen, executive director of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches and its Texas counterpart.

The Texas Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, which supports the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and the Cowboy Church Network of North America each have "schools" in which they teach people how to start cowboy churches. The new congregations are being formed at a time when attendance and baptism rates have stagnated in a large number of traditional churches, including many in the Southern Baptist Convention.

At a recent Sunday morning service at the Cowboy Church of Ellis County, the Rev. Jess McCabe, a visiting pastor, held up different sizes of deer antlers to illustrate his sermon about how people grow as Christians.

"That's one thing about cowboy church — we all got room to grow," McCabe told the congregation with a smile.

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