Cowboy Church

This morning I was headed south, but not by myself.  This road trip was a day trip and I was on a nice motor coach with 35 other people with the destination of the King Ranch.  My companions were people (and friends of those people) who are members of my Sunday School class; one of our members just happens to be a tour guide and she put this day trip together for us.  She started our trip playing Willie singing "On the Road Again" and were all singing along!  I was especially glad because it just didn't work out for me to take a fall road trip this year, so this was a nice substitute. 

We were scheduled to make a rest stop along the way.  Our guide had let me in on a little secret about our first stop, so I knew we weren't stopping at the rest area.  We were going to Brush Country Cowboy Church. 

This church is for cowboys and cowgirls and welcomes city slickers, too!  The pastor had prepared coffee (regular and decaf), had juice, fruit, apple fritters from a local bakery, plus a tray of muffins and pastries to welcome us.

Pastor Pat talked to us for a few minutes about the history of the church and then he gave us a little sermon.  Just from listening to him for a few minutes I knew that he was a man of God who is passionate about his faith.  He was wearing jeans, boots, hat and a work shirt; I am sure that he can rope a calf, drive a tractor, and handle any ranch chore.  After I got home when I looked at their web site there was a picture of him on a horse, he's a cowboy and a pastor! Our guide has brought groups here before and even attended a service recently, so she knew him very well.  She explained later that when she brings non-church groups that he can't preach since they have to be mindful of different beliefs (sad, right?).

The stage was ready for the Cowboy Band to play.  Music stands, microphones and sound equipment were all there.  At the front of the steps was this tractor seat stool, boots, rope and saddle.

A metal building with a commercial garage door, walls of plywood, a place to worship.

The adjoining building appears to be their fellowship hall and classroom space.  My church has golf carts to transport people around, they had a John Deere tractor sitting out front. As we were leaving I looked back and behind the playground visible just on the left was a nice arena with lots of stadium seats.

What do country people love?  God, family, and country! The American flag and the Texas flag were displayed on either side of the front wall of the church.  Pastor Pat had just returned from saying goodbye to his son who was deploying to Afghanistan.

As much as I love the stained glass windows, pipe organ, and the traditional worship of my church I found myself thinking that this is my kind of church, too.