Simple shelter fits cowboy church just fine

BROOKESMITH—When worshippers gather at the Heart of Texas Cowboy Church, all they ask for is shade in the summer and a roof over their heads when it's raining. But something more permanent than a tent would be welcome.

Volunteers from neighboring churches helped make that possible. Seventeen men from six other Heart of Texas Baptist Network churches helped put the roof on a building Pastor Dearl Hardy believes will contribute to the church's growth.

The congregation began meeting in an abandoned church in Early and moved to its current site last year. Since the move, the congregation has met in a tent.

"We've been under the tent through the drought and the winter," Hardy pointed out. "That's the good thing about the cowboy church. They're just country folks who don't really care about a building. They just want to praise and worship."

Located about five miles from the marker that designates the geographic center of the state, Hardy points out his congregation is both well-named and well-situated.

"We target the working cowboy," Hardy said. "If we can get him, we'll also get the rodeo people, the horse lovers, the cow lovers, the country music lovers and just plain country folks."

The congregation has drawn as many as 87 worshippers on a Sunday morning and even managed to get about 35 under the tent when it was 110 degrees last summer and 10 degrees in the dead of winter.

"They get up to feed their animals anyway, so they're already out in it," Hardy explained.

Many enjoy sitting under the tent with the sides rolled up in the middle of a field. The congregation already baptizes two people a month on average, but Hardy believes more growth will occur when the church moves to the building. The church attracted quite a few visitors Easter Sunday, and many left with a promise to return when the building is completed, he noted.

The building will have doors that roll up on the sides, an important feature since it won't have air conditioning or heat—or even a floor, for that matter.

Still, Hardy believes now that volunteers have built it, visitors will come.

"There's a lot of people out there hungry to hear the word," he said.

That's why other churches in the network were ready to help the fledgling congregation take the next step.

"I was really proud of the turnout," said Don Fawcett, network missionary for Heart of Texas. "We had a very spirited group of volunteers, and the fellowship was great despite it being the hottest day we had this year."

Workers volunteered because they realized they were helping with a project that held implications for the kingdom of God, he noted.

"I think sometimes, in this day and age, it's a little difficult for people to see beyond the needs of their own church. So, this was great to get this kind of participation, and I know the people at the cowboy church greatly appreciated the help," he said.