May 5, 1999
PASTOR BOB FULKERSON of New Hope Baptist Church in Cleburne baptizes Ben Harding in a creek near the church. The outdoor baptismal service was part of a special celebration for the North Texas Range Riders.
Cleburne church puts out
a spread for 100 guests on horseback
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___CLEBURNE--New Hope Baptist Church is proud of its rich heritage, but the congregation definitely has its eye on the future.
___That might not have been obvious April 25, when 100 guests arrived for Sunday services on horseback. But even that unusual event was a part of the 139-year-old church's eye toward the future.
___The church played host tomembers of the North Texas Range Riders horseback riding club. The group had spent the weekend on its annual Blue-bonnet Trail Ride, and the church invited them for worship and a noon meal of brisket, beans, potato salad, cole slaw and dessert.
RANGE RIDERS participating in the service at New Hope Baptist Church included Floyd Ormsby, event organizer; Tuffy Roberts, president of North Texas Range Riders; and Kent Palmer, vice president.
___Men and women in 10-gallon hats, vests, chaps, boots and spurs--and at least one six-gun--crowded the small church grounds along with their horses.
___The church, which normally averages 50 people in Sunday attendance, tripled its attendance. And church members gladly served the guests, who far outnumbered the members.
___But not all who did the serving were church members.
___Mike and Joe Lain, cousins, cooked the 21 briskets for the event, but Mike Lain is not a member of the church. Pastor Bob Fulkerson said that was fine with him.
___"This was a lay-led project from the beginning. They came to me and said, 'This is what were going to do,'" he recalled. "Then they just set out and made it happen."
___The church had an old-time camp meeting last October to reach out to the community, andwhen Fulkerson started outlining what would be necessary to pull it off, some were apprehensive.
MICHAEL LAIN tests the 30 pounds of beans he cooked in iron pots, along with 21 briskets. (Photos by David Clanton)
___"When we first started talking about it, the reaction was, 'We can't do this.' Since then, our attitude has been, 'We can't do this, so we'd better find some people to help us,'" he said.
___That priority of connecting the church with the community has become a focus for the church.
___"The church has reclaimed its identity. We need to connect to the community and bring those folks in. We need to be the best rural church we can be. We're probably not going to be a huge megachurch, but we can impact the community here," Fulkerson said.
___New Hope worked hard to prepare for the Range Riders, many of whom don't normally attend church. For three Saturdays prior to the event, church members prepared the grounds.
___The number who came to work didn't surprise Fulkerson.
___The bivocational pastor recalled getting off late from his other job the night of the church's Fall Festival and not arriving until 30 minutes after it was to begin.
___"I was thinking of all the things I was going to need to do as soon as I drove up, but we got there and everything was running just like it should have been," Fulkerson remembered. "One of the ladies told me, 'We weren't sure if you were going to make it, so we started without you.' I was thrilled."
___That's just the spirit that helps New Hope live up to its name, he said.
___Another example of the church's ministry is the two women from the church who cook and deliver meals to shut-ins in the area.
___"Meals on Wheels out here, forget about it," the pastor said. "But these two ladies minister faithfully in this way with no fanfare.
___"These folks just do what they know they need to do. It's not fake, and it's not phony. It's the love of Christ shining through their lives," Fulkerson said. "They are always ready to work. Let somebody try to sit down, and they'll shame them into working or put a shovel in their hand. They are a terrific body of saints."
___
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