May 7, 2001
EVEN JUNIOR ROPERS got into the act at He Rose Cowboy Fellowship Arena's recent roping contest._
East Texas fellowship throws out a lifeline
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___MONTALBA--"There's a lot of folks we'd never be able to rope and drag to a regular church, but they'll come here," said Mark Norman, founder of He Rose Cowboy Fellowship.
___The unique fellowship meets in an arena located in what many Texans would consider to be in the middle of nowhere. Yet hundreds of people flocked to a recent roping contest and church service held there.
___The arena sits about 10 miles from Montalba, the closest town, on AndersonCounty Road 448.
A CONTESTANT demonstrates his roping skill at the He Rose Cowboy Fellowship Arena's free competition.
___It's not hard to get lost on the way to the arena, because opportunities for wrong turns are scarce. Just when a visitor begins to despair that he's on the wrong road, up springs the sign for He Rose Cowboy Fellowship Arena.
___On a recent Saturday morning, that sign was about the only indication that people were nearby until just over the next verdant hill, there they were--row after row of pickup trucks, horse trailers and horses. Among the hundreds of trucks, only six sedans could be seen.
___"Most of these people wouldn't come to a church with walls because they wouldn't feel comfortable," explained Norman, founder of the fellowship and a member of Montalba Baptist Church in Montalba. "Some of them would feel unworthy."
___On this Saturday, about 450 people gathered on the side of a hill looking down on the arena. This was the second church service/roping contest held on the property owned by Norman.
___Randy Bird, a preacher from Hereford confined to a wheelchair, traversed the hillside dotted with lawn chairs as he preached about the need for a life totally surrendered to Christ. While most don't attend church regularly, if at all, they listened attentively. The service closed with one young woman making a profession of faith in Christ and six others rededicating their lives.
___"We'll follow up on them and try to make sure they get plugged in to a local church," Norman said. "We always tell them that if they are not comfortable going, we'll come and go with them for as long as it takes for them to get comfortable."
___That's quite a commitment, since more than half of those who attended came from at least 100 miles away.
___But the whole deal is a commitment for Norman. He works for the Texas Department of Corrections two days a week and works on a horse ranch the other days. In addition to those obligations, it took the better part of a week to mow enough of the countryside for all the trucks and trailers to park, and another two weeks to prepare the arena itself.
___Norman, a Christian for six years, considers it a privilege to do the work.
___"We're just trying to be good stewards of what God has given us. When we got this place, we dedicated it him and told him, 'God, this is yours; what do you want us to do with it?"
___It took a couple of years for Norman to get a good picture of what it was God wanted done, he said. But then he read about Moses in the book of Exodus.
___"Moses told God he was a man who didn't speak well, and I identified with that. But God asked Moses what he had in his hand, and Moses said a staff. God told him to use what was in his hand to minister to the people. Well, I don't have a staff in my hand," he said, "but for as long as I can remember I've had a rope, so I'm going to use that."
___Last year, the He Rose Arena was the site for the fellowship's first roping, and about 200 people came. This year that number more than doubled. The event differs from other rodeos in that there is no entry fee. Contestants must meet only one requirement for entry into competition--attendance at the church service.
___Typically, an entry fee would run about $26 per person, Norman said. The grand prize offered at He Rose Arena was a saddle, handcrafted by Bird. Prize money of $1,000 also was split between the top ropers. Belt buckles were given to winners of various competitions, including the children's dummy roping.
___Some viewed the contest from lawn chairs on the side of the hill overlooking the arena, but the contestants, which far outnumbered the spectators, remained tall in the saddle astride their living, breathing, whinnying lawn chairs, complete with knees and hooves.
___"The prizes were a draw, but for many of them the bigger draw was knowing here was a good moral place where they could bring their families and not worry about them," Norman said. "They knew they wouldn't have to worry about somebody getting drunk or what language their kids were going to hear."
___The day was free of any tension, and everyone just enjoyed their time, he said.
___"That's one of the things I want to show these people--just how good things can be in the Lord," he said. "Before I became a Christian, I didn't have any interest in it because I thought you had to stop having a good time. Now I know what a joy the Lord brings. He just makes good things better."
___Norman believes many are beginning to recognize that.
___"There was a lot of money they were giving away in Athens, but for some reason, these people chose to drive a lot farther and come out here. That can only be from the Lord."
___This summer, Norman hopes to begin having monthly events at the arena.
_____
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