JEWETT—By his own description, Lee Weiler isn’t very good at the feed-store business. Noting there isn’t much money in it, he encourages people to stay out of it.
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Daniel Gonzales dropped by a feed store in Jewett one day for what he thought was a quick stop. An hour later, he was playing gospel songs with store-owner and cowboy church Pastor Lee Weiler. Now he leads the worship band at All Around Cowboy Church in Jewett. (Photo by John Hall/BGCT)
Watch a video of Gonzales' testimony. |
His store remains open for one reason—its busiest day of the week, which also is the least financially profitable.
On Sundays, Weiler and a group of men move the feed that’s housed in the back of the store to the side and line up 50 plastic lawn chairs. A few hours later, the seats are filled, people are standing against the walls, and folks flow onto a patio behind the store as more than 100 gather to worship as the All Around Cowboy Church.
The church has grown from about 35 people since starting Sunday services two months ago. People who never have been a part of any church before are excited to be part of the cowboy congregation.
Four people have made professions of faith in Christ and been baptized in a horse trough on the feed store patio.
There’s no logical way to explain the growth, Weiler said. It can only be attributed to a movement of God as people are drawn into the church’s fellowship.
An elder at All Around Cowboy Church in Jewett teaches a young girl how to use a lasso. (Photo by John Hall/BGCT)
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The Baptist General Convention of Texas is in the early stages of Texas Hope 2010, an initiative to share the gospel with every non-Christian in Texas in their own language and context by Easter 2010. Western heritage churches like All Around Cowboy Church represent one way of taking the gospel to people in their own cultural context. The church was launched with the help of gifts through the BGCT Cooperative Program and the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions.
Daniel Gonzales dropped by the feed store one day for what he thought was a quick stop. An hour later, he was playing gospel songs with Weiler and learning about the cowboy church. Now he leads the congregation’s band.
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Lee Weiler, pastor of All Around Cowboy Church in Jewett, baptizes a new Christian in a horse trough. (Photo by John Hall/BGCT)
Watch a video of Weller's testimony. |
“Just him talking to me … and the way he talked to me about the Lord and what they are doing, it just changed the way my heart felt about everything,” he said. “I want to do things for the Lord. I want to be the one who gets up there and sings my songs hoping to bring someone closer to the Lord.”
Gonzales’ enthusiasm for the cowboy church spread to his wife, Sandra, who plays the fiddle in the church’s band. The congregation is warm and welcoming, allowing people to be themselves without worrying about other people judging them, she said. Following each Sunday service, the congregation eats lunch together, which helps foster community.
Many times, people come directly from working outdoors to worship or Bible study. Wearing jeans, hats and boots, people come as they are seeking a relationship with God, Mrs. Gonzales said.
“We’re reaching people that haven’t come to church in years,” she said. “I’m one of them.”
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