Your horse is welcome at an Old West Culture (OWC) church, and if you dont have one, thats okay too. Not every wrangler drawn to the country-style comfort of an OWC church is what veteran church starter Ron Nolen calls cowboyed-up. Steel-toed workboots are as apt to be seen as the pointy-toed western kind. Sneakers too, and baseball caps are as prevalent as cowboy hats.

New OWC churches are cropping up across the nation about as fast as Pony Express riders of an earlier century raced across it and for just about the same reason: OWC churches bring hope and encouragement and connection to people who were alone, out of touch and unconnected before Good News came galloping in.

OWC churches arent just for cowboys, though. Theyre designed with a western flavor for people whose comfortable connection with the earth gives them an awareness that there is a God. People who go to OWC churches know about God, says Nolan. OWC churches help them know Him personally. And theres a big difference, as on mission Christians know. Evangelism is demonstrating to folks that Christianity is about a relationship with Jesus, not about being religious.

Whats an OWC church? Its a come-as-you-are, relaxed country atmosphere with faith-based ministry straight out of the Bible.

Its a gathering of people who try to live up to the Code of the West that helped build our great continent. Its meeting place might be a sale barna place where during the week livestock are auctionedor similar not-quite-dust-free settings. The preacher probably wears a cowboy hat even while he brings the message. The congregations attire ranges from nothing fancy to whatever they were wearing before church time. Cowboy hats and baseball caps come off only during prayers.

Theres likely a cowboy band. The music: a mix of country gospel and cowboy, with some modern praise thrown in for good measure. Forget the old invitational hymn Just as I Am. The closing songs more apt to be the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans theme song Happy trails to you, until we meet again.

But just as I am is a major issue with OWC folks, who weigh a person not by what he wears, or drives, or spends, but by his character. Its the values that shaped the West: Go the extra mile to help a neighbor. A thing worth doin is worth doin well. A mans word is his bond. All these and more are part n parcel of the country way of life, with its emphasis on a forward-looking optimism, respect for the way that life can kick and buck and a family-centered work ethic.

OWC churches are roping in a segment of the population thats virtually untouched by the traditional church. Its a huge segmentnearly twice as big as any other people group in North America according to studies of radio audiences.

Its a group that hurdles ethnic, educational, economic and social boundaries as if they werent there. Its a group that doesnt harken much to mans religion, though it doesnt have a problem with Godits music will tell you that. And thats key: people who go to an OWC church tend to have one thing in common: their affinity for country music.

The size of the country music market gives some idea as to the size of the people group that can be reached with OWC churches. Each week, more than 40 million American adults tune in to one of the nations 2,139 country radio stations, according to statistics compiled by the Country Music Association. Country format is nearly double that of second-place News/talk with 1,167 stations. Adult Contemporary trails with 1,136 stations. Were not just talkin regional here. Country radio stations were rated number one in 22 of Americas top 100 markets as of August 2002, including Toledo, Ohio; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Columbia, S.C.

Like its music, country style permeates the continent. Home dcor on television and in films often has a country flavor. But country is more than a style in North America. Its a way of life that appeals to people who dont buy into a keeping up with the Joneses definition of success. Family, familiarity, homethats the OWC way of life.

Coming alongside this swelling industry called country style is the re-emergence of team roping. Dating back to the American Frontier of 150 years ago, this sport involves a heeler and a header lassoing a steer to the ground in the shortest time. Its one of the events in a seasonal rodeo. It involves only a few steer and horses, rather than the massive influx of livestock needed for bull-riding/bronc- busting/barrel-racing rodeos, so team roping competitions over the last 20 years have become weekly family-style activities complete with the pungent/ sweet aroma of barbeque and funnel cakes. Team roping is a place where OWC folks bring their younguns and everyone relaxes between adrenalin-pumping steer-droppin action.

The idea is to break down all possible barriers to church for people who connect with the Old West Culture, Ron Nolen said about the church he started just south of Dallas, Texas.  The natural location was the same sale barn where families came for team roping. The natural music was what sounded familiarguitar, fiddle, keyboard and drums. The clothing was casual and to make sure everyone knew it, the preacher wore blue jeans, boots, western shirt and a black hat tilted back to look friendly. Money was another barrier. Instead of passing an offering plate, they set a hat or a boot on a side table that people could fill with their tithes and offerings. The time-honored invitation at the close of the service also was seen as a barrier so it was scrapped, says Ron. Instead, the sinners prayer of repentance is prayed at the close of every meeting.

Flyers posted in the sale barn and mailed in surrounding zip codes, and strategically-timed announcements on country radio got the talk started, and 300 folks showed up Easter 2000 for the first service of the Cowboy Church of Ellis County. Two years later, nearly a thousand people celebrated Easter Sunday at Cowboy Church, though 500 is a more typical crowd. Theyve built their own building (metal, with a concrete floor like the sale barn they originally met in) and in contrast to the gymnasium/ family life centers of churches a generation ago, Cowboy Church has built its own arena, where team roping, barrel racing and similar sports take place on a weekly basis.

Cowboy Church last year started Frontier Church 12 miles down the roadabout 150 attend regularlyand this year theyre starting a third OWC church in the eastern part of the county.

No one knew we had this many Old West Culture folks in Ellis County, Ron says in his distinctive Texas twang. Theyd been here all this time, but no one noticed them as a distinct group. With 20-plus million people in Texas, we believe now there are at least one million people we can reach out to through these Old West Culture churches. If we could reach 125,000 in the next 10 years, it would take 400 churches running 300 each to disciple them all. An for sure its not limited to Texas. Ive got a note here to call a guy in Longview, California, who wants to start one of these churches.

OWC churches corral folks who used to think church wasnt for them.

Got any of these around yer parts?

Karen Willoughby is a writer living in Salem, Oregon.