The baptismal is a stock tank. The choir, a bluegrass band. The sanctuary, a shop building.
Corner Post Cowboy Church near Siloam Springs is pretty much what its name implies: a church for cowboys.
The Apostle Paul was a missionary reaching diffferent cultures, and Jesus went where the people were to reach them, said the Rev. Tim Wallace, pastor of Corner Post. So will the leaders of Corner Post.
"We recognize that Jesus has called the church to reach all the different cultures of the world. Corner Post Cowboy Church specifically has a mission to reach folks in our Western heritage culture," Wallace, of Stella, Mo., said.
"Our main goal is to love people and love the gospel," said church member Shelly McCarty of Siloam Springs.
"Whether you're in the cowboy culture, or you're in agriculture, or you married into the cowboy culture, or you want to be in the cowboy culture ... you're in the cowboy culture one way or another," noted member Cindy Loewer of PeaRidge.
Mike Lewis, who lives just across the street from the church, greeted guests on a recent Sunday morning wearing a Western shirt, blue jeans, boots and a cowboy hat -- as did many others. They removed their hats when it was time for prayer.
"I've been to church all my life," shared Lewis, who also plays bass and sings bass with the church band. "And it's been done so formal, everything had to be done a certain way. I don't think that's got anything to do with how you believe what is true.
"You can come in with cow manure up to your knees, and we say, 'OK, we're not going to judge you,'" he continued. "If you're out working, you can wear them britches, wear what you've got on, and we don't judge you. Nobody here cares. We're just common folk. You can be broke or be a millionaire -- and this church has both, but you can't tell them apart, can you?"
Members weclome the flexibility their church allows them. Worship begins at 9:30 a.m. each Sunday, with members coming and going as they please, Loewer said. Many compete in rodeos -- or their kids do -- and they need to hit the trail for the event.
"They bring their horses to church, and leave early for the event," she said. "We want to get done, so people can do what they want to do -- whether that's cutting hay, going to a rodeo or a ball game or vacation."
Lewis purposely stopped the music betwen songs at a recent service. "I've got something that's driving me nuts, and I'm going to take care of it," he said. Then he raised the neck of his instrument to sweep a cobweb from a light fixture.
"If there's an issue, I don't want to ignore it," Wallace said. "I want to address it."
Wallace uses his experiences working at cattle ranches to share the story with the congregation. "I try to make it culturally related," he said of his sermons. "I speak their language. I tell stories they can relate to."
For a recent Sunday service, Wallace studied and made notes, but the notes remained on his chair. He spoke instead about the tragic shooting of nine people at a Charleston, S.C., church.
"I ask to the Holy Spirit to lead me in study and as I'm speaking," Wallace said. "I pray, 'God, just give me something to give somebody here at the church.'"
From horse's mouth
The church identifies itself as being nondenominational, although it is a church plant through Cross Church in Springdale.
Corner Post got started five years ago with an interest group of about 20 people, noted Joe Lester, a church elder. Now, 80 to 100 people attend the service each week. Some followed Wallace from a cowboy church in Pea Ridge, and folks drive in from throughout the region.
The church recently purchased property "down the road," for a new building. Currently, a church member lets them borrow the shop building. The congregation owns a prefabricated building that will be erected, with an auditorium to seat 275 people and classrooms. Members hope to start a Sunday school program and a rodeo Bible camp that will find kids on horses.
But, first, comes the arena. "Where other churches have a family life center with basketball courts, we have a rodeo arena," Wallace said.
Activities in the arena not only provide fellowship, but stands as the primary place of outreach. The church organizes team ropings, ranch rodeos, roping schools and other events for the cowboy community. About halfway through an event, someone will ride into the arena horseback to share the gospel.
"There's no prize money. It's not a fund-raiser," Loewer said. Church members proudly announce the church is debt-free, paying for the new building through members' tithes.
"The purpose is to meet people to get them to meet Christ," Loewer said.
Ride for the brand
"This is a church I want to saddle up with," Wallace said.
"When I worked on ranches with my dad and my brother, we did a lot of our work with a weed eater or fencing tools," he began the story. "But when he said, 'Saddle up,' we knew were about to go on an exciting mission -- maybe we'd get to bring in the cattle.
"So, let's 'saddle up' to get ready for church mission. It's going to be exciting.
"But we don't want to just mission to ourselves and forget about the rest of our world," Wallace continued. "Our mission is to gather lost strays to ride for the Lord's brand."
Wallace's main message is the story of God's grace in the kingdom of heaven when Jesus modeled it. "The Lord's Prayer part about, 'Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven' ... It's our mission to see his will done here on earth.
"We were made for the purpose of having a relationship with God," Wallace continued. "He walked in the garden. It was man who decided to sin. But God is holy and can't have sin in his presence, so we lost our relationship with him.
"We are separated for eternity unless God saves us. Jesus made a way for us to (renew that relationship) when died on the cross. Our sins are paid up. Now it's time for you and I to go that way and accept what Jesus does for us.
"That's really good news that we can share with everybody. Jesus saved us from the penalty of sin."
Corner Post is as fundamentally sound as any church, Lewis insisted. "There are good Christians who call this church home," he said.
"The cowboy church movement meets the need for a culture that for many years was ignored," Wallace said. "It meets a need not met before now. People are coming to a church where they fit in.
"I've seen older men being saved that I never thought I'd see in a church."
God gives his followers a purpose, a place to work and serve.
"I've heard the stories, and some are not very happy," Wallace said. "You've been beat up all week, and you come here knowing you're going to be loved and accepted. We want to build them up and help them become better people.
"We don't need official minutes," he continued. "It's organic. We help when we see people in need."
But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you,
may those who long for your saving help always say,
"The Lord is great!"
-- Psalms 70:4
"That's why we're here," Wallace said. "Are you seeking after your Father's love?"
NAN Religion on 07/04/2015