A COWBOY CHURCH WEEKEND

Howdy folks;

Well, another week is in the history book. We’ve had a few sunny days, but mostly rain and snow. The temperature continues to be well below the seasonal average. Because of the weather, the potato harvest has been delayed and the farmers are anxious to get into their fields. If you’re not a potato farmer you are a rancher and busy moving cattle from the high country to the feeding grounds on the home range. Consequently, potatoes and cattle were the main topic of conversation at the cowboy churches in Blackfoot and Firth, Idaho, over the weekend.

Although the new Christ’s Country Cowboy Church in Blackfoot is only a few months old, it is growing rapidly. They already have three candidates for baptism and have a congregation of 30 to 40 people that meet every Saturday night in a riding arena. It was a little challenging to set up the sound system on the dirt floor and try to keep my balance as I moved around. There were over 50 folks out that night with some from other churches in the area. It looks like some of them intend to follow us around during our stay in Idaho.

Sunday night found us at the Firth Cowboy Church. This church meets only once a month and has a smaller congregation. However, as I suspected, several folks from the Blackfoot cowboy church were in attendance. As a result, the congregation was a little larger than normal. They didn’t seem to mind that it was the same program. The potluck after the service provided a time for fellowship and brought the evening and the weekend to a pleasant close.

At both cowboy churches, we were continually confronted by folks who said they were blessed by the message in the old gospel songs and cowboy poetry. This feedback is what keeps us on the trail. As we move into the last half of our tour, we are looking forward to the opportunity to minister at the remaining churches on our itinerary in Eastern Idaho. Hopefully, the weather will return to the seasonal averages and we won’t see more snow. We also pray that our ministry will bless and encourage the folks in these small rural congregations. While we look forward to being back with our friends at Cambrian Heights Baptist Church, we know that the Lord has work for us to do in Idaho. To this end, we’ll keep following as the Lord leads.

On the trail for Him,

Mike and Suzann