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Nashville's cowboy church has no organ, no bulletin, no altar, and no stained-glass windows. Worshipers wear their Stetson hats indoors, and ushers pass their hats to collect the offering. As country music pours from speakers on the stage, a three-year-old boy sits on his father's lap, kicking his booted feet in time with the melody. Men and women in jeans and sweatshirts sit in pews, listening to Harry Yates preach a simple message on repentance and the forgiveness of God.

The church's worship services at the Texas Troubadour Theater, near Opryland, feature a ten-piece country and western band. Joanne Cash Yates, one of Johnny Cash's five siblings, headlines the musical portion of the service. Harry and Joanne Yates founded the church 12 years ago. Dreaming of a church that appealed both to the unchurched and to musicians, the couple held their first services in a rented bar. From its beginnings of six people, the church now attracts six hundred.

"I've always been a cowboy at heart," says Yates, who grew up on a ranch in west Texas. "I didn't fit in with the three-piece suit and tie bunch—and I met a lot of people who wouldn't go to church for that reason. We created an atmosphere that was appealing to those folks, so they'd listen to the Word of God."

Websites indicate that in recent years at least 100 cowboy churches have sprung up on farms and ranches in 38 other states and in Mexico and Canada. The typical cowboy church attracts people from neighboring towns who are unchurched or have wandered away from ordinary worship services. Members like the come-as-you-are atmosphere and a sense of acceptance that they sometimes have not felt in conventional churches.

These worshipers are not necessarily cowboys, but they enjoy western culture. They want to fit in even if they are wearing coveralls and muddy boots. They want to listen to country and gospel music instead of hymns. They want to hear sermons that relate to their culture—to trail rides, grazing herds, breaking horses, or (for farmers) prayers for rain and good crops. Many of these believers are baptized in horse troughs or ponds.

At Thousand Hills Cowboy Church in Kerrville, Texas, Ron Moore preaches in front of an Old West facade inside a barn-style church. Moore has tried to keep the decor authentically Old West. The wood, windows, and rusty tin used in the backdrop came from a century-old ranch house. An old copper boiler holds the ice for tea and lemonade, which are served from chipped gray graniteware coffee pots. Antique saddles line the walls and lighting comes from old kerosene lanterns wired for electricity.

Moore believes his church's pastoral needs do not differ much from those of other congregations. "They struggle with finances, health, relationships just like everyone else," he says. "We are unique in that we often pray for people's dogs, lame horses, and livestock … and God has been faithful to answer these prayers."

Thousand Hills offers team roping, bull riding, and other rodeo-style competitions throughout the week, but all contestants are required to attend a brief worship service before each event.

"A lot of our folks haven't been to church in years—maybe only when they were married or their mama died," Moore says. "Often they aren't comfortable in a traditional church, but they feel right at home in a laid-back, relaxed atmosphere. The good news about Jesus is just as effective when preached to folks on hay bales in a barn as it is when preached to those on padded pews surrounded by stained glass. After all, it's not the method used to preach the gospel that saves; it's the message."

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September 2003, Vol. 47, No. 9