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Heart and Soul: The cowboy church of Texas

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Ridin' The River Cowboy Fellowship

27/09/2019 GMT

The cowboy church of Texas

BBC World Service - Heart and Soul, The cowboy church of Texas

Deep in the heart of Texas, we find out why cowboy churches are on the rise

Deep in the heart of Texas, we find out why cowboy churches are on the rise.

Bandera, Texas, is the self-proclaimed Cowboy Capital of the World. It is also home to Ridin' The River Cowboy Fellowship, a cowboy church established eight years ago with a mission to connect cowboys to Christ.
 
Resembling a giant barn with concrete floors, the church has corrugated walls, and a modest cedar-wood stage for sermons. Non-denominational, everyone is welcome at their Sunday services, Wednesday night Bible studies, plus regular roping and barrel racing events at the adjacent arena.
 
Pastors Jeremy Levy and Jeff Bishop invite us to join their 500-strong congregation for the monthly “Chuckwagon breakfast” to find out why the cowboy way of life is inherently Christian. Here we meet professional working cowboys - ranchers, cowpokes, herders, professional rodeo riders - and fans of cowboy culture, who are drawn to this come-as-you-are style of worship.
 
We also go behind the scenes at a local rodeo with church member Robin Montague as she competes in the barrel racing. 
 
Ridin' The River Cowboy Fellowship is a member of the American Federation of Cowboy Churches, a non-profit based in Waxahachie, Texas, which represents over 200 partner churches across 16 states. Cowboy churches have flourished in the last 15 years, despite a national decline in church membership, with more than 500 in the USA, and outposts in Mexico, Canada, Sweden, the Philippines, and Australia.
 
Presenter: Robin Montague and Jeremy Levy
Producer: Victoria Ferran

(Photo: Interior of the Ridin' The River Cowboy Fellowship church taken from the stage. Credit: Victoria Ferran/BBC)

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