Cross and Spurs Cowboy Church roping in youth with bull-riding nights
JARED FIELDS • PICAYUNE STAFF
BUCHANAN DAM — Most church gatherings outside of Sunday morning include a devotional with some fun and games.
Starting Sept. 10, area youth and young men can find that in Buchanan Dam — but with a big difference.
This fun includes riding live bulls.
“It’s just a way that cowboy churches reach out,” said Ken Barington, pastor of Cross and Spurs Cowboy Church. “Other churches have youth activities, basketball and things like that. Ours is just a Western heritage way of reaching out to our young people.”
The nearly three-year-old cowboy church is opening its new arena to riders in need of practice. The practices will feature two classes of bulls — junior and open — and will start at 6 p.m. Sept. 10 and 24 and Oct. 8 and 22. There will be a short devotional each night.
The arena is less than a mile north of Texas 29 on RR 1431.
“It gives (the riders) an opportunity to get on bulls,” Barington said. “If they’re committed to this sport, they have a hard time trying to find a place to practice. We thought this would give them an opportunity twice a month to come and improve their skills.”
Barington said some riders practice on 55-gallon drums.
“They can get on it and practice, but a barrel is nothing true to a bull,” Barington said.
The practices are free and open to anyone looking to ride or just watch. Riders must sign liability releases, and minors must have a parent or guardian sign as well.
Barington said the church includes more than 150 members and draws about 200 people to Sunday services. It currently operates in a large tent.
“When the Lord tells us it’s time,” Barington said of the cowboy church’s prospects of getting a permanent building. “A lot of cowboy churches start in a tent.”
Go to www.crossandspurscowboychurch.com or call Jim Cowen at (713) 492-0146 for more information.
jared@thepicayune.com