Hundreds of people gathered Sunday to worship at Cowboy Church at the Fort Worth Stock Show & Rodeo — a service where there are boots, jeans, and of course, plenty of cowboys.
“You’re giving them a safe spot to sit and observe without making them feel like they’re out of their comfort zone,” Pastor Jordan Weaver said.
Weaver was filling in for his father, Russ Weaver, who is recovering from a recent heart attack.
“This service means a lot to him and to the church. I just want to make sure I wasn’t the weak link,” Jordan Weaver said.
In the middle of the service the power went out inside the Will Rogers Auditorium, but it didn't bother Weaver.
“I’m not a real organized person, so when things fall apart, I almost feel like it plays to my personality than when things go perfectly," Weaver said. "Lights go out, power goes out, it was perfect. That’s more home-base feeling."
“We came specifically to see Jordan preach,” Rhett Seekins said.
He said the cowboy culture and laid back vibe make it easy to connect to the word of God.
“He’s good at being able to relate to anybody. So anybody would be welcome here, whether you’re a cowboy or not into the western stuff," Seekins said. "It does make it nice to be able to wear your cowboy hat and feel at home."
More than 200 people dropped in Sunday for the hour-long service.
“You have a lot of people here working," Weaver said. "They may not be able to step away and go to church. So they can just step in here and they don’t have to leave the Stock Show."
He said he hoped people keep coming back.
“I would say that the Cowboy Church is an awesome first step to being able to hear the second step, which is, 'What did Jesus say?'” he said.
The Cowboy Church has been a fixture at the Stock Show for more than 15 years.
