Cowboy churches expanding, and not just in West

The cowboy image has been finely tuned over the years, evoking ideas of hard work, stoicism and isolation. But one organization is hoping to add another facet to that image: churchgoer. Cowbody churches are popping up because they are "culturally sensitive to the cowboy," says Russ Weaver, pastor of the non-denominational Shepherd's Valley Cowboy Church in Egan, Tex.

Texas has 130 such specialized congregations that are part of the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches, and perhaps more that are affiliated with other groups or no group, reports Lindsey Bever for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Not all are in the West; here's one in North Carolina. For a directory of cowboy churches, click here.

"When I meet cowboys on the trail and ask them to come to church, they kind of throw up their hands," said Jeff Smith, a Southern Baptist missionary with the Cowboy Church Network of North America. "So I ask them to come to cowboy church and then they come." While many of the features of cowboy church are similar to those seen in many rural congregations across America, Smith notes at least one feature unique to his work in cowboy churches: "We baptize them in a horse trough." (Read more)