Rodeo ministry offers midday message amid the competition hustle
ABILENE, Texas () – In rodeo culture, it is customary to have a church service, most of which are held early in the morning before competition starts. However, with the compact schedule at the Texas High School Rodeo Finals, one group is catering to the schedule during the lunch hour with rodeo professionals for inspiration.
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It is a serene space to escape from the chaos that's outside, something rodeo professional Trey Johnson knows all too well. Johnson said he remembers his old high school competition days.
'When you're competing the same day, you only have a couple of hours to go and eat a meal, get back, and then you've got to prepare again,' Johnson recalled. 'When I was in high school, there weren't very many people who would show up. Usually, it was early in the morning, like 7:00, 7:30 in the morning.'
With the small window of time that contestants sometimes face, Crossroads Rodeo Ministries is offering a compromise: a good meal and something that is deeply rooted in rodeo culture – church. Founder Robert Till said that most of the time, contestants do not realize just how significant the church's influence is.
'There are 60 church services going on and 60 [rodeo competitions], they think, in their region. 'I go to my next rodeo and there will be a church service there,' but nobody's thinking how big this thing is,' Till said. 'It's different than the pressure in the arena. They were fishing for words, I just said an oasis. And they said, yes, it's just a place where they can come and let down, which for us makes them open. They hear the message.'
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Johnson attended services all the time growing up in the competitive environment, but he said it wasn't until his adult life that he took them seriously.
'I had a car accident; I woke up and was going 70 miles an hour on a four-way highway with a truck and a horse trailer. It jumped a water corridor,' Johnson said. 'That night in that upside-down horse trailer, I just made a decision. I just want to know God, I don't want to be religious. I don't want to know just church.'
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Now, he and Till bring in big names in the rodeo world to help inspire competitors during their small break from the competition. Johnson said they cater to the lunch hour, one of the only times competitors can get a break.
'It lets you kind of stay. You can let down your guard, eat lunch, learn something, but then you dial back in and you're ready. You don't feel like you're rushing or behind the ball,' Johnson said.
A pillar of competition continues to be a place of recharge. The group will tie up their services tomorrow.
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