History of Our Church
The Cowboy Church concept began for us around Easter 2005. Our gospel group, Second Chance, had made a trip to The Cross Trail Cowboy Church in Kilbourne, Louisiana to present our Easter program. The Cross Trails Cowboy Church was being held in B. C. Haley’s potato barn. B. C. Haley is Diana’s uncle. We saw people attending there that had not been to a “regular church” in years. We heard testimonies of how Bro. Ron Bray, the pastor at Cross Trails would take his horse out in the community and visit folks along his ride. We noticed the laid back, “come as you are” atmosphere, and wondered if it would work in Tennessee. Needless to say, it left a lasting impression on us. All the way back to Tennessee, we marveled at the spiritual experience we had. Back home we didn’t forget what we experienced although we never imagined where God was leading us. A seed had been planted.
Several months passed and the Lord was still dealing with the two of us about Cowboy Church . Finally one night we sat down to discuss it and were both amazed that God was telling both of us the same thing… “I want you to start a cowboy church here in Fairview.” It was as plain as anything God ever told us. But how do we do it? We shared our vision with Don and Teresa Smith, Ricky and Diane Campbell, Roger and Teresa Bateman, Dan and Tina Sanders, and Lonnie and Tracy Tuttle. Don and Teresa were experienced in starting a church but the rest of us were green as the summer grass. It took a casual conversation at Diana’s job to get the wheels turning. Diana works in Human Resources for the Tennessee Baptist Convention. She also keeps candy on her desk, so Bill George, a church planter came by one day for candy and small talk. But this day, the small talk was different, Bill didn’t just ask how you are doing, she said it was as if he was looking into her soul, and wanted to “really” know what was going on in her life. So she took the bait, and said, “Okay, Glen and I feel like God is dealing with us about starting a Cowboy Church in Fairview”. Bill’s eye’s lit up, one thing led to another and in a few minutes I was on the phone with Bill setting up a meeting with Wayne Terry, another church planter and Joe Ed Smith, the pastor of State Line Cowboy Church in Puryear, Tennessee. That meeting led us to a church planting boot camp in August 2006 for Don, Ricky, and me. In September of 2006, we began planning our kickoff service for the following month.
October 7, 2006 was our “Kickoff” day, and the beginning of Cross Roads Cowboy Church. A few months later, we’re still green, but know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is leading us in this direction, and only gives us as much as He feels we are ready for each day! This is one area in which you don’t get ahead of God, and we are learning to trust Him for what He feels we can handle for “right now”. We are humbled, blessed, and gifted. God is using each one of our talents/gifts He has given us, to move forward with Cross Roads Cowboy Church. With His help and guidance, this Church will be all He is designing it to be, and we are blessed for it as He uses us in the process. We all could have said no, and missed a huge blessing, but thankfully, we are all in it for the long ride. To God be the glory!
Glen and Diana Chavers
Partners in Christ
