With the rapid rate at which Cowboy Churches are growing and multiplying there needs to be a way other than Sunday Service to feed these people. Televangelists and radio preachers are not what these Cowboy Christians want. They came to a cowboy church because of its laid back attitude, its come as you are, and the simple way the Word of God is presented without all the three dollar words. These people relate to the sermons being taught in these churches. But they need more.
People of western heritage love good music and stories. That is why I believe that God led us to start Prairie Fire Ministry. It is a video teaching ministry that has multiple uses. Each teaching is about 20 minutes long. The teachings all have a story, then a teaching from the bible that encourages people to get closer to the Lord and to know that Jesus loves them and does not condemn. It helps believers to grow in His grace and become like Him, walking their talk and not just talking it. Every teaching has an invitation at the end if someone does not know Christ as Lord and Savior. These teachings are plain and simple and easy to understand. Yet, these teachings are full of God’s word and His love and minister to all ages.
The reason we made these teachings 20 minutes in length is so that they can be used as complete teachings. Research has shown that the average adult’s attention span is between 14 and 16 minutes. (Some are even as short as 7-8, minutes). After that their mind wanders. So we begin with music and then switch their attention to a story or cowboy poetry and then switch again to a teaching. The filming is never in one location for more than ten minutes without being switched. Then we end up with music.
Another mission field that I believe these teachings will reach is the blue-collar worker. This is an often-overlooked group of people. These are your middle class workers. Most have a high school diploma and maybe a little college. They work hard to try and make ends meet and are usually always a few days behind on some bills. Often they don’t go to church because they feel like they just don’t fit in. They don’t have all the nice clothes and if they do they aren’t comfortable in them. They don’t have a lot of extra money for mission funds and building funds and recreation center funds and they feel guilty because giving might mean a bill won’t get paid. So like the western heritage culture, they stay home where they are comfortable. Many of them feel like God doesn’t even know they exist.
We all grew up with John Wayne and Roy Rogers, and there's an attraction to the cowboy culture worldwide. Everyone will get something from these teachings whether they ride a four-legged horse or an iron one.