George Doyle, Cowboy Church Planter In Lincoln, Nebraska
By Carolyn Gibbs
Connecting cowboys to God is a challenge Pastor George Doyle has enthusiastically embraced. Doyle, who is the pastor at Three Rivers Baptist Church in Omaha, has added a new experience to his life. Where as Three Rivers was a very intentional work, Cowboy Connection is totally different. This Cowboy Church came out of a North American Mission Board team called Probe. “It was the most interesting set of people representing different ethnic groups,” Doyle said.
One of the people he met was a Cowboy Church starter catalyst from North Carolina. “He mentioned that he felt like I needed to start a Cowboy Church. We had not had a single conversation, but he walked across the room to say that,” Doyle said. “It was already spooky, because of some things God was working in my life. God was going to grant me, while continuing at Three Rivers, a new work of one kind or another.” Although it had been years ago since Doyle had been around horses, he recently had been drawn to dream of one day moving to the country, have a small spread, and horses.
“This cowboy thing is strange. I had also recently been out to the Sand Hills and had a chance to do some branding,” he said. So for this man to say what he did out of the blue, led Doyle to do some research. Numerous cowboy churches can be found in Texas, Oklahoma, and the Carolinas, but not in Nebraska. Doyle was led to do a demonstration church service last fall. A group from Texas conducted the service. People attending were from a large spread, geographically. A small group in Denton, Nebraska were so enthusiastic about this new format, they insisted Doyle start something as soon as possible. “ They wanted to host it and became our Persons of Peace,” Doyle said. One couple from South View in Lincoln are a three generation Dairy Farm family. With a lot of land and buildings, they have become the host family for Cowboy Connection.
The congregation consists of a few real cowboys, but all others do something related to ranching, horse training, or providing equipment like tack and things for horses. There are a sprinkling of Arena rodeo people, as well as people who are Western pleasure enthusiasts.
“We got started on Easter eve. We’ve tried to speak the language of the cowboys,” Doyle said. Denton is three miles west of Lincoln, and the services are Saturday evening at 6:30 P.M. That has allowed Doyle to stay involved while still leading Three Rivers. He feels blessed that God gives him the cowboy message that is exactly what the people need.
“It’s a particular work with the same message of Jesus,” he said. “It’s a crawl, walk, run, thing for us.”
The gathering sit on hay bales amidst horses and cows reminiscent of Jesus birth in a stable. In calving season the nursery pen is nearby. Sometimes there are surprises. “One evening, a lady in the front row jumped up and said, “The cows are out.” the entire group ran out of the barn, rounded up the cows, and came back to continue the service,” Doyle said.
“That’s never happened to me before. I’ve never had to put the cows back in before.” He said it was a perfect illustration to the message. You can get out of the gate if you want, but there’s always someone to lure you back in. The rodeo queens, riders, bull riders, and western enthusiasts feel at home and have a great time. Music is led by several women, which is a Karaoke style that people have responded well to. “It all has a ’twang’ to it,” Doyle said.
Doyle is hoping to branch out and start another gathering this fall in North west Omaha, or maybe as far north as Arlington, Nebraska. He is also planning mission trips to rodeos and other equestrian events. There are two large events in Lincoln each year that he hopes to be part of. One event has a Sunday morning worship in place during their event.
“What we’re looking at will have to do with horses, including local stables, arenas, and small events,” Doyle said. He still can’t believe he’s involved in this ministry. As he said, it’s out of the box, but God is doing an incredible work in his life.
When he first mentioned the new format to his wife, he wasn’t sure how she’d react. She loved it and the people love her, he said. Since she has the gift of mercy, he also didn’t know how she’d react at her first rodeo when a little calf was roped. “She had a hoot,” he said. On July 26 they will host a special block party at the Snell Dairy in Denton. The event will highlight Mark Lyon, horse trainer, doing demonstrations with the wild mustang he trained. Also on hand will be T-Bone, a steer that can be ridden, Miss Sidney Iowa, games, worship and food. There have been many blessings for Doyle, but one stands out. As he was finishing a lesson and made the appeal to pray, the groups biggest skeptic jumped up and said, “I really think we need to pray,” He only knew the Lord’s prayer, but everyone joined hands in a circle and prayed. “You know how God received this …to hear this hardened guy pray,” Doyle said.
“As God keeps orchestrating, it is a beautiful thing,” Doyle said. “We honestly don’t have a clue where we’re going, but it’s been a blessing being involved with these people.”