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2. U n i t e d S t a t e s :
RODEO COWBOY SPURS OTHER RIDERS TO SADDLE UP FOR MISSIONS...FORMER PROFESSIONAL RODEO cowboy Brent Baumann is rounding up riders who areready to saddle up as missionaries.
Western horsemen have the tough character and unique skills that can enablethem to take the gospel to places in the world where many have never heardabout Christ, says the man behind Cowboys With A Mission.
A new ministry of Youth With A Mission, CWAM has been founded to corral whatBaumann says is a largely untapped source of rugged missionaries - the worldof bull riding and steer roping.
From a working ranch in Montana, the one-time bull riding and calf ropingyouth champion is visiting rodeos and churches around the country to sharethe gospel among cowboys, and organizing special training courses to preparevolunteers for missionary service overseas.
"Cowboys are a breed apart. They are their own people, and many of themwouldn't step inside a regular church - you have to go to them, in theirenvironment, at the rodeo," he said.
"While there are some strong cowboy ministries and cowboy churches in andaround Texas, in much of the rest of the country the cowboys are really likean unreached people group."
Once they have made a commitment to Christ they are uniquely qualified to goand share their faith in some of the more challenging parts of the world. hebelieves. "They can go to parts of the world where the horse is a centralpart of the culture - South America, and Central Asia, for example. There isa cultural bridge.
"The typical cowboy also has qualities that suit him for the demands offrontier missions - he is rugged and used to hardship. He has a boldness todo what it takes, and doesn't give up easily. When things get tough, he knowsthat he just has to get tougher. 'Cowboy up,' we say."
Baumann speaks from personal experience; born and raised on working ranchesin Montana, Alberta and Nebraska he grew up around horses and remembersbeing bucked "hundreds of times - we used to do it for fun. From the time Iwas old enough to walk, all I ever wanted was to be a world champion cowboy". Winning a rodeo scholarship to college, he later rode professionally andworked as a cowboy for several years before his injuries - including afractured neck, torn ligaments in knee and elbow, and severed thumb - forcedhim to hang up his spurs.
After several years working as a geologist he and his wife trained to go asmissionaries with YWAM to the Ukraine. But then Baumann, now 35, felt Godtell him to return to the cowboy scene to recruit others - cowgirls as wellas cowboys - for the mission field.
His appeal is not limited just to rodeo cowboys, or only North Americans."It's for anyone who identifies with the horse and the cowboy/Westernlifestyle - trainers, ranchers. There is a great opportunity."(Photo available on request)
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