When it comes to the modern image of the cowboy, there are certain attributes that most everyone agrees upon.

He's usually chivalrous, for instance, and he has a taste for adventure. He's rugged, honest and —aside from the occasional whiskey-soaked saloon brawl — usually possessed of an undeniable moral courage.

There's one attribute, however, that hardly ever gets associated with these heroic icons of the American West: namely, a sense of religious devotion.

"I hate to generalize, but most cowboys don't want to go to church," says Vaughn Crago, lay pastor at Freedom Valley Worship Center in Gettysburg. "They don't want to hear the message that the kingdom of God is near, and so it can be really hard to reach out to them."

About a year and a half ago, Freedom Valley established Cowboy Church to reach people interested in cowboy and country-western culture.

The Associated Press recently reported that at least 600 cowboy churches are scattered across the United States, according to leaders involved in the movement and published accounts.

Freedom Valley's once-a-month Cowboy Church ropes in between 80 and 100 people from several counties for rodeo events, barrel racing and sermons.

"Reaching out to cowboys in our area seemed like a creative idea, one that connects with a specific group of people in a unique way," says the Rev. Gerry Stoltzfoos, senior pastor at Freedom Valley.

The Lancaster County native believes he first read about the idea for a cowboy church in a magazine. When Freedom Valley was exploring ideas to alleviate its crowded conditions on Sunday mornings, someone noted that a lot of horse enthusiasts had attended a recent event. The cowboy church idea took hold.

"To tell you the truth I was surprised," Stoltzfoos says. "I never expected that our attempt to start up a once-monthly 'Cowboy Church' would end up working as well as it has."

Stoltzfoos founded Freedom Valley, 3185 York Road, in 1992 when he felt called to relocate to Gettysburg and launch a unique kind of church — one that offers more than just the standard Sunday service.

"I was born in Gap and was raised Beachy Amish (a group who separated from the more conservative Old Order Amish in the 1920s)," says Stoltzfoos. "Growing up, I always had a desire to share my faith, which is why I made the decision to begin attending seminary."

A graduate of Valley Forge Christian College in Phoenixville, Chester County, Stoltzfoos began his career at what is now the Freedom Life Chapel in Christiana before being called to start up Freedom Valley.

"Freedom Valley is associated with the Assemblies of God denomination, and when I felt the calling to move over here ... one of my big goals was that I didn't want Freedom Valley to pull from already-established churches in the Gettysburg area," Stoltzfoos says.

Freedom Valley looked "for new ways to get people here to connect with God," he says.

As well as offering various unique ministries and faith-based initiatives — including debt counseling, services in Spanish, a Broadway theater camp and an effort to help women in prison receive spiritual guidance — Freedom Valley hosts a therapeutic riding ministry, a licensed program that provides therapy to disabled children.

The riding ministry — directed by Crago's wife, Brandy — even has its own outdoor therapeutic riding arena at Freedom Valley church.

Cowboy Church, which meets at the arena from May through September and at the indoor York Springs Equestrian Center during colder months, was "a natural extension" for Freedom Valley, says Stoltzfoos. "We already had the horses and the riding program."

The Cowboy Church can be described as rodeo-meets-traditional church service. Most attendees come decked out in casual, weather-appropriate clothing.

"We get a lot of horse people, so we decided to organize the service like a five-event funshow," Crago says. "There's a 50-yard dash, barrel racing and a flag race, and we also feature an event called 'The Bleeding Heart,' where the race is run in a pattern that resembles the letter 'M'."

In between the events, Crago, along with guest speakers and other Freedom Valley pastors, give brief sermons or talk about spiritual issues important to the Cowboy Church's small but growing congregation.

"This is something we do once a month and I enjoy it quite a bit. I'm blessed in that I get to drive a truck for a living, and I always wanted to do something to help introduce my friends to God," Crago says. "I've been in love with the rodeo ever since I was 17, and to me, being a part of Cowboy Church is ... like the perfect marriage."

Though the Cowboy Church sees more than its share of curious visitors, the effort has managed to attract a core group, Crago says, mostly made up of Central Pennsylvania ranch operators, farmers and horse owners.

For Crago, the best thing about Cowboy Church is that it "does all it can to open its arms" to people who might be curious about exploring ideas of spirituality and faith in a non-traditional way.

"Our church's mission is to provide hope for people who have given up on religion," Crago says. "So for us, reaching out to Central Pennsylvania's cowboys seemed like a natural thing to do."

IF YOU GO
What: Freedom Valley Worship Center's Cowboy Church
When: 3 p.m. on the last Sunday of each month.
Where: Through September, meeting at an arena at Freedom Valley, 3185 York Road, Gettysbur