BAKER — The Ropin' the Truth ministry has grown and expanded since it began in 1995. From taking place in a small sandy lot in Holt, to operating on 50 acres ranch in Escambia Farms.

RTT, a ministry of Cross Creek Country Fellowship, is an outreach ministry for fifth to twelfth grade school students. Head pastor David Bracewell said the ministry currently has nearly 60 students from North Okaloosa.

Students attending RTT not only have the opportunity to ride horses and interact with ranch livestock, they also have responsibilities.

Students work their way from 'tender foot' to 'cowboy' status at RTT, meaning students will have to learn Bible scriptures and horse handling techniques in order to proceed to the next level.

"We put a lot on their shoulders," said Jimmy Bishop, youth pastor of Cross Creek. "It also a way to help Pastor Bracewell and myself in operating this 50-acre ranch with a bunch kids running around."

Wes Smith, 15, who has cowboy status, is responsible for showing younger students how to handle the cattle.

Smith enjoys working with ranch livestock and learning more about the Christian faith.

"I have had a lot of opportunities to learn and help me grow in my faith," Smith said. "It has also helped with my self-confidence."

Smith uses his experience at RTT while participating in local horse riding events. 

Courtlyn Barrow, 15, who also has cowboy status at RTT, gave some insight into her leadership role.

"Cowboys just make sure everything is going smoothly," Barrow said. "You have to grow in leadership abilities and your Christian walk."

For more information

Visit The Cross Creek website or Facebook page for more information on the Cross Creek Country Fellowship and the Ropin' the Truth ministry.

Contact News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown at 850-682-6524 or matthewb@crestviewbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter @cnbMatthew.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Ropin' the Truth gives students leadership roles

LAUREL HILL — When Christian Home United Methodist Church closed its doors after Sunday services, it ended 95 years of ministry.

The Rev. Kevin Holland, the church's pastor, said given the church’s declining membership, “the congregation decided it was time to close the small church.”

Betty Willis, a Laurel Hill resident who attended Christian Home with her husband, Jim, said she saw the closure coming.

“We only had three active members," she said, adding that siblings made sure to attend the final service. "All my brothers and sisters grew up there, and they all came home for this.”

So did other former members, as well as friends and supporters from other area churches.

“We had a church full," Willis said. "It was just as pretty and spiritual as it could be."

HISTORY

Members began meeting in 1912 at what was then the Church of Piney Grove, a Methodist-Episcopal congregation that met in the Dixie School on the highway between Wing and Lockhart, Ala.

Under the Rev. W.M. Fuqua and his wife Lydia's direction, the church reorganized in 1919 as Christian Home. A new church was built in 1920, with the first service conducted on Christmas Eve.

“Everything in the sanctuary was handmade at that time: from the benches to the altar,” Holland said.

Up until Sunday, some of the Fuquas' descendants still worshipped at the church, which was the center for spiritual and social activities in the 1930s and 1940s, he said.

“Revivals would draw people near and far with a mule and wagon tied to every pine tree around the church," Holland said. "Dinners were held outside on chicken wire tables.”

HOPEWELL

Christian Home was part of a three-church charge that includes Hopewell United Methodist Church, outside of Laurel Hill, and First United Methodist Church in Florala.

The Willises know where they will worship this Sunday.

“We will go to Hopewell,” Betty Willis said. “We have gone back and forth from one church to the other, and they have come to our church. We’re already like one big church family anyway.”

Upon closing, Christian Home’s ownership reverted to the United Methodist Church's Alabama-West Florida District.

Willis said no decisions have been made about the building's future, though recently there was talk of it being moved to Hopewell to serve as a fellowship hall.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 95-year-old church's closing bittersweet for few remaining members