Clear Waters Cowboy Church in Clanton is hosting a back-to-school roundup Sunday, Aug. 12 at 6 p.m.

The event will feature the Nashville recording artists Red Roots, a country music group originally from Mississippi.

In addition to the music, Pastor Keith Green invited everyone to bring their lawn chairs to enjoy a “fun, family-oriented night” including pony rides and ice-cold watermelon.

“We are the most unconventional, nontraditional church you’ll ever attend. Our main theme is just ‘come as you are,’” said Green. “You don’t really have to dress up. A lot of the people we are trying to reach have farms, and that’s a seven-days-a-week job. You can come right out of the field and to our services.”

Previously located at the Central Alabama Horse Club, in February, Clear Waters Cowboy Church moved to the old Gray and Sons Stockyard on Logan Road.

What Green describes as unconventional worship, the church’s music is themed around Western heritage—bluegrass and country gospel.

“There is a great need for a ministry that will reach out to the cowboy culture,” said Green. “It’s a culture that’s one of the hardest to reach.”

When asked if he thought of himself as a cowboy, Green laughed and said, “I’m a cowboy at heart and a person who has a great love for Western culture. Maybe I’ll reach official cowboy status one day, but I’m probably just considered a greenhorn right now.”

Presently their services are averaging about 10 to 15 in attendance every week, but Green says they are looking to grow.

“We’ll have horse clinics and beginner riding lessons. We want to have our own arena where we can have shows. Our outreach will include equine events,” said Green.

They hope to have those additions onsite within the next few months.

“Our church is mainly a choice to get away from a traditional setting,” he said. “It’s for those who are cowboys and cowgirls at heart.”

For more information on cowboy churches, visit americanfcc.org.