Circle the Wagons

The term “Circle the Wagons” refers to a group of people who unite for a common purpose. On September 10th, New Hope West did just that as we gathered close to 2,000 people for our third annual Cowboy Church at the Lane Events Center Livestock Arena. The arena’s size allowed for the possibility of holding ONE SERVICE with our entire church family. This was the first time running one service since New Hope West launched with two services during the pandemic. While excited for the opportunity, the venue posed a unique challenge for our Creative Arts and Production departments who enjoyed creatively transforming a livestock arena into a church.

Months of planning culminated in a week-long transformation as our students worked side-by-side with experienced mentors and staff to turn the bare dirt and concrete arena into a cutting-edge country-western church service.

Tech and Production students meticulously set up sound systems and cameras for live online streaming and connected miles of wires for LED screens, speakers, and instruments. The talented band and vocal teams performed songs that celebrate God's work alongside national country recording artists. Pastor Wayne delivered a challenging message on relationship attitudes, resulting in many first-time decisions to follow Jesus. Throughout the day, students partnered with parking attendants on horseback, hosted a petting zoo, coordinated Clydesdale carriage rides, and served hundreds of hotdogs and hamburgers, coming together to create a memorable day that touched the lives of all who came.

It took many hours of hard work to transform the livestock arena into a sanctuary, but it was truly a labor of love and unity. The culmination of this work was such a beautiful day to marvel at God’s goodness and unite for our common purpose of seeing the people of Lane County come to know Jesus—our shared goal in circling up.