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SBC Life Articles

Cowboy for Christ


For Tom Fane, getting to Valley Baptist Church in Bakersfield means a half-hour drive from his job at Tejon Ranch, which, at 280,000 acres, is the largest deeded ranch in California. Fane has been riding and roping in California, Arizona, Nevada, Montana, Wyoming, and Utah since he was 17. "It's the cowboy way of going to college," he said.

For years, being a cowboy was all that mattered. Now, Fane believes God has given him a new set of priorities. The emphasis on evangelism at Valley Baptist has redirected his thinking. "It's put my mind on heavenly things," he said. "You think about people who are lost, and other things fade in importance."

Fane had committed himself to sharing Christ with at least one person each week. Classes in Continuing Witness Training — with its transitions through topics related to family, interests, religion and eternity — have given him an orderly way to witness. "But it's only a tool," he admitted. "It's not the reason people accept Christ.

"I can throw out the worst possible presentation and people get saved," he said. "It shows me that God has done it."

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