Following God: From rancher to evangelist to author

WORLAND - The first time you meet James Scott he does not hesitate to share the Gospel with you to make sure that you have a relationship with the Savior, Jesus Christ. He is not shy to tell you his story of being saved from a life of sin. Now, through his new book, "From Range Ridin' to Soul Seekin'," Scott has a found a way to reach many more people than just one-on-one visits, preaching at churches, rodeos, revivals or any other venue God leads.

Wyoming cowboy preacher James Scott said he grew up in the Catholic church but never had a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He said he will never forget the time some folks who were sharing the gospel with him asked if he had ever placed his faith in Jesus Christ. "I said no, I just went to church and thought that was good enough." He said in talking to them he realized he was not saved, that he had

some religion but not a relationship."

He was saved, accepting Jesus Christ as his personal Lord and Savior, at the age of 27. He said at age 30 he realized he needed to make some changes as God called him into the ministry.

"From that point on I have never looked back," Scott said. "Now there is never a day that goes by that we don't pray with someone."

His ministry first began at a campground near Hyattville. He began preaching and then five to six years ago he knew God was telling him to write a book.

"It was at least five to six years ago I knew I was supposed to write down things I was learning, stories. Golly I just never in my life thought I would be an author or someone who would write a book, so I just put it on the backburner." He said he started three years ago, writing about 6,000 to 8,000 words and then stopped. It sat there for two years until a friend asked how the book was coming.

"I realized I had made this commitment to the Lord that I would write this book and I was not fulfilling my part," Scott said.

He said in December 2019 he began writing at night two to three times a week.

In the spring 2020, the book was finished and went to the publisher for editing and publishing.

THE BOOK

Scott said, "I knew some of the areas I wanted to cover, I wanted the gospel to be throughout but also the focus of the very last chapter. I didn't have an outline, I didn't want an agenda, I wanted to let the Lord guide me as I wrote." He said he would pray before beginning to write each time and let the Lord lead. "The Scriptures would come to me as I was writing, and what translations to use. All the stories are true as true could be," he said, but noted he changed or omitted a few names.

He said he considers himself an evangelist more than a pastor. "I travel the country and preach and teach and do revivals to be able to share the gospel with people. I knew the gospel needed to be in there, I wanted it to be in there; but I also realized that being discipled and being a disciple are very important things in our culture, but sometimes we don't do a very good job of doing either one of those."

He said when he and his wife were saved the small church closed its doors and "we didn't get discipled. We just kind of bounced around because no one really took us in to explain Christianity to us. We knew we needed to accept Christ, we knew we needed to be baptized and after that you know it kind of whatever."

He said through the book he wants people to understand that discipling people takes a lot of time but it is worth it and that is when Christians can see their faith multiplied.

He added, "I didn't know if I would ever write another book so I wanted to give as much information as I could, especially that there is one way to heaven through a relationship with Jesus Christ."

He also wanted the book to be about serving and following God's will, noting that Christians need to "get out of the way and let the Lord tell you what to do and to have a willing and wanting heart."

REACTION

Since the book's release, Scott said he has received numerous emails, texts, voice mails and Facebook messages from people on how they were encouraged and uplifted from the book.

He said people can experience a whole range of emotions while reading it, but for the most part it is meant to be encouraging, especially at a time when there is a lot of negativity in the world.

"I wanted to write a book that would speak to every average person out there, believer or non-believer. It comes out pretty easy to read, not condemning, but giving people hope in a world that can be dark and gloomy," Scott said.

Scott's first response at receiving the published book was emotional. He said when he got the first shipment he sat in his office and cried. "It was a long-lost dream I really didn't know I had ... was coming true. Seeing the title and my name was very overwhelming."

He added that putting down his truths, stories, how-tos and what-not-to-dos, was a challenge and a risk. "Everything I have written I knew I would have to stand behind it, the good, the bad and the ugly," he said.

He moved to Worland at the age of 15 from Williston, North Dakota. "People in Worland may know the name James Scott from being in the paper back then but it would not have been for helping a little old lady cross the street."

He noted that one of the fun parts about his ministry and about writing the book is the people that knew him when he was younger will say "I never would have thought ..." He said that keeps him humble because here he is just "regular old James."

"We are just regular people who have been called by God both here and abroad, preaching to different churches. That's how we make our income, and the income from the book will help us in daily living," Scott said.

While he felt called and was rushing to do what God asked, his wife Rebecca was struggling.

She said, "I remember the first time that God was calling my husband. I was excited for him. I wanted him to jump in with both feet and go. Then I realized when he did that, I was being left in the dust. I was on board, but was not prepared for what ministry was asking of me. At one point, I wondered how God could call my husband, and not me? It's not that He wasn't calling me to be my husband's helpmate, but early on in the ministry we simply were not on the same page. When James realized that I was struggling, we had to make some changes to the ministry and our marriage. Through the changes, God was able to bring balance back into our lives. Through daily prayer together and time in the Word, we now serve the Lord with each other every day."

The Scotts are home for two weeks and then will head back out on the road for 2.5 months. "We are going to do what the Lord asks us to do, go where He asks us to go and remain in His will."

"From Range Ridin' to Soul Seekin'" is available by contacting the Scotts directly at [email protected] or on his website https://wyomingcowboypreacher.org/.

"The book is written to encourage believers and the gospel is written throughout the book so that if Lord is calling, they will see that calling and repent and call on Jesus," Scott said. "We want God to receive all the glory, we truly give God all the credit."