In 1995, Todd and Leslie were very young Christians who set out on the rodeo trail to pursue a world championship in bareback riding. During the first seven years, they experienced a lot of success in competition. They were surprised by how much they had fallen in love with people and realized they could help both the competitors and their families. They never thought of it as a ministry, but both sincerely cared about the people of the sport and the ever increasing fans it attracted. They realized that rodeo was a platform for them to do what they really loved, which was pouring faith, hope, and love into people.
In 2002, Todd suffered a knee injury at the Calgary Stampede. He was expecting to be sidelined for at least 4 months, but surgery revealed that the complications would put him out for a year. He was unsure how he would provide for his family, and thought he’d lost the only platform he had to reach people with the Kingdom of Jesus. He cried out to Jesus asking, “God, why would you give me such a burden for people and then make it impossible to reach them?”
A couple of weeks later, a man named Cody Custer called him and asked if he would fly to Portland to speak to the PBR athletes and a small group of fans. Todd was unversed in public speaking, but speaking invitations continued to come and the Pierce’s soon discovered that this was exactly what God had been preparing them for.
Eighteen years later, they have traveled to over five continents and 12 different countries, encouraging hundreds of thousands of people with the reality of the Kingdom of Jesus. Now, they are entering into a new season of narrowing their primary focus to maximize Todd’s gift of communicating Kingdom principles and values through working with horses. Although they continue to do a diversity of events, men are their target. They use all means possible to help men gain a vision that is true to their own heart and the heart of God.
