Now he ministers to people in the horse industry.

Burton, pastor at Immanuel Church in Kinston, felt a call about 10 years ago to minister to people who have horses. That call was the beginning of the N.C. Equestrian Ministry, which includes Burton and several other ministers across the state.

The equestrian ministry is part of the N.C. Leisure Ministries in Tar Heel Baptists' Missions Division. Billy Hutchinson, leisure ministry coordinator, said the equestrian ministry has a great future.

"It's really reaching people where they are," he said.

Burton is now trying to form a network of people interested in ministering to people associated with the horse industry.

The N.C. Department of Agriculture estimates that about 65,000 people in the state own horses, he said.

"I thought with all these people, you've got to have a Christian witness somewhere," Burton said.

In the 1970s, horse shows were mostly on Saturdays, but now they last several days, usually including Sundays, he said. The recent horse show at the N.C. State Fair lasted a week and a half.

Burton works full-time at his church, but usually takes Fridays off to work in the equestrian ministry.

Most people involved in horse shows make them family events, he said. Many have businesses around their horses.

"We talk about how the church has to present the gospel in new ways," he said. "This is one of those new ways."

Once in a while at shows Burton leads a short devotion in the horse barn in the early morning. But most of his ministry is one-on-one - listening and talking with people.

"It's like a seed-planting ministry," he said. "You do what you can."

When someone gets hurt at a horse show, Burton visits them if they are in the hospital. Occasionally, he performs a wedding or a funeral.

When Burton felt the call to minister to people involved with horses, he looked for other groups serving in similar ways. He found a group that ministers at horse-racing tracks and one that reaches out to people at rodeos, but none working with people who show horses.

About three years ago, people from about six states met in Kentucky to talk about ministering to people in the horse industry. The group formed a think-tank, but the idea is still new.

"It's so new, we don't know which way to go with it," he said.

Burton said about 200 people have indicated that they are interested in the ministry. He plans to start a newsletter soon.

David Kite, pastor of Vision Church in Raleigh, sees the need for the equestrian ministry. Kite; his wife, Sue; and their daughter, Molly, 17, were at the Horse Show at the State Fair, where Molly was showing their horse, Lacer.

Kite said people who show horses have to stay at shows through Sunday so their horses can accumulate points. The number of points a horse gets can eventually make the difference between a horse being worth $1,000 and $100,000, he said. Burton said there is a horse show at the state fairgrounds about every weekend.

"They hardly ever get inside a church, so this is a way to take the church to them," he said.