Yes, that was a cowboy riding through Lawrence Wednesday on a mare, pulling a miniature mule and ministering to others the Gospel of John.

“It seems like there might be a lot of people (in Lawrence) with their own ideas, but I’ve met good people,” said Couy Griffin, 32, of Reserve, N.M.

Griffin left the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco on April 16 – Easter Sunday. He hopes to reach Times Square in New York and then somehow travel across the Atlantic Ocean and end up in Jerusalem.

“I’m sharing the hope of Christ,” Griffin said as he made a short stop Wednesday to scoop up some droppings near Sixth and Iowa streets.

He hauls his horse, Molly, and mule, Black Jack, in a pickup truck and trailer that he drives between cities. He’s visited many cities across the western United States during his nondenominational ministry, including Salt Lake City, Denver and Topeka.

When he reaches a city, Griffin gets out his American flag and rides around trying to approach people. On Wednesday he rode down Massachusetts and Sixth streets while he talked with people and waved at honking motorists during rush hour.

Griffin calls the cowboy outfit and animals “a gimmick to do the Lord’s work.”

“Animals are a great tool to use for evangelism,” he said.

Couy Griffin, from Reserve, N.M., rides his horse with his pack mule nearby Wednesday along the Sixth Street sidewalk near Lawrence Avenue.

He speaks with people who come to pet the horse and mule, or he sometimes brings up Scripture that refers to Mary and Jesus riding mules.

For gas and groceries, Griffin has relied on donations from friends, family members and people he has met along the way. A couple from Topeka recently took him in for two days, he said.

“God’s really given me grace in all of this,” Griffin said.

In his saddle bag, he carries a copy of the book that first refers to Jesus as “the Word” and also contains the verse that has become a staple of Christian theology: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

Griffin, who was raised in the logging and saw-mill business, decided to begin his mission after an earlier trip to Israel. A Web site, www.goldengatesministry.org, is dedicated to his journey.