Country church north of Auckland....

In the early pioneer and gold-mining days, ministers used to travel around the country areas of New Zealand on horseback, going from town to town to hold services.    Often, they would begin in town by going to the bar and persuading the publican to close the pub during the service.  Surprisingly, they were often successful with the pub-owner telling his clientele to get along to the church or they wouldn't get served a drink afterwards.