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November 2010

Cowboy Fellowship News

November 2010 E-News

Issue 18

Inside This Edition

Word From The Pastor……………..Page 2

Todd Agnew In Concert……………Page 3

$100,000.00…………..…………...Page 5

Casey’s In Italy Update……………Page 10

Casey’s Through The Years……….....Page 11

And much more!

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Word From The Pastor

Caption reads: No, I’m not talking about twitter I literally want you to follow me

The church is full, but what’s it full of, people or authentic disciples? Most Christians long to be known as a faithful

disciple of Jesus Christ, but many have never seriously considered the ingredients which are necessary to produce an

authentic disciple of Jesus Christ. This is why I spent an entire week’s study in The Absolute Basics of Christianity on

the issue of discipleship and why I would like to briefly address it here in this month’s newsletter as well. If you really

want to be a true disciple (and I believe you do) then please take the time to read this article.

Growing up with a dad who made a living as a farmer and rancher taught me many things. One of the things I

learned was that everything needs the right environment to grow and flourish. For example, plants need basic things like

soil, sun, rain, fertilizer, and time, in order to grow. With these basic things in place, a harvest is produced. Many who do

not grow up in farming and ranching families think the meat, milk, and vegetables they consume somehow magically

appear on the shelf at the grocery store because they never see or experience firsthand the hardships that come when you

try to produce a crop.

After more than a decade in the ministry, I have found the same to be true of discipleship. Many people look at a

pastor, missionary, or layperson who has found the full and abundant life and who has been transformed into a true disci-

ple of Christ and think it happened magically through a prayer or retreat, or overnight as the individual slept. The truth is

that disciples grow the same way everything else does. They must be in the right environment, under the right condi-

tions, and given time to grow. So what are some of the basic things a disciple needs in order to grow and flourish?

The first basic ingredient is trust. Those who refuse or are unwilling to trust Christ, the Bible, and other Christians

rarely survive the process of discipleship. The journey of transformation a disciple takes requires trust. You must learn to

trust God even when it does not make sense. You must learn to trust your mentor or accountability partner even when

you don’t like what they have to say. You must trust the Word of God no matter how challenging its commands may be.

Trust is key, and without it a disciple’s growth will be stunted or will stall out completely.

The next essential for discipleship is encouragement. Affirmation and encouragement can be the boost we need to

get through a difficult task or overcome an impossible problem. Those who attempt to climb to the highest point in the

world climb in pairs. Everest is a formidable challenge for even the most seasoned climber. Pairs are used for the assent

to the summit for obvious safety reasons, but they are also used to encourage each other along the way. One person in

the pair is more than just an experienced climber; he or she has been on the top of the world before and made that jour-

ney at least once. Along the way, they encourage their partner and remind them that they can do it! Discipleship, in and

of itself, is a difficult and egregious journey. You need someone to help you and encourage you along the way! When we

work in pairs or small teams, we stand a much better chance of reaching the summit of discipleship.

Discipleship without accountability at its core lacks a basic ingredient for success. Accountability has become some-

what of a dirty word in recent history. It seems that business leaders, teachers, government officials, and Christians alike

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despise and retreat from accountability whenever possible. Accountability, however, is essential to becoming a disci-

ple. Those who hold me accountable are there not to pressure me or persecute me; they are there to protect me. In many

cases, they protect me from myself! They help me keep the commitments I make to God, as well as to others. God is

shaping me and others join the process to help sharpen me. Disciples don’t fear accountability, they embrace it.

Discipleship also requires every individual to develop a humble and submissive heart. No one can experience trans-

formation without humility and submission. If we are going to become more like Christ, we must become less like our-

selves. We must be willing to humbly accept whatever his plans are for our lives. We must submit our lives to his pro-

gram and abandon our own. A disciple must seek the kingdom of God first, and that requires humility and submission.

The final thing a disciple must possess is discipline. There are certain spiritual disciplines that one will always find

at the core of a disciple’s life. These disciplines include scripture reading and memorization, prayer, fasting, solitude,

and meditation. This journey of discipleship is long and the road is narrow. Without discipline and dedication to the

process, success is highly unlikely.

Let me close by reminding you once again that discipleship is not a program; it is a lifelong process. Those people

you look at and view as true disciples did not arrive where they are overnight or by some special prayer. Furthermore,

they will not be in the same place when tomorrow arrives because they will have continued to progress in their faith as

they continue to grow. This is only possible because they have found the basic ingredients needed to grow as a disciple

of Christ. While our list is not exhaustive, if you will trust, encourage, be accountable to others, and be willing to be sub-

missive and humble, along with practicing the disciplines that will make you stronger, you will have the most basic in-

gredients needed for spiritual growth and be on your way to becoming a disciple. You are not in this alone. If you truly

desire to grow as a disciple then Cowboy Fellowship is here to help you in this process. We have many different oppor-

tunities for you to engage in the process of discipleship. There are many men and women in our congregation who

would love to come along side of you and be a part of the amazing things God has planned for your life. If you feel like

you need some guidance or direction when it comes to increasing your faith and becoming a true disciple please don’t

hesitate to call, we will do everything we can to help you on your journey.

Pastor Pete

Letters For Our

American Heroes

Please continue to pray that all our service men and women will come home safely and soon. I hope

that you will use the link below each week. I post a new soldier (or two) every Monday.

Click Here

Love in His name,

Sue Johnson

Ministry Assistant

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$100,000.00 Match!!!!

Cowboy Fellowship has been given an opportunity we must meet! From now until December 31st anonymous donor will match

all donations to the Covered Facility fund UP TO $100,000.00!!!!

That means every dollar you give is doubled! $1 = $2, $10 = $20, $50 = $100, $500 = $1000 and so on!

Please pray about what you can give over the next 2 months. Remember, this offer is only good until December 31st!

We can do this!

Watch for updates each Sunday!

If you would like to give online please click the link below!

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*The following are reoccurring

events that take place each

week/month at the same time

unless otherwise denoted:

Church Services - Saturday

Night @ 7:00 PM ; Sunday: @

10:45 AM

Discipleship Classes - Every

Monday

Children’s Play Group Every

Tuesday from 10 - 11:30.

Adult High School - Begins

Sept. 7th and continues until

May ~ Every Tuesday @ 6:30

CAMO - 2nd Tuesday of each

month ~ Lone Star Lodge 6:30

CFY R.E.A.L.M. - Every

Wednesday @ 7:00 unless

otherwise noted.

2nd Saturday Clean Up @ 8:00

Breakfast Provided

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

Every 3rd Saturday

@ Stage Stop - 8:00 AM

Please Go To Our Website For

Times And More Information!

www.cowboyfellowship.org

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1 New Discipleship Classes Begin 6:30 PM

2 Play Group 10:00 AM

AHS 6-8 PM Portable A

3 Women’s Bible Study Portable D 6:30 PM

CFY 7:00 PM

4 Living Hope 6:30

5

6 Baptisms Potluck

7

Baptisms Potluck Roping Angel Food Orders Due

8

9

10 11

12

13

2nd Saturday Clean Up 8:00—?

Men’s Half Day Conference 9:30

14

Saddle Up 6:00 PM

15

16

CAMO Meeting 6:30 PM

17

18

Helping Hands

10:00 AM

19

20

Men’s Fellowship Breakfast

Angel Food Pick Up

21

Todd Agnew Concert 6:00 PM

22 23 24

25

Thanksgiving Holiday

Office Closed

26

Thanksgiving Holiday

Office Closed

27

28

29 30

Schedule Of Events

November 2010

The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness,

faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

Galatians 5:22-23

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Volunteers Needed!

Emergency Ministerial Service Ministry

Needs dedicated, caring people with a servant’s heart to make hospital visits,

nursing home visits, home visits, make phone calls, or send cards to the sick or

homebound. If you would like to serve on this ministry please call

Kevin Martin @ 830-214-1898

or email him at Kevin_Martin13@yahoo.com

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As a family we have made a decision regarding our future. For a couple of years now, I have felt the Lord releasing us and preparing us to move away from our direct leadership and involvement with the first church plant in Ancona. In the process we have prayed about where God would have us go next. We have drawn this process out for a long time, for several reasons. We desire to honor God with our lives and be where he wants us. We desire to seek his blessing and find a sense of peace about where we head next. We desire to thoughtfully and carefully evaluate our family’s needs. We desire to evaluate the options before us and consider each cautiously and yet courageously. We desire to transition away from the team and church-planting effort well. We desire to be good stewards of what God has given us and taught us. In the end, after prayer, reflection, tears, and conversations with advisors we have decided to move back to the United States. I will be working with Heather’s father in New Braunfels, Texas and we will spend the next few years processing our experience in Italy, furthering our studies, getting our kids caught up and boosted forward in their education (and specifically addressing Jacob’s special need for educational therapy) and finding ways to use our gifts and experience in the local church there. We are in the process of figuring out how we can continue being a support and encouragement to our co-church-planters here in Italy and hope to continue the relationships we’ve formed after these 10+ years here. Our hearts are heavy at the idea of leaving this place which has become home. I’ve never lived anywhere as long as I’ve lived here, in this apartment, in this city. For me, growing up without many geographical roots, I find myself con-fused and somewhat afraid to pull them up, having found much strength in them. Leaving teammates who have be-come close friends and brothers and saying goodbye to our Italian and Romanian brothers and sisters is something that brings more sadness. Saying goodbye to this culture and this city is hard to even imagine. All this is tempered by a sense of peace that we know does not come from any earthly source. As painful as it may be, as surprising as it might seem, we know that we take this step of faith with the Lord’s blessing. Please know that we take this step with eyes wide open for God’s leading. Please know that we take this step fully aware and very grateful for your partnership all this time. (Somewhat ironically and yet completely unrelated, just in the two months prior to our decision, three of our key supporting families and churches informed us that for financial and policy reasons they would have to stop our support – this totals $900/month as of the end of this year.) Please know that the team we leave in Ancona is moving forward with both ability and confidence under Brian Rotert’s lead-ership, committed to see this church community grow and wean itself from any American lifeline. Though they are sad we are leaving, I think it is important you know that they support our decision and the transition has been better than we could have dreamed. Please know that the other two teams (in Verona and Rome), though at the very beginning of their journeys, are also moving forward. We will continue working with the team until the end of December and spend the month of January packing and saying last goodbyes. February and March will involve much travel as we visit supporters and Team Expansion’s International Services in Louisville. We will also spend a week at MTI’s Debriefing and Renewal program in Colorado. We humbly ask that you continue your financial support while we are getting settled until the end of June. For those of you that are able, we have some extra expenses like airfare and shipping that we could use help with. Please keep the team and church here in Ancona and in Italy in your prayers through this process. And from the entire family, thank you for the part you’ve played in all of this. We really, literally couldn’t have done any of this without you. For Christ and for Italy, Jason, Heather, Jacob, Haven, Harrison and Jenova

Caseys in Italy

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CFY Fall Retreat 2010

This year’s Fall Retreat was without doubt one of the best retreats we have ever done. We structured it a little differently then how we normally do things. We have noticed over the years that all our retreats are very evan-gelistic in their approach. Make it enticing, advertise like crazy and really push the event to get as many people there so that they can hear the gospel. While there is nothing wrong with this approach, I felt that we needed to do something disciple oriented for the kids that are saved and are attending our youth group. So as a result, there was little to no advertisement, except for within the youth group, and the students were not allowed to bring their unsaved friends for this event. Reason being is this weekend was strictly discipleship only, and frankly you cannot be discipled if you are not saved.

The results of doing this were TREMENDOUS. A lot of the normal distractions that you can have from students going just to have a good time were completely removed and our students got a chance to be poured into by an awesome speaker and worship leader, Micah Moriano. Micah preached over the weekend on Character, stressing that when people see you and the qualities of your character, that they are mimicked after Christ’s charac-ter; Abiding, making sure that everything we do is abiding in God’s word, and he wrapped up talking about our Calling, to go out, serve one another, to be there for one another and spread the Gospel through the love of Jesus Christ. Either before our after each session, Micah led us in a time of extremely intimate worship with his acoustic guitar. Each session was not in a formal setting or even in a building. We got to experience God’s presence from a boat dock right on Lake Corpus Christi. During our down time we were blessed enough to have a couple of jet skis and a boat with which the students got to do some tubing, swimming, and wakeboarding during the after-noon. Top that off with some awesome BBQ and some pancakes that would rock your world (we had a birthday, so the left over icing from the cake was what really rocked the pancakes out), made for a weekend that none of us will forget. Please continue to pray for CFY as God continues to move on a daily basis in our student’s lives.

God Bless,

Tanner Butkay - Youth Pastor

IN THE BEGINNING…..

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And God said, “Let the water teem with living creatures….”

God saw all that He had made, and it

was very good.

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Mission Opportunities for 2011

Ready or not here it comes 2011 is almost here! Now is the time to start thinking and praying about

what God might have for you in the next year. As always there will be many local opportunities each week

through the ministry at Cowboy Fellowship. However I would like everyone to seriously pray about the fol-

lowing trips which will require more planning and preparation and thus need you attention now. Not all of

these trips will be done exclusively through Cowboy Fellowship, however I pray that our church might still be

able to send representatives to serve as short term missionaries from our congregation.

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” Isaiah 6:8 NIV

1. Tacoma Washington- Bobby and Kelli Higginbotham need evangelistically and discipleship oriented

people to help them in their efforts to start a church in one of the most un-churched regions of our

country.

2. Quito Ecuador- Larry and Amanda Castro are serving in Ecuador and doing some very unique forms of

ministry. There are opportunities to work with children, young adults, and churches to reach the lost

here.

3. Haiti- Scotty took a trip this fall and the need for construction of housing and schools is critical. Many

people have forgotten about this country have you?

4. Africa- Our church helps support two incredible ministries in East Africa. Many of you know about

Operation H2O which works in Kenya to drill water wells. However you may not have heard about the

Williams family who are currently working in Uganda.

My prayer is that Cowboy Fellowship could be involved in all four of these areas in 2011. This is only possi-

ble however if people like you are willing to pray and respond as God leads you. Now is the time to get your

passport in order and start making preparations. I believe there are men and women in our church who God is

asking the question “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” If you are that person, we will help you

contact us today so we can discuss and discover what amazing things God might do through your life in 2011.

Pastor Pete

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H

A

I

T

I

Quito Ecuador ~ Larry & Amanda Castro

Uganda Africa ~ Kenneth & Kristi Williams

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Painting

Discipleship

New Discipleship classes begin this Monday, November 1 at 6:30pm. Classes are for anyone interested in growing in their faith. Call the office to sign up.

There will be an informational meeting following Discipleship classes this Monday evening. Exciting changes are coming in the Discipleship Program, and we want you

to be a part of it! Make plans now to attend! Childcare will be provided.

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Matthew 25:35 The Matthew 25:35 Team has been hard at work all this year helping folks Atascosa County and the surrounding area and are on track for completing 16 projects for the year. Our team is dedicated to helping those less fortunate individuals and families in and around our area who need food, clothing, emergency relief and improvements that make their lives safer such as sturdy steps to get into their homes and ramps for those needing handicapped access to their homes. Sometimes the family can help with the costs of various projects and sometimes they can't but we always strive to accommodate them one way or another. You might remember one of our early 2010 projects whereby together we raised 1,800 boxes of bulk food and sent it on it's way to be distributed to the earthquake victims of Haiti and at the same time we raised over 450 boxes of food for families in our area as well. What you may not know is that we have also built a safe porch for an elderly woman who had been climbing a dangerous set of old mobile home steps that were about to fall apart and certainly not safe. We have helped a local family recover from their home being flooded. We have raised school supplies for needy families and baby clothing for mother's of expectant children. We have helped an elderly cou-ple by ripping out their old, leaking and dangerous bathtub and installing a new shower for them. We have helped a family who lost all of their possessions in a house fire by getting them suitable furniture. A recent project was to help one of our church families by building a handicapped access ramp at their home after one of them had an ac-cident and the other family member had surgery. These projects are certainly not the only projects that we have tackled this year as we have taken on several other worthy projects and have more to come before the year ends. We have three major projects left before the year 2010 ends and that is where you can help us to help others. We will be bringing grocery baskets to church and parking them at our doors for the next several weeks for a project that we are calling "STUFF THE BASKET"! We are asking that you bring non-perishable food and a generic toy or two for a boy or a girl to help some less fortunate families have a better holiday season in 2010 than they might otherwise have. We are also going to be asking that you generously support our "BOOT BOX CHRISTMAS" efforts again to bring a bit of Holiday Cheer to the orphanage that we support in Mexico. You may remember the orphanage di-rector, Karen Salinas, from last year when she came to Cowboy Fellowship and gave us an update on the orphan-age and the work that she was doing in Nuevo Laredo with around 30 children who were living in her children's home there in Nuevo Laredo. Your hearts opened to the situation of the kids that she was supporting and minis-tering to and ya'll stepped up to the plate and took boot boxes home with lists of needed and wanted items and brought them back full to the brim and for that I, my team and the orphans thank you from the bottom of our hearts. What you probably don't know is that about six months ago the violence got so bad in Nuevo Laredo that Karen feared for her life as well as the lives of the children and she was forced to find homes for about two thirds of the kids who had distant relatives in the area and to flee with the children who had no one to help out at all. It's a sad reality that the kids who were left behind will most likely fall into harms way in one way or another. Karen and about 13 children are now in Ciudad Victoria which is about 100 miles into the interior of Mex-ico. She is now in a building of about 600 square feet with the 13 kids. Needless to say, things are cramped! Karen is asking us to again help the kids with Christmas gifts this year. We are compiling the pictures, names, ages, sizes and the needs and wish lists of the remaining kids. We are asking that you please consider "adopting" a child or two and supporting our 2010 BOOT BOX CHRISTMAS and buying something to bring a bit of cheer to these desperate children. You can find the children's information and a Boot Box or two at the rear of the church. We are also hoping to make a quick trip to the border to help a village in Mexico before the end of the year. These villagers literally live in adobe huts, have no running water or electricity. They make their own adobe bricks by hand and dry them in the sun to build their homes and their only light at night is generated by a solar panel which stores electricity into a battery and powers one light bulb at night per hut. I have seen this with my own eyes five years ago when I went to the village on a hunger relief mission with another organization and again when I was there a month ago. There are about 160 souls in this village including men, women and about 40 chil-dren and they are in dire need of food, clothing and shoes. We believe that we have located some food relief for them and some clothing but we can certainly use more. They need bulk beans, flour, lard, rice and canned tomato sauce. If you can supply anything for them then please get with Odis White at (210)275-9800 to discuss what you can help with. The Matthew 25:35 team want to give Cowboy Fellowship a BIG THANK YOU for all that you have done to help us to help others. If you can help in any way then please get with Odis or his assistant leader, Grace Partin, and let us know what you would like to do to help us. You do not need special skills to help special people, just a loving heart and a desire to improve the lives of others. If you know of someone who, due to no fault of their own, needs some help then please get with us and let us know about them. You can reach Odis at (210) 275-9800 or email him at odis@mail.com.

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ACOM Report for November 2010

Fall Festival 2010 held at Jourdanton City Park, October 31, 2010 and was a huge success.

None of this would have happened without the two to three hundred volunteers who gave of themselves, their time and their energy to help

spread the Good News of Christ Jesus. Thanks everyone!

A crowd of about 3500 joined Volunteers from four area churches to

provide a safe place for families to come to trick or treat. Sniggles the Joker and Jesus, and Kids for Christ booths did a great job of presenting the gospel in a friendly non threatening manner.

Rhythm and Fire from Emmanuel Baptist in Charlotte did a great job of entertaining the crowd while delivering the message of Christ’s love

through music.

We had approximately 40 game booths that always seemed to have

lines of folks waiting to participate.

FBC Jourdanton had a great limbo booth and had lines waiting to enjoy

the limbo.

Community Bible Chapel had a grand presentation of throwing the hoola hoop over the cross. They also had lines waiting to enjoy the fun.

Betsy and her photographers did a great job of documenting the event.

Collene Myers from The Refuge spent the entire evening creating balloon

shapes for the children. This was a big hit with the crowd.

We gave away at least 1½ to 2 tons of candy.

If you would like to join ACOM or any other ministries at Cowboy Fel-lowship please contact Leslie at lesliestockton@sbcglobal.net or 210-

626-0145 for ACOM information and Connie at connie@cowboyfellowship.org

for other ministry information.

As we near Thanksgiving please consider making a list each day of one thing you are thankful for.

It enables me to focus on the positives in my life.

Blessings

Matthew 5:1-11

Leslie and the ACOM team

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WBS for November

The Study on Becoming a Woman of Simplicity by Cynthia Heald has

taught us many lessons and we are only half way through.

We meet in Portable Building D on Wednesday evenings around 6:30. We selected this time so that Moms who bring their youth to CFY can join us

and spend some time with Christian sisters instead of waiting in the car. If

this is you it is never too late to join us. Simply come on in, the back class-

room of building D.

Contact Leslie at 210-626-0145 or Lesliestockton@sbcglobal.net

for further information.

As we near Thanksgiving please consider making a list each day of one thing you are thankful for. It enables me to focus on the positives in my

life.

Blessings

Matthew 5:1-11

Leslie

He hath made everything beautiful in His time.

Ecclesiastes 3:11

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Cowboy Fellowship

P.O. Box 68

Pleasanton, TX 78064

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