First Sunday in the New Building

Cowboy Church of Orange County
October 25, 2009

October 25, 2009, was a day we’ll never forget! It was yet another day when God’s Spirit was at work in such a way that it was unmistakable. There is no doubt that what has been taking place at the Cowboy Church of Orange County is a God-thing, NOT a man-thing. We are just blessed to be a part of it and pray that we never get in God’s way or hinder what He wants to do.

We began with a core group of 8 people in May of 2007, meeting on Monday nights for Bible study and prayer and to plan for our launch on October 14. This was the beginning of what continues to be an unbelievable ride. As we tried to estimate how many we might have on our launch Sunday, we knew that we would have lots of friends and family members there. What we didn’t know was how many others we might have. We continued to pray and then decided to plan for 200 people. We purchased 200 chairs and set them up in the borrowed horse barn the night before our first Sunday. We also prepared barbeque for 200 people. About 10:00 am, people started showing up for the 10:30 service. And they kept coming, and kept coming, and coming, even after the service had begun! Before it was over, God gave us 256 PEOPLE for that first Sunday service. He also gave us one adult baptism. And just like the Lord did with the five loaves and two fish, He multiplied the barbeque and the trimmings so that everyone who stayed had plenty to eat, and there was food left over! It was a God-thing!

A year later, as we planned to celebrate our first anniversary, we rented a tent to put up just behind the barn to catch what we believed would be the overflow of the crowd. God gave us over 350 PEOPLE in that service. He also gave us 40 baptisms that first year! It was a God-thing!

Last July, we hosted the Wild Horse Ministries on our new property. God gave us over 400 PEOPLE in attendance, with at least ten people accepting Christ that evening. Since then, we have baptized several of those new Christians.

We just completed our first building on our own property. We planned to have our first service there on October 25, 2009, in conjunction with our second anniversary. Once again, we had no idea how many to plan for. We prayed and believed that we would have 400-500 present, and planned a barbeque lunch to feed that many. We fully believed that we would have a full house. What we didn’t know was that the house wouldn’t be big enough. We put out all 445 chairs that we had, plus 80 that we borrowed. Those chairs weren’t enough! There were people standing across the back, along the sides, on the front porch, and even outside by the windows! There were still others who went on to the arena where we had afternoon activities scheduled. In all, God gave us 675 PEOPLE in attendance that day! There was joy, there was excitement, there was anticipation like I have hardly ever seen in a church service. God also gave us three baptisms that day. It was incredible! It was miraculous. It was and continues to be a God-thing.

From the beginning of our first core group meetings until now, including the message time on October 25, we have focused on Jeremiah 33:3, where God says, “Call unto Me and I will answer you and show you great and might things which you do not know.” Time and time again, God has shown us great and mighty things! I believe there are many more to come. Our prayer continues to be that we don’t get in God’s way. This work is truly amazing and is no doubt a God-thing!