2018 Hopes and Dreams

As the calendar turns another year, our hearts wait expectantly.  In a season of cold and snow, where things have died-off for the winter, we wait.  Hebrews 11:1 rings so true knowing the even in a season of cold, God is at work in preparing all things to be made new.  He is shaping our faith and molding our perspectives. Yet, we sit in confidence of our hope, assured that what we can not see right now is at work and being made ready for its appearance at the right time.

We want to share what is on our heart for this next year. We ask that you pray with us and for us to be able to dream big and live big as we serve a big God. Casting a vision for the next season on the trail, we see great hope as God will bring those people that need a safe place to walk with God and a thin place to feel His Holy Spirit move.  The vision for 2018 is of a person leaning just enough off the edge of a cliff to the point that there is no turning back, leaning so far that you can't catch yourself, but trusting that God will catch you.  With this mental picture, we begin the ride for 2018.

Here are a few updates:

• Logistically we are excited about the direction that the Lord is taking the ministry in 2018. We are finalizing the new curriculum and we look forward to sharing how each person can start creating their own "Cowboy Code" this summer.
• The rebranding process is in full swing and is built off the Cowboy Way and Code of the West, and we are excited to use the heritage of Fish and Cross Ranch to teach these principles. Look for more to come here in our blog posts and the website.
• We are specifically praying that God will bring interns and a new operations director to the ranch for the summer season. If you know of people who would be interested, please reach out with an email to gmeyer@outfittersforchrist.org.
• We are praying for opportunities to continue to serve “at-risk youth” in the local community and communities around the nation. Our focus is to pour into the lives of those who cross our trail here at the ranch and provide materials that can be used long into a person's Life Journey. 
• We pray for our current partners and for new partnerships as we enter this year. Please reach out to use if there is interest or you know of groups we should talk with.
• We pray for donors who want to support instilling Western Heritage and legacy values outlined in the Code of the West.

We have set a goal for the summer season to follow wholeheartedly wherever the Lord leads us and look to serve over 80 kids and their families this summer! 

In each one of these areas we need partners, donors, pray warriors and fans to lift us up. We ask you to continue to pray with us and for us this next year. We are so excited about the new opportunities that the Lord is faithful to provide. Please join with us in watching for "God-moments" on the ranch and expecting His life changing grace and Holy Spirit to be at work. 

See you on the trial! 

Gold Buckle Challenge

For 24 hours starting at 8:00 AM November 25, 2017 to 8:00 AM November 26, 2017 Outfitters for Christ will be holding a Gold Buckle Challenge to help raise funds to purchase custom made cowboy buckles to give to our campers over the summer 2018 season.

Many of the campers that come to Fish and Cross Ranch with Outfitters for Christ are experiencing the Old West and the Cowboy Way for the very first time. Many have never touched a horse, nevertheless ridden one. We make a point each week as we teach the Cowboy Code of Ethics, lead, and disciple these young hearts to be watchful of those that begin their journey very afraid or worried about the experience. We pray that His Spirit is present and His Power is active! We are often so blessed to see these young people find a deep and renewed bravery by the end of the week as they bond with the horses and learn to trust a little more each day. With your one time Gold Buckle donation of any amount we will be able to present the kids with Custom OFC Cowboy Buckles to help commemorate their experience.

1 Corinthians 16:3 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.” 

The Cowboy or Cowgirl that gives the highest donation during the Gold Buckle Challenge will receive a one of a kind custom Outfitters for Christ Buckle! 

Please visit https://outfittersforchrist.org/give/ 

Finish What You Start

52 square miles of barb-wire fence surrounds the property at Fish and Cross Ranch. This fence keeps the livestock in the places they need to be and set boundaries for the property. This fence has stood for more years then anyone can count. It is supposed to be strong and sturdy, able to stand against the fierce winters, falling trees, and wildlife that crosses its boarders.

Yet every summer a crew of one to four guys has to go out and mend the 52 square miles of fence. Long, hard hours of tedious, sometimes back breaking work. The fence stood its ground during the winter, as best it could, but low and behold the weight of the snow, fallen aspen trees, and the jumping elk have left it broken and fallen. At times the crew is a full fledged team….four guys out there working the fence, fixing miles and miles in a day. This team encourages one another, motivating each other to keep working and  finish strong. There is accountability when three other guys are working along side you. If your section of the fence does not hold up, someone is there to guide you and tell you to fix it so it does not bring the whole thing down. The team brings comfort and encouragement to one another, urging each other to finish what they have started.

Other times the crew is just one member…a lone young man working the fence, feeling alone and overwhelmed with the miles that must be completed. The fence stretches out before him, seemingly never ending. The wire he is mending snaps under the pressure of his pliers. The fence is sagging from the weight of a large aspen tree that has fallen further down the line. He sizes it up, realizing that he is going to have to go full lumberjack in order to remove it. Oh how he longs for someone to come along and help him! But no one is coming. He was asked by his boss to do this job and see it through. He can hear the echo of his boss saying, “always finish what you start.” He takes a deep breath, looks to the sky and prays for the strength to continue on. Although there is no one physically present to keep him accountable he knows that if he slacks off, or walks away there will be more trouble when the fence falls to the ground because he did not finish what he started. He wipes the sweat from his brow, tightens the strap on his gloves and presses on to finish what he has started.

When we have a team of people surrounding us and holding us accountable we are able to “stir up one another to love and good works” (Hebrews 10:25). The encouragement of a mentor, friend, parent, or teammate can make any load seem light. Yet when we are alone the battle seems difficult. Friends, we must take heart in these moments and trust in the assurance that the “Lord will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). As we press on to finish the tasks before us we need to approach them with the mind of Christ. As Paul writes in Colossians, “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Riding for the Brand

The unspoken rule that most people hold in the life is centered around what we will stand and fight for and what we won’t. Plenty of scientist attribute this to the “flight or fight” instinct that is a part of human nature. This “instinct” is developed over a lifetime.  It tells us that the stove is hot, or the part of a particular situation is not good to be in, or that we can not trust someone because we were taken advantage of in the past. Needless to say, there are plenty of things that define our lives in terms of what we treasure and what we do not.

Cowboys also have this same approach to life, but it comes in the form of the brand you ride for.  This brand is more then an imprint in cattle or horses, it actually is soul-defining.  The brand a cowboy rides for is what they will protect at all costs. If their buddy is poking fun at the brand, the cowboy will be the first to defend it. If someone is trying to hurt the brand or something or someone who comes under that brand, the cowboy will take the needed action. Off the ranch, this may be defined as ones own family and ensuring that the family crest or name is honored.

The question in is then, how do I Ride for the Brand?

I fully believe that God has branded each of us.  He has written His name on each of our hearts.  He has given us to a greater purpose and vision.  That purpose may be tackling the corporate world or tackling a running back.  Wherever God has placed you, whatever you are doing right now, it is all a part of His greater plan.

Being part of something greater then yourself is what defines Riding for the Brand. But, it also calls for action and engagement. That to me poses the question that needs answered: What will you do to Ride for the Brand?  Perhaps you are in the middle of raising your kids, or growing your career and that solves the action part of Riding, but is that Riding for the Brand or is it riding for yourself?

Over the course of the next several months, I will come back to discuss and share some more thoughts here, but for now, look deeply into the things that matter for you and see if they align to where God has you right now.  You have to know where you are starting from or you will miss the ride.

See you on the trail,

The OFC team

The Map

We are joined on the trail today by Greg Meyer, president of the ministry. 

What do you use a map for? Usually we think of buried treasure, or the paper road map that is hidden beneath the seat of your car. What if we had a map that contained exactly where we were supposed to go in life, who we were to be employed by, who we were going to lead and who we were going to be led by, how to raise our children, how to be married and be the best husband or wife we can be. Oh, how simple life would be if only God would let us have a little peek at the map.

What if…

Fortunately for us we have been given a map in the Bible.  I believe that, but I also believe that that map has many areas not visible as we let the world clog, smear and obscure what God has clearly laid out. I find, for myself that I have this head knowledge.  I find that I ask myself if I  can convince my heart, I can embrace that and live free.  But then the worldly side of me creeps in and robs that life.  The self imposed pressure to be successful and drive for more, the pressure I exert to raise my children, the pressure I impose to try and be a better husband.

That pressure creates so much rub on my map that the lines become blurry and I lose my way.  The path is suddenly unclear and I end up wondering. It probably is not so different than the Israelites (at least figuratively).  The journey from Egypt to the promised land was a 13-day journey, but it took forty years to travel that short distance.  In the journey, lessons of dependence and focus on what each day contains was pushed to the forefront in order to survive. There were many problems and hardships, but the Isrealites made it.  The “made it” is filled with more battles, decisions and trials, but that is for a different day.

The focus for now is to grab ahold of your map and begin to trust the path and the journey.  I am in the process of doing the same thing right now.  As I am looking out at life from the back of a horse, I can see God at work and feel Him moving.  It is going to be a journey and one that will not seem clear on many days.  It is one that will require each of us to dive into our own personal vision and maintain that over our lifetime.  In the next several posts, I will look at how you allow God to establish that vision and then use it as the North Star for your journey.

Cowboys have ways of reading the land and begin willing to work in tandem with their horse to navigate long roads, lonely places and hard travel to get the job done.  As they embark on their daily ride they saddle up with the realization that each passing tree, each turn in the road contains God’s fullness, possible trials and hardships, and needed steps to complete the work at hand.

Saddle up and let’s get to the trail, God is waiting for each of us there.

Welcome to the Trail

Welcome to the trail, we are so excited you are along for the ride! Outfitters for Christ (OFC) was started with the vision of raising up 20,000 Christian Leaders rooted in Biblical ethics and values, and trained in the Cowboy Way to enable cultural change.

We believe that we are called by God to supply experiences, tools and resources that equip a person’s journey through life.  The ministry is focused on youth from ages 8-24 years of age. We utilize Fish and Cross Ranch to create experiences for true Cowboy adventures, while building in biblical training as the foundation for sharing the Code of the West.  The Code in and of itself provides a baseline of values that starts the process of refining an individual’s own Code of Conduct.

OFC focuses on a Life Journey curriculum that has been developed over the last eight years through cooperation with churches and Christian organizations at youth camps, focus groups and retreats held at the ranch.

We offer 3 different programs for youth including:

• Foundation Series: (8-12 year olds) This focuses on building core foundations around their faith and their relationship to their Heavenly Father.
• Developmental Series: (13-18 year olds)  This is about understanding the concepts of “identity in Christ” and how to live for that brand.
• Launch Series: (18-24 year olds) This series focuses on providing tools for young adults to grow in their understanding of who God says they are and enable them to walk confidently in their personal identity rooted in Christ.

Beyond these programs, we invite families to push pause on overly-busy lives and embrace time with God and their family while they do life as the Cowboy did.

OFC uses a combination of the Cowboy Code of the West intertwined with Biblical concepts and engagement models that parents can use with their children and that children can use through each stage of their lives.

Culturally, we have lost the deep values and codes of conduct that are woven throughout the Bible. OFC exists to be the Outfitting Guides for families and youth to find their way back to what was lost and then integrate that into their lives going forward.

Join us as we discuss the code of the west and biblical values through the Cowboy Way.

See you on the trail!