Frequently Asked Questions
FAQ
1. Where can I access the Bylaws of the AFCC?
We can email them to you. Are you asking for the AFCC Corporate Bylaws or the AFCC Suggested Cowboy Church Bylaws?
2. How can I edit details of an event I’ve posted to the AFCC Event Calendar?
Your event can’t be edited once submitted to the Event Calendar, but you may resubmit it once revised.
3. Would the AFCC consider donating Bibles for a mission trip?
We have been known to donate Bibles. Send us your information to share with our leadership, and we will get back with you. Contact Us
4. When and where is the next cowboy church clinic?
Our clinics are typically shown here on our website under Events/Cowboy Church Clinics.
5. How can I start a cowboy church?
I will forward your inquiry to a member of our Field Staff that can discuss this in detail.
6. How do we join the AFCC?
The AFCC doesn’t have membership. We have affiliates (partners). Becoming affiliated is a process. I will forward your inquiry to a member of our Field Staff, and he will contact you.
7. Can you help me get in touch with a cowboy church located in …?
If a church is affiliated with us, it should be listed in the Church Finder on this website. If not, try an Internet search for cowboy church in your specific area.
8. Can you help us locate a new pastor for our church?
If your church is an AFCC affiliate, we will be glad to list the open position on the website under Available Opportunities. Please provide us with a contact address, phone # and email for prospective pastors to contact you.
9. Can you send me handouts on topics taught at clinics?
Absolutely! What is your email address?
10. Where can I find more information about the AFCC?
Have you browsed the website? Quite possibly the information you seek is shared here. If not, you may contact us via the website or call the office.
11. Can we be added to your church finder list?
Our Church Finder is reserved for AFCC affiliated churches in good standing with the Fellowship that are following our suggested cowboy church model. If you believe you meet those guidelines, please contact us.
12. What kind of activities take place at camp?
Activities may vary from one camp location to another, but in general there are arena events involving small livestock such as ponies, goats, sheep and/or steers. In addition, most camps have water activities such as swimming or canoeing under the supervision of a lifeguard. Regardless of which camp you attend, we always have time for prayer, Bible study, small groups and of course a worship service every evening.
13. What are the ages for preteens and teens at camp?
Based on the maturity of the child, and in some cases at the discretion of the church pastor, preteen ages include children who have completed 3rd through 6th grades. Youth should have completed 7th though 12 grades. A graduating senior is eligible to attend camp the summer following graduation.
14. What are the costs, locations and dates of camps?
Once these specifics have been finalized for a given camp year (i.e., 2020), this information can be found here on our website under Events/Cowboy Camps.
15. Where and when are the Ranch Rodeo Qualifiers?
Once these specifics have been determined, this information can be found on the website under Events/Ranch Rodeos.
16. Can I buy a single copy of the Learning the Ropes (LTR) Bible?
No, but the AFCC will be glad to mail you a complimentary copy. We just need your name and mailing address. Contact Us
17. Do you have or can you get large-print LTR Bibles?
No. Unfortunately, large print Bibles are not cost-effective for our organization.
18. Can you share my cd/flyer/info to all your churches?
You are welcome to contact our affiliate churches directly to promote your CDs and share your contact information with them. Our churches are completely autonomous and make those decisions at a church level. You can find our affiliate churches on this website using the Church Finder feature. Or, by choosing the Event Calendar feature on the website, you can also post your own event. It allows you to share contact information, date and event activity specifics, and you can even post your event flyer.
19. Does the AFCC provide insurance for events?
The AFCC does not provide insurance for its affiliate churches. We can however provide you with contact information to companies we use for our organizational events. Just give us a call at 972-937-9979 or contact us via the website.
20. Who covers your liability insurance?
The AFCC uses different insurance companies for our liability insurance based on the type of event we are hosting. Just give us a call at 972-937-9979 or contact us via the website. We will be glad to share our provider information with you.
21. Who does the AFCC use for background checks?
We use publicdata.com. It is an affordable online service.
22. Can a woman be a preacher, pastor, elder or lay pastor in an AFCC cowboy church?
We believe that women are important and needed within the local church body. In the beginning, women fulfilled a vital role in the ministry of the local church (Acts 1:12–14; 9:36–42; 16:13–15; 17:1–4, 10–12; 18:1–2, 18, 24–28; Rom. 16; 1 Cor. 16:19; 2 Tim. 1:5; 4:19), but not one of spiritual leadership over men.
Although the Apostle Paul respected women and worked alongside them for the furtherance of the gospel (Rom. 16; Phil. 4:3), he appointed no female elders, pastors or deacons. In his letters, he urged that men were to be the spiritual leaders in the church and that women were not to teach or exercise authority over men (1 Tim. 2:12). Even though the AFCC believes women are spiritual equals with men and the ministry of women is essential to the body of Christ, women are excluded from spiritual leadership over men in the local church.
Men and women stand as equals before God, both bearing the image of God Himself. However, without making one inferior to the other, God calls upon both men and women to fulfill the roles and responsibilities specifically designed for them. In realizing the given roles taught in the New Testament, women are able to realize their full potential because they are following the plan of their own Creator and Designer. Only in obedience to Him and His design will women truly be able to give glory to God.
23. What is the process for ending a relationship with an AFCC affiliated church?
From time to time, churches need Biblical direction because their attitudes and actions are outside of the authority found in the Word of God. Because of this, the AFCC wants to be clear in how it will handle these situations from a Biblical worldview.
**According to Article III 3.2.b of the AFCC Bylaws 2018 edition “Affiliation with the Fellowship may be terminated for the following reasons by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting: Biblical, moral or ethical misconduct.”
The steps to determine whether a church and or leadership within an AFCC affiliated church has participated in “Biblical, moral or ethical misconduct” are as follows:
According to Jesus in Matthew 18:15-20 “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”
Step 1 – The offended person goes directly to the one who is in sin.
Step 2 – The offended person returns directly to one who is in sin and takes one or two of his local elders/pastors.
Step 3 – The offended person contacts the Executive Director and/or the Board of Directors. The matter will then be brought before the Board, and the Board will designate Board members to go to the one who is in sin to address the issue. Failure to repent and be restored will result in the church being terminated from the fellowship.
All steps are intended to lead the brother or sister in Christ to repentance and restore fellowship within the church body. Unless the sin falls under legal matters regarding the pastor and/or church, the board will adhere to 1 Timothy 5:19 “Do not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or three witnesses.”
Yet, if the “sin” is unresolved, the board will determine measures needed to promote correction for the offender; as well as protection for remaining affiliates as prescribed in 1 Timothy 5:20 “But those elders who are sinning you are to reprove before everyone, so that the others may take warning.”
**Article III AFFILIATION
3.1 Affiliates of the Fellowship shall be Cooperating Cowboy Churches. A Cooperating Cowboy Church: (a) Subscribes doctrinally to our Statement of Faith modeled from the Baptist Faith and Message, taken from God’s Word. (b) Supports the model reflected in the AFCC recommended bylaws as presented in the AFCC clinics and schools. (c) Under God’s leadership, financially supports the ministry of the AFCC.
3.2 Affiliation is accessed by establishing unifying relationships with likeminded neighboring churches cooperating with the AFCC.
3.3 Affiliation with the Fellowship may be terminated for the following reasons by a majority vote of the Board of Directors at any regular or special meeting: (a) Failure to meet the criterion laid out in Article III, 3.1. (b) Biblical, moral or ethical misconduct.