Final Project
Final Project
Stacey R Cook
MGMT 515 Managerial Accounting
March 22, 2014
Steve Adams
Southwestern College Professional Studies

Final Project 1
Table of Contents
Three Crosses Cowboy Church of Butler County Introduction .......................................................2
Church History .............................................................................................................................3
Church Present Day ..................................................................................................................7
Church Mission ................................................................................................................................7
Church Mission Statement ...........................................................................................................8
Church Accomplishment of Mission Statement .......................................................................8
Church Core Products ......................................................................................................................9
Church Fundraising .........................................................................................................................9
Church Donations .....................................................................................................................9
Church Investors ................................................................................................................10
Church Operating Budget ................................................................................................10
Church Marketing ..........................................................................................................................11
Church Advertising ....................................................................................................................11
Church Social Media .............................................................................................................11
Church Concerns ............................................................................................................................11
Church Funding ..........................................................................................................................12
Competition ............................................................................................................................12
Social Issues .......................................................................................................................13
Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................13
References ......................................................................................................................................14
Attachments/Appendix ..................................................................................................................15

Final Project 2
Three Wooden Crosses Cowboy Church of Butler County Introduction
There are many churches that have been established throughout the United States (as well as overseas) and these churches have one thing in common and that is to gather individuals in the same setting, and hear the word of the lord. When a church is established, there are many guidelines that really need to be established, maintained and abided by in order for the church to succeed in its goal. There are many different churches, many different types of religions and many individuals that are diverse as well. Therefore, it may be difficult for a church to be able to accommodate all of the different needs , wants, beliefs and values of each individual that may desire to hear the words of the lord every chance that they can possibly get. Although there may be many individuals that are not necessarily choosy about the church they attend, there are some; however, that may have higher expectations of where they chose to spend their time (whether it be fundraising or just hearing the word), their money for the donations to the church and if they may be able to establish a family atmosphere (relationship or bond) with others that attend their church as well. Churches are all not the same and for the majority is great “homes” to individuals in which attend them regardless of religious affiliation, the individual’s own diversity and the church itself. However; for this project; the student learner has chosen to research Three Wooden
Crosses Cowboy Church of Butler County (formerly Butler County Cowboy Church) as this church is diverse (the congregation) and unique (“Cowboy Church”) but still maintains the same common goal as all of the other churches.
Three Wooden Crosses Cowboy Church (“Three Crosses” for short) is a unique church and the dynamic and diversity amongst the congregation is also unique. The congregation is anywhere from the teenager to the older adults, some may ride horses and practice a “cowboy lifestyle” others may not, but they still chose to attend the church because of the welcome home

Final Project 3 feeling every Sunday morning. Regardless of the diversity, the church is growing just as a nonprofit organization does, and the congregation as well as the investors in this church have overcame obstacles and hurdles, and are still overcoming those obstacles and hurdles in even in present day. There have been changes involving the investors, change in pastors and even the facility itself has undergone changes itself, but does this little growing church and congregation have what it takes to overcome the hurdles of financial, competition, and even society has to throw at them or can that be overcome as well?
Three Crosses History
Once that it was established by the original three investors that they would aid the pastor
(he was the “start-up church pastor”) in pursuing the goal of establishing the church, it was up to all parties involved (mentioned at the beginning of this paragraph) to obtain the required requirements through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and those requirements would deem the church a 501© (3) Internal Revenue Code for a charitable organization. In order for the church to be deemed as such, it was important that the proper requirements and paper work were completed and submitted through the Internal Revenue Service (Service, 2014). The organization must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual (Service, 2014). This process was completed and the investors began to become silent partners in the origination of the church.
Three Crosses (known then as “Butler County Cowboy Church) originated at Fulton
Valley Farms, Augusta, Kansas on January 1, 2011. The concept and the atmosphere that the church wanted to create for the individuals in attendance of the church was to “church the unchurched”, by providing an atmosphere to those individuals that did not feel that they should have to attend Sunday Services in what society considered their “Sunday Best”, but instead

Final Project 4 allowed for dusty cowboy boots, tidy jeans and a nice shirt. Along the way the church had also obtained the concept of “Where the Rugged Meet the Cross” and the individuals that attend this church live by the rugged persona all of the way and this had appeared evident as the church grew with its congregation. Anyone from ranchers, bull riders, bronc riders, farmers, cattle ropers and even just down home good old older adults attend. This church is considered to have a warm atmosphere, Sunday Potlucks and even open arena riding for individuals who ride horses.
What is it about this church that is so special? Hands down the people that attend work and support this church and the ideals and morals that support it.
Even though the church had been up and running and the congregation had begun to grow each Sunday, there was still much work that had to be done, and more regulations that had been presented in order for the church to follow stipulations of the religion and the beliefs that it
(the pastor) had been presenting to the church congregation. Although there were many members of the congregation that had been “out in the dark” of the politics of the church, some individuals had to become more involved as those stipulations had been made clear. The church not only had to abide by the regulations established by the IRS for its charitable organization status, there were also stipulations provided for the “start –up pastor” as the church could not necessarily afford to pay the pastor beings that it had just started and funds were limited. Luckily, the church not only had established investors, but the church had also received support from two different organizations which were the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches (AFCC) and the
Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). The AFCC had a great influence with the cowboy church beings that it established regulations for cowboy churches all across the United States. This organization had also been the organization to provide the start-up pastor and the SBC had been the organization to finance the pastor for Three Crosses.

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The AFCC is an organization whose primary goal is to help affiliate churches resource other cowboy churches through communication, training, mentoring, and sponsorship, to hopefully enable them to start even more cowboy churches (Churches, 2014). This organization provides “By laws” to Three Crosses in the way that the church needs to be managed and even what type of leadership roles need to be delegated. The Southern Baptist Convention is the religious denomination that has been established for Three Crosses. The Southern Baptist religious denomination are varied and diverse and unique and represent a broad range in size, culture, age, ministry setting, ethnicity, worship style, and theological perspective (Convention,
2014). The AFCC and the SBC work together in terms of pastoral candidates’ and the payment of the pastor (as again, Three Crosses could not afford to pay because the organization was just starting out).
The politics really had not been brought to the surface until the church moved from
Fulton Valley Farms to Walnut Valley Stable and Arena; which was also located in Augusta, KS,
May 6, 2012. There were three total investors in the church, which had taken part in the purchasing of the church’s new property. The property was an old horse boarding facility, as well as an outdoor arena and crow’s nest (a space provided above the outdoor arena, that provided a bird’s eye view of the arena and the events taken place- ample space for an announcer to announce the events), that western events could take place such as bull riding, bronc riding, horse barrel racing, and even just a night time ride around the arena on horseback (as there was outdoor lighting provided). This new found property was an obvious choice for the investors and the congregation of the church to choose for their new church home. With the exciting new prospects of the move to the stables, came more politics that had been under wraps for so long, but could no longer stay under the radar. Summer of 2013 had proven to be difficult for this new

Final Project 6 church and its congregation, as there had been heated discussions amongst congregation members and the pastor, finances had been mysteriously misplaced and communication came to a standing holt amongst the pastor and the three “elders” (three men designated to handle congregation issues and team issues this was a designation with AFCC bylaws), in which the turmoil could last no longer and the pastor had stepped down from his position taking the third investor with him (his father was an investor) in his absence.
The congregation seemed lost and the elders had to step up to the plate and reassure the congregation that they could make due, with faith in god, and the strength each congregation member had, the church persevered. The facility team (male members of the church who were in charge of maintenance, etc. of the steeple or church building) did not lose their momentum, as they kept remodeling and building the steeple not only to ensure that they were following the lord’s word, but also to show the congregation that all hope was not lost. There had been many temporary pastors sent in to take on Sunday service, but so far none had panned out. The arena team (another group of individuals in charge of events in the outdoor arena) also began work in hopes of establishing fundraisers to keep the church running. Amongst the uncertainty of what position the church was actually in, the strength of the congregation was apparent, and although church members left and some new arrived to take their place, there were still the faces of the familiar each Sunday sermon.

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Three Crosses Present Day
The obstacles of Three Crosses are still apparent, however, there is hope for the church now, as the AFCC has been able to aid the church by providing what is known as a “Sponsor
Church”. A sponsor church is a church that is also AFCC modeled and also practices the same religious denomination as the smaller church, the sponsor church is a church that has been established for years, has a large congregation, and has been able to show the reflection of the
AFCC model. The sponsor church helps the new church through its own experiences, training and mentoring whether it is the congregation or the leadership of the newly formed church. This process lasts for a year and allows for the sponsor church to manage the newly formed churches’ finances as well as any events, etc. that may take place. The sponsor church has provided Three
Crosses with a permanent pastor that will begin Sunday Sermon April 6, 2014. The sponsor church will take their position as the official sponsor church for Three Crosses April 1, 2014 in hopes of creating success and lifelong success for Three Crosses. The facilities team is currently awaiting to new the building permit from the county to finish the work for indoor bathrooms and a kitchen for the steeple (the congregation was utilizing an port-a-potty), and the arena team has begun plans for fundraising events beginning May1, 2014.
Church Mission
Three Crosses mission is to church the unchurched and allow for individuals to become a church family without the pressures that some churches may have. Three Crosses understands that there are many diverse individuals that are in the congregation and it is important to the church and the elders that are in charge for everyone to feel welcome regardless of their background or past. Three Crosses also has established the saying of “Where the Rugged Meet

Final Project 8 the Cross” and strongly believe in that motto or saying as well as “Churching the Unchurched”, however, those sayings are not the mission statement of the church.
Feed”.
Church Mission Statement
Three Crosses had obtained the mission statement of “To gather, To Brand, and To
Mission Statement Accomplishment
Three Crosses has overcome many unforeseen circumstances within the past year, the congregation has changed tremendously, some weeks it seems as though the number of members grow, and then the following week it seems as though the numbers have shrunk. The major issue may be that there has not been a permanent pastor in the church for nearly a year, and although there are many new faces, there are still the same loyal congregation members from a year ago that still manage to gather for the sermon presented each week, as far as branding, this would involve the loyalty that the congregation (original congregation) has shown to the church itself, especially those members that stay quite involved with the teams (facility, and arena). There has also been a new team or group that has been up and running for 6 months or longer, which is the church’s youth group “Green Broke”, that provides the local teenage congregation to gather, brand and even feed by providing bible study Wednesday evenings, as well as a “church family dinner” for all of the youth and the adults that oversee the group. Sunday‘s offer potlucks for all of the congregation to join one another for “brunch” or lunch and interact with one another. The church does accomplish its mission statement as much as possible each week, by either providing encouragement for the congregation to gather together every Sunday or Wednesday or both.

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Church Core Products
There are some products that the church offers, but does not necessarily charge a fee for such as the Sunday Sermon, the Wednesday Youth Group, Open Arena (to ride horses after the
Sunday Sermon or just whenever for Church members), Baptisms, Bibles, and even horse boarding (only for church members).
Church Fundraising
The church has conducted fundraisers (for either facility maintenance or even to keep the doors open altogether) such as a fish fry, barn dance (had a special gospel western performer), bull buck outs, horse barrel racing, local biscuits and gravy at the Augusta Senior Center, a silent auction of donated items by the church congregation, and will be offering many other fundraising events in the future.
Church Donations
The church congregation has not been in the position to donate too much to outside organizations as the finances have been weak during the past year; however, the church congregation did donate their time, food and even horses for a family to pay tribute to the passing of their father. The family utilized the church premises to provide a final goodbye to their father, as well as horses to ride.
The congregation donates to the church for facility repair or remodeling, as well as providing weekly offerings for the church to continue to pay for utilities, mortgage, and in hopes being able to stand on its own two feet and provide the pay for the pastor without the help of the
AFCC and the SBC. The arena team has been taking donations for sign advertisement in the outdoor arena to provide for events to take place in the arena once May 1, 2014 approaches.

Final Project 10
Church Investors
There are currently three investors involved with the Three Crosses church. One of the investors replaced the investor that stepped down last summer. The investors played a major role with the refinance of the property loan (principal only loan) that had been established and will take place beginning April 1, 2014. The sponsor church was also a part of the refinance of the loan as the pastor (he is also the regional support for the Midwest portion of the AFCC) cosigned for the loan as well. The investors are silent, and allow for the church to operate on its own. If the church or the pastor require assistance financially or even experience wise, then the investors will meet with the pastor to establish or aid in any way that they can. The investors paid for the property and the church will have to provide financing back to the investors once the church is operating to its fullest capacity.
Church Operating Budget
The church has an allotted operating budget, either from the donations that are received weekly, or from established cash flow from the investors (donations from the investors) as the investors play a key role for the financial aspect of the church. Also, the SBC provides assistance when requested for finances as the AFCC in which they donated $6,000 to the church for the remodel and reconstruction for the facility team to provide indoor bathrooms as well as the new kitchen in the church’s steeple. The budget for the church includes the payment to the bank (or investors) for the property in which the church is located, and the utilities. The church members make a donation of their own funds towards boarding horses at the church, which is established monthly. Those donations are utilized for the utilities as the horses require water and in the winter time electricity for the water tanks for tank heaters to ensure that the water does not freeze in the winter time in frigid temperatures.

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Church Marketing
Considering the church is starting over (yet once again), word of mouth is probably one of the best marketing tools that the church has. It is solely up to the church congregation for this type of marketing; however, there are other ways that the church markets itself such as flyers, social media, and even community outreach.
Church Advertising
The church has advertised in local community newspapers, even Craigslist. Also, the church raised enough money to purchase a sign for the front of the property to advertise church sermon times as well as special events that are in the future. Also, when events are planned, church congregation members volunteer to pass out flyers to different areas to advertise the events and speak with people about the events and the church itself.
Church Social Media
Three Crosses has a Face book, Webpage (not currently working), and email capabilities.
Church Concerns
Three Crosses has many concerns as the leaders and the congregation can all agree that funding is one of the major concerns. However, with the start of the sponsor church taking over, that is another concern as well. As some individuals may feel as though the sponsor church does not understand the environment of Three Crosses. The sponsor church is in fact a Cowboy
Church; however, that church does not have the resource of an outdoor arena like Three Crosses does. Also, everyone involved (both churches, the congregations, and the leadership) have concerns of whether or not there will be a good relationship established with both of the churches as well as if the sponsor church has its heart in the right place when it comes to the matters of
Three Crosses. The leadership for both churches has to establish trust, respect, and loyalty for

Final Project 12 one another, and that itself, will be a process. Also, the pastor that will be taking over for Three
Crosses will have to be able to adapt to the new surroundings and the new obstacles that may lay in wait for him as well. Change itself is a concern, but any type of change might be the best for the success of Three Crosses. Finally, establishing more congregation members is important and a concern for Three Crosses, although there have been many loyal congregation members that have stuck by the church, having more members established at the church would ease a lot of concerns as well.
Church Funding
Three Crosses relies heavily on the donations of charitable contributions from congregation members to even the investors. The organization is a nonprofit, so whatever funds that are received are specifically delegated to an area of concern, if an individual wanted to donate a portion of their paycheck for facility maintenance, and then the check would have to specify where those funds would be utilized. That example is specified by the IRS in terms of funding and donation contribution.
Competition
Three Crosses does not assume there is competition. The congregation and the leadership encourage other churches in the community, as they feel that Three Crosses is unique in its own right and also diverse as well. Although there are many different churches in the area, Three
Crosses provides a comfortable environment and does not view other religions and churches to be competition because even if other churches and congregations do not possess the beliefs that
Three Crosses does, those churches can provide the word of the lord to their congregations. As the main importance is that individuals are able to hear the messages regardless of what church an individual may be a member of.

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Social Issues
Three Crosses is diverse both with the congregation that attends the church and the area and property which the church calls home. With that being said, there may be some social obstacles to overcome, as the Western atmosphere may eventually become null or void, or church itself may be replaced by internet or social media. Whatever the case may be, Three
Crosses will still maintain its diversity and its mission statement until the day comes that either of those scenarios may occur. Also, some individuals may not be familiar with the western lifestyle (i.e. horses, bull bucking, etc.) and this may cause a barrier or misunderstanding for some individuals, it is the responsibility of the church members to politely explain and define that way of life to individuals to ensure the understanding of the western lifestyle.
Conclusion
Three Crosses has so far proved that no matter what type of obstacle, somehow, this church and its congregation (the loyal congregation) will prevail. A nonprofit organization may often times encounter situations or obstacles that are unplanned, especially with the start of the organization. The success depends not only the faith of the individuals involved, but also how well managers or leaders are able to manage both nonfinancial and financial matters of that organization. The church had some setbacks and some learning curves; however, leaders, and investors have been able to take the bad with the good and still carry forward not just with the organization, but with the belief that the organization will eventually be successful.

Final Project
References:
Churches, A. F. (2014). Who We Are . Retrieved from American Fellowship of Cowboy
Churches: http://www.americanfcc.org/first-time
Convention, S. B. (2014). About Us . Retrieved from Southern Baptist Convention: http://www.sbc.net/aboutus/
Service, I. R. (2014, March 13). Exemption Requirements-501 ©(3) Organizations . Retrieved from IRS.Gov: http://www.irs.gov/Charities-&-Non-Profits/Charitable-
Organizations/Exemption-Requirements-Section-501(c)(3)-Organizations
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Final Project 15
Attachments/Appendix
Interview Questions and Answers
(Anonymous)
1) What steps were taken to gain the status of a non-profit organization?
A) I spoke with the original investors to have them help me identify what needed to be done to establish an organization that was tax exempt. Investor 2 informed me that I needed to research that type of information with the IRS as it required their information and their approval beings that it was a government entity.
2) What is the background of the church (how was the location selected)?
A) Fulton Valley was already owned by one of the investors at the time, so that was an easy location. The individuals that were already members of the church wanted a bigger area with the possibility of being able to ride horses and also have more room for family days at the church, so research was done, and Walnut Valley was selected based on the Stable and Boarding background as well as the outdoor arena and pasture area for the 20 acres that it had. There were a lot of promising possibilities with the piece of property.
3) Why a church?

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A)
God’s calling!
4) What inspired the idea of a church?
A) SAA
5) What type of changes did the original property have to undergo in order to build a church ?
A) The pasture needed cleaning; the indoor arena needed transformation to form the area where the pastor could deliver his weekly message. Heating and air had to be installed in the barn (where the congregation meets for weekly Sermon); the stalls had to be boarded up so there were no drafts in the winter time, concrete had to be poured for the floor into the dining area. The walls had to come down to start the bathrooms and the kitchen.
6) How was the financial status (financial backing) determined?
A) In order for the church idea to move forward, no one had the exact amount of money needed to start the project itself, so the determination was made that the IRS could sign off on the organization, and that there would be a need for investors because there was not enough money to really get started on the project.
7) To whom can be considered official person in control of the church?
A) The lord
8) How is does the church support itself financially?
A) Offerings, benefits, investors
9) How were investors chosen or approached (if there are investors)?
A) Word of mouth, ask around, and just reputation of good will in the community I guess.

Final Project
10) Are the investors of the church actively involved (making decisions, etc.)?
A) Sometimes, it just depends on the decisions that need to be made or the situation I guess.
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