Cross Trail Outfitters—Youth Hunting and Fishing Club

Fall 2005 www.TeamCTO.org

CTO forges community partnerships to impact young lives

By Mike Arnold

If you’ve ever planted seeds in a garden, you know the

mixed emotions of satisfaction and anticipation that well up in

your heart when the first green shoots spring up above ground.

That’s the feeling I have when I sit back and consider the

progress we’ve made in CTO over the past year.

On one hand, there’s an enormous satisfaction in seeing the

young lives we’ve already changed, the communities coming

together to support our units, the people

rallying around our mission, and all the

visible evidence of our success to date.

On the other hand, the anticipation

of things to come makes my heart race!

CTO is now alive and kicking in

five Texas communities, with full-time

Outfitters working to " go live" and offi -

cially begin local operations. And — just

by word of mouth — we have a half dozen other communities

on our waiting list to start units after these first ones are fully

functional, Lord willing before long!

Even more important are the countless people who have

been impacted by our ministry — growing in faith, and plugging

into our great American hunting and fishing heritage.

The Bible says that while we are the ones who plant the

seeds, it is God who makes them grow. There is no other way to

account for the miraculous growth of CTO to date. While we

have been careful to take on only as much as we can manage,

it’s still mind-boggling to think that right now, as I write this,

there are many dozens of people across Texas — staff Out fitters,

volunteer Rangers, youth members, parents, Root Partners,

landowners and others — who are actively working on

one CTO project or another. And we’re just getting started!

Please pray for the Lord’s favor as we seek to grow

stronger and bear more fruit during the coming year.

Th ree yo un g men an d a h o u se p a ren t f rom

St. Ju de’ s Child re n’ s Ra n ch j oi ne d o u r S a n

A nt o nio Uni t o n a d ee p se a fi shin g t rip t hi s

summe r, t h a n ks t o sch ol arshi p s pro vi d e d

b y t he Al amo Ch a pt e r of Sa fa ri Cl u b In t ern

ati on al, t hro u g h a rela tio n shi p sta rt e d b y

He rit a ge Child re n Ch ri sti a n Me nt o rship .

Thi s i s an e xample o f h ow CT O i s p a rt n ering

wit h ot h e r o rg a ni zati o n s to re a ch yo u th

th ro ug h lif e -ch a ngi n g e xp e rie n ce s.

A camp e r h u g s f o u n d er Mi ke A rn ol d af te r b ei ng ba p ti ze d d u ri ng a

se ssi o n o f CTO Ulti mat e S umme r Camp. S a n A nt o nio Ou t fitt e r Gre g

Fl o re s (le ft ) a n d Ad vi sory B oa rd memb e r Do u g McCl ai n lo o k on .

CTO has been warmly embraced by

groups and businesses that share our vision

of helping young men grow in Christian

manhood and passing along our

American outdoors heritage.

In recent months we have been

blessed to work with a number of prominent

groups across Texas.

These include Safari Club International,

Lions Club, St. Jude’s Children’s

Ranch, Church for Men, Heritage Children,

Pacto con Dios, and the Texas

Youth Hunting Program. That’s not to

mention the dozens of churches involved.

Additionally, numerous businesses

have stepped up to the plate to help our

efforts. These include Wal-Mart, Weatherby

Firearms, Pure Fishing, and countless

other local businesses across Texas.

To see how these relationships have

benefited young people, just take a look

at a recent deep sea fishing trip to Port

Aransas organi zed by our San Antonio

unit and Outfitter Greg Flores.

Scholarships to this outing were

funded by Safari Club International—

Alamo Chapter. Youth from St. Jude’s

Children’s Ranch and the Heritage

Children Christian mentorship program

came thanks to these scholarships. It

was the founder of Heritage Children

who introduced us to St. Jude’s in the

first place. In situations like this, everyone

wins!

The first words of the CTO mission

statement say that we’re a relationship-

based ministry. We work hard to

build and maintain mutually beneficial

relationships with groups that share our

vision and support our mission.

To understand the importance of the progress CTO has

made during 2005, it’s important to look at what matters most:

the youth who are touched by our ministry.

CTO is founded on the mission of forming long-term, yearround,

personal fri endships with young men based on a common

interest in the outdoors, and using those friendships to lead them

toward Christian manhood. Those words read great on paper, but

they take on real meaning when you get to know the real people

behind the mission.

Twelve-year-old Zech Hudson is a fine example of the

young men who are involved in CTO. He’s a member of the San

Antonio unit.

We first got hooked up with Zech through the efforts of his

mom, Sheila. She is a hard-working single mother who found

out about CTO from an e-mail sent by Community Bible

Church, and first contacted us to inquire about scholarship

funds. At the time, she told us that she’d been praying for a way

for Zech to learn about what it means to be a Christian man, and

thought CTO might be exactly what she was praying for.

By God’s grace, we were

able to provide a full scholarship

for Zech to attend our

CTO Ultimate Summer Camp.

Zech had a great time at camp

(cactus needle wounds from the

snipe hunt aside!), but despite

our best efforts he was the only

camper who didn’t harvest a

big game animal. (He missed

an axis doe.)

After camp we stayed in

touch with Zech and were

happy to hunt with him on two

hog hunts in August. We knew

God was setting the hooks deep

in Zech, as he didn’t get anything

during these hunts, either

— but was always eager to sign

up for the next one!

While we did get Zech on

some great kingfish during a

deep sea trip, he still had a hunting itch that was begging to be

scratched. The opportunity finally arose in September when we

had an unexpected opening in our First Hunt for exotic rams.

Thanks to the generosity of Safari Club International—Alamo

Chapter, we were able to get Zech on this hunt (they funded all

of our summer scholarships in San Antonio), where he made a

perfect shot and harvested a magnifi cent Corsican ram!

Now Zech is applying to become an Apprentice Guide in

our CTO youth leadership program, assuring a positive, longterm

relationship with us. That’s what it’s all about!

Watching Zech grow in maturity and faith over the summer

has been extremely rewarding. He’s developed in so many ways,

it’s almost hard to recognize him as the same boy we first met at

Summer Camp back in June! The impact that CTO has had on

two ni ce ki ng fi sh d uri n g a Jul y d e e p se a fi shin g tri p.

him is best summed up by this letter we got from his mother:

"Thank you so much for all the trips, fishing, hunting and all

around being a boy for my son before the 7th grade. What memories

he has. The photos are fabulous and will be treasured.

"But most rewarding to the Glory of God is the fact that my

son is reading his Bible on his own. Being a reader myself, and

struggling with the world's interruptions, I am encouraged by

his commitment. Thank you so much for the gift of your

generosity."

Thank you so much for

all the tr ips, fishing, hunting

and all around ‘being a boy’

for my son before the 7th

grade. What memories he

has. The photos are fabulous

and wil l be treasured.

"But most rewarding to

the Glory of God is the fact

that my son is reading his

Bible on his own. Being a

reader myself, and struggling

with the world's interruptions,

I am encouraged

by his commitment. Thank

you so much for the gift of

your generosity."

"

In late July we certified our first

CTO Outfitters after an intense, weeklong

Outfitter Training Boot Camp,

commissioning them to build CTO units

in their hometowns.

CTO Outfitters are full-time staff

members who are called to serve the

youth, volunteers and supporters in a

local community.

We fielded over 100 applicants for

the positions, and all applicants were put

through a rigid screening and certi fication

process. We can happily report that

the ones we selected are the cream of the

crop in the youth hunting and fishing

and youth ministry fields. These gifted,

godly men are expert outdoorsmen, solidly

grounded on Scripture, and above

reproach in every way. (Can you tell

we’re proud of them?) They are:

Brazoria County: Lee McKinney

Lee grew up in the mission field —

in a village 250 miles from the nearest

electricity! — and

then went on to

serve the USA in

the Marine Force

Recon special

forces. He’s an

ordained minister

with lots of youth

ministry experience.

He and wi fe

Deb are raising two boys and two girls

in Manvel, in this fast-growing county

southwest of Houston.

Highland Lakes: Earl Spurlock

Earl is a well-loved community

leader in his town of Kingsland in this

Hill Country area west of Austin. He is

an ordained minister and youth leader,

and has worked in construction most of

his career, as a construction supervisor

and building inspector. He and wife

Vanessa are raising three sons.

Lufkin: Jeremy Overby

Jeremy is a long-time youth minister

and leadership trainer. He has served

in staff positions with numerous

churches, and as a leader in Young Life.

He and wife Chastity have a son and two

daughters.

San Antonio: Greg Flores

Greg comes to us from a career in

the outdoors industry, as a products supplier

and host of his own Christian out-

Meet the Outfitters, CTO’s frontline leaders

Th e Ou tfi tt ers a re ti re d b ut ea g e r t o t a ke o n t h e wo rl d aft e r a n i nt e n se, we e k-l o ng 20 0 5 Ou t -

fitt er Trai ni ng Bo ot Camp h eld at Me ssia h’ s Ra n ch n ea r Coll e g e St ati on in Jul y. Th e y a re :

b ra n di ng iro n h e re cei ve d up o n g ra du ati o n f rom B o ot Camp.

Local Unit Contact Information

lmckinney@teamcto.org, 832-496-1970

http://bztx.teamcto.org

(The Hill Country area west of Austin)

espurlock@teamcto.org, 512-423-6248

http://hltx.teamcto.org

joverby@teamcto.org, 936-674-7760

http://lftx.teamcto.org

gflores@teamcto.org, 210-269-6590

http://satx.teamcto.org

crichardson@teamcto.org, 903-894-9223

http://tytx.teamcto.org

reach hunting and fishing TV show. He

also worked for years as a professional

musician. He has long served as a lay

leader in his church and mentored young

men in his neighborhood. He and wife

Jackie have one son.

Tyler: Chad Richardson

Chad has had a notable career as a

case worker, house parent and counselor

for top youth institutions in Texas, and

as a church youth director. He and wife

Ruby are raising a son and daughter.

Mike "Bubba" White of Longview

also graduated from Boot Camp and has

been certifi ed as a CTO Outfitter. His

unit launch is currently on hold as he is

taking a much-needed sabbatical.

We could write volumes about each

of these great men. You are encouraged

to get to know them personally—you

will be blessed!

Get involved in club leadership

The local CTO Ranger Council is

comprised of volunteer leaders who help

the Outfitter run the local unit. These are

meaningful and rewarding jobs for those

gifted in leadership and administration.

Introduce us to your church or group

Local Out fitters and Rangers, and

Central Office staff, are always looking

for opportunities to share the vision.

To plug in to CTO, contact your

Outfitter or the Central Offi ce today!

CTO is supported

and sustained

by our Root

Partners. These

are people and

organizations who

share our vision,

and who wish to

become a part of the root system of the

"fruit ful tree" of CTO.

The Bible uses the picture of a fruitbearing

tree many times. It says we are

called to bear fruit in this life, and spells

out blessings for those of us who do …

and dire consequences for those of us

who don’t.

Not all of us, however, have the

Root Partners

time or giftedness to work on the front

lines. This is why we have ministries, so

that we can ful fill our life’s purpose by

supporting those who are called to ministry.

When we do this, we are serving as

part of a fruit-bearing ministry.

To our Root Partners, we pledge to

continue to focus on the passionate pursuit

of this powerful ministry, to keep

you informed of the ministry's progress

and ways you can be involved, and to

pray for you continually.

Our Root Partners pledge to pray

for our ministry regularly, and to provide

nourishment in the form of tax-deductible

monthly contributions.

Contact us anytime...to become a Central

Office Root Partner, for more information

about our organization, to get a copy of our

financial reports and current prospectus, to

find out about upcoming CTO Ultimate

Summer Camps, to help bring CTO to your

community, to inquire about becoming an

Outfitter, or for any other reason.

CTO Central Office

5837 Woodridge Oaks

San Antonio, TX 78249

Phone: 210-286-4875

E-mail: info@teamcto.org

All contents © 2005 by Mike Arnol d Ministries,

a 501c3 non-profit public charity.

CTO offers one powerful mission, lots of meaningful ways to plug in!

Cross Trail Outfitters is a non-profit

grassroots organization. Everything we

do is thanks to the faithfulness of our

donors and volunteers.

We like to say that we offer the

those who love the outdoors, nothing is

more rewarding or fun than hunting, fishing

and sharing life experiences with

boys who are eager to learn and grow.

There’s also lots to do for folks who

may not have quite the passion for getting

outside, but who believe in our mission

just the same. Opportunities include:

Provide financial support

CTO is a life-changing organization

that’s passing on the Christian faith and

preserving our outdoors heritage. We rely

on contributions to operate and to provide

scholarships for disadvantaged youth.

CTO is a great investment of your charity

dollars. All gifts are tax deducible.

Help with hunting & fishing activities

Volunteers who help with hunting

and fishing trips and skills training sessions

are called Rangers. This is where

the rubber meets the road. To become a

Ranger takes an orientation, interview,

background check and training.

Open your land for CTO outings

Outings are held mostly on private

land. We provide comprehensive liability

protection for landowners. All outings are

strictly supervised by highly trained staff

and volunteers, and always respect ful of

every rancher’s rules and wishes.

"Camo S am" h a s b e come CTO’ s to p

re crui te r, a s h e’ s f e at u re d o n t h e f ro nt of

o ur new lo cal unit re cruitme nt bro ch u re.

Local units need gear!

It takes lots of gear to do what

we do. In every CTO unit, the Outfitters

maintain a Gear Storehouse to

ensure every volunteer and kid on

every outing has what he needs to

have a meaningful experience.

Lots of kids come to us with

their own guns, bows, rods and reels,

and such, and that’s great. But lots of

others either don’t know what they

need, or they simply can’t afford it.

Also, outings require lots of core

resources — tents, cook stoves, ice

chests, trailers, hunting trucks, boats,

lanterns, and so on — and we need to

store up a large collection of quality

items to outfit our trips for success.

BASSMASTER champion Jay

Yelas has sent two huge shipments of

fishing gear. Thank you, Jay!

We happily accept new and

functional used gear, and always put

it to good use. Gear donations are

fully tax deductible. Can you help?

Re ce ntl y do n at e d h u ntin g ri g