Cowboy Country Church
Connecting Outdoor Enthusiasts to Christ
A little about us
Cowboy Country
Church
Cowboy Country Church is a non-denominational church that believes in the infallible Word of God and seeks to reach outdoor enthusiasts with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
We provide opportunities for all ages to encounter God by connecting with nature and people. The majority of our fellowship is spent outdoors whether it is at the arena, lake, hunting blind, or campground.
The Cowboy Country church subscribes to the Statement of Faith modeled from the Baptist Faith and Message taken from God's Word. They follow the basic guidelines of God's leadership consistent with those followed by cowboy churches affiliated with the American Fellowship of Cowboy Churches (AFCC).
Don Blanka
Elder
Don is no stranger to the cowboy, farmer and rancher lifestyle. He was born and raised on a farm near Westmoreland, Kansas where he helped his dad and brother doing farm work and taking care of cattle, hogs, chickens and a few horses. After high school, he served six years in the US Army Reserves and received an honorable discharge in 1972. He later graduated from Emporia State University and received his Certificate to practice as a Certified Public Accountant. In 1992, he retired and left the city life to return to his roots in the Kansas farmlands. He started a successful farming and ranching operation and semi-retired in 2011.
On September 9, 2001, Don became a "born again" Christian and the Lord changed his life. It was at that time that he became a true believer in Jesus Christ and promised to trust Him and to follow Him in his daily life. Since becoming a "Christian" he has held various leadership positions in the churches that he attended and founded CCC in 2010. He is currently serving as an Elder in the Cowboy Country Church. Don and his wife, Berenice, currently reside on a farm northeast of Louisville, Kansas.
Mario Herrell
Education Director
Mario loves to "Round up the Kids" to teach and have fun at CCC! Mario’s love for teaching began as she saw her dad gather the neighborhood kids at their house to have a Bible study and then games. While attending a summer Bible camp, Mario learned that sin was anything that displeased God, that God was Holy and there was no sin in heaven...so where did that leave her? She had memorized John 3:16 which says God loved us and sent His (sinless) son to die on a cross so we could be in Heaven with Him. God spoke that night to her at camp and she asked Him to forgive her for the lie's she had told, fighting with her siblings, and wanting her way all the time. Mario asked Jesus to come into her heart so He could walk with her every day. That was at age 8. She has learned and grown in many ways over the past 60 years. God has blessed her with a wonderful Christian husband as well as two daughters, sons in law, and seven grandchildren. Mario & Jim joined CCC because they felt called to help spread the gospel to their friends and neighbors who love the western culture like they do. The mission of the church and the love these " plain ole hard working people" have for the Lord, confirmed their call. It has been "work" but such a blessing to serve our Lord and Savior at Cowboy Country Church!
Brian Hagedorn
Elder and
Chuck Wagon Ministry Leader
Growing up in the city of Manhattan, KS, Brian was introduced to Jesus by his parents, but the ones who impacted him most for Christ were his grandparents who lived across the street. Brian always wanted to be a farmer, but was told that may not be realistic since he was not born into a farming family. Brian never lost his hope to be a farmer though and God honored the desire of his heart several years later, when he and his wife acquired their farm with a cattle operation and a farmhouse. Brian has been married to his wife, Megan, since 2009 and together they have four children. Brian loves farming and caring for livestock, but more than that, he loves the Lord and growing in the Word of God. Leading and serving his family in the ways of Christ are his main goal. He enjoys fishing, cooking, golfing, camping, and playing with his kids in his spare time. Brian and Megan have been churchgoers from early on in their marriage, but they strongly felt the Lord leading them to CCC in 2021. Brian is looking forward to heading up the Chuck Wagon Ministry at CCC's future events.
Megan Hagedorn
Missions Team Leader
Megan grew up in a Christian home in a small town in Northeast Kansas, but felt far from God through her teenage years. It wasn't until the tragic loss of a close family member, while in college, that she realized how fragile life is and it was during this trying time that Megan felt the Spirit drawing her back. She always said she wanted to leave her small town of her childhood and be a career woman in a big city. Megan loves that God has a sense of humor, because she eventually graduated Kansas State University in 2007 and married her farmer husband, Brian, in 2009. Small town farm life was looking very sweet at this point! The Lord has worked through their marriage to bring them both into a closer relationship with Him. Megan left her work as a geriatric case manager in 2011 to become a stay at home mom. Today Brian and Megan live together on their farm northeast of Wamego, where Megan is a homemaker and homeschool mom to their four children, a job she thought she would never do because "only crazy ladies would actually choose that!" But God called her family to homeschool and now she welcomes the challenges and blessings that come with it. Megan's daily focus is to equip her children to stand firm in Christ and in Truth in a culture that is continuing to distort and stray further away from the Truth. Megan’s hobbies include reading, cooking, being outdoors, learning new homesteading skills, and planning fun outings with her family. She is excited to serve the church, her neighbors and community in her role as Missions Team Leader at CCC.
J. Marc Williams
Lead Pastor
I am J.Marc Williams, a gloriously saved Christian! I was saved on February 16, 1978, at the age of 13 on a Thursday at Welcome Hill Baptist in Trion, Georgia. They had a dynamic Youth Group and the leader shared with us the story of David and the story of Gideon, and said we were not too young to seek God's calling on our lives. So I did, and at age 14 God made it very clear to me that I was being called to ministry... I was a youth pastor for a number of years before surrendering to the call of Senior Pastor in Silver Lake for 7 yrs. I then felt called to go minister to Emmanuel Baptist in Topeka for 7 more years. For the last 6 years, I have been the pastor at Bethel Community in Topeka before surrendering to God's call to pastor here at the Cowboy Country Church in Wamego! Being a country boy from Georgia and loving all things outdoors.... I am loving my new Church and the folks here are phenomenal..
Y'all come, J Marc Williams
Hank Parker
Lay Pastor & Youth Leader
Hank came to the CCC in search of something more. Growing up he was always in church with his grandmother even when he didn't want to be. He worked on the family farm doing the daily chores and working alongside his best friend and uncle Curtis Roudybush. Hank’s family ended up moving to Oklahoma, but Hank moved back in 2008 to start a new life and be closer to his mom and sister. In 2011, Hank met his wife and she changed his life for the good. They heard about CCC and went a hand full of times. On August 20, 2015, the worst day ever happened and Hank lost his mother. The good life he thought he had was shattered. Hank was lost working nonstop and angry almost all the time. He found the cowboy church again and one Sunday the Pastor (Curtis) gave a message about how he lost his dad (Hank’s grandpa) and how God had helped him to let go of the anger. It kicked Hank right in the gut like a squirmy ol' calf trying to get away and he gave it all to the Lord. Now Hank heads the youth group and has no plans of slowing down. His biggest supporters are his 5 kids and wife. Hank has a big soft spot for kids and encourages them to never give up. Some of Hank's hobbies include: riding and working with horses, coaching his son’s baseball team, hunting, fishing, writing poetry, and teaching his children about Jesus.
Alan Gilchrist
Trail Boss
April 10, 2011 Alan and his family walked into a rundown old tavern to attend the first CCC service. As President of the Onaga Saddle Club, he thought it was a good community event to attend, but didn't realize or fully understand that evening that his heart had been searching for God more and more every day. "That evening I sat clear in the back of that old converted tavern at a plastic patio table and listened to a Feedlot cowboy talk about how brands affect us, a story of critters I understand and a path I was walking. There were about 100 folks crammed in that ol' building but that cowboy was talking to ME!!! I didn't run up to the front that night but my heart opened up right there. Just a couple weeks later I was asking that cowboy to baptize me. I had given myself to the Lord! That first night I walked into that crowd I was HOME!"
Alan lives outside of Onaga, Kansas. He has hung his shingle as a trainer in the past but has slowed down to concentrate on producing quality events for CCC. If you come to an event, a lot of time you will still see him riding a "work in progress." The country living and all it offers has always appealed to Alan. Not just horses and cattle, but outdoor sports too. Quite frequently he can be found fishing or hunting and was a competitive shooter.
Don & Berenice Blanka
Founders
In 2010, God gave Don and Berenice a vision to establish a cowboy friendly church where the unchurched and unsaved would be comfortable in attending the services and hearing the Word. This vision included Bible preaching and teaching from a cowboy's perspective dealing with real life situations that farmers and ranchers can relate to and understand. They are both born again Christians saved by the grace of God. Berenice was saved at the age of nineteen and Don at the age of sixty. They both lost their spouses due to health in 2001. Don had been married thirty-seven years and Berenice forty-three years. After meeting at a church, they soon realized that they had a lot in common including their love for God and music. They were married on June 15, 2002, and continue to be very active in working for the Lord. The Blankas have a farm and ranch operation North of Louisville, Kansas where they enjoy country living and caring for their crops and a few head of longhorn cattle.
Nicole Pultz
Social Media Director
Nicole grew up on a small farm in Kansas and even though her family held Christian values, there was a gap between understanding why those values were important and the Foundation of which they were built upon. Through God’s providence, she became a Christian as a young adult, but struggled to break out of the cycle of yo-yo Christianity. Even though she knew she should be following Jesus every day, the world’s allure continued to entice her away. It wasn’t until she became a mother that she realized how much her inconsistent Christian walk would impact her children. She knew that a changed life, will change lives. With new priorities, she fixed her eyes on Jesus so she could show her children the Savior they needed, by displaying God’s love, grace, patience, and forgiveness. Nicole and her husband have been married since 2002 and have 2 wonderful daughters. Their family enjoys spending time together and living a quiet, simple life in rural Kansas. Nicole is the owner of a small business and in her free time, enjoys reading, puzzles, and spending time with her friends. Her heart’s desire is to reach people for Christ, so if you are tired of the world’s empty promises, join us at CCC and let Jesus fill all the empty places in your heart with hope!