Outdoor Christian Ministries

Informational Newsletter
www.ocmtx.org

July, 2021
Vol. 7512-497-7050

From “Big” Dale HancockDale,
We made it back from the ranch and had a great time and excellent weather except it was 105
degrees. It was a special time that I had with all of the men and the life lessons they learned. I
called in 5 coyotes and a pack of javelina that made for an interesting moment. They were runningin and out and around the caller and decoy. They were about 15 ft from the boys. The boys were sofreaked out when I called the coyotes in none of them ever fired a shot. We caught 45 bass
between all of us. The youngest boy caught a monster bass that we released back into the pond.
We saw some awesome sunsets and sunrises. God is awesome. We had a Bible Study each
evening. The Lord is so good. Thank you for Outdoor Christian Ministries and its mission. You
may not even know it but thank you for being my spiritual mentor and a brother in Christ. We justnever know what the Lord has in store for us. May the Lord continue to bless you as well as
Outdoor Christian Ministries.

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President’s Ponderings

It has been awhile since we prepared an OCM newsletter. We are currently in the middle of year 2021
which is our fourteenth year of operation. We had over 230 guests at the ranch in 2020 despite the issues
that Covid-19 presented.
In this newsletter you will find comments from our guests as well as numerous photographs. We hope youfind these as uplifting as we do.
After OCM secretary/treasurer Jay Gunn passed away, Mike Schneider led the way to name our Memorial
Day weekend outing to the Jay Gunn Memorial Retreat. Eugene Pryor took over as secretary/treasurer
after Jay became too weak to continue in that role.
At the OCM annual board meeting in May 2020, Mike Schneider announced his intention to resign as OCM
vice president after 10 years and recommended long-time volunteer Phil Bynum move into the vicepresident spot in October 2020. The board voted to have Phil Bynum begin serving in that spot in October
2020. You will find an article by Phil in this newsletter.
Cross Trails Outfitters began coming to OCM in February 2015 and has come at least once a year sincethen including 2020 and 2021. It is a joy to have the men and boys of Cross Trails Outfitters. We haveattached some recent quotes from them. I encourage everyone to view their website at www.teamcto.org.
A few years ago, Pastor Walker and I discussed modifying the OCM role at the ranch through lessening
volunteers’ chores on deer harvest efforts and increasing its percentage of time spent on actual retreats.
That modification has proved successful in many ways. OCM wants to thank the Christianson and Benline
families for taking on more deer harvest efforts and for numerous improvements on brush work, blind
improvement, and feeder improvements.
There are numerous volunteers at the ranch. The volunteers that have been most active at the actual
retreats include Clifford Graef, Phil Bynum, Mike Schneider, Pattie Burnett, Andy Burnett, “Big” Dale
Hancock, James Crider, Joshua Burnett, Tracy Green, and myself.
It is an honor for all of us to serve through the OCM activities.
May God Continue to Bless all Guests and Volunteers,Dale Burnett
OCM President

OCM Vol. #7

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Keith Ferguson (from Houston area) January 2021
It was a pleasure as always. In late summer of each year, we always hope to get an invitation back to theranch via Dale’s email. Our friendships here have become family-like. This is a special place andoperation. We are very thankful to OCM and Pastor Walker for the opportunities.
Daryl Yaw (from Houston area) January 2021
Ditto what Keith said. We really appreciate the trip each year.
Ms. Chris Poynor (from Central Texas) June 2020
Thank you so much. You’ve made this such a special experience for my entire family and Tracy.
Braiden Green (from San Antonio area) May 2021
Thank you for letting us go to the ranch. It was really fun and tell Ms. Pattie thanks for the food!”
G Jones (from Cross Trails) March 2021
Thank you for the opportunity to spend some awesome time with my son. It’s hard to find property owners
that are willing to offer a great hunt to us. My son shot his first javelin. We got to listen to God and have afew devotions with a bunch of great new friends. May God continue to bless you and your family for thisvaluable opportunity.
Jack Green (from San Antonio area) May 2021
Thank you for rides on the Polaris (ATV). Tell Mr. Mike thanks for teaching me archery.
Payton (from Cross Trails) March 2021
Thank ya’ll so much for letting us come out on ya’ll ranch. It is very beautiful and I’d love to come backsoon because I got my first hog here. It was very fun to go fishing. I got a few big fish. So I just want to say
thank ya’ll very much for letting us come out and a great time here.
Braxton Green (from San Antonio area) May 2021
Thank you for letting our family go to your ranch. We had a great time.
Retired Pastor Jim Philpott (from a Methodist Church) April 2021
I really missed not going to the ranch in 2020 due to Covid-19 concerns. I hope we get to go in 2021.

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Vice President’s Note

Here I am stepping into some big VP shoes left by Mike Schnieder. Mike did a great job as theVP of Outdoor Christian Ministries and I hope that I can live up to the task. I am a new board
member of OCM but, I have been helping out at OCM for over ten years. I retired in 2009 andwas planning to find a new job and go back to work. Dale Burnett was my manager years earlierand I called him up to get his permission to use him as a reference. That reconnected Dale and I
and a few months after that I began helping out at the ranch. I did just about every task you canimagine preparing and helping with fund raising hunts and OCM retreats. I have loved every
minute. I have loved the outdoors all my life and have lived in the country most of my life. Almost
everything I have done has been related to the outdoors in some way. I spent many years inScouting and made some of the best friends of my life. When I started college the only thing I
knew for sure was that I didn’t want to work in an office. I had to be outdoors. I ended up gettinga BS and MS in Aquatic Biology and went to work with the State of Texas in environmental
protection.
Prior to a recent OCM retreat, Dale Burnett asked me if I would be interested in leading a Bible
Study. I was a little hesitant at first because I have never led a Bible Study before. I told myselfthat this is something I have to do. I had to start somewhere! I knew I needed to choose a topic
that was relevant and that I felt strongly about. I have always felt that the outdoors and my studyof biology in particular gave me insight into many of God’s great creations. In college several
students asked me if I believed in God. When I told them yes they said: “but you’re a scientist! “ Itold them yes and that science had only strengthened my belief in God because of what I hadlearned. For my Bible Study I chose the topic “Finding God in Nature.” I loved leading the Bible
Study and I am looking forward to improving and presenting it again in the future. One of theactivities we had at this retreat was fishing in a pond at the ranch. While we were there Dale
asked me to talk about the pond’s ecology of sorts. I spoke about many of the creatures thatwould likely live in or around the pond and how wonderfully complex it is.
Job 12:7-9 tells us to ask the beast, the fowls, the earth, and the fishes and they shall teach usthat the hand of the Lord hath wrought this. We already spend some time talking about natureduring retreats at the ranch but, since that retreat I have been thinking about combining this Bible
Study with a field trip to the pond. Not to fish (maybe some fishing) but, to explore the pond
instead of just talking about it. I have the nets, scopes, and other equipment I would need tocollect samples of and examine a variety of the life in that pond. We could then study thosecreatures and marvel in the wondrous complexity of God’s Creation. My hope is to continue toassist and potentially enhance the experience of everybody that attends our retreats at the ranch.
Stop and smell the roses and all the rest of God’s Wondrous Works.
Phil Bynum, VP OCM

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Retreat Photos

So Many Options

Fishing Stories

Teammates

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Fellowship

Practice Makes You Better

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2021 OCM Leadership

Officers Volunteers:
Dale Burnett
Phil Bynum
Eugene Pryor
Other Volunteers:
Clifford Graef
Pattie Burnett
Andy Burnett
Robbie Burnett
Mike Schneider
Joshua Burnett
Tracy Green
Pastor David Walker

President
Vice President
Secretary/Treasurer

512-497-7050
210-241-2434
281-794-5215

512-870-7940
512-750-9770
512-415-1247
512-797-6949
512-913-5163
512-468-1112
512-413-7510
210-394-2795

Donations:
OCM has been blessed by many monetary donations, small and large. OCM has also been blessed with
non-cash donations including those of labor. OCM is recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) charitableorganization and your contribution is tax deductible. If you wish to donate materials or equipment, call Dale
Burnett.
If you wish to make a monetary donation via credit card, then please use the PayPal "Donate" button
located in the upper right hand corner of our web pages (www.ocmtx.org). You do not need to have aPayPal account; they will simply charge your credit card for the specific dollar amount that you enter. If youwish to donate monetarily, please make your check out to “Outdoor Christian Ministries” and mail it to:Dale Burnett
3300 Elder Hill Road
Driftwood, Texas 78619

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