Cowboy Church members in Central Texas auction baked goods to the tune of $30K to send local teens to summer camp

TEAGUE, Texas (KWTX) - Members of a local Cowboy Church in a rural community came together in a big way to auction off homemade and baked goods to the tune of $30,000 in an effort to raise money to send 65 area youth to summer church camp.

“We were pleased with the whole thing,” said Elder Kip Stuver.  “The church has a great heart, and a big heart, and it loves to help other people, especially, when we’re talking about bringing kids to the Lord.”

The Cowboy Heritage Church of Freestone County near Teague held the annual Youth Cake Auction to cover costs associated with a week at Camp Wow in Stuart, OK.

Around 75 members stayed after church service and bid on the brownies, cookies and cakes in the sanctuary in an audible auction that blew away attendees.

Lauren Holmes was one of the bakers and said plenty of cakes sold for more than $1,000 a piece.  Brownies and cookies brought in hundreds of dollars, and a box for donations was filled to the brim.

Holmes had an Ultimate Oreo Cake sell for around $2,300.

“At one point, we had a cake that I baked go for $2,300 dollars from the goodness of somebody’s heart,”  Holmes said.  “I’m just the baker.  I felt led to bake.  That’s my love language is baking and cooking for family and friends.”

The money raised will help fund all expenses for not only youth at the church to attend camp, but also kids from outside the church.

“All of the money that we raise go to where no kid or parent has to worry about the money portion and our goal is that we have our group that goes, but it’s almost a contest to see how many kids from the community, that maybe not even go to church, get to go and get to experience it,” Holmes said.

Holmes knows the value first hand. She’s attended the camp as a sponsor and said there’s nothing like it.

“It’s a blessing to see the kids grow in their walk as well as the sponsors grow just as much,” Holmes said.  “We always like to say that sometimes the grownups get just as much as the children.”

Stuver said the teen camp will be in June and the pre-teen camp will follow in July.

He says the church feels blessed to help other kids in their walk with Christ.

“It amazes me every year,”  Stuver said.  “The heart of the people in that church is amazing.”

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