Cheyenne Koch

Within the past year, I've had two opportunities to visit and minister to natives through partnership with Live Love Ministries . The unique group of people that serve on Live Love's team are patiently building relationships with native communities in the Tohono O'Odham Nation (T.O.) in Southern Arizona. In November of 2022, I helped a team of men with a building project at the Live Love ministries church near Casa Grande, AZ. We also had the opportunity to minister to two different communities in the T. O. nation during that Fall trip. Recently, in July of 2023, we took a group of high school teens back to minister to 4th-6th grades students at the church there in Casa Grande area.  Our goal on this recent trip was to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with these students and teach them about the character and nature of God Almighty. People will sometimes ask, "Why would you go to Arizona to tell Native Americans about Jesus Christ? Don't they have their own form...

Committing your life to one another is a huge step, but also the beginning of an exciting and amazing adventure together! Thank you for inviting us to be a part of this beautiful and life-changing moment in your lives! The best way to start a successful marriage is making sure you’re both on the same page and entering this marriage covenant together with the same mindset. Marriage counseling plays an important role in laying the right foundation upon which you can build a life together. So, grab your finance and a cup of coffee, and as you continue reading this together, allow yourselves the freedom to think through and discuss what you’re learning or being asked to consider. What Is Marriage? Marriage is a beautiful union of two becoming one. Created and established by God, marriage is a lifelong commitment symbolic of Christ’s love for His Bride, the Church. Marriage is an exciting and life-changing step for anyone to take in their life. Before making this covenant promise with ...

#LifeStory [ 11 ] In July of 2012, I went with several others from our church on my first "mission trip" to Lake Providence, Louisiana.  Our team of four adults and nine students partnered with many others through Mission Serve to paint and put shingles on the roofs of 7 homes in this very poor community. Before we left, I encouraged the adults and students to write out their personal testimonies and learn the "Romans Road" verses that are often used to lead someone to Christ -- Romans 3:23, 5:8, 6:23; 10:9-13.  Our goal was to serve the residents of Lake Providence by fixing up their homes and thus try to meet their physical needs as we show them the love of Christ.  I challenged our group to share the gospel, and if necessary, use words. After we arrived, our group was divided in to separate teams to work on the various homes.  Only a few from my church worked on the same house as I, but we met and worked with a lot of other great people.  Living in the...

#LifeStory [ 8 ] But it got personal when somebody stole my watch. On November 14, 2002, I was helping a student in my woodworking class when my watch became a nuisance, so I took it off, and laid it in front of the computer monitor where I was working. Seconds later, the bell rang, ending 7th period, so I had to go into the other classroom to start the next class. I totally forgot about the watch until late that evening when I cleaned out my pockets before going to bed. The watch had been given to me for my birthday by Glenda Russell, my mother-in-law, the month before. I remembered where I left it, and was determined to look for the watch in the morning, first thing, before my Friday classes started. The next morning, as soon as I arrived at school, I looked for the watch, but it wasn't there. Now I was angry. I talked to the assistant principal, who told me that based on what he recently learned at an Admin Conference, I would never get my watch back. So, for the rest of the d...

#LifeStory [ 7 ] My last two years of college were full of Bible studies, Campus Outreach meetings, weekend retreats, conferences, outreach events, and a host of fun activities with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Throughout this time, Brian Lewis continued to disciple and teach me how to follow Jesus Christ. An opportunity opened up for me to lead the youth group at a small, local church in Cape, so I did for a semester and enjoyed helping these teens grow in their relationship with Christ. Campus Outreach taught me how to love people, how to study the Bible on my own, how to share my faith and disciple others. My time with this college ministry reached a climax the summer I went to Panama City Beach, Florida, for 10 weeks of Summer Beach Project. I went with the intention of growing in my relationship with Jesus Christ (and I did), but I also met my future wife, Elyssa Russell there! Wow, she was the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen! I ended up working most of the su...

#LifeStory [ 6 ] As a new Christian, I still struggled with bad habits, but over time God continues to give me the grace and strength to rid my life of sin that has often tripped and tangled me up. His Holy Spirit set me free from my selfish life of sin, guilt, and condemnation. Sadly, I lost some friends along the way, but God has delivered me from my life of alcohol abuse and given me a new purpose and reason to live – to know and love Him! (John 17:3) About a year after giving my heart and life to Jesus Christ, the Lord used a situation to strengthen my faith in Him. In the Spring of 2001, while at home on the weekend from college, I left my parents house and headed across the 225 acre family farm in hopes of scouting for turkeys. I knew that a thunderstorm was headed our way, but thought I had time before it hit. I parked my truck at Grandpa and Grandma Koch's, then walked across rolling hills, woods, and pasture land to the back side, but didn't see or hear any turkeys....

#LifeStory [ 5 ] Campus Outreach (CO) was cool, and had a lot of really nice people. After going to a few meetings, I met a few guys who befriended me, and I started hanging out with them at the meetings some. But they were different. These college students claimed to be Christians (just as I did) but they were different in the sense that they genuinely loved people and loved Jesus. They also had a lot of fun without alcohol or drugs, which was unique on a college campus. Soon, they invited me to join a Bible study they were starting, led by Brian Lewis, the Campus Outreach director. This study used the CO Bluebook, which basically explored what the Bible taught about the Obedient Christian Life. God used His Word throughout the study to teach me what it meant to have a personal relationship with Jesus and submit to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God used this verse to open my eyes: 2 Corinthians 5:17, “This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life...

#LifeStory [ 3 ] As a child, my parents instilled in me the habit of praying before going to sleep at night.  In my teenage years I would lay in bed at night, often drunk from alcohol, and out of habit pray to God before going to sleep.  You see, I knew what the Bible taught, and would often ask God to forgive me for being drunk.  But there was no change, only an increased desire for alcohol to fill the emptiness I tried to hide.  Without any sort of purpose in life, alcohol was a version of fun that I could explore with my friends. My reckless lifestyle produced several near death experiences, and at night I would lay in bed trying to imagine what it would be like to be dead.  I knew what the Bible taught about eternity, but all I could picture was emptiness and darkness.  I was frightened by the thought of being nothing, nonexistent forever and ever. Then one night I had a dream.  I dreamed an angel of the Lord carried me to Heaven and set me dow...

#LifeStory [ 2 ] My ninth grade year was a year of change as I road the bus to attend the consolidated Sullivan Senior High School in Sullivan, Missouri.  I entered high school determined to be a good person; no cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol for me.  Unfortunately, my convictions changed toward the end of my high school years, and I began to abuse alcohol with my friends as we met for parties at creek crossings, at someone's cabin, or a house when the parents were gone.  Soon, the small lies turned into bigger lies as I tried to hide from my parents the truth of my late night activities.  Reckless driving, parties, property and mailbox destruction, poaching, alcohol abuse, wine making, and the list goes on.  But I went to church on Sunday and still thought I was a Christian. Somewhere in the middle of my high school years, my family left the little country church I grew up in and became members of Trinity Presbyterian Church, in Union, Missouri.  The c...

#LifeStory [ 1 ] The first of seven, I was born on October 5, 1978, to my wonderful parents, Stan and Sue Koch. Dad taught me how to work on the family farm (chickens, goats, pigs, sheep, horses, and cattle) and in the family business, Koch & Sons Water Well Drilling, Inc. Mom taught me how to cook, sew, and care for animals. As the oldest, I often watched my siblings and loved to aggravate and play with them. As a child I grew up in a small rural school and an even smaller rural church. For kindergarten, I enrolled at Spring Bluff Elementary school and graduated from eighth grade as salutatorian with 14 other students. My parents raised me in a small country church, Old Argo Presbyterian, in Japan, Missouri. Our church family enjoyed cooking apple butter, eating potluck meals, performing Christmas plays, and always drew a crowd with Vacation Bible School in the summers. There weren't many kids in the church and my parents were often my Sunday School teachers. One year we ...