The Powerhouse of Youth Ministry: TC Cook's Mission to Transform Lives

TC Cook’s Testimony and Conversion

All right, so here I am at Fight, Laugh, Feast with a new friend. Well, okay, we'll get into that. A new friend that I met in person. There you go. How's that? That work? All right. So, TC, let folks know a little bit about yourself.

You know, briefly, because we're gonna get into.

The ministry you do, but just briefly how you came to Christ. Sure, sure. So, TC Cook, I'm from southwest Indiana, was born in Kentucky, only lived there like six months or whatever, and dad followed the coal mine into Indiana, so that's how we got there.

And I'm from Kentucky. He was born and raised in Kentucky. So, still a coal miner to this day, and so he's still, it's above ground stuff at least now, so for him, so yeah, does that. But both, my dad's dad was a Southern Baptist preacher.

He passed away though when my dad was seven, so he didn't really, and I obviously didn't know him, and he didn't grow up with a father. And then my mom's dad was a Southern Baptist pastor, and he passed away when I was like 15, so I got to know him a whole bunch.

He lived in Mississippi. They met because he was a church planter, and so he was planting a church in Kentucky, so that's how my mom and dad met. So, grew up going to church, but yet mom and dad, they really didn't live it out, right?

But they wanted to make sure their children went to church, and my mom especially, right? And so always took us, always there. There was moments in our history growing up where, you know, dad was following the Lord, so the whole family was, right?

We were all going that direction, and I can remember at six years old coming downstairs and saying to both my mom and dad, like, hey, I believe God just asked me to follow him. I want to follow him. What do I do?

And so they told me, went through Roman's Road, they went through that, right? And then they, I was baptized the next day at the church that I'm actually an elder for now, and so interesting enough. But, so I kind of had that, but I went away from that in high school, junior high, didn't really care that much about the Lord, went to Bible studies, different things like that, but only did that because there were girls there.

And I say to people, and this is not good, but I say, I tell them, hey, I went to this particular Bible study because there was like 250 kids that would show up every single Wednesday night, and it was a legitimate Bible study.

It wasn't just a youth group, let's have pizza, slime that they're doing now, you know, all that stuff, right? All the crazy, ridiculous stuff. Now, it was a legitimate study, but there were tons of girls there.

And so I went and it worked because I married one of them. So, but I could care less about the Lord at that time. But it was by going through there that when I was about 17 years old, I got asked to go on a retreat.

I didn't even know what that meant. Like, well, what are you talking about? But it was a retreat and we were going to go and hang out and we'd spend quiet time with the Lord at time, you know, that was when that was really big buzzword, right?

It was quiet time, right? And, and spend with the Lord. And then we would discuss it and both. Well, I went because, what's YMO? There were girls there, right? And so I did, I went and, and my wife actually now was on that trip too.

So it really did work. But I was sitting by the, like a river one morning, a little Creek that went through, it was in Virginia. And I was sitting there, never knew anything about quiet time, never heard any of this stuff.

And I have a Bible and literally just thoughts, felt whatever that the Lord was, was speaking to me something right. And I can't explain it. It hasn't happened. I'm not saying the Lord speaks to you audibly.

It wasn't audibly. It was that I needed to change my life and what was I doing with my life? And at that moment I said, I'm going to follow the Lord. And so the Lord just saved me right there. And, and I just, so I'm 17 years old.

I was partying. I was doing stuff behind the scenes that nobody really knew about, you know, my parents didn't know all that stuff. And, and, and I just, I committed everything. So I went home, all my secular CDs, I had tons of those and I burned them in a trash barrel.

I had Rolling Stone t-shirts and all this stuff. And I burned all those in a trash barrel, right? I did. That's all. And all I knew was I just, I wanted anything that had to do with the Lord, right? So there was a lady, um, that, that was kind of a helper at that youth group.

And, and she took me, her, her husband was a doctor, a surgeon. She took me to the closest Bible bookstore and she said, Hey, buy 10 CDs. That's when we had CDs. Some people don't know about those anymore.

Right. But we had CDs by 10 of them.

You're talking CDs and I'm thinking A-tracks, right. My brother had an A-tracks.

That's right. That's right.

But we already established, uh, you know, that you, you call yourself old and, and, you know, I've had, I've, I got kids that are 10 years older than you've been married.

So I know, I know everybody has a, has a limit on what, what age consists of, of old. Right. So you talk to the teenagers at the, at the youth facility that I'm at and, uh, and I'm old, I am old to.

Them.

You're old looking. There's a difference.

Oh, that's harsh. Yeah. You want to be old, but young looking. That's the key. Right. And I, and I messed up both of them. So I flipped them. But, uh, so she did that. And then, and then she was like, Hey, do you want to buy some Christian t-shirts?

And I was like, well, absolutely. Cause I just burnt all the ones that I had. Right. So she got me 10 CDs or something like that. And then, and then I got some t-shirts. Right. So I go to school, public school, and, um, we were kind of known, our public school was kind of known for like some Mennonites, which, which are, you know, not Amish obviously.

Um, and some people that would go away during summer to like camp, right. For like a week. And then they would come back and they would just be like on fire for the Lord. Right. And then a week later they're back partying, drinking, doing everything they were.

Right. So it was kind of just a normal thing. So when I show up, um, after the summer of this, of the Lord saving me, transforming me, I'm just a different person. Right. Um, I have new clothes, different style of clothes.

I'm wearing Jesus clothes. Right. That's what they're saying. Like, you know, I have scriptures and all this stuff carrying my Bible around. Um, they kind of just thought, well, this is normal and about a week it's going to go away.

Right. And, uh, so, um, it didn't. And, uh, and I just kept doing, and I was quiet and, um, I, I kept quiet, but I would read my Bible. Um, they would invite me to the parties again. I'd be like, no, I'm not doing that anymore.

I don't do that. And they were like, oh yeah. Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. You know what I mean? Um, I got nicknamed, it was my junior. He got nicknamed, uh, uh, preacher boy yet. I'd never said a word, never said a word, but just carried my Bible.

Right. And I, and I actually loved it. I was like, yeah, sure. Call me that. That's great. And, um, and I could, I can, I'm a horrible speller and I can specifically remember we were in a, uh, uh, ag class cause we're rule America.

Right. So we're, we're in an ag class and, and, uh, the teacher says, Jerusalem ragweed. Does anybody know how to spell it? And one kid says, well, ask the preacher boy back there. Cause it says Jerusalem.

Right. And I, he's like, well, can you spell it? No, I have no idea. I can't spell. This is why I go by TC. We've established this race. So it's like, I can't spell. And, uh, but, but that was the thing.

But interestingly enough, um, my, it stuck that whole year and I kept with it and I didn't, um, I didn't go to the parties anymore. I didn't do that stuff. And, and I would read and then some people would ask me questions about the Bible and we'd look through it together and, and all these different things.

Then I did start a Bible study at my school. Right. During lunch, people would come. Um, I broke out in hives the very first time, right? All these, all these things. Right. Um, but, um, I start, they, they started to respect the fact that I stuck with it.

And, um, and so then my senior year I got voted prom King. There was only 30. So I only graduated like 40 some people. So it wasn't, that's not like that big of a deal. And they didn't have very much to choose from.

Right. But I, but the, the reason why I think that's significant is not because it's like prom, but it was because I was getting made fun of my junior year. Right. But because I stuck it out and because the Lord had transformed me and they could see a difference actually, and they realized it wasn't just a flash in the, in the pan type stuff, um, that I think the respect level started to come in the favor started to come that the Lord gave me.

So that's, that's kind of my, uh, journey in salvation and, and, uh, and then what, uh, what I do now even. So, yeah. Yeah. And, and I mean,.

I think you're pretty humble cause you know, for folks to realize, you know, you know, TC stands for terrific Christian. And so, um, you know, he, I, we recognize you don't want,.

You know, you're, you're a humble guy. Right. Yeah. I'm Moses, right. I'm just, I'm, I'm the most humble man that there is. Yeah. Uh, so let, let's talk a little bit about your.

The Powerhouse Youth Ministry and Its Mission

Ministry. You do. Yeah. Yeah. You, you have a ministry. You, you also do a podcast. Let's.

Start with the ministry and then get into the podcast. Sure. Sure. So interestingly enough, my, my high school, uh, life and, and when God, um, just save, save me when I was 17, it's, it's connected to exactly what I do now.

So the guy who had the youth group was the director of the organization that I lead now, right. Called the powerhouse Southwest Indian and powerhouse is the full name, but we go by the powerhouse, Washington powerhouse .org.

If you want to check it out. Um, but I was a product of the powerhouse. So I went broken home, mom and dad got divorced when I was 13, all these things. Right. And I was searching for, for a group, for somebody that to hang out when I became a Christian, I didn't know where to go.

And, um, because the parties I weren't going to. So I started hanging out there. And the powerhouse is that the group of.

Guys that do the weightlifting and the muscle building and the, isn't it? Oh, no, that's the power team. And, uh, and yeah, yeah. And then I thought maybe, you know, something happened with.

Your physique, you know, you just let it go. Yeah. Yeah. No, no, no. Yeah. Not to be confused with the power team in it and it does it right. It sounds like a, a weight room or a Gold's gym.

Type thing. Right. It sounds like that. If you're going to run a ministry called, you know, powerhouse, maybe, maybe I should get, maybe you should get a little better shape. I mean,.

Round is a shape, but you know, maybe at least more powerful shape. Yeah. Yeah. I could be powerful rolling down a steep hill maybe, you know, but, uh, that's about it. And, uh, and so we do have a gym there.

Just, I just don't use it, but no, it's, um, so I got involved there and then I started working there my senior year at the powerhouse at this organization I do. And, and what, what the powerhouse is, is it, is it, and it has been, it's been there since 1999.

So 25 years now, it is, it is a very, they started it in 98, as far as the planning. And then it opened the doors, um, in 99. And, and the biggest program that we've had since the beginning, and we still have is our afterschool program.

And, um, we, we find that because parents, both parents are working or you have a lot of single parents now, right? And so, and they have to work. And so there's nobody at home. And the most, they say the most at risk time for, for young people is three to six.

And so our hours are three to five 30 because parents get off work or whatever, and they come pick up their kids and all that. So about that time. And, um, so, so we're blocking a half from our local public junior high high school.

And so they come down and our mission is to build relationships with junior high and youth to share the gospel. That's what we do. And, um, and so for 25 years, the, the, the wording of the mission has changed over the years back and forth, but, but that's literally, it was just how someone wanted to say it.

That's just what we've done for 25 years is that, and that's what that, that guy who, uh, Dean Loninger is his name. I don't mind saying it. Um, who, who was the mentor for me. That's what he did. And he saw something in me.

I don't know what it was, but he saw something in me and he said, Hey, I want to nurture this in him. And he taught me leadership and I credit him. I wouldn't have known how to be a father. I wouldn't know how to be a husband if it wasn't for that man.

And that he took time to actually, um, instill and pour into me and disciple me in the word, um, and through prayer. Um, and then even just through how to, uh, evangelize, how to actually get engaged with, with young people.

And so, um, so I started working there my, my senior year, I worked there for about seven years. Um, like I said, my, I met my wife there. Uh, we got engaged on the dining room, uh, floor of the powerhouse and we got married on the grounds of the powerhouse 18 years ago.

Right. Hottest day of the year, by the way, it was miserable. Uh, I was sweating like crazy. I sweat like nuts, but you don't even think about that because you're excited, right? I was excited. Like I've got a, I've got a new bride and it was fun.

So, um, but, but we met there, we did all that. So powerhouse has just been ingrained in us. We worked there and she worked there also. And then, um, I went off and did some odd jobs and different things.

Um, and then got a phone call about five years ago and, and now I'm back. And, uh, and so I've been back there for five years, same mission. Uh, our plan though is to grow the powerhouse, right? Um, we're donor funded, so we don't get federal grants or anything like that, but it's strictly through local donations.

And, and now that that has expanded into some other places, but, but yeah, that's what we do. And it's been an incredible just to, uh, just to grow, grow the organization to be there and to actually give back to something that gave me so much, right?

You know, one of the things you and I talked about that I think would be helpful for folks, you know, there's a lot of people, they get in ministry, they want, they want to be in a ministry where they can, they could do ministry, but, but live comfortably and not have, let's talk about the, uh, the security you had, uh, when you, you took this job.

I mean, you did a brilliant move. You decided to accept the job without talking to your wife first. Brilliant, brilliant move. We can talk about her reaction, whether, you know, um, and then, you know, the idea of maybe some of the questions you should have asked before you came in and took.

Took a job and yeah, no, no, no, it's, it's, it's real. And, and, and in fact, if I would have probably asked those questions, it might've scared me away. And so, so looking back, I'm glad I didn't ask those questions.

Um, but it, but it would have scared me away. And so, because the finances weren't there and, uh, in fact, the, even during the negotiation talks of, Hey, how much am I going to get paid? Um, they were 5 ,000 short to cover my bills.

Like what, what I have to pay just not, not extra, just my bills. And so I said, Hey, could, could I go out and, and raise $5 ,000 from people to, to actually work here? And they said, yeah, absolutely.

And so I had to go out and do.

That. That should have been my first, first, first flag, right? You know, maybe it should have like ask them, Hey, can you afford to hire me first? And that may have, that may have been sun. If you're going to go and tell your wife, Hey, I just accepted a job without talking to.

You. She, she might've wanted to know. And it's not as bad as what, as what Andrew's making it sound. Uh, but it was scary because for me, because, uh, I did that and I, and it's never worked for me before when I've done this and, uh, but this time, you know, I did tell her, I called her and said, Hey, I think I just accepted a job from the powerhouse.

And I thought she was going to just be so upset with me. Um, but, but she wasn't, she actually said, you know, you've been out building businesses, but I've actually wanted to be back there, um, this whole time.

And, um, and I just didn't say anything cause I was just letting you, letting you go, right. And do your thing. And, um, and so she still thought that you could, they could pay your salary. Well, I actually told her, I said, I told her what, what, uh, what the negotiation went down and what it was.

And, uh, and she's like, do you think you can actually raise you? I said, I don't know. And so I just made, I literally made five phone calls and got, got the extra $5 ,000 right then it was done. And, um, and so believe it or not, my dad was actually one of them and he actually did that.

So do some fundraising for striving fraternity. Well, Hey, I'm going to tell you right now. Yeah. I'm going to tell you right now, like there, there needs to be people who are giving to your, to your ministry and what you do for sure.

And, um, but, um, but yeah, it was just, uh, there was, I think the 25 years now, and it was 20 years whenever I came on, but, but the 20, 25 years of being in the community, people know what we do. They see the impact that we have.

I mean, like 75 of our kids go home without food and yet we feed them a full meal every day. Right. And, um, and so it, it, people, most people are, are, there's something inside of them at least that says we don't want our kids to be starving, right?

Like we don't want that. And so they're, they're willing to, to give and support even non-believers willing to give and support for that because they, they don't want to see that. And so, um, I think, I think that helped that was, that made it easier of just the, the time being spent doing the same stuff for 20 years.

And people just knew, Hey, this is who we are. And, but the sad part is, is there's still people in our own County. I have no idea who we are and that's on me. That's my fault. And I've got to get out there and talk to them.

So, um, so yeah, it's exciting. We're, we're getting ready to break ground on a brand new facility, 15 ,000 square foot facility, $1 .5 million. Um, and that was all through local people. I mean, just incredible.

I live in a town of 36 ,000 in our County, not our city, our County 36 ,000 people yet. That was, that's, what's been going on and that's what's happening now, not to give people 36 ,000. How many of them has Harris brought in legally?

Oh, sorry. Yeah. Well, actually, yeah, that's actually, uh, there there's a lot. And, uh, believe it or not, our town, our town is one of those, uh, towns. And, uh, and so there's a lot to do, you know, and then, and then through that, uh, speaking about politics through that, uh, I decided that, um, I should run for County commissioner thing to our good friend, Greg Moore over there that, that pushed me for that.

Uh, but I should run for local, uh, office and, and did and won. And, uh, so January 2nd, I'll be starting as, as our Davis County commissioner also. So, uh, with that, and I, and honestly, uh, legitimately in all fact, the powerhouse helped with that because people just know the powerhouse, they, they know it and the integrity of it.

Yeah. I was going to say, maybe if you want to get to know the community, maybe you should run.

For public office. Yeah. Shake a lot of hands. I knocked on a lot of doors and there's a lot of phone calls being made and they're like, wait, are you raising funds for the powerhouse or for it? No, no, no.

For to run for, for local office. Yeah. Yeah. It was good. It was good. Yeah. So excited to see what the Lord has for us. We're dreaming big. Um, and, and I think that every town, not every town, but at least every County deserves to have a powerhouse in their community or something like that.

Right. If they don't have something like it already, then, then I think us coming in there and doing what we do, um, would directly affect, uh, their, their community and build stronger families, stronger communities through the youth.

The TC Cook Show and Speaking Clearly on Cultural Issues

Yeah. Well, I'm excited.

Because you know, when, when you branch out after you get this building done into Northern Philly, I got just the guy, I just got just the couple to help out. I love it. I love it. I'm excited.

About it. Yeah. Bring it on, bring it on. It'll be awesome. So, so, uh, let me, before we get in.

Talking about your podcast real quick, I mean, how can people support the work that you're doing.

There at the powerhouse? Yeah. Washington powerhouse .org, um, is a good way. And it has a, a, a donate page on there. Right. Um, and it goes right through there. So you can do monthly, a one-time gift, uh, quarterly, I believe it even sets up quarterly for you even.

And, um, but it, listen, this is the thing I want people to know is just because we raised that 1 .5 million, doesn't mean we have 1 .5 million in the bank that is all going towards building this building.

And that is, so that's not running the lights. That's not, that's not the AC. That's not any of that stuff. And so sometimes people see a big campaign fund like that and they think, oh, well they're good.

No, no, no, no. We still have to operate. Like we still have to do that. And plus the, the more that, uh, that we have, then the more we can start looking into other towns and places to, to put another powerhouse.

So yeah. Yeah. Good. So let's talk about your podcast. Yes. Yeah. So, uh, uh, I've had that for a little while. Um, you know, seriously, we've been going serious about it for probably about a year or so.

What's the name of the.

Podcast? I mean, I heard it's a very original name. I heard that you're, you're one of these more creative guys. Like, you know, I, I, I'm friends with a guy named Justin Peters and his ministry is Justin Peters ministry.

It's very, very creative, very creative. He's a very creative.

Guy. So what's, what's the name of your podcast? The TC cook show, because we are creative. Hey, I just want people to, I'm direct. I'm just a direct guy. And here's what it is. It's a show where I talk to other people.

Right. So, um, but it's on the clearly speaking network. So it is,.

It is different, right? Yeah. If it was me, I'd be like, you know, cooking with TC or something or, you know, what, what's cooking podcast, cooking with theology. So, you know, something,.

But no, it's just TC cook, just, just the TC cook show, plain and simple. I mean, this is Andrew.

Rap reports, rap reported. Play off the name. You get a last name like cook and you don't play off.

It at all. You're just like TC cook. Come on. The rap report is sounds a lot better than cooking with or something like that. I think that just sounds cheesy to me, but, but Hey, actually that was one of Greg Moore's campaign things that he wanted me to do was, was like to have a barbecue or chili or something.

And he said, call it, you know, cooking with TC, you know, and all that stuff. Yeah. Yeah. So yeah, I get it. I get it, but no, no, no, no. Maybe, maybe Greg and I are.

Going to go around and we're going to, we're going to interview people and see whether you should.

Change names, cooking with TC. You should, you should ask that. We'll, we'll have a, we'll have.

A, a vote here to see what's happening. That's how I got stuck with the rap report. I thought it was corny. And, uh, I went to a conference with the guy, you know, one of the guys that worked for us at the time.

And he, he came up with the name and we're at this conference. I'm like, Hey, he explained to me, he wants me to name the podcast, the rap report. And everyone's like, that's awesome. Oh, that's great.

You got to do that. I was like, I am stuck with this name.

It sounds so corny. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I actually, I re I really do like it. And I like, like, I think, you know, Greg Moore, his county thing, it was, it was like vote, vote for more, you know? And it's like, but you want it, but you want more out of life.

You want more out of the vote for I thought that was clever. And, um, but yeah, cooking, I don't know. I don't know. We'll see. We'll see. But yeah, so it's on, it's on the clearly speaking network. And the reason why we started that at all is because we have two shows.

We have the TC cook show, the Zach Johnson show. Um, but the whole goal is, is just to speak clearly on cultural topics, using a biblical worldview, because that should shape everything that we see, everything that we do, our actions, how we speak all of those things.

Um, and, and I do think we should have clear speech. Um, we don't, we don't need a sugar coat, a lot of stuff, just kind of tell it like it is, and just be direct using scripture. Don't, don't try to beat around the bush about it.

Um, just tell the truth. And, uh, and I'm telling you when you do that, people want that people actually desire the truth, even though it might hurt, um, at times, but people do actually want truth. And I think we live in a time right now where that's more prevalent than ever before.

And in our lifetime, at least where, where people want truth, they're looking, they're searching for that. So we just got to speak clearly about it, especially after 2020. Yeah. Yeah. We realized real quick, the truth isn't always what it seems to be.

Right. Yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, so what are your plans with, uh, as far as powerhouse the podcast? I mean, up, so we just, we just upset Keith Foskey. He's up and walking away from us now.

He didn't like the cooking with TC. I think that's it. So, um,.

And just enjoying the conversation at the fight. Left feast.

So, so yeah, we're right in the middle of, of the building. So that's actually starting this week or, or it'd be starting next week, I guess. Um, so that's, so I get back home from, from the fight left feast and we're, we're digging man where we're going.

Um, but while we're doing that right now, we're, we're building out, um, some curriculum for, for families. Um, so we're doing, we're breaking down every aspect of a family. So man, woman, husband, uh, wife, um, and children, uh, vocation, all, all these things that create a household, right?

All these things that create a family. And we're really starting, we're going to start writing articles and stuff. We've already started. We haven't released them yet. Um, but we're going to be doing that for the powerhouse.

Um, and then we're, we're actually, um, trying to finish up our certification for biblical counseling. Um, and because we want to be able to, to counsel families, um, here, like what tends to happen is, is we get kids that come in, um, and we get them for a couple hours, right?

Um, and then they go back home to chaos and really all they're trying to do is survive. And, and what we would love to do is, is have the families come in and it's, it's easier said than done, right? But have the families come in and do counseling with them and walk them through, um, scriptural things that, that can apply to the family.

And so, so that's, that's one thing with the new building too. We want to make it kind of a, uh, a counseling center, uh, where we might open up on from like Tuesday, like six to nine o 'clock free counseling, right?

You can come in and we can talk to you like that. And then we want to do even like, I don't know if it's gonna be Thursday or whatever, but you know, something like a theological Thursday where we pick a cultural topic and we have a forum and the community is invited to come in and we'll have somebody talk on it for 15 to 30 minutes and then we'll have Q and A with the, with the community, right?

And, um, about these topics and, and about that. So trying to really introduce, um, biblical worldview, um, to Christians, right. And, and non, non-believers also. That's neat. That's neat. Yeah. And as far as the podcast, we were just getting on a guest and we're going that route at this point.

Um, and really it's kind of selfish on my side because I just love talking to people and I love getting to know them. I love getting to know their story and knowing what they're doing. Um, and then I just put it out there for the world to hear.

So, yeah, I mean, I think the.

Only problem with your podcast is, I mean, you do guests, but you lack discernment in some of your guests. I mean, uh, as you've had me on, so the sermon level may be questionable here, brother.

Well, and, and there's, there might just have Doug Wilson on too. So you never know what's going to happen, right? You put you two against each other here. We'll see a Baptist and a.

Presbyterian. There were no fireworks at dinner tonight. So, so I guess we survived. That's right.

That's right. He did, he did throw a little, a little pedo baptism. That was really funny. Yeah. Yeah. We were, you notice I sit there quietly being a Baptist right next to you. You sat quietly.

And let me take all the heat as, as he's throwing jabs at me. Uh huh. Yeah. You felt it. Yeah,.

I felt it, but it was funny. It was a good line. Yeah. Yeah. It was great. It's great. Man, is it, isn't this, I think this is your first time at a Pilate feast, but it's, it's incredible. Um, just to see all, and that somebody said there's maybe like, I don't 27 different denominations.

I didn't even know there was that many denominations. Somebody just threw that out there, but that's just within Presbyterianism. That was a good one. But, but it is, it's, it's, it's, you got Baptist, Presbyterian, you got all kinds of different people coming here under one roof and, and just really, um, worshiping the Lord, glorifying the Lord together, enjoying the Lord together.

Right. Um, and it's just fun to watch. It really is fun. Yeah. Yeah. So what, what do you enjoy most about Fight Left Feast is a conference like this? Yeah. Um, this is my first time being on like kind of behind the scenes with the media row stuff.

Right. Uh, first time ever doing that last, last, last year I was just there as an attendee. Um, and I got a little bit of behind the scenes stuff, but I was mostly there as an attendee. And, um, and so really, really I'll be wrong.

And this is, this is going to sound crazy and maybe a deep dive into really what I think, but, um, I love the fact that you can have a conference and you're maybe your main goal was just having a conference, right?

Just getting people together, hearing speakers, sharing the word, but then you have all of these businesses and boosts set up. Right. So they're getting business from people. And then you look outside, you've got food trucks, you got four food trucks, whatever it is.

Um, so now your local, this is in Texas and even, even like Gabe's from Texas, but, but they're in Idaho, right? They like all those groups are in. I know they're creating, um, economic growth right here.

The hotel that we're staying at is sold out with Fight Left Feast people. Um, so not only that, now they're getting that. And, and most people have a, a visitor's tax on, on all hotels. And so the County actually gets money right from us staying.

Here. And you're saying that as a County commissioner, you're just, I mean, let's be.

Honest. This is just, we just need more taxes. That is not true by the way. I do not think that I do like taxing other people though. Not my own constituents, but other people, that's my favorite tax.

But, but just the economic impact that, that people, that this has with a spiritual impact that this has people hearing talks, getting amped up, um, about standing, standing for truth. Right. Um, but in the relationships that get built, I literally, um, heard a guy who, uh, uh, Ray, I interviewed him, uh, Ray Simmons, right?