Rich Cowe was born and raised in the Los Angeles area. He serves as the Assistant Pastor of Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley. He surrendered his heart to the Lord in December of 1979. He has been married to his wife since 1980 and they have five children and five grandchildren. He also served as an Elder and Missions Pastor and lead a Home Fellowship for several years with Calvary Chapel High Desert in Hesperia, California before coming to Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley in 2005.

What is your most memorable moment at Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley?

When the Potter's Field Ministry was here, between Mike Rozell spinning pottery and Pam Rozell singing, their ministry has a way of reaching every heart. It was just awesome to se the people drawn closer to the Lord and some even for the first time. What really surprised me is that usually we take guest speakers out to lunch. This time, Mike and Pam took Pastor Mike, wife, me and my wife out to lunch instead. They said they wanted to bless us. God is really blessing their ministry, and they have blessed us tremendously.

What is the best thing about working at Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley?

I get to serve with my long time friend, Pastor Mike. We served together at Calvary Chapel High Desert for many years, he as the assistant pastor, and I was an elder. We've been on mission trips together around the world, and have served in many other ministries together and now we get to serve together in Pastoral Ministry here at Calvary Chapel Antelope Valley.

How and when did Jesus become real to you?

It was December of 1979, I was living with my girlfriend at the time (now my wife), who was involved in occultist beliefs. It opened up my eyes to the spiritual realm more than I had ever known until that point and time in my life. Feeling lonely one evening, I called my mom, I began to share what was going on in my life as I hadn't seen her for some time. She shared how she had received Jesus Christ as her Lord and savior. At first I thought that she was just going through a some sort of trend. But I noticed that she really was different. She really treated me with an undeserving love that I had never experienced before. My mom had been praying for me, because I was in a very rebellious state. Like any good mom, she was concerned for me as I had recently been divorced and now living with someone. My mom encouraged me to pray to God as she was praying for me. I'll never forget what she said, she said; "When you pray ask in Jesus name." I didn't even know if there was a God. So I had asked "Jesus, if you are real, show Yourself to me and to give Terry and I a common goal, and oh ya in Jesus name." That prayer was a silent prayer. Terry and I had been arguing over whether the things she was practicing were right or wrong, and she was challenging me with the way that I was actually living my life as well. After all, we were living together and fornicating. In her quest to prove me wrong, she had read a booklet called "Run Your Life By The Stars, What Does The Bible Say?" The book actually brought her to read the scriptures and she became convicted in her own heart about what she was doing. She made a decision to get rid of all her books on astrology, her tarot cards, and tapes on transcendental meditation, etc. After she had destroyed them all by fire, she prayed a prayer out loud in front of me, and in her prayer, she asked "God to forgive her and that God would give us a common goal for our lives." Wow, I had realized that God was speaking to me and showing Himself to me. One evening, Terry an I were having dinner with some friends and they invited us to church. So we went. It was a really small church, but the pastor was preaching the Gospel message and I felt like God was speaking directly to me and confronting me with my own life and how I had been searching for fulfillment through pleasure and drugs and couldn't find any satisfaction or fulfillment. The pastor then gave the invitation, if anyone wanted to ask Jesus for forgiveness and make Him Lord and savior of my life. That's where I met with the risen Lord for the first time. To His glory and by His grace He has been transforming me and my wife Terry since 1979.

What are your favorite scriptures?

Nehemiah 8:10, 12:45, John 11:25, Galatians 6:6-10

Who are the biggest influences in your life?

Jesus, Pastor Chuck Smith, Pastor Dennis Davenport, Pastor Mike Morris, my life long friend and wife Terry, and my children.

What do you do to have fun?

I love being together with all my family, children and grandchildren, I love serving in the Lord and I like to go to Disneyland.

What is your favorite book?

The Bible

What is your favorite movie?

Master Commander

What is your favorite music artist?

Jeremy Camp and Chris Tomlin

What is your favorite food?

I like a variety of food. I don't really stick to one thing.

What is your favorite "small indulgence"?

Small indulgence... isn't that a contradiction of terms? But if you must ask, I would have to say my mom's fruitcake at Christmas time.

What is the craziest thing you've ever done?

A missions trip to Papua New Guinea. I took a small plane from PNG with my friend, Craig Throop, to Southwest New Britain, an island northeast of Papua New Guinea. Then we flew on a small plane to an area on an island called Kandrian. We landed on a grassy runway that I didn't recognize as a runway from the air. Then we got into a Jeep and went for a 2 hour journey to minister to a tribe in the middle of the jungle, who were formerly headhunters. It was kind of scary. I knew if I didn't have friends with me who knew their way around, I could have gotten lost forever in the Jungle. The trip turned out to be one of the greatest blessings in my life as I was learning to rely more on the Lord as I was completely out of my comfort zone. My friend Craig Throop was a Bible translator for Wycliffe Bible Translators and had translated the Bible into the tribal language for the previous twenty years or so before I went with him on this missions journey. He and his family had completely surrendered their lives to live with the native people and had ministered to the people for all those years before I came. It was a blessing to be able to teach the word to people Craig already been discipling. Amazing time!

What is your favorite day of the week?

Sunday, it's just great to get together to worship study the Word, to minister and fellowship.

What is your favorite board game?

Mad Gab

What is one thing you would like to see happen before you die?

All our children married and their children would grow up knowing Jesus as their Lord and savior should He not come for His church first.