Around the World in 40 Days Day Camp!!!!!

WOW!!!!! What an AMAZING day our Day Camp was this year. The level of volunteers we had, their heart to serve, and the level of excellence that was sought after, just speaks so much into who Crossroads is as a church family. I often feel privileged, blessed, and humbled by what God has allowed me to be a part of over these last several years. But on this particular day, various ministries stepped up in a very special way in order to show and pour out the love of Christ onto all of our participants. These ministries include, Impact (the 5th and 6th grade ministry), Mens, Community, Global Outreach, Generate Interns, and people such as Charlotte Chambers, who is Pastor of Involvement, to do our Bible Lesson, David Robbins who is a key volunteer on our church Worship Team, to lead Worship, Pat Barnes, who works in Tender Care, who oversaw the craft area for us, as well as the Puppet Team, who made an incredible appearance for us. Then, not to forget, the absolutely incredible tethered hot air balloon ride that everyone who had consent was able to experience. I mean really, the entire day was just off the charts incredible. Many of the volunteers arrived at 5 am on Saturday Morning, and yes, that is early, but being as committed as they all are, wanted to join together to make sure this day was a day for our participants in the disABILITIES Ministry to remember. Other people who shared their talents with us include, 3 nurses, Carol Reddy, Jaymie, and Terrissa, and then some avid scrap bookers, such as Pam Booher, Terise Seits, Leann Noaba, and Crystal Simiolie, who stepped up to make 75 scrapbooks by the end of the day - not to mention, one very pregnant Tina Hawkins who oversaw the printing of all of the photos for the scrapbooks - I mean really, WOW!!! This was truly incredible. And this is only a few of the ministries and people who devoted their time and energy into making this day a huge success. So from the bottom of my heart, I am truly blessed and feel it is with great privilege that God has allowed me to be here for such a time as this, and to see how Christ's love is radiated in such an amazing way and poured out onto the lives of all of our participants. So it is with great honor, that I would personally like to say, "Thank You" so much for everyone who volunteered on this day, at all levels - for without each and every one of you, this day could not have been anywhere close to where it was -

Down to the Wire

Well everyone, we are just a couple days away from one of our biggest events of the year. This Saturday is our Around the World in 40 Days Day Camp and I couldn't be more excited to see how God is going to move through out the day. We have had months of planning and preparation, and it is really hard to believe that the day is now really just right around the corner. But with not wanting to give too much away, my request for the week is that everyone pray for everyone who is involved, as we are in these final days, and pray God's protection, and Blessing upon each and every participant who attends, along with all the volunteers. Currently, we have about 75 participants, and about 30-40 volunteers, not including Impact, Mens, and Community Ministries who will be serving through out various portions of the day - I am getting so excited I can hardly contain myself - there will be so much to share next week - :))

An Incredible Moment in Time

In Mark 2:3-5 a paralytic man was being carried by four men in order to meet Jesus. The crowd however, being so large, made his experience even more of a challenge. The men carrying him however, being committed in an extra ordinary way so that this man could have his encounter with the Messiah, did the unthinkable, and made an opening in the roof above Jesus, and after digging through it, lowered the mat that the paralyzed man was laying on in order to overcome that obstacle and meet Jesus. This past Sunday, which was Palm Sunday, served to be a similar moment, in that not only were there hundreds of people coming forward, accepting Jesus, and immediately being baptized, 3 of the people that came forward were in wheel chairs. This was an incredible moment at Crossroads, where some of the men, seeing the challenge, but committed in an extra ordinary way, so that these individuals could have and experience this special moment, lifted each of them into the air, lowered their bodies down into the water, and baptized them in the same way as any other person would desire, upon making a decision to accept Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their life. Now do I believe that Jesus loved them anyways, absolutely without a shadow of a doubt, yes. But for them to not be able to experience baptism because of their physical limitation, is something that our church family does not accept or embrace. Therefore, as I stood and watched as each of these individual's were baptized, with tears running down my face, I looked up and praised our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for being so privileged as to witness such a moment as this. This experience gave me a much deeper perspective of just how much our church family here at Crossroads, is committed to one another, and committed to changing the world for Christ.

A Need for Change!!!!!

Thinking about the last few years, it is quit amazing to see where all God has taken the disABILITY Ministry. We have so much going on and I am always filled with so much joy every time I get to be around our participants within the ministry. Reflecting upon this, I began considering how our Friday Night Live Bible Study has truly evolved. It started off with about five volunteers and maybe two or three participants who would come regularly, and when there were more, we were all so excited. Each week, we would serve dinner for a small donation to offset the cost of the pizza, then do a light Bible Study, that would go from 6:30 - 8:30. Well, just last night, as I was standing back watching the dynamics of the evening flow, I just felt the presence of God ever so clearly within our room. God has taken us from a room of maybe 3 participants each week to now over 20, and about five to six volunteers who each week give of their time and poor into the lives our guys. But more amazingly, is that because of the level of growth, and the fact that a couple years ago we were burned out on pizza and began doing the cooking ourselves, time has become our greatest challenge. By the time we worship with Impact and get everyone back into the room and fed, the time left for Bible Study is definitely left wanting. Therefore, we have decided because learning God's Word should not be something that just gets squeezed in, starting in April, we are going to extend our study and go until 9 pm. I am so excited for this change and can't wait to see how God continues to move within our midst each week. And of course, I am definitely praying for a cooking team to be put together soon - LOL

The Planning of Events

This is a picture of most all of our volunteers from last years Pirates for Praise Day Camp for the disABILITIES Ministry. What an amazing day that day was. Many of us dressed up and interacted with the participants in such a fun way as they moved about the campus doing crafts, singing praise songs, and learning about Jesus. But one of the things that just gets me so excited is the planning of the day. And this year is no different. I am just so excited about the new level that God is taking us to in order to provide amazing events for such an amazing group of people. With each day that goes by, God reveals more and more of what we are able to do in order to shower His love upon each and every one of the participants that come. And not only that, the volunteer team for this event has grown so much, that it is hard to believe that I now have to have a waiting list for the volunteers. I mean really . . . what a great problem to have. That rather than running from an area that the world would typically have us do, here at Crossroads, people are flocking to it in order to serve. The hearts that people have here is amazing and I just stand in awe as they each continue to serve at such a level, in order shine God's Light, God's Hand, and God's Love, upon the ministry as a whole, and the events that we are so privileged to be a part of. So when we hear how much better it is to give than it is to receive, coming into this ministry truly reveals the fine truth to just how real that statement is.

Dance Dance Dance

What an amazing day this last Saturday was for our Matinee Dance. The day began with an out pouring of volunteers arriving early in order to assure a good time be had by all. To start it off, Rudy and Don arrived at the church at about 9 am to begin making approximately 140 ham and turkey hoagie sandwiches, along with a boat load of mac n cheese and baked beans, along with the other items being served. Other volunteers then began arriving at about 11 am to begin the set up and decoration process, with Wendy bringing the lovely assortment of table decor, and Barry and Diane overseeing the photography area, which the final pictures for it are soon to come. Veda, just loving to see our guys dance, came to serve although just having a recent surgery - and as she printed pictures during the dance, the participants anxiously waited. But the the highlight of the day, was watching them all dance, and WOW!!!! can they dance. The enjoyment that they each have is enormous and what a true blessing it is to be able to serve in such a way that would provide a safe environment for them to be able to do that which they all love doing - DANCE DANCE DANCE . . .

A Brand New Journey

The Word of God is just so dynamic, and no matter how long or how much one studies it, the wealth of information that it provides for us is endless, and I am just so excited about this brand new journey that the Tuesday Night Friendship Club has just begun. But even before this, they actually amazed me when they completed a study on the entire book of Acts. I mean WOW!!!! What an accomplishment. And now, because we don't believe in letting too much grass grow underneath our feet, we are on an even greater adventure now. We have just begun to study the missionary journeys of Paul, and my hope is that as we travel with Paul and study where he went, we are also going to study the epistles in a very unique way. That is, when Paul wrote an epistle, we are going to stop where Paul stopped, and study the epistle that he wrote. This will include not only just reading it, but seeking to understand why he wrote it, where he was when he wrote it, and how the challenges that he was addressing apply to us even today. Then, once we are done with the epistle, we will pick back up with Paul, and continue traveling with him. This study has me so excited that in order to keep it interactive for our participants, I am creating passports for each of them, so that as we travel, their passport will be stamped each week. We are also hanging up an entire world map, along with a then and now map, that charts out Paul's travels. Overall, I think I might be so excited about this study that I just might have to create a passport for myself. I love learning, and even more so, I love seeing our participants learn. The only thing, is that learning can and ought to be a dynamic experiences that touches on all of our five senses, which helps for every one to learn in the way that God created them to best learn. I am thinking though, that this study may just take us over a year to complete . . . But I know our Tuesday Night Group is up for the challenge, and we are going to have an amazing time through out the entire process - :))