TMG
Dear Crossroads Family,
A few short notes to keep you up to speed with what God is doing among us!
First, don’t forget:
— Worship this Sunday morning at the Community Center at 10:00. We’ll read Matthew 2:13-23, about the killing of babies in Bethlehem, and ask ourselves why people sometimes suffer at the hands of others.
— Christmas Eve celebration at the Community Center at 6 pm. Activities for children during the service. Hot chocolate to follow. We will finish no later than 7 pm.
On Tuesday of this week, we signed a lease to rent the space at 621 Highland Avenue, the old Missouri Job Center. This is an exciting step in the life of Crossroads Church! Thank you for your prayers and patience! We will have use of the building’s “break room” for fellowship needs, so there won’t be a need to construct our own kitchenette area.
Everyone is invited to visit the new Crossroads home on Sunday, December 31, following the morning worship service. Our hope is to be in the new church home by January 21 or 28. There will be some workdays ahead where we may need your help! Some initial needs include the following:
- dismantling some temporary uprights that were used to run computer cables from the ceiling to the floor
- clean carpets
- purchase and install some large-screen TVs to use during worship
- move our chairs out of storage into the new worship area
Please continue to be in prayer … and ready to serve! Our elders need continued prayer as we organize and do something brand new at Crossroads. We will rely on your help! Please feel free to ask questions and suggest your ideas. This will be a “family” effort; like a family moving into a new home, some things will work and others won’t. Let’s move forward with the filling and direction of God’s Spirit.
Thanks for your involvement in last Sunday’s Congregational Meeting. A church budget for 2024 was approved. If you don’t have a copy of that budget — or a copy of the financial report for 2023 — please let me know and I’ll get you one. A big thank you to Stacey Wilson, and to Donna Rodriguez who has been assisting her, for the help with church finances! Thank you to everyone who gives so generously. We have two more Sundays now to finish in a strong financial position. Thanks to God for His abundance!
At the congregational meeting, Ryan Walker was elected to the Elder Board. We’re excited to have Ryan join this leadership team at Crossroads! Many thanks to Shane Dahmer who has served faithfully and thoughtfully these past six years. Thanks, Shane! We will continue to need your leadership and insight!
February 7 will be the start of our new Wednesday night “Immerse” Bible reading groups! Tentatively, we will meet at the new location at 7 pm on Wednesday nights for a brief time of singing, followed by two discussion groups. Immerse is a fresh innovation in reading the Bible and building relationships. It’s not just a Bible study “tweaked”; it’s really approaching the reading of the Bible as a book club might, with open-ended discussion that allows God’s Word to do its powerful work in our lives. Please be praying for this new initiative at Crossroads. We will plan to provide childcare so families with children can also join in.
Some prayer requests and praises:
- Linda Murphy goes in today for surgery and a short hospital stay in Joplin. Please pray.
- Continue to pray for Julie’s daughter Tina and Tina’s husband Ben, both of whom are working through serious health challenges.
- Elena Rodriguez has recently become engaged to Drew, and Samuel Rea has recently become engaged to Maddie. Congratulations to all!
- Please pray for my 6-year-old grand-niece, Sophie, who has been hospitalized several days now in St Louis, suffering from aspiration pneumonia. Thanks for praying for Sophie and her parents, Cody and Megan.
- Jesse and Erica McCallister, our missionaries in Berlin, invite us to finish Advent by praying for them:
- December 21: for the families of those serving in Berlin. Pray for missionary parents and children as they do life and ministry in a culture not their own.
- December 22: Pray that God’s people in Berlin would be filled with Christ’s love and joy overflowing.
- December 23: Pray that the McCallisters’ church would be a haven and refuge for others.
- December 24: Pray that God would send more workers into the harvest field of Berlin.
- December 25: Praise the Lord for his gift of salvation! Pray that many in Berlin would know him as Lord and Savior!
Some encouragements from God’s Word:
- “You will make known to me the path of life. In Your presence is fullness of joy; in Your right hand there are pleasures forever.” Psalm 16:11
- “In repentance and rest you will be saved; in quietness and trust is your strength.” Isaiah 30:15
I look forward to being with you in worship this Sunday morning, 10:00, at the Community Center!
— Tom
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