Hello, Crossroads Family !
There’s a lot going on at Crossroads and in each of our lives. I’m glad we can connect briefly through this email and, as a result, serve the Lord more effectively.
Here’s what’s happening this week at Crossroads !
- Wednesday night : Immerse — 7:00-8:15 — at the church.
- Saturday :
- Breakfast & a Bible Study for women — Saturday morning, 8:00-9:15 — also at the church.
- High School Youth Pizza & Game Party– Saturday evening starting at 6:00 — at the Townsends’ home.
- Sunday :
- Worship — 10:00 at the church. Children’s church available during sermon. Sermons are posted on the Crossroads FB page if you miss.
- Hymns Study Small Group led by Jenny Rives — Sunday evening, 6:30-7:30 — at the Knoches, 1605 W Maple Street. Everyone welcome, all ages.
There will also be an elders meeting immediately following the worship service this Sunday. If you have a need or a prayer request to share with the elders, please contact any one of us between now and then. Thank you ! Thanks for your prayers for our meeting. There is a lot for us to think about as we head toward the end of 2024.
We have some needs in the church right now ! Would you pray about the following ?
- We need additional help cleaning the church. It’s not a hard job — takes about an hour and most weeks needs to be done any time between Wednesday night after Immerse and Sunday morning. You can sign up at the back table at church, and if you have questions, please ask Diane Ray. (Diane is our new ministry leader for this task. Thanks, Diane !)
- We need helpers to be part of a rotation in children’s church during the sermon time on Sundays. Would you consider being in that rotation (probably a commitment of about one Sunday a month)? We’re looking for helpers for the young group (0-7-year-olds), and we’re hoping to re-start our older group (7-11-year-olds). Michaela Walker (younger group) and Emily Lewis (older group) are available to answer your questions and help you understand what’s being asked of you. What an impactful ministry for the Lord !
- Would you like to minister to members of our church family and others by helping to provide a homecooked meal when someone needs it ? Heather Vestal is looking for helpers to join her in this special ministry. Let her know you’re interested or sign up at the church. Thank you !
I hope you agree with me that it’s fun to get to know new people ! Some of my lifelong friends are people I met first at church. We have a great group of people at Crossroads, some old and some new, and we’ll need to intentionally work at getting to know each other if we want to support each other and serve God well together.
One way to get to know people new in your life is through the practice of hospitality. It’s an overlooked but vitally important ministry for the building of relationships. And it doesn’t have to be complicated. It could be inviting a few people over to your house for some games and snacks ; or having a few people over to watch the Chiefs’ game ; or just inviting someone over to sit outdoors in the fall sunshine for an hour over something good to drink. I hope you’ll consider how you might bless someone (and be blessed yourself) by exercising some biblical hospitality in October.
Another way to get to know each other in the church is through involvement in small group ministry. I’m really enjoying the group I’m part of at Immerse on Wednesday nights. Each week I’m amazed and blessed by the insights people in the group have — both questions and answers I hadn’t seen when I did my part of the reading. I hope you’ll come to Immerse this week, even if you’ve missed a Wednesday night or two this fall. Everyone is welcome, and childcare is available for the youngest ones. We’re reading and discussing pages 104 -122 this week in the Immerse Bible (essentially, Exodus 14-24).
I hear good things about the Breakfast & Bible Study group that has been meeting now for several weeks on Saturday mornings and is discussing how to build healthy communities. I know some fellowship and connection events are being planned for that group for later this fall.
The Sunday evening small group centered on hymns has been a wonderful opportunity for fellowship, worship, and receiving God’s peace at the end of the weekend. The group will meet again this Sunday evening, and everyone is invited. We’ll study (and sing) two well-known hymns, “The Church’s One Foundation,” and “Take My Life and Let It Be.” The Knoches’ home is a comfortable place to meet, and Jenny is guiding us carefully and thoughtfully through these wonderful hymns.
Now, also, an opportunity for high school aged students to connect this Saturday for pizza, games, and fellowship at the Townsends ! Be sure to contact Jessica or Bryan if you have questions !
Personal
My schedule is busy now that school is in full swing. My school schedule is a little different than it has been in the past. Instead of having three morning classes, I have two morning classes, then one afternoon class. So I’m at the high school for two hours in the morning, then home for an hour, then back at the high school for an hour in the afternoon. So my schedule is kind of chopped up into little pieces (kind of like Samuel and King Agag in 1 Samuel 15:33). This is a challenge for someone who needs some extended periods during the day to study, pray, and prepare. The afternoon class I’m part of is a Music Theory class which involves teaching three 15-minute piano lessons to students each day. It’s fun and they’re doing well … but again, a day chopped up into little segments. It’s sometimes hard to come home and regain focus for the church. Please pray for strength, good attitude, and for God’s provision of those longer study times during the week.
I have two weddings on my radar coming up in 2025. I’ll start meeting with one of the couples next week.
I was able to receive two iron infusions in September which brought my iron levels up into the normal ranges and brought back a feeling of normal energy. I’ll have my big toe looked at by a podiatrist next week (turf toe, arthritis, other ???). This is the toe (along with nine others) that walked to Ft Scott one day last year. I would like to have it healthy again !
My children and grandchildren seem to be well. My daughter Annie was affected by Hurricane Helene in that she lost power for two days, and there is some concern at the present time about drinking water in her part of Columbia, South Carolina. October begins birthday season in our family. October and November will mean birthdays for seven of my children and their spouses, two of my grandchildren, my mother, one of my sisters, my brother, and an aunt. (Also my dad’s birthday and Diana’s birthday were both in October.) Many reasons to give thanks, many memories.
I look forward to seeing you at Immerse (Exodus 14-24), Lord willing, and then again Sunday morning (Exodus 18). Getting tired of Moses yet ? We’ll take a little break from Exodus after this Sunday.
— Tom
“For I satisfy the weary ones and refresh everyone who languishes” (Jeremiah 31:25).
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