Playing Catch UP

Time flies by when you're having fun.

October 31 we participated in a Trunk R Treat in the Waterford development that David and Sarah Alderman live in over in Leland. The guys took my car and made a slime pit out of my trunk with smoke and everything. It was probably the best my car has looked in a long time. You can check out the pics at www.crosswindslive.com.  The very next day we were a part of a Fall Festival in Leland with about 70 other vendors and organizations.  The most exciting part of this was that we were able to help in setting up the whole event. I think Mark Pratt helped just about every vendor put up their tent and set up their booth.  This was one of our first times going public in the community. 

We are still in process of working with Harley and Associates on potential space to start having services after the first of the year. So Please be praying as we seek the Lord in this situation. We are truly living out what it means when faith and life collide when comes to space.

The past 2 Sundays we have been at Sanford first Wesleyan and Old Zion Wesleyan Church in Tabor City raising funds for Crosswinds.

Ways you can continue to pray:

1. Continue praying for a worship leader for Crosswinds. Pray that we could find someone by the first of the year.

2. For the families that we continue to connect with in the Leland area.

3. For the launch team

 

Well this is what has been happening over the past few weeks. Thank you so much for checking out our Crosswinds blog and thank you for your support and prayers.

Moving Forward---->

Some Exciting things are happening in the life of Crosswinds. 

Three sundays ago we were able to feed between 25-30 homeless people in a local park. We played lawn jarts (yes I said lawn jarts) with a few of them and had the opportunity to talk to many of them in one on one conversations.  God is using us in ways we never expected.

 Just 2 weeks ago we visited and toured a local homeless shelter called Good Shepherd Ministries. We plan on partnering with them to support and serve the homeless in Wilmington. Trust me, the neat thing is that we are doing it because we genuinely love these people not because it's the right thing to do. God is breaking our heart. We realize that we can only do so much when our heart wants us to do more. We are building into the DNA of Crosswinds to not only give but GO and serve our community.

 As of Sunday Oct. 5th we started meeting in the Alderman's house in Leland for Sunday morning bible study. We have been looking at the Great Commission and what it means to truly "GO" and reading Just Walk Across the Room by Bill Hybels.  This Past Sunday we talked about the fact that we are all called to Keep Walking even when we are in survival mode in our lives. We looked at the passage in Isaiah 40:28-31 especially the last few verses that say "they will run and not grow weary they will WALK and not faint." In all honesty the past few weeks have been tough for all of us. We knew that the enemy would attach but didn't know it would be all of us at one time. The neat thing is God has been teaching all of us through this time in our life and we will only be stronger for it. In others words we are going to KEEP WALKING. We are all striving to thrive even when we are just trying to survive life's challenges. This is when I can't say enough how much we value and appreciate your prayers. Faith is not always easy!!! But it is rewarding.

 Check it out!! We now have an official website. 

 www.crosswindslive.com

 The website not only gives you the ability to check out what's going on but also to give electronically. The information for that is below. We hope that this will help all of you in supporting Crosswinds in the days ahead.

 Crosswinds Church is offering the ability to give electronically (eGiving).  Now you can give through the convenience and privacy of your home computer.  You can choose to give:  one-time, weekly, semi-monthly (bi-monthly), monthly or in any way the Lord leads you.

 Many people enjoy the convenience of making utility or other payments electronically and now you can give to the Church electronically.  

 Here are some of the relevant FAQs:

 Q:  Are electronic contributions risky?

No.  An electronic contribution is safer than writing a check, and it can’t be lost, stolen or destroyed in the mail.  To sign up for eGive you are only giving information that is already printed on your check.  National laws, rules, and guidelines govern all Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) transactions.  Over four billion EFT transactions are processed annually in the United States.

Q:  Is there any charge to me from my bank to give online?

No.  Electronic funds transfers carry no bank fees and this service is free.

Q:  Why can’t I give by credit card?

We chose to set up eGiving through electronic funds transfer rather than credit card for two primary reasons:

1)  With electronic transfer, your entire gift goes to the church.  When using a credit card, as much as 3% of your gift would go to the credit card company.

2) Although many pay off their credit cards each month, many also do not.  We do not want to potentially put someone in the place of going in debt and paying credit interest on gifts given to the church.

 Another cool thing that happened this past weekend was "The Amazing Race". This past Saturday Mark and Chris Pratt organized a fun event for all of us. We even had a couple show up that were friends with the Alderman's. We were split up into teams and had about 5 tasks to accomplish. My team came in second but I still think we should have won. Oh and by the way, did i mention it was pouring down rain. This made the event that much more fun and that much more memorable. Thanks Mark and Chris for all your hard work.

 November 1st we will be a  part of a Fall Festival in Leland. This will be our first community event. We are excited about connecting with the community through this time. We will be there just as a touch point to the community. Possibly giving away bottles of water and balloons for the kids. We want people to know that we are all about serving the community. Also during the month of November we are working to set up a donation center for the Good Shepherd Ministry to collect food and clothing for their ministry.

 My Coach comes in today to visit and meet with the team. He will be here until Wed. I am really looking forward to this time. I believe it will once again help us as we keep moving forward. 

 One last thing. Please be praying for our location. We are having a tough time finding a location that we can begin holding our services. Our plan is not to start services until Feb. but we still have to secure a place to eventually meet. So please pray for God's guidance as we move in that direction.

 So that's  what's been happening in the life of Crosswinds over the past few weeks. We again want to say Thank You for all your support and  prayers.

 Have a great day and remember KEEP WALKING and be intentional and aware of divine opportunities.

 

Prayer Time

Hey you guys many of you like to keep up with what is going on in the Life of Crosswinds and many of you like to pray for what God is doing in the Life of Crosswinds. Well, here is how you can pray.  This past week we have been looking at our options for location in the Leland area. At this point there's not much available except for retail space that at this point we can't afford but also doesn't give us much room for growth of which we expect to happen quickly.  So pray that God will give us wisdom as wee continue for HIS location for Crosswinds. 

One exciting opportunity that is in the works. We are exploring the opportunity of working alongside the Red Cross to help collect care packages for those effected by the hurricane in Texas. We want our reputation as a church to be about serving others and not serving ourselves. So please pray for these items as you enter your prayer times each day. 

Have a great day!!

Where FAITH and LIFE Collide!!

Defining Days

The past few weeks have been defining days for Crosswinds. We have begun to establish and make decisions that will move us forward in the days ahead. Just last week we believe God gave us some very clear direction to plant Crosswinds. We will be launching the church in Leland, NC which is just over the bridge from the downtown area of Wilmington. The Leland area is an extremely fast growing area where 27 people everyday are moving into this area. There is approximately 20,000 people and growing everyday. Just near our target location there are 2 neighborhoods with 2000 homes and one new development that will eventually have around 5000 homes and this is just 3 of the many developments within about a 3-5 mile radius of our target location. Location on the other hand is a matter of prayer. There is about a 1-2 mile stretch that is an extremely fast growing area on Highway 17 that runs through Leland that we would like to plant the church. Our only road block at this point is that all the space is store front retail space that is not cheap.  Please pray for the owner and managers of these spaces that the Lord will begin to work in their hearts if that is where he wants us to be located.

Some other defining decisions where our target launch date. We are shooting for February 22, 2009 to launch our first official service in Leland. Which means there is a lot of work to be done between now and then.

These along with establishing out Purpose statement, and  defining our core values made the past few weeks defining days for Crosswinds.

Please continue to pray as we move forward with God's Vision for Crosswinds. 

A Day To Remember

Today will forever be a day etched in the mind for us as a church and as a launch team. Today we met as a team for the 4th time since arriving in Wilmington. We gathered at a local park so that the kids could play, but God had other things in mind. As we arrived we noticed that there were some people hanging out in the pavilion that we had rented. Come to find out they were homeless people who hung out there most days. Sensing that the Lord wanted us to do something we fed them with some of the food we had leftover (I hesitate to say leftover). We spent some of our intended meeting time feeding these homeless people. As I said God had other things in mind. This was a real eye opener for all of us. It was a great reminder that God has called us to not just call ourselves the church but to be the church. To be a church that Loves God, Loves People, and Impacts the world.  

Even now as I have reflected on this time have still felt somewhat convicted. I believe if we had truly been living as Christ we would have fed them first and we would have taken whatever was leftover. Lord thank you for the opportunity but help us in the future to think of others first before feeding our own faces. 

Matthew 25:40 says "Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." 

Launch Team

What a great team of people God has assembled. We are such a diverse group of people with diverse skills that God is using to reached unchurched people in Wilmington. We just recently started meeting on Sunday afternoons to pray together that God would give us discernment and wisdom as look to the future of Crosswinds. It has been very interesting that each of us have faced difficulties over the past few weeks that are challenging and growing our faith. We know that Satan is out to do whatever he can to stop a good thing. Will you continue to pray for us as we plant Crosswinds Church.