crosswinds church

Pics from Launch Sunday

2009-04-02T13:02:00.001-07:00

Too Busy!

2009-03-21T08:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry for not updating. Things are crazy! Churching Planting stuff is crazy. Trust me, God is doing some amazing things!!

8 DAYS AND COUNTING!!

PRAY HARD!!

God once again shows up!

2009-02-24T13:17:00.000-08:00

So check this out!!

For the past 7 months we have been praying for a worship leader. We have talked to several guys from different parts of the Country. I was starting to get a little nervous being just over a month away from LAUNCH (3.29.09) and having no one to lead worship. I knew that it would be a real stretch for me to try and lead the singing (haha). So listen at what God had in store all along. Just a few weeks ago through a few connections here in Wilmington we found out about a guy who was a great possibility. I called a few references on him and received good reports. I then called him, met with him a few times, he led in worship this past Sunday, and I hired him last night (Monday). Would you know that he lives in Leland. Once again God shows up! Being so close to LAUNCH it would have been tough for someone to uproot from out of town and be here in that short period of time. God knew all along the guy he was positioning was right here in Leland. So Crosswinds has hired it's first staff person. As of 8:30 pm last night Scott Hennis became the new worship pastor of Crosswinds Church. Scott grew up in Wilmington and graduated from Laney High School. Scott is married to Rebecca and has two awesome kids Sydney and Jude. We are so excited about Scott, Rebecca and their family Joining the Crosswinds Team.

Welcome to the team Hennis family!!

Sorry, Scott this was the best Picture I could steal of you!

40 Days till LAUNCH

2009-02-18T14:06:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it! In just 40 short days Crosswinds will be launching it's first official service and our launch team is really excited.

Let me tell you what God has been doing over the last few weeks. We have added 2 new families the Albertsons and the Cooks who both live in Leland and are excited about joining the Crosswinds family. . In just a few short weeks we out grew the home we were meeting in and just this past Sunday we started meeting in a temporary location just across the street from our future home. This past Sunday we had 25 adults and 16 kids. We have recently connected with 4 other families and could be potentially adding them to our launch team as well.

Another exciting thing is that one of our launch team families are starting a small group tonight that will be discipling a couple that came to Christ not to long ago. (Praise the Lord)

God is truly assembling a great team that is making a difference in the Leland area and has a heart for seeing people come to Christ. You have been a part of making this happen through your prayers and your giving and although we are in hard times economically God has continued to be faithful.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, for partnering with Crosswinds to advance the Kingdom.

YOUR INVITED....

Remember our LAUNCH is 40 days away on SUNDAY, MARCH 29. We would love to have as many of you visit and be a part of this special day. Even if you can't make the 29th we invite you as a partner to visit Crosswinds any Sunday. If you plan to attend LAUNCH Sunday please email me and let me know so that we can have an idea of how many of our partners will be attending.

Here are a few request to pray for concerning Crosswinds

PRAYER REQUEST:

1. Interviewing process with Worship Leader.

2. For God to continue to position people as part of the Crosswinds Launch Team.

3. Strength for our launch team over the next few critical weeks.

4. Continued financial support over the next 2 years as we move toward being self supporting.

5. Connections with people who are de-churched, and un-churched.

6. For salvation of those in Leland who do not have a relationship with Christ. (this is the most important request)

7. The Robles Family who will be moving from NY at the end of the month.

Thank you again for all your support and prayers!

Advancing the Kingdom,

Chris

God's Faithfulness

2009-01-27T05:56:00.000-08:00

Once again I have been blown away by God's faithfulness. I have some exciting news to share with you about what God is doing. God has added another new family to the Crosswinds team. The Robles from Corning NY will be moving March 1 to become a part of the Crosswinds family.

Please be praying for Nelson, Jessica, Abigail, and Dominic as they make this BIG move in just a few short weeks.

New Leaders

2009-01-20T16:48:00.000-08:00

God is so cool...

Check this out....

David and Sarah Alderman from the Crosswind's team have been building a relationship for some time now with a family from Leland where we will be planting the church. Ash and I had the privilege of having coffee with them about a week and half ago to share with them the vision of the church. For some time God has been stirring in their heart, and as of Sunday Jan. 11, Brandon, Randi Jo and Raymond have joined the Crosswinds Team. We are so excited to have them as a part of the team and look forward to how God is going to use all of us in the days ahead. WOW, God is positioning people for Crosswind's team and for kingdom purposes. As a team we believe there will be many more just like the Rooks that God will bring to Crosswinds to provide leadership.

Thanks God for your faithfulness..

Moving Forward

Check this out!! Future Home of Crosswinds

2009-01-02T17:38:00.001-08:00

Next Level

2009-01-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it. In just a few short months Crosswinds will no longer be a dream but reality. Life seems to fly by at such a fast pace. I am looking forward to 2009 and all that God has in store. Here is what has been on my mind for the last few days. NEXT LEVEL - what does this mean? It's time for you, for me, for the church to take it to the next level and actually live out what Christ has called us too. The church is not a building, it's not a social club, it's to be the incarnate of Christ. I am excited about what God wants to do through me, through you, and through the church over the next year. God help us to live passionate lives committed to knowing you, loving you, and making a difference for you. What will you be committed to over the next year? Remember "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself". Have a great year!!

Playing Catch UP

2008-11-17T05:20:00.000-08:00

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---->

2008-10-13T10:56:00.000-07:00

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

2008-09-26T10:55:00.001-07:00

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

2008-09-10T08:33:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-24T18:51:00.000-07:00

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

2008-08-12T11:03:00.001-07:00

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.