Pray with me!
When we started Crossbridge almost seven years ago we (me and the team that launched the church) were young and idealistic. One of the things I said over and over is we will build this on prayer. So for the first couple of years we did that. We prayed for a different church every Sunday, we have 40 Days of Prayer and Fasting and different prayer emphasis. Then something happened.
We stopped praying.
Oh, we still prayed in our services and for each other in groups but the intensity, the frequency and the focus stopped. I can’t put my finger on any one specific incident but I looking back I see a pattern of busyness and inattention that caused us to drift from praying. I now know something I wish someone would have told me then:
You have to fight to pray.
I don’t drift into prayer. I have to choose to pray.
I also realized that Crossbridge doesn’t drift toward prayer. We drift toward activity. We drift toward unbelief.
We must choose to pray. We must fight to pray.
Well, I am seeking to repent of my personal prayerlessness and lead our church toward being a church that prays.
Beginning Tuesday September 1st we will have a once a month prayer gathering called “First Tuesday”. We will use these gatherings to pray for God’s work and blessing to be on our lives, church and greater community. This service will last for one hour. We will sing a little bit to warm ourselves up, have some guiding words, and then pray!
Will you join me this and every First Tuesday that you can to pray for and with Crossbridge?
First TuesdaySeptember 1, 2009
7:00 -8:00 p.m.
1049 Eldridge Auditorium
Childcare provided birth-Kindergaten
e-mail info@crossbridge.cc to reserve a spot
Crossbridge Financial Update, by Glenn Smith
Many have asked how Crossbridge is doing financially in light of our current recession. We wanted to give you a quick mid-year update.
Our Pastoral Advisory Team and Staff anticipated some unforeseeable expenses with us moving into our new building this year. We also anticipated that many of our families would be affected negatively by the current economic situation. Because of that we trimmed back our budget from 2008 and set a very conservative budget for 2009. Our staff has done a good job of managing the financial resources within those limits. As a result, here’s where we stand as of June 30, 2009 (for the calendar year 2009):
Budget Year-to-Date: $275,675
Actual Income Year-to-Date: $315,851
Actual Expenditures: $288,195
As you can see our Operating Budget is in good shape. Another point of good news is that our renovation project at 1049 Eldridge Rd. came in right on budget thanks to the diligent oversight and management of Justin Phy, our Project Manager.
However, where we are feeling the impact of the current economy is in our Building Fund Commitments. Our Building Fund giving is behind our pledges as you can see here:
Pledges To Date: $795,300
Given To Date: $657,283
Our remaining debt to Amegy Bank for our Building Improvements is $743,728. We have two more years to pay this off but we were hoping to pay it off with our building fund gifts by October 2010, which is the official end of our current Building Fund Campaign. If everyone is able to fulfill their Building Fund commitment this will be no problem. So we will be evaluating this as time goes on.
We want to say thank you to all the Crossbridge Partners and Supporters for your ongoing financial commitment to this ministry. It is truly a blessing to be a part of a faith community that is committed to the gospel, committed to mission, and committed to one another financially.
Gospel Spirituality: Thoughts & Resources
This past Sunday we dove into the amazing truth that the gospel is not just how we begin the Christian life but how we grow in the Christian life. Gospel Spirituality is very different from contemporary spirituality in that God defines Himself in scripture as Holy, all people as sinful, and Jesus as the savior for sinners.
Like I said Sunday it is impossible to get all the glories of a Gospel-Centered relationship with God out but we sure tried to hit the highlights. One of the things we said is that we have to seek to grow in our understanding and application of the Gospel. Remember we looked at this verse…
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly’ teaching admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs’ with thanksgiving in your hearts to God.” Colossians 3:17.
From that verse we talked about reading about the gospel and singing the gospel. Now we try to do that every week in our Sunday Services and in our Community Groups, but what about personally?
There are many wonderful resources out there to help embrace the gospel on a daily basis. I offer you this list below of books and music that might be of use to you and your family to let the gospel dwell richly in you!
Books:
Gospel-Centered Life Curriculum by Bob Thune
The Cross Centered Life by C.J. Mahaney
The Gospel for Real Life by Jerry Bridges
A Gospel Primer for Christians by Milton Vincent
The Prodigal God by Tim Keller
Music:
PSALMS by Sovereign Grace Music
Over the Grace: the hymns of Issac Watts by Sojourn Music
Children Resources:
Books:
The Big Picture Storybook Bible
Music:
To Be Like Jesus by Sovereign Grace Music
Awesome God by Sovereign Grace Music
SEEDS music
Getting Connected
Hi Everybody,
We are heading toward the end of summer vacation at a very fast pace! I can’t believe school is starting. Even as an adult I still cringe when I see the “Back to School“ supplies sale at Wal-Mart and I have been out of school a long time! As the Fall comes we have some great opportunities coming up for us to connect with others here at Crossbridge.
This Sunday we will start selling tickets for our Birthday Bash. We will be celebrating Crossbridge’s 7th birthday on September 13, at Safari Texas. For more details go here. We will also continue our sign-ups for Community Groups as well. Community Groups are our main environment for connecting with others at Crossbridge for care, encouragement and friendship.
If you are new, our next Newcomer’s Open House is on August 30th. It is an hour long reception Sunday evening from 6:30-7:30 PM, where you enjoy a meal, meet the staff, hear the story of Crossbridge and find the next step for you in getting connected here. I would love to meet you there is you are new and/or not connected yet.
The Christian life was meant to be done in community as the family of God. I hope you will take advantage of some of the opportunities coming up to connect further with Crossbridge.
See-ya Sunday,
Chuck
