CrossPoint Newsletter

First Edition 5/1/2023

Greetings CrossPoint Family!

God is at work across our one church in 12 locations and we want to share a glimpse of that in this first edition of our monthly newsletter. 

Why have a newsletter for the whole church? Our team of Lead Pastors wants to keep the church more regularly informed on ways that God is at work across our entire church. There is no way that we could capture everything, but we are committed to sharing celebrations, prayer requests, and ministry happenings that will help fuel your prayer for the church and your involvement in the work of the church. After all, who’s the church? (WE ARE)

There is no doubt that vision weekend 2023 was a fantastic time for us as a church. The comments, commitment, and community from that weekend were beyond our expectations.

But, there is a need to make sure it doesn't become the opposite of its intention: an event. If your thoughts have already turned to next year, what will be featured, and how we can "one up" this year, you may have missed the point.

You see, vision is a component of mission, and people who are excited about vision but not on mission need to see the vision correctly.

A good vision will inspire you to conspire!

We know that CrossPoint is where we want everyone to Love God, Grow Up and Serve All. Let's dream a little about how our vision weekend might translate to a personal on-mission direction.

To LOVE GOD is to respond to the love of the Father, worship Him in spirit and truth and follow through in obedience via baptism. If you love the church's vision but have never been baptized, you can fulfill all three of these elements with your one act. In your baptism, you are obedient, leading your whole congregation in beautiful worship and providing evidence of the amazing work of grace done in you! If you have been baptized, that is fantastic, but there may be someone you could urge to take that significant step.

To GROW UP means to enter into the disciplines of personal Bible study, prayer and participate in the community we call Grow Group. There are so many ways to live out the vision of CrossPoint as you Grow Up. Joining a Grow Group is a foundation for discipleship in our church, but maybe you need to embark on a season of learning how to be a better Bible student. Well, we'd love to resource you with Reading It Right and help you on your journey to grow (ReadingItRight.com).

To SERVE ALL is to serve inside and outside the church. Attending faithfully, giving to support ministries/future growth of the church and serving one another in the myriad of ways afforded to us in our weekly ministries is an excellent place for service to begin. 

But what does it mean to serve outside the church?

It could mean volunteering for some non-profit or participating in outreach through your Grow Group. But there is one way we all need to serve the lost world, by sharing our faith. Commit to learning how to use Three Circles evangelism, and then trust the Lord that He can do amazing things through you (http://namb.net/evangelism/3circles/).

Vision weekend will only be a true success when it turns into a mission in our daily lives. Thank you so much for being a part of CrossPoint, and I look forward to seeing God do what only God can do through you!

Andy Addis

Lead Teaching & Vision Pastor

After years of prayer, months of prep work, weeks of practice setting up and tearing down their church, CrossPoint Ellsworth started publicly meeting in March of 2023! While they started with just under 20 people committed to the launch, they have already doubled in size! 

Each week continues to bring about new faces. One week they met an older couple who hadn’t been in church for years. Another week they met a young family who moved to the area years ago and had been praying for a place to belong. One individual enjoyed the service so much, they went home and invited their neighbors to join them the following week. Each guest’s story varied in how they heard about CrossPoint, but typically ended with a desire to come back. This growth is also beginning to show in their Grow Groups and they are excited to welcome new people into gospel-centered community.

Slowly, week by week, at just the right pace Jesus is growing His church in Ellsworth. What can Jesus do when we follow Him? Anything!

Join us in praying for CrossPoint Ellsworth:

• Pray that guest would get connected to a Grow Group and that leaders would be developed to start new Grow Groups.
• Pray for wisdom to focus their resources on the right things at the right time.
• Pray that the Gospel would be received by those who live in Ellsworth.

Lane Mills

Ellsworth Pastor

Working Too Hard. Resting Too Little: Honoring God With Our Rest This Summer

Summer is just around the corner! Grilling, slip ‘n slides, backyard pool parties . . . all of the summer activities are about to commence. One of the things that many of us do in the summer is take a vacation or extended rest by ourselves, with our spouse or with our families.

And while there may be some who worship travel, leisure and comfort too much, there are also many of us who don’t obey God in taking times of rest. The fact is, both working too much and resting too much are both sins to avoid. So, let’s talk about work, rest & our summer vacations. 

We Are Good At Working

There’s one thing I know about many of us in the midwest: we are very good at working hard. When I first moved here to Kansas back in 2018, I heard from dozens of people when I asked them how things are going, “It’s super busy right now. But it’s just a season.” The problem is, when I asked the same question months later, the same busy people were still in the same busy season.  

So is working a sin? Of course not! There are at least a dozen passages in Proverbs alone that commend hard work (Proverbs 12:24; 13:4; 14:23). A crazy busy season is understandable. But a crazy busy life can be a sin. In his book “Crazy Busy” by Kevin DeYoung he points out our downfall. “Because we can do so much, we do do so much. Our lives have no limits.” How can working too much be a sin?

We Aren't Good At Resting

While the Bible commends hard work, it also commands rest. In Exodus 20:8-11, the 5th commandment tells us to honor the Sabbath . . . the day of rest. Exodus 20 points back to the example God himself gave us in Genesis 2:2-3. God himself labored for 6 days in creating the world. On the 7th day, he rested. God does not have limitations that he would need rest. But we do. Resting simultaneously reminds us of our limited power and God’s limitless power. 

So, What About Summer Rest?

While taking a day each week to rest is not only commended but commanded, this idea of work and rest also translates to our annual summer vacations. Work hard for 6 days and rest for 1. Work hard for several months, and rest for a week. But even in our summer rest or summer vacations, we can honor God (I Cor. 10:31). How can we honor God with our rest or vacations this summer?

First, the tone of the adults becomes the tone of the kids. If the adults in the family don’t want to go, the kids will have a miserable time. Adults, ask God to give you a great attitude as you go vacation with your kids or other family members. If your household has a father in it, fathers can make or break the vacation. Men, lead out in having fun and creating moments of rest on your vacation.

Secondly, God can be seen in our everyday lives . . . even our vacations. If you go on a vacation, take moments to point out to others you are on vacation with how you see God that day. If you’re on a lake, talk about the beauty and refreshing nature of the water God made. If you’re on a roller coaster, talk about the creative and fun God we serve that gives creativity to people to build exciting roller coasters. If you’re on a staycation at home, get some ice cream and praise God for cows (especially the ones that produce chocolate ice cream)!

Lastly, make a plan. Nothing shows that you care more about this specific time of rest than caring about planning it. Sit down with your spouse. Sit down with your kids. Sit down with your budget and plan something that you can do together. What makes it memorable is not the location of your vacation, but the intentional planning that creates memories.

Whether it’s across the country, across the world, or just across town, take a break from your hard work and honor God with your rest this summer. Make memories with your family and point out God along the way.

Shaen Marks

Hutchinson Pastor