CrossPoint Newsletter

Nineteenth Edition 11/4/2024

Giving Tuesday is the first Tuesday following Thanksgiving. It comes on the heels of the traditional shopping blitzes of Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday. The cultural hope behind Giving Tuesday’s launch in 2012 was that after several days of giant sales and excessive consumption, people would have an interest in giving (rather than receiving) to something meaningful. What started as a concept twelve years ago has morphed into a movement that aims to impact the world through generosity. 

We have all heard stories about someone who was radically generous with their resources or perhaps we have had the opportunity to bless someone else with what God has given us. The empty nesters who pour into a young family and watch the kids while the husband and wife go on a date, the widow who faithfully uses her time to serve at a pregnancy service center, or the business owner who funds an orphanage in Nicaragua…the list goes on. What prompts the people of God to be so giving?

As Christians, we have a concept of generosity since our God was so kind as to send His One and only Son to pay the price for our sins through His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 3:23, 6:23, and John 3:16). This was no small sacrifice as Jesus is the Son that the Father dearly loves and is well pleased with (Matthew 3:17)! Because of God’s generosity towards humanity, those who receive Jesus as Lord and Savior are saved from sin “to the uttermost” (Hebrews 7:25). As outrageous as this may seem, God not only provides forgiveness and salvation through Christ, but He richly provides us with everything to enjoy in this life (1 Timothy 6:17). How radically generous is our God?!

The Harvester Foundation desires to put the generosity of God on display through its role in funding church plants/replants in places that most people are not thinking about. Rural communities continue to struggle to maintain the status quo, let alone grow, amidst the trend of people migrating to metropolitan areas. Few are focused on planting churches in small towns. We consider it a joy and calling to pursue such a task.

The cost of planting/replanting is substantial and cannot be done without your generosity. This Giving Tuesday (12/3/2024), we are prayerfully pursuing a goal of raising $75,000 towards the planting of CrossPoint McPherson. Like all communities, McPherson is in need of a gospel presence in which Jesus is proclaimed and lives are transformed. 

What would it look like to have another vibrant local church in McPherson? How many people would come to know Jesus? Who would be trained as a disciple maker and train people to make other disciple makers? When you plant a church, anything can happen! Please consider partnering with the Harvester Foundation in at least one of three ways to help see the Kingdom expand in another community:

1. Pray for God’s leading as we pursue planting CrossPoint McPherson, the new church’s unity and ministry in the community, and for people to come to know Jesus.
2. Promote The Harvester Foundation - Follow us on Facebook or Instagram, share posts, talk about The Harvester Foundation with others, and connect us with people who have a heart for the Gospel and rural communities. 
3. Partner with us financially. We are so grateful for how the Lord has provided through your generosity! He will continue to sustain us according to His will, and we look forward to seeing Him provide. If you have questions about giving, feel free to email me at jake.ronning@theharvester.org or call/text 855-927-5437. You can give easily and securely at theharvester.org/give. 

Jake Ronning

Advancement Director | The Harvester Foundation

“Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!” Psalm 107:1

If there was a Bible verse to describe what God is doing at CrossPoint Concordia, Psalm 107:1 would be the one!

I accepted the position as location pastor and my wife and I moved to Concordia just 10 months ago. During this short time, we have watched God’s steadfast love unite a church family and open many doors to minister to our community. Nearly every week, it seems like something amazing is happening. We are seeing people saved, baptized, and growing in their walk with God. Our fall Grow Groups have grown from one group to four groups, and people are asking how they can serve in different ministries of the church. It is always encouraging to see people wanting to serve rather than looking to be served.

We have had a couple unique opportunities to be in our community: we were able to participate in the Concordia Fall Fest parade. We also had a team in the annual Community Church Softball Tournament (and we didn’t do half bad either. Second place!).

Because of God’s steadfast love, we are seeing our church grow. Because of God’s steadfast love, we are seeing lives transformed. Because of God’s steadfast love, we are seeing ordinary people being changed by Jesus to do extraordinary things. And for this, we give thanks to the LORD!

Praise the LORD for His steadfast love that endures forever!

Pray with us:     

• Please pray for wisdom concerning an opportunity that has been presented to our church.  
• Through the busyness of the approaching holiday season, please pray that God would open doors to reach our community.
• Please pray that God would send us someone who is burdened to help reach our youth.

Brett Denham

Location Pastor

"We are ordinary people being changed by Jesus to do extraordinary things."

This statement isn't a marketing ploy or a corporate slogan. It represents a major shift in our desire to join Jesus on His mission. 

Why do we need a "statement" if we have the Bible? It's a great question and has a simple answer. We don't! Our new mission statement wasn't written to replace scripture but to express biblical truth concisely and memorably. This statement is not a rewrite of a verse in the Bible but rather a statement based on the truth, seen in many places in the Bible. (Matt.28:18-20, Matt. 4:19-20, Mark 8:3-4, John 15:10, Acts 1:8, Acts 5:42, and many more)

No one part of the mission statement stands on its own, but there are three distinct sections that we should explore further.

"We are ordinary people". This first segment is seemingly innocuous and yet incredibly important to the premise of what is trying to be conveyed. Possibly, one of the greatest dangers of a church that genuinely desires to make disciples is an idea that creeps in through the back door. It is dangerous for the people of God to believe the mission of God is for the spiritual elite or the staff of the church. Many church staff find themselves stuck in a loop of event planning and management instead of truly walking alongside the congregation, preparing them for the work each person is called to do. The mission of God is an all-hands-on-deck mission and requires, yes requires, every believer to see themselves as an everyday missionary.

"We are ordinary people being changed by Jesus". The entire mission statement hinges on this second piece. “Being changed by Jesus” is the transformative journey that bridges the gap between who we are and what we do. No man can please God with works or effort apart from the life-changing power of the gospel. The word "being" was purposefully selected because it signifies that being a disciple of Jesus means we always have room to grow in relationship and obedience to Him, and that we will never fully achieve perfection until we join Jesus in heaven. 

“We are ordinary people being changed by Jesus to do extraordinary things.” This last part is the outcome of every life Jesus is transforming. This is not Christian busyness, but spirit-led, mission-critical work. It may be easy to get hung up on the word "work" here, but I implore you to see this as intended and not colored by the fear of works-based salvation. You cannot separate the Christian life from the Christian work. We all join Jesus in His mission, and we are expected to "work out our salvation with fear and trembling" (Phil. 2:12). It is a privilege to serve the Lord in whatever capacity He desires. And because we are fully surrendered and dependent on the Spirit of God to equip us and work through us, our efforts become more than ordinary; they become extraordinary.

Every man, woman, and child, saved by grace, are ordinary people being changed by Jesus to do extraordinary things! This is our collective mission, and we are all part of it.

Eric Franklin

Lead Pastor