Looking Back and Looking Forward

It had been 20 years since Stela Edwards stepped into a Christian church. Her disappointment with churches came out of a sense of what she called “a lack of ability to explain who God was and how I could relate to him.” She said: “They told me I needed to love God but, how could I love someone I could not know?” In the spring, Stela was invited by a friend to attend the 19|1 arts showcase at a “church.” As a professional chef, the event did not pose an ideological threat since art was a shared passion of hers. While there, creativity opened a door to spiritual curiosity and she decided to give “church” another try. For 10 months now Stella has faithfully attended Crossbridge with her teenage son with whom she discusses Pr. Felipe’s teachings after Sunday services. “I finally got the answer to the question I had always been asking. I now know that Jesus is God made flesh and that I am called to incarnate his incarnation.” At the last 19|1 she was able to share with everyone a little bit of her culinary craft and has also been highly involved with her community group. Her prayer is that her husband “would accept this wonderful Jesus she has accepted.”

:: Looking Back and Looking Forward

Stela’s exciting story illustrates and indicates how the Gospel has shaped Crossbridge’s community. There are however, other indicatives that are worth mentioning.

• 20 new Community Groups launched so that people will grow spiritually, care for each other and serve our city.
• 7 new ministry partnerships established to deploy volunteers and resources to serve the needs of our city.
• 22 new leaders trained through the Leadership Community program.
• The launch of 19|1 – Crossbridge’s cultural renewal initiative which includes an art gallery, a recording studio and periodic art showcases.
• The release of a powerful Gospel centered worship CD entitled “You”

As we look back, it’s impossible to deny the fact that God’s been working in our midst. And because that is true we are sure that the best is yet still to come.

Some of our goals for 2010 include starting a new campus downtown, kickoff 10 new groups, launch a combined parent-child worship experience and, train 20 new leaders through our Leadership Community program.

We ask that you continue to pray for our bold vision. Pray that God would exceed even our expectations as we try to reach Miami for Jesus.

We are humbled by for your involvement in the kingdom of Jesus within the context of Crossbridge.

We wish you a very Happy New Year full of new possibilities.

Crossbridge Leadership.

Monday, January 4th, 2010 at 11:52 AM in Community, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.