weekend report

By 7:00 a.m. Saturday the GoMissions team was ready for action downtown Mansfield as we provided drinks and cheered on those running in the Spherion MidOhio 13er!  Here are just a couple of shots.  We used sidewalk chalk to write encouraging words on the street, and rang cowbells loudly to encourage those running past us!

Bill and others wore signs telling the runners what we were providing.

As always Darlene had our missions booth looking great! 

GO  Mark - everyone cheered even the little ones got into it!

Taking your family to serve at a GoMissions event is such a great way to teach them about missions!  It provides a platform for explaining why we need to serve others - both locally, nationally as well as globally.


Later Saturday and Sunday again...  I stood and looked at all the people that the Lord brought through our doors this weekend and am amazed that He allows us the privilege of leading!  It's so humbling to work on projects, watch the time come for them to actually happen and see people come and get needs met!   Oh my goodness what an honor to watch my brothers and sisters in the Lord worshipping, serving, caring for others just being the church!  And our church was definitely hopping this weekend!

We had the honor to welcome Les Parrott to speak in our weekend services and then for the Parrott's together to lead us in the Fight Night event.  Everyone was so blessed and had such a great time together!

As I sometimes do, while amazing things were happening in the auditorium, I wondered around Crossroads and watched the behind-the-scenes ministry that takes tons of organizing in order to care for all of our Crossroads' Kids and teens - just pure joy to see them growing in the Lord!

Here are some pictures from the weekend!

Thankful for our faithful children's workers who are dedicated to teaching
Biblical truths to our kids that will shape them for all of eternity!

Our student ministry praise team lead the youth in worship!

I found Pastor Jesse acting like he was running tech in the
student ministry room with Dylan!

Our praise team lead us in worship in the big room!

The response to Fight Night was unbelievable!

Les and Leslie are amazing communicators!

Signing books

Felt like we'd been friends for a long time!

Our setlist:

Announcements on Video

Glorious Day
Call Upon the Lord
Throne Room
Break Every Chain
No Longer Slaves
City Center Update - Intro of Nicole Blakely and Dr. Les Parrott -Pastor Dave Vance
Message: Dr. Les Parrott
Dismiss: Pastor Dave/Les
Exit Song:  No Longer Slaves

To watch our services live on-line, go to Crossroadswired.com

Guatemala changed me

My first blog following our trip to Guatemala had to be about the hopeless faces of the children.  The most innocent, most abused and most helpless to do anything about their situations.

I loved these older gentlemen
talking as they walked by us.
Possibly friends for years and year
or maybe even brothers.

But tonight as I sat down to finish going through pictures I felt that tug at my soul once again.

The conditions I saw in Santa Maria have left a hurt deep inside me.

This is an example of a normal home in Santa Maria

Houses built of rusty metal, a font wall of
block and shards of glass along the top for security.

Wood for cooking is stored on open roof.

You can see a boy if you look closely using the same sink
his mother washed clothes in and scooped cooking water from.

I guess the sadness I feel comes first of all because I think of Jesus' words when He spoke about 'the least of these' and the times He told us to care for the poor, and that He said they would ALWAYS be with us.  What is so difficult to accept is that what we saw would not be impossible to solve - to change - to rescue!  But this can only be accomplished through great patience, care and a lot of respect for their society and the way they do things.

The spiritual darkness there is deep, abuse within families - very common, and the temporary escape from hopelessness that alcohol offers destroys what remains of many families forcing the church to take a strong stand against it, even at the risk of appearing judgemental.

Complicated.

The bottom line is - we can help.  Our teams working side by side with the coffee farmers and the villagers building stoves or water filtration systems accomplish multiple things at once.  We get to help teach them how to meet their most basic needs for clean water and cook stoves that are vented - while showing them what it means to find true, eternal hope in Christ.  They know we're different and they cannot figure out why we would take the time not only to come once, but to come year after year and build on-going relationships with them as we teach them how to solve problems, and point them toward a Savior.

It was such a privilege to go and I hope to return, over and over!  Meanwhile, I can cover them in prayer as they tirelessly continue the work that we got to be a small part of for a week.

Ladies or girls carry heavy bowls of corn, many times
on their heads, daily for grinding to make their tortillas.

I've never seen such strong people - the
amount they carry is mind boggling.

watching mules and horses pass by makes you feel
like you've taken a step back in time.

I loved the creativity of the children - playing with old tires or anything they could find.

This is a look inside a home that we were honored
to be invited into.  How these people raised the
beautiful children below in a mostly dirt floored room
is beyond me!

These are other sites we saw around the village as we took a prayer walk through the village.

This was the entrance to the graveyard. 

I even got to see how a funeral takes place one day while standing on a balcony. 

 Last weekend celebrating the Sanctity of Life drew my attention again to the voiceless unborn, the babies that never will be.

While being in Guatemala introduced me to a voiceless people although fully born - mostly forgotten and ignored.

Oh Lord, how you must long for us all to come running to you...

weekend report: Sanctity of Life

This weekend was very special at Crossroads, it was a chance to stand along-side Christian brothers and sisters across the country and declare that all life is precious and a direct reflection of God the creator! You can't be more precious then that!


Pastor Dave presented mind-boggling statistics that proved we don't value life the way God intended us to. It was a weekend that should send us to our knees on behalf of babies in the womb who have no voice and those we are neglected, unloved or abused!

But, he also taught us about the amazing grace of God - who was willing to sacrifice his only Son to purchase complete forgiveness for any wrong we've ever done. There is complete, holy, God-filled grace available for the asking.

It was a beautiful weekend of learning, leaning into God and beautiful worship, ending with a love offering to support our amazing Richland Pregnancy Services. These people provide help for anyone that finds themselves in the middle of an unwanted pregnancy. It is an honor to have them as one of Crossroads LOCAL GoMission partners.

I love the fact that Crossroads is just as deeply involved in our local community as we are across the world! Thanks to all who gave to this amazing God-honoring organization! (If you weren't here last weekend, there is still opportunity to give, just mark your envelope for Richland Pregnancy Services), and give it separately from your tithe please.

Our setlist:

Unbroken Praise

Jesus I Come

Lord I Need You

Message: Pastor Dave Vance

Special Music: Tears Fall

To watch our services on line go to www.crossroadswired.com

To see what other ministries use in their services go to www.theworshipcommunity.com

serving and sewing

Tonight I had the privilege of not only serving some of the ladies of Crossroads, but serving WITH some of my good friends!

We taught the ladies and girls that came how to hand sew hems, repairs and replace buttons!  It was good to watch ladies with great talents share their knowledge with other women.

As we worked with them, we heard the weekend worship being prepared in the background, laughter coming from the office area as the GoMissions team worked on preparing all the children's gift lists and also the grunts and strains of the Aikido class down the hall.  A church, on a week night serving, preparing and pushing God's kingdom forward!  No where I'd rather be than in the local church!

Jean assisting a young lady with her stitching

teaching hand-sewing

Jeanette and Patty preparing the treats!

Jackie demonstrating hemming

Milo and the team getting ready for another amazing weekend

Melissa cracking the whip with the vocalists

GoMissions team preparing the Adopt-A-Charge cards