I Have a Story

 

Click any of the arrows below to read some stories of our very own people at CrossRoads!

Or, share your story.

	Amber Shrock			Paul and Nancy Cline
	Dr. Stephen Reel			Paul Johnson
	Lori Bailey			Rich Butler
	Lydia Hopkins			Stephen Cope
	Mark Joseph

Amber Shrock's Story

I wanted to send you a note this morning to let you know how much I
love and appreciate Crossroads. I began attending in May of this year
with Justin and Amber Attridge and I have come to love it very much. I
was raised in a contemporary church, but due to some circumstances
over the last three years I was pushed to go to different kind of
churches in which their was much legalism, judgment and criticism.
When I began coming to Crossroads I was at a point in my life where I
literally hated going to church. I was so used to sitting in church
and feeling condemned every Sunday morning. I'll spare the details,
but what I wanted you to know is that through the messages, the
worship and the passion of this church, I once again wake up Sunday
mornings excited to come to church. In addition to Sunday morning
worship, I joined the ladies Bible study that is led by Courtney
Reichley and have been blessed week after week. I wanted you all to
know that I have felt more welcome and accepted than in any church I
have ever attended.
The messages touch my heart every week. The worship at Crossroads is
phenomenal. I love that everyone is free to worship according to how
the Spirit leads. I love that some people choose to worship quietly
and to themselves and others raise their hands and dance before the
Lord.

I also observed the heart of Crossroads when Chris Smock passed away.
I never met him or knew him personally, but I was with Justin during
this time. It meant so much to Justin, Ricky and all of his family
that Crossroads stepped in and helped.

I am so glad that the Lord led me here.

Sincerely,
Amber Schrock

Dr. Stephen Reel's Story

I really needed this!  God really got my attention through the messages
and worship in each session.  I found myself gradually becoming more and
more comfortable with "normal" - even enjoying routine.  My life is
filled with many wonderful spiritual things all day here at Southside
Christian School and at Crossroads Community Church.  It is really easy
to get used to it and just go through the motions (good ones) day after
day.

The messages from the Wayfare team and the worship times led by David
shook me to my core - shook me out of my complacency and caused me to
cry out to the Son of David!  And He heard my cry and answered me in a
powerful way that I will never forget! 

Thank you so much for being a godly, Spirit-led pastor and friend in my
life.  Your leadership is bringing spiritual growth in my life, and
hopefully that will flow down to the 150 employees, 1,100 students and
750 families at SCS!  Please forward this to the Wayfare team with my
sincere gratitude for their ministry among us! 

Stephen G. Reel, Ph.D.
Superintendent

Lori Baileys' Story

I am the coordinator for Kid's Club, the Sunday morning worship and ministry for kids ages K3-K5. I wanted to share a few stories about what God is doing in the lives of the children at Crossroads. The first story is from a couple months back. One of the young girls that attends Kid's Club regularly came up to me and told me that she had "asked Jesus into her heart." Now I am sure this young girl lives in a Godly home with wonderful parents that tell her about Jesus, but, since she seemed compelled to tell us of her decision, I also can't help but believe that the work of Kid's Club teachers and volunteers had an influence in this decision. I see the volunteers come to Kid's Club every week ready to share the love of Christ with our kids and I think this story is a testament to how His love can reach young hearts through the service of committed volunteers. The next three stories have been shared with me more recently by parents. The first one came to me in an email from Shawn Thompson where she stated that her daughter Shelley, remembered every detail of the story on Sunday. On the way to lunch after service, Shelley told her parents the entire story including every detail. Shawn requested that I “tell whoever the teacher was , that they must have done a FANTASTIC job!  The teacher in that particular class that Sunday happened to be Cathy McCord, but, I must add, that all of our committed teachers do a FANTASTIC job! Our committed classroom volunteers also do a FANTASTIC job of reinforcing the lesson each Sunday through craft, games and songs! We also have some fabulous volunteers that work behind the scenes preparing the craft and snack, helping to set up the classrooms, doing puppets and scanning the children out to their parents after class that also do a FANTASTIC job. The second story, I received from Mindy Rock about her daughter Hannah. One day, Hannah came running up to her mom and said "Mommy, I have a surprise for you, come look."  She had cleaned her whole room and she said- "Mommy- I served you. I serve God when I make people happy. Young Hannah said, "God likes it when we are nice to people."  Mindy reports that Hannah has done a few more things since then around the house like pick up toys and thrown trash away, every time she does something good she says how good it is when we serve. Mindy and Hannah also took school supplies to the Frazee Center to donate. Mindy had told Hannah about other children who don't have as much as their family has and explained that sometimes we have to help them get the things they need. When they dropped off the supplies, Hannah said again “We are serving when we help other kids and now God is happy." Mindy expressed to me that "She (Hannah) totally gets it! That's a big HUGE thank you to all the volunteers who are helping me (Mindy) raise a wonderful, faithful daughter!! It takes a village to raise a child!" The significance related to Kid's Club of little Hannah's desire to serve is that we had been doing a series of lessons on service for several weeks. We had been learning about how individuals in Bible times served others and emphasized how we are called to also serve others. Each week we discussed practical ways even young children can serve. I am so thrilled to hear that sweet, young Hannah "totally gets it!" I hope she carries this desire to serve throughout her life. The last story was shared with me by Kim Gent when I spoke with her about plugging into the volunteer schedule for Kid's Club. Mrs. Gent already serves twice per month in the nursery and now both she and her husband want to commit to additional service in Kid's Club. She told me that her daughter, Brooklyn, regularly comes home from church singing the songs from Kid's Club and talking about all she has learned. Kim shared that it has been such a blessing to her that she wants to be a part of it. I share these stories in appreciation of the work of all of our committed volunteers that work with our children. I also share them to encourage you to get involved in serving others. If you have a heart for kids or want to be a part of God's work in the lives of our children here at Crossroads, contact us about getting plugged in. If not, find the place where God is calling you to service and get plugged in there. God's blessing to each of you, Lori Bailey

Lydia Hopkins' Story

"If you are willing, God is able." This quote has been playing on constant replay in my mind, especially this past year of my life. When God spoke to me and told me He wanted me to go to Mexico, at the age of 12, I began on a journey that required of me faith, dependence and trust in my heavenly Father. I had so many questions and doubted myself many times that I could accomplish what God has asked of me. I am no where close to perfect and at the time, I couldn't even get to school on my own. How could I possibly travel to another country away from the comforts of home and all alone? I made up my mind that the God I serve is capable of all things and that I long to glorify Him no matter the cost. I simply replied, "Lord, if this is you, if Mexico is where you are calling me, provide a way and I will go." What I did not know was that the next five years God was placing people in my life to mentor me and help prepare me for where God was sending me and what He had in store. I have been involved with Crossroads Youth Group since 7th grade. It was my junior year when Dustin Hughes announced for that years mission trip we would be going to Mexico. I remembered God's words and immediately knew I had to go. During this trip God was working and stirring in me a passion deep within my heart. I was doing my quiet time and as I was praying God stoped me mid-sentence. "I want you to stay longer, I'm not done." I began weeping as I sat and was comforted in the Lord's presence. I shared with a few leaders what I felt God had layed on my heart. They all stood by me and prayed with me to confirm what God has said. Once again after coming to my senses I replied, "Lord, if this is you, provide a way and I will go." I have been here in Mexico for almost 4 months now and have seen the hand of God intervene on more than one occasion. He has tested me, challenged me and strengthend me. He has always provided the finances and has graciously given me opportunity after opportunity to love on the orphans and to be loved on, make lifelong friendships, mature in my relationship with Him and discover a glimpse of the reality of God's unconditional love and the desires of His heart for His children. When I knew I could not do it on my own, He showed me that if I only surrender my entire self to Him, He could. When things got hard and I wanted to give up, He gave me rest. "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28. I do not know what my future holds but I do know that if I surrender myself to the will of my Father and trust in Him, He is always faithful to His promises and will take me places and show me things beyond my comprehension. "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" 1 Corinthians 1:9

Mark Joseph's Story

Hi Guys,
 
What an awesome time away ……a change of venue…. a change of scenery…a time of fun…brotherhood bonding…deep introspection…great food and fellowship.
 
On Friday evening 10 guys headed up to Cesar's Head to spend some time growing deeper in our relationship with Jesus Christ and each other.  When we arrived at the house that evening the fireplace was going the house was warm and everyone was excited for the opportunity to be away together. The view from the back deck was unbelievable. As I looked out over the back deck I can see the lights of the city of Greenville.
 
On Friday evening we had some great BBQ, slaw & potato Salad for dinner. After dinner we all sat around the fireplace in the living room and had a great time sharing our heart on the importance of accountability and avoiding isolation.  When we were done Randy Brown prayed for the guys and we closed our evening by listening to "Not Guilty Anymore" by Aaron Keyes. What a blessed evening.
 
On Saturday morning we had a great breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen and settled down to our study discussion on Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. At the end of our discussion we spent some time in groups of two praying for one another.
 
When our study was over we headed out to spend some time fishing at a private pond in the community. We had a great time of fellowship. We truly enjoyed being together. As most fishing stories go, all the big fish got away so we had to go to "Grammy's" for lunch.  After lunch we went back to the house, loaded up our stuff and departed for home. The time together was too short. However, it was long enough for us to experience authentic man-to-man friendships and the chase of the Wild Goose as we invited Him to be with us throughout our time at Cesar's Head. In the words of our brother Ray Millet "We were brothers from another mother."
 
This week our discussion was on coming out of the cage of guilt.  Our accuser would like nothing better than keeping us in a state of false guilt over confessed sin.  We become so fixated on past mistakes that we forfeit future opportunities to serve God. However, the moment we confess our sins to God, our sins are forgiven and forgotten. But for most of us, it is far easier to accept God's forgiveness than to forgive ourselves. Why? Because we can forgive, but unlike God we can't forget.  If we don't allow the grace of God to saturate and sanctify our sinful memories, we continue to experience false guilt over confessed sin.  And our feeling of guilt becomes the cage that keeps us from chasing the Wild Goose.
 
Guilt has a shrinking effect. It shrinks our dreams. It shrinks our relationships. It shrinks our hearts. It shrinks our lives to the size of our greatest failures.
 
Grace has the opposite effect. It expands our dreams. It expands our relationships. It expands our hearts. And it gives us courage to chase the Wild Goose all the way to the ends of the earth.
 
Sin – Grace = Guilt
Sin + Grace = Gratitude.
 
Band of brothers, are you free from the guilt of sin? Are you holding on to unconfessed sin?  Free yourself today and come out of the cage of guilt and experience the grace and forgiveness of God.
 
Join us on Saturday @ 7:00am in the youth room at Crossroads as we continue our Wild Goose Chase.
 
To God be the glory….
 
Mark

Paul and Nancy Cline's Story

Paul Johnson's Story

Rich Butler's Story

This week we lost one of our friends to cancer. Chris Smock has been a portrait of faith, perseverance and hope. Monday, he went to be with Jesus. However, in the last 2 years, Chris has seen many miracles in his life. The doctors gave Chris a few months to live over a year ago, but we know now that God had some amazing plans for this man. In this time, he had his marriage restored, he solidified his salvation, he led his 12 year old son to Christ and has left a solid legacy for his family. The testimony is topped off this week when the florist arrived at the church to deliver some flowers for the funeral. After some talks with Brian Woodard, our Serve Pastor, this man realized that the best way to face eternity is with Jesus. On Wednesday in the empty auditorium, adorned with one bouqet of flowers that he brought, this man knelt down and gave his heart to Jesus. God is so good...faithful...and always on mission!

Stephen Cope's Story