New Clubs Starting

Clubs are places to connect with new friends and enjoy your hobby. To register for a club go online at http://www.thecrossing.com/ click groups and the clubs. Below are descriptions of some new clubs.

Club: Dads and Sons  (Encourage Dad's to engage with their son's Costa Mesa)

Club: Disc Golf  (Also known as frisbee golf; fun and fellowship Huntington Beach)

Club: Hiking  (Friendship and Fellowship through Hiking Adventures)

Club: Kayaking (Friendship and fellowship through kayaking adventures. Sunset Beach)

Club: Motorcycle (Fellowship and Philanthropy through motorcycles)

Club: Sewing  (A sewing club emphasizing friendship and fellowship)

Club: Tender Hearts Scrapbooking (Friendship and charity through scrapbooking.)

Club: Trail Riders (Adventure and fellowship through trail riding)

Club:Running (Fellowship through common interest of running.  Sa every week 7:00 AM )

Mens Encounter

The word encounter means to “stumble upon” or “come across” . I ‘stumbled upon’ a passage in Genesis 5:24….its simple, just 4 words but it had an impact. Its reads ‘Enoch walked with God’. I believe most men want to walk with God but don’t know how or if they do they don’t keeping walking with Him.

I want to invite you to a Men’s Retreat on March 11-13th. This is a different kind of retreat! It will be local at O’neil Regional Park http://www.ocparks.com/oneillpark/ (Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons is 30 minutes from Costa Mesa). This retreat is limited to 80 people. We will be tent camping and the cost will be $50.

Simply put, I want men to Encounter God and learn to Walk with Him in Obedience and Passion. There is NO greater journey! We start off strong but slowly find ourselves distracted and discouraged. But what if we did 2011 differently?! Space is limited and this retreat will challenge you to GROW in your relationship with the Lord, be encouraged by other men and train you to stay the course.

To reserve your spot email back at pdetken@thecrossing.com. After 80 spots are reserved we will close the registration. O'Neill Regional Park is situated in beautiful Trabuco and Live Oak Canyons. The park is heavily wooded with coast live oak and sycamore trees. The hillsides surrounding the park are filled with cactus, wild buckwheat, sagebrush and chaparral of scrub oak, buckthorn and mountain mahogany. Trabuco and Hicky Creeks also meander through the park, flowing in winter and early spring, dry in summer and fall.

This is an ENCOUNTER you won’t want to miss!!

O'Neill Regional Park
30892 Trabuco Canyon Road
Trabuco Canyon, CA 92678
(949)923-2260 or (949)923-2256
oneillpark@ocparks.com

Spiritual Retreat October 22nd, 2011

What’s a spiritual retreat? It’s a personal and experiential way to experience Jesus. Through a unique setting (campsite) you will be led through a spiritual journey that will include prayer / extensive solitude with the Lord / transformational conversations

What day is the retreat? Saturday, October 22nd

What time is the one day retreat? 9am-2pm

Where is the retreat? O’Neil Regional Park at Trabuco Canyon (about 30 minutes south) here is the website http://www.ocparks.com/oneillpark/

Costs: The cost for the event $10.

What will we do all day? Overall you will be going through a spiritual journey that will include prayer, extended alone time with the Lord, spiritual exercises where we will walk us through, meditation and group discussion about some of the topics.

Space is limited so please rsvp if you plan on attending. RSVP at pdetken@thecrossing.com

Who is our speaker? William Gaultiere, Ph.D. is a Clinical Psychologist specializing in “Christian Soul Care” since 1987. He is the Executive Director of the New Hope Counseling Ministry at the Crystal Cathedral where he has trained over 1,000 Christian lay counselors. Bill has a certificate in spiritual direction, formation, and leadership from The Leadership Institute and he is affiliated with the Spiritual Formation Alliance. He offers spiritual direction to clients, spiritual formation to retreat groups, spiritual mentoring to individuals and groups, and consultation for pastors. And he has designed and implemented spiritual formation small groups for local churches. Bill is the author of three books, including A Walk with Your Shepherd: Psalm 23 and the 12 Steps of Recovery. Bill lives in Irvine, CA with his wife and three teenage children. To learn more about Bill and his ministry visit http://www.christiansoulcare.com/.

Clubs

Vision: Bridging the gap between believer and unbeliever through a non-threatening environment where relationships can take place.

Steps:

• Determine what kind of club you would like to start.

• Send Janice Roque jroque@thecrossing.com your club information:

• Name, Phone #, Email, Time of activity, Day of activity and Location of activity.

• Advertise your club starting February on the web.


Expectations of a Club

• Meet 2x’s a month for a minimum of one hour.

• Keep commitment for 3 months.

• Follow up with the people interested in your club within 24 hours.

• Pray for the people who attend your club.

• Create an environment that is NOT religious but rather relational.

• Have a ridiculous amount of fun!


Next Step: - Attend Spiritual Retreat 9-3pm at O’neil Park on February 19th
RSVP at pdetken@thecrossing.com

Crazy Love Groups

Details on Community Love Groups

• Series is on Love and 1Corinthians 13 and begins the weekend of March 5/6

• This is an all church spiritual journey.

• The series last 7 weeks.

• Groups begin the week of March 7th

• Each group is 2 hours and ends in 7 weeks.

• The groups will be discussing the weekend messages.

• You will be given the group curriculum and be taught how to use it in your group.

• You pick the day for your group that best works for you and the kind of group you desire (Example: men’s, women’s, couples, newly married, single..)


Details on Connection Love Groups:

• All these groups are on Campus.

• Monday, March 7th for Men

• Tuesday, March 8th for Singles

• Thursday, March 10th for Women

• Rest of information is as the same as above

Next Step: Group trainings will be February 15,16,17, or 21 6:30-8pm (You choose only ONE date that works best for you) RSVP at pdetken@thecrossing.com

Mentoring

Process of Mentoring

Step 1: Get a Mentor (Sign up by emailing us at pdetken@thecrossing.com)

Step 2: Begin reading Chazown by Craig Groeschel (chazown.com)

Step 3: Do a One on One Bible Study with your mentor choosing a book in the bible for 3 months starting in February and do an intentional discipleship



Mentoring Others

Step 1: Identify one person in your group to mentor or get assigned one person to mentor this year.

Step 2: Begin reading Chazown with them.

Step 3: Do a One on One Bible Study with your mentor choosing a book in the bible for 3 months starting in February and do an intentional discipleship meeting every other week for 3 months starting in February


Next Step: Saturday, February 19th - Spiritual Retreat 9-3pm

Vision Verse for Grow Ministry

Ephesians 4:1-16


1 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. 16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

Three things that tell us that we are spiritually growing

1) A desire to live a life that is worthy (1)

2) A desire to equip his people (12-13)

3) A desire to grow in love (16) Great Commandment and Great Commission

2010 Grow Ministry....A Year in Review

Grow Ministry: We exist to create spiritual environments that foster spiritual growth


Vision: To spiritually feed, teach others to feed themselves and to feed others.


A Year in Grow


• 700 people in groups

• 68 Spiritual Directors

• 205 people being mentored
• 700 people attended a Fuel class in 2010

• More people were helped through our peer counseling program than ever before.

• Couples Retreat

• Launched a divorce recovery group.

• Lifelines hit an all time high averaging 400 people on Friday nights with world renowned recovery speakers.

• Singles retreat

• Launch of a 7 week REFUEL summer bible study on the beatitudes

• Launch of a new grow admin team that makes it all happen.

• 90 new people commissioned into a new season of mentoring.

• Launch depression anxiety groups
• Beautiful Soul

• Spiritual Formation Leadership Team

• First Ever Couples Retreat

• National Day of Prayer
• Launch 6 week Divorce Recovery Group

• Retreat for Spiritual Directors

• Singles Retreat (Murrieta)

• John Townsend (Launch a 6 week experience)
• RE-FUEL

• Chazown Commissioning

• Clubs Launched

• Connection Singles, Mens and Womens Launched

• Connection Act of Kindness

January 15th will ROCK your WORLD!

On January 15th from 6:45-8:30pm after the 5:30pm service I invite you to come to our 2011 Grow orientation to discover ways to find community. This meeting is open to those currently leading in grow, those being mentored and anyone desiring to get connected or wanting information on the 2011 Grow ministry season.

We will be discussing:
• The upcoming Love Series starting in March and how you can participate in this 7 week all church experience.
• Spiritual growth retreats in 2011
• Mentoring opportunities
• New Groups and Clubs starting.

Whether you’re a new believer or a mature believer you’ll want to attend this gathering! (*This is a pre-requisite for those being mentored in 2011) Finally, if you haven’t gotten connected into some form of community check out these three options!

Community Groups – These groups meet in homes all throughout Orange County getting into bible and topical studies. Click http://www.thecrossing.com/groups

Connection Groups – We started our 4 week Connection groups last week, come check it out. Tuesday is for singles, Wednesday for men and Thursday for women. Click http://www.thecrossing.com/story.aspx?storyid=203

Club – Ever wanted to simply go something you already love doing with people from the church. These clubs offer you a chance to find community in a fun environment doing something you already like to do. http://www.thecrossing.com/groups  click groups then clubs

In His Hands,

Patrick Detken
Pastor of Grow Ministries

A Memorial Service Has a Funny Way of Reminding Us What Matters Most

Memorial services have a funny was of reminding us what matters most. When you think about it, what is it that you want said at your memorial service?  You see each and every day that we are given is a gift. Each and every day that we are given is an opportunity. An opportunity to bless others or curse them. An opportunity to extend forgiveness of hold onto a grudge. An opportunity to give someone a second chance or give up on a friend. Every day is an opportunity. Every decision that we make builds on another and creates the fabric of our life.

What do you want to be remembered for?

There was a story about a little boy who grew to be a man and wrote this poem about God…

He said when you die…

God won’t ask you what you did to help yourself. He will ask what you did to help others.

God won’t ask how many friends you had. He will ask how you were a friend to people.

God won’t ask what you did to protect your rights. He will ask what you did to protect the rights of others.

God won’t ask what neighborhood you lived in. He will ask what other neighborhoods you visited.

God won’t ask how many material possessions you had. He will ask whether those material possessions dictated your life.

God won’t ask how many fancy clothes you had in your closet. He will ask how many of those clothes you gave away to someone who needed them.

God won’t ask the square footage of your home. He will ask how many people you helped who didn’t have a house.

God won’t ask about the mistakes you made.He will ask about the content of your character and the condition of your heart.

Allow God to work on your character and change your heart....He REALLY can!!

Being a Dude is Tough!

I've been a man most of my life. :) Seriously, many of us didn't have the best role models as men. We want to be good dads and good husbands but we find ourselves stumbling though life simply trying to make less mistakes than those around us. Men don't know how to be spiritual leaders or why they were created. But God created us to fulfill His purpose in our life. Also, did you know that over 40% of people would say they don’t feel like they have a real friend that would be there in times of need. 40%!! But God didn't create us to be an island. We need one another and we need other brothers to help us along the way.That's why we created Connection Groups. Connection Groups for Men meet on campus from 6:30-8:30pm on Wednesdays and the cost of FREE.

• Connection Groups for MEN begins WEDNESDAY, January 5th – We are starting a 4 week series called DISCIPLINES of a GODLY MAN where we will discuss what makes up a Godly man and how to make a difference in this world. Groups are in the kidzone building. Sign up by emailing pdetken@thecrossing.com

Fear of Rejection

In the book of Acts you see a new community coming together and before they were called Christians they were called the way. And this new community had a new way of doing community.


Acts 2:42-47 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The word devoted means they were in it with one another. You see this new community formed what was called the one another’s in the New Testament and there are over 50 one another statements, things like love one another, encourage one another, forgive one another, serve one another and you see the formation of people being in one anothers life. God didn’t create you to be an island.

But what happens is we have this strange dynamic going on. We desire to be known but fear it like nothing else. Because if I put myself out there and you know that I am not a perfect person what could you do…yeah, reject me. And the fear of rejection outweighs the need for community.

Did you know that over 40% of people would say they don’t feel like they have a friend that would be there in times of need. 40%!! And some of us have stopped trying because we have been rejected and yeah no one can hurt you but the truth is that no one really knows you either. Because you risk nothing you also gain nothing.

That's why we created Connection Groups. Connection Groups meet on campus from 6:30-8:30pm and the cost of FREE.

• Connection Groups for SINGLES begins TUESDAY, January 4th – We are starting a 4 week series called FEAR FACTOR where we will look at some of the major fears that keep us from living totally surrendered to God. These co-ed groups will discuss topics like the fear of rejection, the fear of failure and the fear of the unknown. Meet new friends and encourage one another along this journey. Groups are in the youth room (Garage)

• Connection Groups for MEN begins WEDNESDAY, January 5th – We are starting a 4 week series called DISCIPLINES of a GODLY MAN where we will discuss what makes up a Godly man and how to make a difference in this world. Groups are in the kidzone building.

• Connection Groups for WOMEN begins THURSDAY, January 6th – We are starting a 4 week series called CARPE DIEM . God does not want us to waste our lives away. He wants us to "seize the day" and live every day of our lives on purpose. He's given us a reason for living; to be like Jesus. It's not going to happen yesterday, so we must forget the past. We can't put it off till tomorrow, because tomorrow may never come. It has to happen right now, and it will - if we will "seize the day." We hope you seize the day and join us for 4 weeks as we connect with other women, learn and GROW! Groups in the warehouse.


Contact Cyndi Clark at cclark@thecrossing.com to RSVP for the CARPE DIEM series or for further questions.

Contact Patrick Detken at pdetken@thecrossing.com to RSVP for the FEAR FACTOR series or DISCIPLINES series.

*No childcare is available for these series and you MUST rsvp for Connections.