For those who haven't already heard, this month we said goodbye to the Becker family as their time at Crossroads came to an end. After spending years here in south Dublin sharing Christ's love and founding the ministry and the church, God has called them back to the States to take up a new role in a church in Pennsylvania. We held a going-away celebration for them at the Centre a few weeks ago and it was a really encouraging day as many people came to say their goodbyes, and it was a real testament to their influence in lives here over the years as there must have been well over a hundred people in throughout the day. Their departure though does not mean that they will no longer be involved in the ministry however, as Scott and Rebekah plan to continue working with us on a consultancy basis, and we hope to see them over to help out with camps and other special functions from time to time. Please continue to pray for them as they get settled into their new role in the States!
Many people have been asking what will happen to the future of Crossroads now that the Beckers have gone. What we can say to this is that although there is a bit of uncertainty during this time of transition, the plan for the future of Crossroads is for us to continue building on the work already started and our prayer is that we will see the ministry grow more and more in the coming months and years. God has been so good in bringing people to step into the leadership roles left vacant, and this is part of what we would like to tell you about. But perhaps the most important thing we can say to reassure everyone is to let you know that the ethos and vision of the church and ministry will remain the same and will continue to serve as the foundation for all that we do in the future. This is an excerpt from our church website to remind you of what the basis of our vision is:
Who Are We
We are a group of people committed to following Jesus Christ. We desire to live our lives as a reflection of His love. We study the Bible as the fully inspired Word of God, and desire to apply it to our everyday lives. We desire to know God and to make Him known. Our focus is to motivate one another to love God and love people in the way that we are loved by God.
Our Purpose
The purpose of Crossroads Church is to worship God, reach those without Christ, and strengthen lives, in Christ, across generations.
Our Motto
Meeting people at the crossroads of life and motivating them to be who God wants them to be.
Our Mission
Crossroads Church moves people toward Christ, serves others through Christ and lives life in Christ.
WHO IS TAKING OVER?
God has been gracious enough to bring a strong team of people to help lead Crossroads into this next stage. As there are a lot of things that go on at the Centre and in the community, as many are already aware, we are fortunate to have a diverse team to hopefully accommodate the diversity of the ministries here.
Caleb and Karen Parrow have been involved at Crossroads since May 2015, and have stepped into leadership roles since the Beckers left. Caleb will be serving as the pastor of Crossroads church and overseeing the leadership and vision of Crossroads ministries. He also hopes to be organising activities and Bible studies for other men in the future. Caleb's wife, Karen has a real heart for families and will be leading a lot of the mother and toddler mornings as well as other events for women and children. Both Caleb and Karen have a lot of experience in addiction treatment and hope to look for ways to do outreach in the community in this area as well.
Caoimhe Twist has been involved with Crossroads for the last 4 years and has actually been in a leadership role here for a while. Many people in the community will already know Caoimhe from all the work she has done in kids camps over the years and as she has formed a lot of relationships with people in the community during that time as well. She will be leading most of the kids and youth camps from now on as well as leading in the community outreach ministry.
The last (but certainly not least!) member of the leadership team is Michelle Loveley, who will be managing the cafe and the running of a lot of the activities at the centre. It is Michelle's goal to make sure every time you come into the centre you are given a warm and friendly welcome, which you are always sure to find! You will most likely see one or some of us around the centre quite a lot and we are all more than happy to have you, so feel free to call in or contact us whenever you like, whether it's to visit us for church, to try out a mums and tots morning, if you would like us to pray for you, or even if you just want a chat over a coffee and make some new friends, you will always find a warm welcome.
On top of the leadership team there is also a number of helpers and volunteers that will be doing so much around the centre, everything from serving, setting rooms up, cleaning and tidying up, doing administration and bookkeeping, and so many other things, for which we are really grateful and the Centre couldn't run without them. There really is a great atmosphere around the place all the time and we want to make sure everyone feels as involved as they would like to be.
WHAT EVENTS AND ACTIVITIES WILL BE GOING ON?
Basically, we would like to keep doing most of the same activities as you may have been used to already. The church services on Sunday will be continuing, they begin at 11 AM but the doors are open from 10:30. There is also a prayer time on Thursdays at 6 PM, which you are always welcome to come to. There will also be the usual weekday events as well, including toddler mornings on Wednesday from 9:30-11:15 AM and kids free play on Tuesday mornings. We also will be continuing on with the monthly clothes swaps, so on the first Thursday and Friday of each month you are welcome to bring whatever used clothes (adult or children) as well as old books, toys, high chairs (that sort of thing!) you want to pass on to someone else, and you can have a look around and take anything you need or want as well. These are always really fun days and usually really busy so please feel free to pop in sometime! There will also be kids camps and clubs throughout the year, seasonal events around Christmas and Easter times, and we hope to start up the international meals again soon as well. We have a couple of rooms in the centre that we will be able to rent out as well for very reasonable prices for teachings, trainings, counselling, language/music lessons so if you are interested in possibly renting out of the rooms give us a call and we can meet up to discuss this with you. On top of all this we are praying and planning to start new activities and events so stay in touch with us to see what more will be going on in the future.
The best way to stay up to date with what is going on at Crossroads is by word of mouth, so feel free to come by and talk with us and others around the centre, or to send us a text, drop us an email, or give us a call. Another good way to stay informed (at least for all you social media fans out there!) is to like and follow our Facebook and Twitter pages, and to watch this blog space as well. We intend to keep everyone informed on these pages as much as we can, so go ahead and like and follow us online!
HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED IN THE MINISTRY, AND HOW CAN I HELP AND SUPPORT CROSSROADS?
If you are in the area, as we have already said, you are more than welcome to come along and we would love to stay connected with you, through the church if you are looking for a local fellowship to join and connect with (or even just to visit), through dropping in to make friends and have a chat with people in a warm and friendly environment, or through helping and volunteering at the centre, we always want to welcome you and whatever help and support you want to bring. The most important thing we want to see here is people connecting with and getting to know God through Jesus Christ, and likewise connecting with other people as well. Again, feel free to contact any of us on the leadership team to ask us more.
In order for Crossroads to continue running, of course there are a lot of expenses involved. We are always working really hard to cover these expenses and God has provided for us miraculously over the years and continues to do so all the time, but if you are interested in helping us by supporting us financially this would be greatly appreciated! If this is something you feel led to do than please contact us and let us know.
Lastly, and especially for those who want to be involved with Crossroads who may not be in the area, we believe strongly in the power of prayer, and we believe that without God's help the ministry would not be what it is. So please pray with and for us, wherever you are, that God's work and will would be done in and through us, that people would experience the fullness of Christ's love when they are here, and that the life-changing gospel of God's Word and the freedom-giving power of his Spirit would be at work in our city for as long as he has us here.
Here are some of our contact details:
Phone number: 087-364-9326
Church email address: crossroadschurchdublin@gmail.com
Facebook page: The name of the page is just "Crossroads Church Dublin" so you can look for us there.
Twitter: @CrossrChurch
Church website: http://www.crossroadschurchdublin.com/ (parts of this website may need to be updated a bit, please be patient with us while we work on this!)
We hope this makes things a bit clearer about what is going on at Crossroads now and what it will look like going forward. Ultimately we want this to be a place where people can experience God's love for them through us, and even come to know him for themselves. I just want to share a section from the Bible that I think really sums up what we here at Crossroads want to introduce people to, from the book of Ephesians chapter 3 verses 16-19:
"...that according to the riches of his glory he (God) may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
The best way to stay up to date with what is going on at Crossroads is by word of mouth, so feel free to come by and talk with us and others around the centre, or to send us a text, drop us an email, or give us a call. Another good way to stay informed (at least for all you social media fans out there!) is to like and follow our Facebook and Twitter pages, and to watch this blog space as well. We intend to keep everyone informed on these pages as much as we can, so go ahead and like and follow us online!
HOW CAN I BE INVOLVED IN THE MINISTRY, AND HOW CAN I HELP AND SUPPORT CROSSROADS?
If you are in the area, as we have already said, you are more than welcome to come along and we would love to stay connected with you, through the church if you are looking for a local fellowship to join and connect with (or even just to visit), through dropping in to make friends and have a chat with people in a warm and friendly environment, or through helping and volunteering at the centre, we always want to welcome you and whatever help and support you want to bring. The most important thing we want to see here is people connecting with and getting to know God through Jesus Christ, and likewise connecting with other people as well. Again, feel free to contact any of us on the leadership team to ask us more.
In order for Crossroads to continue running, of course there are a lot of expenses involved. We are always working really hard to cover these expenses and God has provided for us miraculously over the years and continues to do so all the time, but if you are interested in helping us by supporting us financially this would be greatly appreciated! If this is something you feel led to do than please contact us and let us know.
Lastly, and especially for those who want to be involved with Crossroads who may not be in the area, we believe strongly in the power of prayer, and we believe that without God's help the ministry would not be what it is. So please pray with and for us, wherever you are, that God's work and will would be done in and through us, that people would experience the fullness of Christ's love when they are here, and that the life-changing gospel of God's Word and the freedom-giving power of his Spirit would be at work in our city for as long as he has us here.
Here are some of our contact details:
Phone number: 087-364-9326
Church email address: crossroadschurchdublin@gmail.com
Facebook page: The name of the page is just "Crossroads Church Dublin" so you can look for us there.
Twitter: @CrossrChurch
Church website: http://www.crossroadschurchdublin.com/ (parts of this website may need to be updated a bit, please be patient with us while we work on this!)
We hope this makes things a bit clearer about what is going on at Crossroads now and what it will look like going forward. Ultimately we want this to be a place where people can experience God's love for them through us, and even come to know him for themselves. I just want to share a section from the Bible that I think really sums up what we here at Crossroads want to introduce people to, from the book of Ephesians chapter 3 verses 16-19:
Blessings from all us here at Crossroads ministries!
