As an individual Christian, and as a church collectively, it’s important to look back on where we’ve been and how God has faithfully sustained, upheld, and worked in our lives. No doubt, 2023 has held many wonderful things, alongside hard and challenging things, for you. The practice of reflecting on the good and the not so good is a rhythm that gives life to the believer and renews our hope and trust in God.
Psalm 36:5 says, “Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies.” God’s faithfulness is immeasurable. So, let’s remember his faithfulness in our lives and our church in 2023 and prayerfully look forward to what’s coming in 2024.
A Look Back at 2023
God Did This
Our theme this Fall has been You Belong Here. We’re a body of believers across so many diverse backgrounds, but we’re united in Jesus. We wanted to celebrate this with our photo walls to capture the faces of our community.
We also asked you to share some of the ways God has been at work in your life. With the prompt God Did This—there are dozens of stories of God’s faithfulness, big and small, pinned on our walls.
Here is some of what you shared:
“He saved my family from the crumbling effects of addiction.”
“God saved me from sex trafficking.”
“God carried me through the pain of miscarriage.”
“God saved my marriage from sin and adultery.”
“God taught me my identity is in Jesus, not my job or reputation.”
“When I was at my lowest, when I felt alone, and was deep in my sin... Jesus helped me find community that I needed and helped me feel welcome.”
More Students Believing that Jesus is More
It’s a challenging time to be a student. It may feel like there are countless outlets and opportunities to connect with people through activities and social media. And yet, this is one of the loneliest times to be a teenager or college student. We’re so thankful that students have a place to connect with others in community at our church. 2023 has brought continued growth and involvement in Crossing Students and Veritas (The Crossing’s college ministry).
Follow Crossing Students and Veritas on Instagram to see how God is working through these ministries:
Crossing Middle School: @crossingmschool
Crossing High School: @crossinghschool
Veritas: @veritascomo
Summer Nights
In September, we gathered in the courtyard for our annual end-of-summer event with food trucks, games, and worship. Summer Nights has become a church family celebration that we look forward to every year! We watched 40 members of our church getting baptized, along with more on Sunday morning. We hope this continues to serve as a gathering to connect members of our church for a special night of worship as we celebrate ways God is at work.
What’s Ahead in 2024?
New Sermon Series on the Gospel of Luke
Our new series through the Gospel of Luke started in December. The theme: Unreasonable Hospitality. Jesus’s love welcomes people our society overlooks, offering dignity that is often denied. But with God, there are no outsiders. Which means, we can bring his love and his kingdom into our love and care for others.
The sermon series through the entire Gospel of Luke will continue through most of 2024. Be on the lookout for parts two and three of the devotional workbook that accompany the Luke sermon series.
You can download Part One here.
Small Group Sign-ups
The new year is a good time to change rhythms and evaluate priorities. Small groups are some of the best things we do to connect with others consistently. If you’ve been hopeful to meet with others regularly and grow in your faith, this could be a great place to start.
We have small groups for adults over 30, adults in their twenties, college students, and high school and middle school students.
Serve with ForColumbia
Save the date for the 10th year of serving Columbia on April 27, 2024! We always love joining this city-wide effort with other churches to love and serve our neighbors in practical ways across our community. Volunteer registration will open in March.
Visit ForColumbia.com for more information.
What to Pray For:
Space for New People on Sundays
For the first time in a few years, we’re back to offering two rooms for many grades in Crossing Kids on Sunday mornings. While this is wonderful news, we continue to need volunteers so we can offer this space for kids. Please pray that God would bring the people we need to keep these rooms open.
If you don’t serve on Sundays, consider getting involved in Crossing Kids. We will continue to keep these classrooms open as we have the volunteers to serve.
Learn more about serving in Crossing Kids.
Church Finances
There are more people giving financially to The Crossing in 2023 than ever. This shows that more people are calling our church home and want to give financially. However, with economic instability, it’s difficult for people to give like they have in the past, and our 2023 giving was below expenses.
Every tithe and financial gift our church receives goes directly to fund the ministries we have—care teams, student meetings and college worship services, support groups, studies, small groups, and more. We also give away 10% of our budget to missionary efforts locally and around the world. Our budget reflects our desire for more people to know that Jesus is more.
Please pray for our church’s finances—and consider how you can give—so that we won’t have to cut back on valuable ministry plans in 2024. We continue to trust that God will give us the necessary resources.
Find out more about giving to The Crossing.
It’s clear that God is at work at The Crossing! May we continue to pray for what God is doing and the people he’s impacting, and find ways to give to and serve a church that we love!
