1 00:00:01,960 --> 00:00:04,240 Well, crossing family, Happy New Year. 2 00:00:04,240 --> 00:00:07,680 I'm so excited to be able to spend some time with you today. 3 00:00:07,680 --> 00:00:11,240 But what I'd like to do is I would like to start our time off 4 00:00:11,240 --> 00:00:14,600 together today and in this new year in prayer. 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:19,240 So if you would do me a huge favor and extend your hands 6 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:23,400 forward like this, as if you were in a spot of surrender and 7 00:00:23,400 --> 00:00:25,520 ready to receive, I'd like to pray over you. 8 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:30,440 Would you bow your heads? Heavenly Father, this church is 9 00:00:30,440 --> 00:00:33,400 nothing. This service is nothing. 10 00:00:34,280 --> 00:00:39,680 My sermons nothing. I'm nothing without your 11 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:43,520 presence. So we're asking you to do what 12 00:00:43,520 --> 00:00:45,920 only you can do in ways that only you can do it. 13 00:00:47,280 --> 00:00:49,640 Would you inhabit this place with your presence? 14 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:52,120 Would you release your spirit into our lives? 15 00:00:52,120 --> 00:00:54,040 Take ground that has never been taken before? 16 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,080 Would you start a fire in this church that Satan can't put out? 17 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,320 God, we proclaim that you are undefeated. 18 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:05,519 You can do mighty and miraculous things at a moment's notice. 19 00:01:06,280 --> 00:01:09,880 And you have done marvelous work in our midst. 20 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,080 You have blessed us and this church in ways we do not 21 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,880 deserve. And God, we are greedy for the 22 00:01:16,880 --> 00:01:19,400 advancement of your Kingdom. And so we are asking you to do 23 00:01:19,400 --> 00:01:22,760 it again. We've heard stories of revival 24 00:01:22,760 --> 00:01:26,000 and region wide transformation, and we want you to do it again. 25 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:30,960 And we want you to do it in US. God, would you soften our 26 00:01:30,960 --> 00:01:34,240 hearts? Would you steal our commitment 27 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,760 to you? Would you make us committed to 28 00:01:37,760 --> 00:01:42,080 your ways and to your Kingdom? Heavenly Father, would you make 29 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:45,960 us allergic to apathy, allergic to laziness, and allergic to 30 00:01:45,960 --> 00:01:52,240 comfort and instead create in us a desire to sacrifice for a 31 00:01:52,240 --> 00:01:56,440 cause, to give our lives for a worthy mission? 32 00:01:57,840 --> 00:02:00,080 And God, by your grace, would you allow us to make this region 33 00:02:00,080 --> 00:02:02,120 the hardest place on planet earth to get the hell from? 34 00:02:02,720 --> 00:02:04,200 In Jesus name we pray. Amen. 35 00:02:06,520 --> 00:02:09,199 I want to welcome those of you who are joining online and 36 00:02:09,199 --> 00:02:12,200 inside, as well as those of you who are joining us at one of our 37 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,400 physical locations. I also want to welcome those of 38 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:18,480 you who joined us at one of our Christmas Eve services and made 39 00:02:18,480 --> 00:02:22,120 a commitment to go on a journey for one year. 40 00:02:22,480 --> 00:02:25,120 I believe that if you stay the course that God will do 41 00:02:25,120 --> 00:02:27,800 something special and significant, significant in your 42 00:02:27,800 --> 00:02:29,680 life. And you need to know that the 43 00:02:29,680 --> 00:02:33,560 heartbeat of this church is for you to find and experience an 44 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:37,320 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 45 00:02:37,640 --> 00:02:40,880 And before I jump all the way into the message, I do want to 46 00:02:40,880 --> 00:02:43,600 offer a big thanks and I'm going to ask you guys to help me do 47 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:44,880 it. Would you put your hands 48 00:02:44,880 --> 00:02:47,280 together for all of our staff and difference makers who made 49 00:02:47,640 --> 00:02:54,120 one of our 42 in person Christmas Eve services and our 50 00:02:54,120 --> 00:02:56,960 six online services happened, You need to hear me say this. 51 00:02:56,960 --> 00:02:58,920 We could not have done it without you. 52 00:02:58,920 --> 00:03:02,800 So to all of you who served in sacrifice over a week, that is, 53 00:03:02,840 --> 00:03:06,000 you know, typically all about shopping and spending time with 54 00:03:06,000 --> 00:03:08,000 family. You gave up some of that time 55 00:03:08,320 --> 00:03:10,240 and you know, hopefully some of the time you're spending here. 56 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:13,400 You know, your wife couldn't shop and so it, you know, saved 57 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:15,160 you a little bit of money on the Christmas bill, but you made a 58 00:03:15,160 --> 00:03:17,000 huge difference in the lives of people. 59 00:03:17,440 --> 00:03:20,160 As I said, our mission as a church is to help people find an 60 00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:23,520 intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ. 61 00:03:23,520 --> 00:03:27,800 Jesus said of himself for the Son of Man, that's Jesus in Luke 62 00:03:27,800 --> 00:03:33,760 chapter 19, verse 10, came to seek and to save the lost. 63 00:03:33,960 --> 00:03:37,840 That is the mission of the church, and that means that it 64 00:03:37,840 --> 00:03:41,360 is to be the mission of the people who attend the church, 65 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,040 who are the church. So we as a group of people all 66 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,400 across this region want to be people who are about the very 67 00:03:48,400 --> 00:03:52,840 things that Jesus was about. We want the focus of our lives 68 00:03:52,840 --> 00:03:57,320 to be focused on the very things that Jesus focused his life and 69 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:01,680 his death to achieve. You might remember that last 70 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,560 year on Christmas Eve we launched our Weaver Campus to 71 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:07,920 help the people in that region find what we have found in 72 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,280 Jesus. They had 377 people in 73 00:04:11,280 --> 00:04:13,800 attendance at their launch last year on Christmas Eve, which is 74 00:04:13,800 --> 00:04:16,680 fantastic. It gets better. 75 00:04:16,680 --> 00:04:19,760 Your hands are going to get tired and many of you you guys 76 00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:24,960 joined me in at 3:00 every day praying that they would have 300 77 00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,200 people in attendance 4 weeks in a row. 78 00:04:27,960 --> 00:04:32,720 Their lowest attendance was on a was 161 on January 17th. 79 00:04:33,320 --> 00:04:36,160 They were over 301 time in March and one time in April. 80 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:39,360 They were over 303 times in August and in September. 81 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:43,960 They were over 300 twice in October and in on November 9th 82 00:04:44,760 --> 00:04:48,600 they hit their fourth weekend in a row over 300 and on Christmas 83 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:54,560 Eve of 2025 they had 536 people in attendance. 84 00:04:56,320 --> 00:05:00,000 One of my favorite things I got to do this year is my boys were 85 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,120 gracious and they set their alarms for 3:00 too. 86 00:05:03,120 --> 00:05:05,200 And so sometimes I would pray for the Weaver campus. 87 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:09,600 Sometimes, sometimes they pray for the Weaver campus, Dang it. 88 00:05:09,920 --> 00:05:13,000 And one of the times when my kid was praying, he said God don't 89 00:05:13,000 --> 00:05:16,040 just increase their numbers, increase their faith. 90 00:05:17,560 --> 00:05:21,040 You might remember that last year we launched Vine Co Vine Co 91 00:05:21,040 --> 00:05:23,680 Counseling Company. We wanted people in our region 92 00:05:23,680 --> 00:05:26,320 to know that there is help and that there is hope when you are 93 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:30,240 connected to the Vine of Christ. We started with one staff 94 00:05:30,240 --> 00:05:32,320 member, but we just hired our 4th. 95 00:05:32,720 --> 00:05:37,960 We've completed 817 sessions, had 65 clients successfully 96 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:42,880 complete a pathway, and we are presently serving over 205 97 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:47,200 clients all across this region because of your faith and your 98 00:05:47,200 --> 00:05:49,040 participation. Isn't that incredible? 99 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,400 During one of the very first meetings that I had with our 100 00:05:55,400 --> 00:05:57,960 elders and, and our elders of the people who oversee our 101 00:05:57,960 --> 00:05:59,800 church, I'll unpack a little bit of that next week. 102 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,000 I told them that I wanted us as a church to focus on getting 103 00:06:04,000 --> 00:06:07,280 better in every area of ministry. 104 00:06:07,840 --> 00:06:10,680 And we believe that if we focused on getting better, being 105 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:13,400 really good stewards of what God had already given us, that the 106 00:06:13,400 --> 00:06:16,520 bigger, more reaching, more people would naturally take care 107 00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:18,840 of itself. And so we wanted to be good 108 00:06:18,840 --> 00:06:21,440 stewards of what God had already placed in our care. 109 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:26,840 And one of the big lifts of last year was to increase our focus 110 00:06:26,840 --> 00:06:29,880 and our attention in the area of discipleship. 111 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:34,440 A team of dedicated people worked hard behind the scenes 112 00:06:34,440 --> 00:06:40,360 for 18 months to develop and implement A discipleship 113 00:06:40,360 --> 00:06:46,880 strategy here at The Crossing. But our biggest fear was that 114 00:06:46,880 --> 00:06:51,800 statistically, story after story, churches that tend to 115 00:06:51,800 --> 00:06:57,800 focus on discipleship end up losing their their evangelistic 116 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:00,960 edge. What ends up happening is a 117 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,960 church with the good godly goal of trying to be focused more on 118 00:07:03,960 --> 00:07:07,720 discipleship end up becoming more concerned about growing 119 00:07:07,720 --> 00:07:10,960 their people than about reaching the lost. 120 00:07:11,640 --> 00:07:15,800 It is one of the cruel tricks of Satan and devastating realities 121 00:07:15,800 --> 00:07:17,880 of churches all across the nation. 122 00:07:18,800 --> 00:07:21,440 While trying to do the good thing of focusing on 123 00:07:21,440 --> 00:07:26,080 discipleship, churches can lose their heart for the mission of 124 00:07:26,200 --> 00:07:31,360 Jesus to seek and save the lost. So behind the scenes, we set an 125 00:07:31,360 --> 00:07:36,160 ambitious goal of having 10,000 DB s s in 2025. 126 00:07:36,760 --> 00:07:40,640 We wanted 10,000 times for people to open the Word of God 127 00:07:40,640 --> 00:07:43,720 with other people. We wanted them to discover a sin 128 00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:48,240 to avoid, a promise to claim, an example to follow, and a command 129 00:07:48,560 --> 00:07:52,040 to obey. And then we wanted them to take 130 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:56,720 a radical step of faith and pray a prayer in faith that the Holy 131 00:07:56,720 --> 00:08:01,080 Spirit would reveal to them not just how they were to obey that 132 00:08:01,080 --> 00:08:05,160 passage, but who they were to share that passage with. 133 00:08:07,480 --> 00:08:12,720 We were so committed to this as a team that we made this the 134 00:08:12,720 --> 00:08:17,200 singular most important metric as a staff. 135 00:08:18,520 --> 00:08:21,320 Which means that regardless of how everything else went, we 136 00:08:21,320 --> 00:08:25,440 were going to measure ourselves pass fail on whether or not we 137 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:28,360 hit 10,000 DBSS. So that way we could say we were 138 00:08:28,360 --> 00:08:33,520 serious about discipleship. And while we started off slow, I 139 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:37,679 am pleased to announce that as of December 31st, 2025, we had 140 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:46,840 10,258 DBSS as a church. There were 11 people in our 141 00:08:46,840 --> 00:08:52,720 church who led over 100 DBSS. But my favorite stat is that two 142 00:08:52,720 --> 00:08:55,800 of those people were non staff members. 143 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:01,200 People just like you who have regular jobs with regular bosses 144 00:09:01,400 --> 00:09:06,080 who made a commitment to over 100 times part the Word of God 145 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:08,120 was somebody that they cared about. 146 00:09:08,680 --> 00:09:11,240 And I will be sharing some of these stories with you over the 147 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:17,040 course of the year. You might be wondering, did our 148 00:09:17,040 --> 00:09:21,680 emphasis on discipleship have a negative effect on our 149 00:09:21,680 --> 00:09:25,120 evangelistic efforts? Which was our biggest fear? 150 00:09:26,720 --> 00:09:32,240 By God's grace, I am pleased to announce, not in the slightest. 151 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:36,960 In fact, God ended up moving in one of the most powerful ways in 152 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:40,800 the history of our church. We had our best year ever in the 153 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:44,680 area of generosity. We sent over $250,000 to our 154 00:09:44,680 --> 00:09:46,200 mission partners across the globe. 155 00:09:46,480 --> 00:09:50,160 And presently as I stand here, the sun does not set on the 156 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,280 ministry that happens at the crossing or is funded through 157 00:09:53,280 --> 00:09:57,240 the crossing through you. As you know, we're doing an In 158 00:09:57,240 --> 00:10:01,840 Your Corner push through April of 2027 and part of that goal is 159 00:10:01,840 --> 00:10:04,560 to fund capital projects for our mission partners. 160 00:10:04,560 --> 00:10:07,520 And our hope is that of the next two years we will send over 161 00:10:07,520 --> 00:10:10,560 $1,000,000 through our planned giving and our In Your Corner 162 00:10:10,560 --> 00:10:12,720 offerings to support their importance and work. 163 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:16,000 Be on the lookout for upcoming mission trips so that you can go 164 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:19,320 and join and see what God is actually doing all around the 165 00:10:19,320 --> 00:10:22,400 world. The crossing inside our ministry 166 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:25,000 to those in jail or in prison had a banner year. 167 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:27,840 Right now we are in the Adams County Jail and Pike County 168 00:10:27,840 --> 00:10:30,680 Jail. We offer five services a weekend 169 00:10:30,680 --> 00:10:33,760 at Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling, as 170 00:10:33,760 --> 00:10:37,120 well as servants in the women's prison in Vandalia, MO. 171 00:10:37,560 --> 00:10:40,760 In 2021, the crossing inside had 30 baptisms. 172 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:47,000 They had 51 in 20/22/91. In 2023 and in 2024, we 173 00:10:47,000 --> 00:10:51,600 celebrated 99 baptisms. But this year we are celebrating 174 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:59,920 159 inside baptisms. And if you're looking for 175 00:10:59,920 --> 00:11:02,560 something to put in your prayer book, presently we have doors 176 00:11:02,560 --> 00:11:06,600 opening to launch additional locations in Rushville, 177 00:11:06,800 --> 00:11:11,600 Jacksonville and Galesburg. Our women's conference sold out 178 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:13,320 for the first time ever. It was the first conference 179 00:11:13,320 --> 00:11:17,520 we've ever had that sold out with 1300 women in attendance. 180 00:11:17,800 --> 00:11:20,800 Yeah, unbelievable. I was there. 181 00:11:23,240 --> 00:11:26,800 Don't say the course, Clayton. It was incredible. 182 00:11:27,360 --> 00:11:35,400 To those of you who were not able to attend, we're sorry and 183 00:11:35,400 --> 00:11:37,960 we're on it. Our hope is to launch 2 184 00:11:38,000 --> 00:11:42,560 back-to-back conferences in 2026 so that every woman, every 185 00:11:42,560 --> 00:11:46,200 mother, and every daughter who wants to attend can attend. 186 00:11:46,360 --> 00:11:50,880 So be on the lookout for that. Ladies Camp Crossing Camp had 187 00:11:50,880 --> 00:11:54,000 its best year ever. One of our core values as a 188 00:11:54,000 --> 00:11:56,320 church is downward. We will gladly give up the 189 00:11:56,320 --> 00:12:00,280 things we love for a future generation we love even more. 190 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,960 To our incredible This Gen. team at all of our locations, both 191 00:12:03,960 --> 00:12:06,680 staff and difference makers, thank you. 192 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:10,600 Thank you for making a big difference in the lives of the 193 00:12:10,600 --> 00:12:12,680 kids and the students in this region. 194 00:12:13,200 --> 00:12:15,760 To those of you who joined Jennifer and I in providing 195 00:12:15,760 --> 00:12:19,360 funds for scholarships, and to those of you who participated in 196 00:12:19,360 --> 00:12:23,080 our golf outings that fund additional scholarships, thank 197 00:12:23,080 --> 00:12:26,000 you. What you did made a Kingdom 198 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:30,360 impact. You see, in 2021, we had 1061 199 00:12:30,360 --> 00:12:34,760 kids attend camp. In 2022 we had 12113 kids attend 200 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,240 camp. In 2023 we had 13179. 201 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:44,280 In 2024, we set another record with 1608 kids going to camp. 202 00:12:44,440 --> 00:12:46,520 But I'm pleased to report that for the fifth year in a row, 203 00:12:46,520 --> 00:12:52,080 they shattered a record and we sent 17151 kids to camp. 204 00:12:55,280 --> 00:12:59,320 Our Uncommon Conference set another record with 12130 men in 205 00:12:59,320 --> 00:13:01,480 attendance. And what you guys might not know 206 00:13:01,480 --> 00:13:05,280 is that during the entire week of Uncommon, behind the scenes, 207 00:13:05,280 --> 00:13:08,880 we host pastors and churches from across the country and we 208 00:13:08,880 --> 00:13:11,920 give away all of our learnings and all of our resources to them 209 00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:14,520 for free. We take them out to nice meals, 210 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:16,600 we take them golfing, and we allow them to meet with our 211 00:13:16,600 --> 00:13:18,800 different teams and learn. And we cover all of their 212 00:13:18,800 --> 00:13:21,400 expenses except travel. It is our gift to them. 213 00:13:21,520 --> 00:13:23,760 We want to be in their corner as well. 214 00:13:24,480 --> 00:13:27,600 We also allow pastors to attend our conference every year free 215 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,080 of charge, no matter where they are, even if they're locally, 216 00:13:30,240 --> 00:13:31,720 because we just want to help them. 217 00:13:31,920 --> 00:13:34,680 And some of them have said, hey, would you help us launch an 218 00:13:34,680 --> 00:13:37,920 uncommon at our church? And so we seed them with 219 00:13:37,920 --> 00:13:42,960 finances in order to do that. And in 2026, we will likely have 220 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:47,560 18 uncommon conferences. Here is a map of the States. 221 00:13:48,720 --> 00:13:52,080 And three of them are going to happen internationally. 222 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:55,080 Where is it? Kenya, Africa. 223 00:13:55,080 --> 00:13:57,240 Dominican Republic in Quito, Ecuador. 224 00:13:57,480 --> 00:14:00,480 So if you don't want to go on vacation and you want to go to a 225 00:14:00,480 --> 00:14:03,120 men's conference, we'll even let women go to that one, I guess. 226 00:14:04,600 --> 00:14:07,160 Super Bowl. As you know, every year we try 227 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:09,840 to leverage Super Bowl weekend to reach people who are close to 228 00:14:09,840 --> 00:14:12,920 us and who are far from God. Last year we partnered with 229 00:14:12,920 --> 00:14:16,440 Riding High Ministries and as promised, the best sermon ever 230 00:14:16,440 --> 00:14:19,200 preached at our church was preached by a whole horse. 231 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:31,080 In 2023 we had 7633 people attend our Super Bowl. 232 00:14:31,560 --> 00:14:39,920 In 2024 we had 8283, but this last year we had 11,377. 233 00:14:42,880 --> 00:14:45,640 Our Christmas services were also a roaring success. 234 00:14:45,640 --> 00:14:51,320 In 2022 we had 7529. We now average way more than 235 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,200 that on a normal weekend in physical attendance at the 236 00:14:54,200 --> 00:14:56,920 crossing. This year we set another all 237 00:14:56,920 --> 00:15:05,360 time record of 12,932 people on Easter weekend. 238 00:15:05,360 --> 00:15:08,240 You may have joined me in praying at 3:00 not just for 239 00:15:08,240 --> 00:15:11,320 Weaver, but for 15,000 people to attend one of our physical 240 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,520 locations and to hear about what about the Jesus we've fallen so 241 00:15:14,520 --> 00:15:20,400 in love with and God heard our prayers and 15,195 people walked 242 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:27,600 through our doors. However, people walking through 243 00:15:27,600 --> 00:15:31,040 our doors on Super Bowl or Christmas or Easter is not the 244 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:33,840 end goal. People attending our services 245 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:38,320 for the first time is a great step, but it is not their last 246 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:41,440 step. Kids going to camp is awesome, 247 00:15:41,600 --> 00:15:46,120 but it is not enough. We want people to take steps of 248 00:15:46,120 --> 00:15:49,920 faith and then to continue to take steps of faith. 249 00:15:50,280 --> 00:15:54,680 Our goal is for people to fully engage in the mission of Christ. 250 00:15:55,080 --> 00:15:57,520 And when we say engaged, we're talking about a person who 251 00:15:57,520 --> 00:16:03,720 attends, is baptized, serves, invites disciples, gives and 252 00:16:03,720 --> 00:16:08,400 shares their story with others. We believe that these six 253 00:16:08,400 --> 00:16:13,840 disciplines are massive faith builders in your walk with 254 00:16:13,840 --> 00:16:16,040 Christ. That if you want to grow 255 00:16:16,040 --> 00:16:21,560 spiritually, these things will put you in a position to do so. 256 00:16:22,240 --> 00:16:26,200 That is why I'm so excited to announce that a team has been 257 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:30,360 working behind the scenes for the last eight months to help 258 00:16:30,480 --> 00:16:37,360 every single one of you take your next step of faith. 259 00:16:38,040 --> 00:16:44,480 I am pleased to announce that our app just got more personal. 260 00:16:44,920 --> 00:16:47,880 How personal? Well, every time you open up the 261 00:16:47,880 --> 00:16:52,080 app now, it actually has you on the app and it actually 262 00:16:52,080 --> 00:16:54,760 highlights the steps that you need to take. 263 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,120 So this is what happens when I open up the app. 264 00:16:58,400 --> 00:17:01,880 And you'll notice right there, that first one right here, that 265 00:17:02,040 --> 00:17:05,200 that's the Baptism 1, which means I should, I should really 266 00:17:05,200 --> 00:17:08,720 consider getting baptized. I've heard good things about it. 267 00:17:08,720 --> 00:17:10,880 I've heard a guy mention it a couple of times. 268 00:17:11,400 --> 00:17:13,800 So when you hop on there, you might go hold on a second. 269 00:17:14,000 --> 00:17:15,960 Why isn't that late? I've been baptized like I've 270 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:17,520 been baptized. In fact, I've been baptized 271 00:17:17,520 --> 00:17:20,440 twice and I probably need to get baptized 1/3 time, but that's 272 00:17:20,440 --> 00:17:23,000 for another day. All you have to do is just let 273 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:24,720 us know you got baptized at a different church. 274 00:17:24,720 --> 00:17:26,640 You just the only reason it's not late is because you haven't 275 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:30,080 told us. You'll notice that my attendance 276 00:17:30,160 --> 00:17:33,040 thing isn't lit. Well, I just need to check in on 277 00:17:33,040 --> 00:17:34,760 the app. And once you do start doing the 278 00:17:34,760 --> 00:17:37,480 things and paying attention to the steps that it's put in front 279 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:40,840 of you, it'll eventually you will have a complete profile. 280 00:17:41,120 --> 00:17:44,720 And that is not the end game. But it is just steps for you to 281 00:17:44,720 --> 00:17:48,040 take to help you grow because we believe that a pattern of 282 00:17:48,040 --> 00:17:51,560 regular attendance, regular serving, regular giving is going 283 00:17:51,560 --> 00:17:54,720 to help you grow in your relationship with Jesus Christ. 284 00:17:55,760 --> 00:17:59,080 If you were to go golfing with me and I've, I've picked you out 285 00:17:59,520 --> 00:18:04,320 of the crowd to go and have an intentional 3 hours with me at 286 00:18:04,320 --> 00:18:07,720 the start of the 6th hole. I always ask you this question, 287 00:18:09,000 --> 00:18:12,000 what is the next spiritual step that you need to take and how 288 00:18:12,000 --> 00:18:14,320 can I help you take it? Which the fact that I've let 289 00:18:14,320 --> 00:18:16,160 that out of the bag means that some of you are going to start 290 00:18:16,160 --> 00:18:18,040 saying no to wanting to go golfing with me. 291 00:18:18,760 --> 00:18:20,880 I say it on the 6th hole. So that way you can fumble 292 00:18:20,880 --> 00:18:23,920 through your answer and then at the turn you get a little bit of 293 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:27,360 a breather and then I can turn up the heat on holes 10 through 294 00:18:27,360 --> 00:18:31,120 18. The goal is I want people to be 295 00:18:31,120 --> 00:18:34,840 able to take steps of faith and I desperately want to help you. 296 00:18:35,160 --> 00:18:38,680 Take it now. Through our app, you will have a 297 00:18:38,680 --> 00:18:41,800 personalized dashboard that will help you grow in your 298 00:18:41,800 --> 00:18:45,440 relationship with Jesus. It is going to give each of you 299 00:18:45,480 --> 00:18:49,400 a tailored experience here at The Crossing. 300 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:53,320 It will help you connect. It will help you grow. 301 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,120 It will help you stay in the know. 302 00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,200 It will become your go to place for all things that are 303 00:19:00,200 --> 00:19:03,200 happening at The Crossing at all of our locations. 304 00:19:03,640 --> 00:19:07,400 But because it is unique to you, every time you open it, it will 305 00:19:07,400 --> 00:19:11,680 guide you towards your next step and put the opportunities and 306 00:19:11,680 --> 00:19:16,720 resources that you need right in front of you to help you take 307 00:19:16,720 --> 00:19:19,400 them. There might be some of you who 308 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:21,640 are wondering, why are we doing all this? 309 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,760 Why make a major investment in making our app more personal? 310 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,600 I would say, why should the world do a better job of 311 00:19:30,600 --> 00:19:33,440 leveraging technology than the church? 312 00:19:34,480 --> 00:19:35,960 You see, the world wants to take. 313 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:39,360 It wants to take your attention, take your money, take your 314 00:19:39,360 --> 00:19:43,680 preferences, and shove you into its algorithm and exploit you. 315 00:19:44,440 --> 00:19:46,880 But the church, it wants to give. 316 00:19:47,880 --> 00:19:51,880 It wants to give you hope in the storm, help in the trial, 317 00:19:52,320 --> 00:19:55,840 certainty for the future. It wants to give you what it's 318 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,360 found in Jesus so that you can have it too. 319 00:20:00,360 --> 00:20:03,360 There might be some of you who are wondering why talk about all 320 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:08,960 the numbers, I'll tell you. Because the Bible loves numbers. 321 00:20:09,360 --> 00:20:13,640 In fact, if you were to read your Bible cover to cover, you 322 00:20:13,640 --> 00:20:18,120 would read Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, and when you get to 323 00:20:18,120 --> 00:20:21,560 the 4th book, you'd be confronted by its title, 324 00:20:22,480 --> 00:20:26,120 Numbers. We love all the incredible 325 00:20:26,120 --> 00:20:29,360 things that Jesus did in the miracles that he performed. 326 00:20:29,560 --> 00:20:32,240 And we know about those records. Are those miracles because 327 00:20:32,240 --> 00:20:34,960 somebody cared enough to tell us? 328 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:40,600 We love that Jesus fed the 4000 and the 5000, but how do we know 329 00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:44,440 that he fed the 4000 and how do we know that he fed the 5000? 330 00:20:44,440 --> 00:20:49,800 I'll tell you because somebody cared enough to count here at 331 00:20:49,800 --> 00:20:51,280 the crossing. We count. 332 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:56,200 We count because you count to God and you count to us. 333 00:20:57,400 --> 00:21:01,680 We love the story of Jesus leaving the 99 to go after the 334 00:21:01,680 --> 00:21:06,760 One, but he would not have known that one was missing unless 335 00:21:06,760 --> 00:21:12,600 someone cared enough to count our core values as a church. 336 00:21:12,600 --> 00:21:16,480 They ground us outward. We will do whatever it takes to 337 00:21:16,480 --> 00:21:18,560 reach people who are far from Jesus. 338 00:21:18,880 --> 00:21:23,200 Yes, even let a horse do the preaching downward. 339 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,240 We will gladly give up the things we love for a future 340 00:21:26,240 --> 00:21:29,720 generation we love even more. You may not always like the 341 00:21:29,720 --> 00:21:32,760 music or the preaching or the volume. 342 00:21:33,160 --> 00:21:37,440 Me either, but I went there to be young people sitting in my 343 00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:41,040 seat when I walk into church. During one of our Christmas Eve 344 00:21:41,040 --> 00:21:44,120 services, I came out of the prayer room with the elders and 345 00:21:44,120 --> 00:21:47,080 I walked to go to the seat that I sit in before I come up here 346 00:21:47,080 --> 00:21:50,600 to preach, and I couldn't sit there because it was full of 347 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:53,320 young people. I want there to be no seat for 348 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:55,720 me in this place. Relevant. 349 00:21:56,240 --> 00:21:58,600 We will do fresh things in fresh ways to reach people. 350 00:21:58,600 --> 00:22:01,800 Nobody else is reaching. When the world is divided over 351 00:22:01,800 --> 00:22:04,640 politics, we'll preach on it. And then during the election, 352 00:22:04,640 --> 00:22:07,120 while everybody else is freaking out, what we'll do is we'll have 353 00:22:07,120 --> 00:22:09,240 a worship night right in the middle of it. 354 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:12,680 Innovate. We will take big faith filled 355 00:22:12,680 --> 00:22:16,000 risks and never insult God with small thinking and safe living. 356 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:20,160 And sometimes we'll get it wrong and sometimes we'll make 357 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:24,400 mistakes. But I would rather try and be 358 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:29,160 criticized than have a perfect record of never trying at all. 359 00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:32,560 Make leaders. We will develop leaders who 360 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,880 honor God and inspire people and they will change the world to 361 00:22:36,880 --> 00:22:38,960 grow. We will never stop measuring and 362 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,880 changing and moving for growth because nothing matters more to 363 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:45,120 God than people. We are one. 364 00:22:45,960 --> 00:22:48,520 The Church is the hope of the world and we can accomplish 365 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:50,440 infinitely more together than apart. 366 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:55,720 Here at the Crossing, we have an audacious, God sized goal to 367 00:22:55,720 --> 00:22:59,600 make this region, all 10,000 square miles of it, the hardest 368 00:22:59,760 --> 00:23:02,040 place on planet earth to get the hell from. 369 00:23:02,920 --> 00:23:07,000 And I want to see it happen. I want to see it happen in early 370 00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:08,680 childhood and elementary ministries. 371 00:23:08,680 --> 00:23:11,360 I want to see it happen in junior and Senior High School 372 00:23:11,360 --> 00:23:13,240 ministries. I want to see it happen in 373 00:23:13,240 --> 00:23:16,520 counseling appointments and late night talks at camp and at our 374 00:23:16,520 --> 00:23:18,760 conferences. I want to see it happen in 375 00:23:18,760 --> 00:23:21,480 Quincy, at our 48th St. 929 campuses. 376 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:24,800 I want to see it happen in Macomb and Kirksville and Pike 377 00:23:24,800 --> 00:23:29,400 County and Lima and Mount Sterling and Keokuk and Monmouth 378 00:23:29,560 --> 00:23:33,520 and Jacksonville and Weaver and everywhere in between and 379 00:23:33,520 --> 00:23:38,960 everywhere where God leads us. There are over 418,000 people in 380 00:23:38,960 --> 00:23:43,960 our region who don't know Jesus and I want to find them. 381 00:23:45,280 --> 00:23:49,360 I want to love them. I want to reach them and baptize 382 00:23:49,360 --> 00:23:52,520 them and help them get engaged to the greatest adventure of 383 00:23:52,520 --> 00:23:55,000 their lives. I want to see it happen in them 384 00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:58,560 and I want to see it happen in you and I want it to happen in 385 00:23:58,560 --> 00:24:00,080 me. You might be on to it by now, 386 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:06,160 but the video playing behind me is of the record setting 1389 387 00:24:06,160 --> 00:24:11,000 baptisms that happened at our church this year. 388 00:24:16,200 --> 00:24:19,840 My kids are on that video. My neighbor down the street that 389 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:22,480 I prayed for for six months is on that video. 390 00:24:23,120 --> 00:24:27,440 A guy from my DBS who used to only watch online is in that 391 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:29,680 video. But when he said yes to Jesus, 392 00:24:29,680 --> 00:24:33,000 so did his wife, and so did his brother and his mom who lived in 393 00:24:33,000 --> 00:24:35,600 Macomb. Every single one of those videos 394 00:24:35,720 --> 00:24:39,360 started with an invitation. They walked past a greeter who 395 00:24:39,360 --> 00:24:42,120 held the door and smiled. Someone filled the communion 396 00:24:42,120 --> 00:24:44,680 cups that weekend, not knowing that somebody was going to take 397 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:46,840 that communion for the very first time. 398 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:49,480 Someone checked in their kids. Someone cared for their kids. 399 00:24:49,720 --> 00:24:52,560 And for some of the families, it was the difference maker who got 400 00:24:52,560 --> 00:24:55,880 to tell those kids about Jesus for the very first time. 401 00:24:56,240 --> 00:24:59,080 Someone showed them that it's OK to go to the steps and pray and 402 00:24:59,080 --> 00:25:01,480 that it's OK to lift their hands and worship. 403 00:25:01,880 --> 00:25:04,440 You might be bored with us doing an invitation every week here at 404 00:25:04,440 --> 00:25:07,160 the crossing and telling people to start an intimate, personal 405 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:10,640 relationship with Jesus Christ. But if you invited them, if 406 00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:13,800 you're sitting next to them, you are waiting and praying the 407 00:25:13,800 --> 00:25:16,160 whole surface for us to talk about it. 408 00:25:17,200 --> 00:25:19,800 You might be wondering, how many more times am I going to hear 409 00:25:19,800 --> 00:25:22,080 it? But they're hearing it for the 410 00:25:22,080 --> 00:25:24,160 first time. Let me be clear. 411 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:29,120 I want to make this region the hardest place on planet earth to 412 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:31,880 get to hell from. And I will unapologetically 413 00:25:32,080 --> 00:25:33,920 preach the whole council of God's Word. 414 00:25:34,080 --> 00:25:36,640 And I will call you to the biblical standard. 415 00:25:37,360 --> 00:25:40,840 I will unapologetically ask you to give to support the mission 416 00:25:41,080 --> 00:25:45,720 because I believe that God uses it, expects it, and blesses it. 417 00:25:45,880 --> 00:25:48,760 And just know that every time I talk about it, I'm the first one 418 00:25:48,760 --> 00:25:51,720 to give to it. Why look behind me? 419 00:25:52,040 --> 00:25:55,080 That's my why. I believe that God's way is the 420 00:25:55,080 --> 00:25:58,600 best way, and I'm betting my whole life and my whole eternity 421 00:25:58,600 --> 00:26:01,800 on it. I'm asking God every single 422 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:05,200 morning to do it again and to do it again in US. 423 00:26:05,480 --> 00:26:08,240 Yeah, we've grown by a ton, and yes, we've had broken all kinds 424 00:26:08,240 --> 00:26:11,480 of records at this church, but we don't exist to break records. 425 00:26:11,800 --> 00:26:16,040 We exist for the 410,000 people we have yet to reach. 426 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:19,200 And God, in His great mercy, has allowed us to partner in His 427 00:26:19,200 --> 00:26:22,560 great work. And every step you take, God 428 00:26:22,560 --> 00:26:26,400 uses to prepare the step for the the next step for the lost in 429 00:26:26,400 --> 00:26:29,200 our region. Therefore, we can't stop. 430 00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,440 And we won't stop because we believe that God is real. 431 00:26:32,440 --> 00:26:36,480 We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that Jesus is 432 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:39,280 alive. We can't stop and we won't stop 433 00:26:39,280 --> 00:26:41,440 because we believe that the Bible is true. 434 00:26:41,800 --> 00:26:46,360 We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that God 435 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:49,280 loves the whole world. We can't stop and we won't stop 436 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,120 because we believe the debt has finally been paid. 437 00:26:52,360 --> 00:26:55,680 We can't stop and we won't stop because we believe that there is 438 00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,040 hope for the hopeless, peace for the anxious healing for the 439 00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:01,400 broken. We can't stop and we won't stop 440 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:05,480 because we believe that there is no one who is too far gone. 441 00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:10,920 We can't stop and we won't stop, and until this region is the 442 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:16,480 hardest place on planet earth to get to hell from, we can't stop 443 00:27:17,240 --> 00:27:19,800 and we won't stop. We're moving to a time of 444 00:27:19,800 --> 00:27:27,630 decision. To those of you who are here 445 00:27:27,630 --> 00:27:30,630 today and you have never started an intimate, personal 446 00:27:30,630 --> 00:27:36,790 relationship with Jesus Christ, we are here for you, but we 447 00:27:36,790 --> 00:27:42,040 can't take steps for you. And you cannot expect to live 448 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:46,480 the Christian life until Christ resides in you. 449 00:27:49,240 --> 00:27:55,040 And so today I want to encourage you to take an evaluation of 450 00:27:55,040 --> 00:28:00,400 where you are, are you in Christ, and what stands in the 451 00:28:00,400 --> 00:28:05,200 way of you being in Christ. And in just a few moments, the 452 00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,160 people around you are going to stand and sing and some of them 453 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:09,800 are going to come to the steps and pray. 454 00:28:10,800 --> 00:28:13,560 But I want to encourage you if you're watching online to type 455 00:28:13,560 --> 00:28:17,280 in the chat, I need to talk to somebody or click on the button 456 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,560 that says I want to begin an intimate personal relationship 457 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:21,760 with Jesus Christ. And if you're here in this room, 458 00:28:21,760 --> 00:28:24,560 I'll encourage you to walk right over there by the baptistry 459 00:28:24,560 --> 00:28:27,200 underneath that screen and talk to somebody. 460 00:28:28,200 --> 00:28:31,880 In my experience, often times people know that they need a 461 00:28:31,880 --> 00:28:35,200 relationship with Jesus Christ, but there are questions that 462 00:28:35,200 --> 00:28:38,640 they need answered before they begin that relationship with 463 00:28:38,640 --> 00:28:40,960 Jesus Christ. And what I'm challenging you to 464 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:47,440 do today is to ask the question to start the journey. 465 00:28:48,560 --> 00:28:52,760 My life has been completely transformed by the saving work 466 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:56,120 of Jesus Christ and the grace and mercy that He has poured out 467 00:28:56,120 --> 00:29:00,080 on my life, and I want you to find it too. 468 00:29:01,640 --> 00:29:05,080 This year could be your year, but today could be your day and 469 00:29:05,080 --> 00:29:08,160 I'd hate for you to miss it. To the rest of you in the room, 470 00:29:08,600 --> 00:29:11,280 to those of you who already have a relationship with Jesus 471 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,000 Christ, will you join me at the steps? 472 00:29:17,120 --> 00:29:20,440 Would you beg God to give you a can't stop, won't stop attitude 473 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:23,600 this year? Will you join me at the steps 474 00:29:23,600 --> 00:29:27,520 and beg God to do it again and to do it again in US? 475 00:29:27,760 --> 00:29:33,880 Would you stand with me? God? 476 00:29:33,880 --> 00:29:39,040 We want it all. We want absolutely everything 477 00:29:39,040 --> 00:29:44,560 you're willing to give to us. God, we want to see people that 478 00:29:44,560 --> 00:29:47,440 we care about come to a saving relationship with you. 479 00:29:48,520 --> 00:29:51,400 God, we want to be used in a powerful way by you. 480 00:29:52,720 --> 00:29:56,720 God, develop and instill in us a desire to seek after you. 481 00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,480 God, those that are listening to my voice right now that don't 482 00:30:01,480 --> 00:30:04,120 have a relationship with you, God, speak louder than all the 483 00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,800 voices in their head. God, help them to hear your 484 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:11,680 voice and to follow it. And God, to those of us who 485 00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:18,880 already been following you, put a burden on us that's so heavy 486 00:30:18,880 --> 00:30:21,440 that the only way we can carry it is through the power of your 487 00:30:21,440 --> 00:30:23,840 Spirit. In your name I pray. 488 00:30:24,320 --> 00:30:24,640 Amen.