Thanksgiving Outreach

Our church just wrapped its second annual Thanksgiving outreach. A local elementary school practically sits in our backyard, and we connected with the counseling department to see if any families were in need of help with their Thanksgiving dinners. Last year we donated groceries to five families in need. This year we were thankful for the means to help even more families who live in our community.

My pregnancy forgetfulness almost got the best of me, and I found myself running to the store at the last minute for 18 boxes of stuffing, but in the end, every bag of groceries pulled together smoothly and is now sitting in the home of a family who no longer needs to worry about how to put a Thanksgiving dinner on the table this year.

Crossings 2008 Thanksgiving Outreach
...9 families in the community
...48 people total
...24 bags of groceries
...more than 90lbs of turkey!

Can't wait for next year!

First Baptism Service

One of my all-time favorite church events is a baptism service. When Hubby and I were in college, we attended a church of several thousand that celebrated baptism every Sunday as an element in their evening services. I loved hearing how each person met Jesus, how their lives had changed since following Him, and how excited they were to take this next step of faith in their journey. The joy on their faces following baptism was beautiful and priceless.

I just love celebrating baptism, so you can imagine my excitement yesterday when our church plant Crossings Church hosted its first baptism with a picnic and service. We kicked off the afternoon with a water balloon toss in the sun, followed by playing board games in the shade. We grilled for dinner and had sundaes for dessert! (Side note: I forgot to pack a grilling spatula, so we almost had no way to flip the burgers. Key word: almost. We found a pie server and metal ruler in the cars which worked quite nicely! Mid-air collision avoided!)

We celebrated with worship and prayer on the beach before the baptism in the lake. The service was beautiful, the joy indescribable!

As [Phillip and the Ethiopian] traveled along the road, they came to some water, and the Ethiopian said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?"

Acts 8:36

If you would like to see all of pictures from the picnic and baptism, click here.