KC Church Plant News, March Update

[ariell...@gmail.com]

March Madness tends to be a big deal around here, so I'm making a
point of writing this update before the first round games begin and
everyone starts screaming at the TV.

As I continue talking with folks about the Crossroads Church plant,
I've started explaining this phase of the church plant in terms of
three major puzzle pieces we are fitting together…or three plates we
are spinning…or three balls we are juggling. You get the idea.

1. Team building. We've continued to meet a couple times a week with
our launch team. One of those is a small group time where we get
together for food, prayer, planning, and Bible. The other meeting is
men and women separately, as we pursue accountability, leadership
development, and strong relationships. We were excited to see another
young couple, Norman and Jill Gordon, come on board with us this
month.

2. Church partnerships. Something we long to see happen is Jesus-
loving churches working in tandem to pull this church plant off.
Crossroads Church has some more obvious needs right now, but we're
convinced that churches that take the leap of faith and get involved
downtown will provide their people with more vision and opportunities
to be on mission and invest their lives. On this front, we were pumped
to see another local church, Antioch Bible Baptist Church, come online
this month and start supporting Crossroads financially and in other
ways.

3. Networking downtown. We've continued to find great opportunities to
invest time downtown, meeting some of the people who are already
working hard to promote the welfare of the city. Our goal is to come
alongside folks in the galleries, nonprofits, and community
associations, and discover how we can start working with them to bless
the downtown area. On that front, we have volunteer opportunities
coming up with the Communications Committee in the Crossroads
Community Association, and a big work day at the Arts Incubator—a
nonprofit that houses dozens of local artists. With each conversation
and every day that goes by, we get more and better ideas of how we can
start serving downtown NOW, rubbing shoulders with residents. It is
still early going, but we're noticing that our efforts to network,
explore, and invest have begun to disarm some of the skepticism people
downtown have toward church in general.

That's a good overview of what's going on. It seems like every day
there is a new idea, opportunity, or unexpected twist. We're always
happy to grab coffee and talk about the divine "genius in the
details."

I know many of you have been praying about the building deal we've
been negotiating on the West Side. Here's the latest. We had reached
an understanding with the owners, and actually drafted a contract that
worked for both parties. However, yesterday we learned that lenders
are currently requiring 25% down on multi-unit buildings, of which
this building is one. In light of this, we seem to have hit a wall,
since we have nowhere near that kind of ready money (we're a mere
$50,000 short). God is making it very plain that 1) he has another
home and church "staging area" for us, or 2) he is going to pull this
off in a way that will reserve every ounce of glory for himself.

The up-and-down nature of this process has been tough. But we are
convinced that God has the right place for us in mind—whether it is
this place or not. And when the time comes, he will not gesture
vaguely in the general direction of some neighborhood. Rather, he will
open the front door, take us by the shoulders, and steer us inside.

As always, we covet your prayers. Let us know if we can pray for you,
and don't forget to fill out an NCAA Tourney bracket!

Peace,

AJ (Ariel) & Lindsay