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Welcome
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Connect
Contact Us
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Connect Dinner

Sunday, February 21, 2016
6:00pm – 7:00pm 18:00 – 19:00

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@crossofchristoc

Yesterday, our elders, deacons, and team leads hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Lunch for all of the volunteers at Cross of Christ. As a special thank you, the volunteers were treated to some home cooked BBQ and sides from our elders, @nickbogardus and Phil. Our team leads were able to thank the volunteers on their teams for all of the work they’re doing in AVL, Men’s & Women’s Ministries, Connect, Kids, Worship, Mercy & Justice, Communications, and Facilities. To our volunteers, we say thank you! Without your sacrificial service to the church, Sundays literally wouldn’t happen. Thank you for giving of your time and talents to bless our people and to bring glory to God.

We recently put together our very first printed resource as a church - our Ecclesiastes Study Guides! These men’s and women’s study guides break up the book of Ecclesiastes into smaller sections, present reflection questions, and will serve as a discussion guide within our men’s and women’s Discipleship Groups that meet regularly. We’re celebrating our members’ talent in writing the questions and designing the books, and we look forward to the work God will do in our hearts through the reading of His word and the discussions that come out of these.
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If you haven't picked yours up yet, you can grab it at church on Sunday or you can email connect@crossofchrist.com to receive the digital version.

Last week, three of our deacons attended a meeting to accept the rest of our Manna Grant, a grant given by @southlandsbrea to small churches and church plants in Southern California to support mercy and justice initiatives in their cities. All of the grant recipients spent the evening celebrating the wins of our initiatives so far and praying over the obstacles we’ve been faced with. Would you join us in praying over this grant? Pray that it would continue to be a source of joy and blessing to our community, that any barriers to doing ministry would be removed, and that God would be glorified through the wonderful ministry initiatives our Mercy Team is taking on the rest of the year.

We spent yesterday evening together as a church family. First, we shared a meal and had our quarterly Member Meeting where we heard from our elders and ministry leaders to discuss family matters and what’s ahead in the coming months. Afterwards, we met together as an entire church body for our Worship & Prayer Night. We worshipped together, one of our members led us through a devotion from Luke 11:11-13, and we prayed through those verses together. It was a great evening for us to gather together as a church, praising God for the work He has done and will continue to do in and through Cross of Christ.

Our “Ordinary” event last week was a really special night. Our speakers spoke on grace for the ordinary aspects of one another, being okay being ordinary, the ordinary grace of the outdoors, and the necessity of ordinary faithfulness. We enjoyed mingling with our own members and seeing tons of new faces from the Bay Area, LA, and San Diego at the event to hear the gospel being spread. Thank you to our speakers (@mockingbirdnyc, @hannah_._anderson, @charlottebgetz, & @nickbogardus), to our host @pigbarber, and to our volunteers that helped make the event happen. We’re already looking forward to next year’s event!

Every week, we send our people out with a benediction as a blessing from the Word of God. Here’s what we’re praying over our church this week:
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“Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”
-Hebrews 13:20–21

Be sure to check out Episode 49 of our podcast with author Hannah Anderson. We’re talking to her about loving the place where you are and are getting a glimpse of what she’ll be speaking about at our upcoming event “Ordinary: The Power & Significance of the Overlooked” next Friday.
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Hannah is the author of “Made for More” and “Humble Roots”. She lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia where she spends her days working alongside her husband in rural ministry, chasing around their three children, and scratching out time to write for outlets like the Gospel Coalition, Mere Orthodoxy, and Christianity Today.
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She will be speaking alongside David Zahl, Charlotte Getz, and Nick Bogardus at our June 8th event “Ordinary: The Power & Significance in the Overlooked”. Tickets are limited and available on the Events page of our website. #ordinaryevent

Since February, our Mercy Ministry team has been working with @robynes_nest and the staff at the high school we meet at on Sundays to create birthday bags for the students. The bags are filled with snacks, gift cards, personalized cards, and hand decorated cookies from one of our own members at @twinfullysweet, and they’re a simple way for us to celebrate the students and let them know how loved and valued they are. It’s been an incredibly impactful way for us to bless the staff and students we’re in community with, and we’re grateful for all of the helping hands that help put these together each month.

This weekend, we gathered together for our fourth annual Low-Country Boil over the long Memorial Day weekend. We enjoyed seeing people from so many different backgrounds and vocations all sharing a meal and playing games together. It was a great opportunity for us to strengthen our church community while inviting our neighbors and those outside of the church in, and we're excited to see how this tradition grows over the years.
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And to our friends who have served and are currently serving in the military, here’s our Memorial Day prayer from our service on Sunday:
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"God of peace,
we pray for those who have served our nation
and who laid down their lives
to protect and defend our freedom.

We pray for those who have fought,
whose spirits and bodies are scarred by war,
whose nights are haunted by memories
too painful for the light of day.
Grant them peace, comfort, and friendship.

We pray for those who serve us now,
especially for those in harm's way.
Shield them from danger
and bring them home.

Turn the hearts and minds
of our leaders and our enemies
to the work of justice and a harvest of peace.

Jesus, we look forward to your ultimate victory,
when darkness will cease and peace will reign.
In your name we pray, Amen."

Service Time & Location

Sundays at 10 am | Back Bay High School

380 Monte Vista Ave, Costa Mesa, CA 92627