By: Jeff Cluver

Last Friday I had the sincere pleasure of sitting in on the Affirmation conversations here at Holy Cross Lutheran Church. Listening to these young people talking about their faith journeys took me back to when I was a young man, and I couldn’t help but compare their statements to what I would have said when I was their age. You see, back then I was just checking off the boxes. I grew up in the LCMS. I got baptized (check), I went to Sunday school and church (check), I went to Saturday school and VBS in the summers (check), and I completed Confirmation (check). All my boxes got checked; I was done. It wasn’t that I didn’t believe; it just took me until I was in my early twenties to finally acknowledged Jesus in my heart as my Savior.

Like me at that age, some of these young people were timid and shy, never looking up from their papers and only answering questions when directly asked. Unlike me at that age, some of them were bold in their statements and confident in the love that their Savior has for them. Some were honest with us and themselves that they are still struggling with what it is that they believe exactly. But all of them confessed with their lips that Jesus is the Lord of their life and the one to whom they turn to in times of trouble.

These are some examples of statements that touched me deeply:

“When I am sad, my tears are His.”

“Being confirmed will help me thrive in my journey with God.”

“Jesus needs me and I need Him.”

“I know that my faith will blossom into something great.”

and my favorite is, “He is crazy in love with us.”

These examples clearly showed me that these Confirmands understand that they aren’t “done,” that learning about Jesus is a life-long journey and that there is more to it; that we respond to His love for us. They understand that He has plans for us to spread His love to a world that desperately needs Him. Most of all, it shows me that they understand just how much Jesus loves them, that He is crazy in love with us and holds our tears in His hands.

I invite you all to pray with me for these young people, that they continue to grow in their faith journey, that they would trust in God’s plans for their lives, and that they fearlessly spread the love of Christ to those around them all to the glory of God. Amen.

By: Marcy Serby

Church is a family, not a weekly event. And because we are a family and God first proved his love for us through the sacrifice of his Son, we are called to love and care for each other. Love for God and love for our neighbor is the foundation of Christian living. 1 John 3:18 says, “Little children, let us love, not in word or speech, but in truth and action.” Love is a verb. Love is action.

We are excited to offer you the opportunity to show love to each other through our new “Helping Hands” ministry. When a member has a short-term need – usually due to hospitalization, serious illness or death in the family – we want to provide food, transportation, or other help to carry them through their trial. And we guarantee double blessings! You will greatly bless the person you are helping, but you will also find yourself wondering who was blessed more – you or the person you helped.

You will be asked to complete a 5-minute survey telling us what, if anything, you will be able to do for your friends here at Holy Cross if there is a need. When you receive the survey through email or your church mailbox, please take a few minutes to complete it. This ministry is 100% dependent upon YOU and your family needs you!

The allegory of the long spoons talks about the difference between heaven and hell, but I see it as a story of joy received through serving out of love.

A man wanted to see what heaven and hell were like. God showed the man two doors. Behind the first one was a large round table with a large pot of stew. It smelled delicious and made the man’s mouth water, but the people sitting around the table were thin and sickly. They appeared to be famished. They were holding spoons with very long handles and each could reach into the pot of stew and take a spoonful, but because the handle was longer than their arms, they could not get the spoons back into their mouths.

Behind the second door there was the large round table with the large pot of wonderful stew that made the man’s mouth water. The people had the same long-handled spoons that could reach the stew but not their mouths, but they were well nourished and plump, laughing and talking. The difference, God said, is simple. These people have learned to serve each other.

… that the members may have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all suffer together; if one member is honored, all rejoice together. I Corinthians 12:2b-26

By: DCE Dan Hampton

“WAR! What is it good for, absolutely nothing!” These lyrics written by Edwin Starr in 1970 evoke an era that was in turmoil. America was involved in what many people thought was an unjust war in Vietnam. While this kind of war is hard to understand at the time, just wars do serve a purpose in this broken world. But we need to learn to fight the right way, with the best resources, because winning a war doesn’t happen by accident.

From February 15-17, 2019 twelve couples spent a weekend learning to fight. Often when we think about married couples fighting it is not a positive sentiment; but in this case we learned who we are really fighting against. It is not our spouse, children, friends, or other family members we are really fighting. It is the Devil! He is the one that wants to remain hidden, because when we realize that it is not our spouse we are fighting, then we can both turn and repel the Devil and all his evil works and ways.

God worked His Holy Spirit throughout this weekend. For many couples it was a great time to reconnect with one another. Our lives are so busy, just having an in-depth conversation can be very difficult at times. This get-away allowed each couple to slow down and be fully present with each other. The weekend also allowed couples the chance to get to know other people in the congregation and form new relationships over some games, delicious food, and relaxing in natural hot springs.

War is still a difficult subject. No matter what, we must recognize that we are at war with the Devil and all of his minions. Prayer is how we fight; we must learn to battle the Devil in prayer. “If God is for us, who can be against us,” Paul writes in Romans 8:31. Our God is bigger than we can possibly imagine, and he can perform many miracles and defeat the Devil in ways that we cannot even imagine. If you would like to learn more about this topic I encourage you to watch the movie “War Room” that was released in 2015. The church also has several Bible studies; and even if you didn’t attend the Marriage Retreat, you are welcome to use the materials on your own to begin to learn how to fight for your marriage in prayer.

Click here to see the Holy Cross War Room Marriage Study Guide.

By: Pastor Doug

On Saturday morning, January 26, leaders of Holy Cross gathered for a leadership summit. The focus of this summit was on what we call the vision frame of Holy Cross. Some of you are aware of what this frame is, but my gut tells me that most of you are not.

This leadership summit consisted of youth, school staff, lay leadership, and church staff. People of various ages and different responsibilities gathered in groups of four to discuss the direction of Holy Cross by means of our vision frame.

What is the vision frame?

Picture a painting that’s hanging in your home. A frame probably surrounds that picture. The focus is on the picture, but the frame is important to the beauty of the painting.

That specific picture does not have to be in that frame. You might find yourself purchasing another painting and using the same frame to surround this new painting.

The frame stays the same, but the picture can change.

The leaders of Holy Cross spent time exploring the frame that surrounds the vision of Holy Cross. This frame remains the same, even when the vision changes.

A portion of that frame appears each week on the cover of our bulletin. The mission mandate of our vision frame states that we “encourage those who hunger to be nourished by God.”

The leaders were not only encouraged to delve into our mission mandate, but also our mission motives (core values), mission map (strategy), and mission marks (how we hope lives will be changed at Holy Cross through the work we do together), ending with time spent admiring the picture which this frame surrounds.

What is that picture?

Here is the vision that we’re working toward at Holy Cross.

As modeled by Jesus, we will build a welcoming community that’s transformed through genuine worship, growth, and service so all may follow him.

The vision statement appears outside the entrance to the sanctuary. I hope that you will spend time reading it and thinking about the part you play in becoming this welcoming community.

This welcoming community is modeled after Jesus. He welcomed sinners, tax collectors, and outcasts. He stood up for the widows and orphans. He even ate with his enemies.

However, Jesus didn’t welcome people just to make them feel good. He welcomed people that they might be transformed through their connection to him. He was not content to leave people wallowing in the brokenness of their lives.

And neither should we be content with simply being a welcoming community. By the power of the Holy Spirit, God is changing us to be more like Christ and he is changing others through us.

How does he do his transforming work here at Holy Cross? We believe that God is working through genuine worship, growth and service to cause this change. This is our three-legged stool of how we do things at Holy Cross. The ministry at Holy Cross is organized around worship, growth and service.

There was a great deal of excitement, conversation and desire to embrace this direction for Holy Cross at the leadership summit. Though you might not always be aware of what is driving the work of your leaders, I hope that you will experience the excitement that they felt at this summit as we move forward into God’s future for us.

By: Deb Schrank

God is amazing in the way He brings people together and grows His kingdom. Parenting classes have been offered the past few months with both church families and school families participating.

“The parenting class is an amazing chance for the school and church to partner in supporting families that might not typically attend church or Bible Study/fellowship opportunities.” – A Church Family

Relationships have formed through conversations about children’s behavior. Talking about prayer and turning to God have been a big part of the class.

“The class has definitely helped and given us insight of what we’re doing wrong as parents. Being a blended family, this has helped us see what our roles are.” – A School Family

Although the class ends middle of January, God’s work in the lives of our school families is just beginning. Because of the friendliness of the congregation at “Together” meals, our school families feel welcome at Holy Cross. One family asked if their child could join the church school choir. Hopefully they will start coming to worship on Sunday mornings because of their child’s involvement in the choir. Another family mentioned how sad they were to see the parenting class end next week because the quality of the Wednesday evening programming at Pioneer Club was phenomenal! I suggested she keep coming and plug into another Wednesday evening adult class.

I hope you can see a pattern here because the school and the congregation are working together to share the love of Jesus with the school families. Thank you for partnering with the school so the community sees Holy Cross Lutheran Church and School as a welcoming place!

By: DCE Intern Payton DeVencenty

Saturday, October 27th was a wonderful day for Holy Cross Lutheran as we opened our building and land to the community to enjoy during our annual Fall Festival. The weather was spectacular, the views of Pikes Peak were fantastic, and the amount of candy distributed…nearly insane.

We couldn’t have asked for nicer weather, as the sun shone for the whole event and not a hiccup was made concerning wind and the like. Our guests and members enjoyed food from different food trucks, games put on by volunteers, bounce houses for the kids, and
a general sense of community which I truly believe will help bring new members to worship with us throughout the week.

Community events are often underplayed, a simple gathering to pass on goods or get out of the house. Holy Cross took the steps over Fall Festival to participate in something incarnational, a way to make our members, staff, and visitors all engage in something
together. To take down walls, literally to step outside of them, and begin having simple inviting conversations into the church and into our lives.

So yes, this event was a success, regardless of numbers of attendees or of the number of candy bars passed out.

This event allowed the body of Christ to reach into the community and provided an atmosphere of welcome to those who might not otherwise get anywhere near a church building. Thank you to all of the volunteers who helped to make this event possible, and may we all thank God for the little moments which remind us of His presence.

By: Jeff Faunce

Holy Cross at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and Betesda – Naranjo

Revelation 7:9-10. 9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

I’ve loved this verse for many years. It speaks of the universality of God’s people—that God’s eternal people will gather to praise Him from every nation, tribe, people, and language. It has become more meaningful after participating in Holy Cross mission trips to Honduras. I’d read that verse before and heard the stories of others who had been in mission around the world, but neither prepared me for the experience of seeing God’s global grace in person. His grace truly is amazing!

Again this year, as our team of 21 souls traveled to Lepaterique and Tegucigalpa Honduras, God reinforced that He is God of the whole world and that the language of faith is universal. How else to explain the instant bond we have with our brothers and sisters at Betesda church in Lepaterique and at Compassion Project 223 in Tegucigalpa? How else to explain the amazement that new travelers experience when they are welcomed with all the love that only brothers and sisters in Christ share?

The partnership between Holy Cross and the people of Honduras is a special one. If there is one thing I would like you to know it is that God is growing His kingdom among the people there and that you are making a difference. We see it year to year. There is progress in the day to day lives of people and eternally through faith.

In the early years we would join Betesda (Pastor Omar’s church) in worship—one year illuminated only by the lights of an old truck—and see a congregation that was just beginning to come together. But they came together in the joy of the Lord.

As the host of Compassion Project 222, Betesda chose to focus on children. Back then, that focus was necessarily on the children of Betesda and Lepaterique. They didn’t’t have the resources to do more. However, as the years have gone on, God has blessed the partnership between Betesda and Holy Cross. He has given the people of Holy Cross generous hearts—and He has fanned the flames of outreach among the people of Betesda. The combination of resources and relentless outreach has resulted in an additional 11 churches being planted across the countryside outside of Lepaterique. Literally hundreds of additional children and their families are hearing the eternal hope of the gospel and benefiting from help here and now in this world.

The people of Betesda and the outlying villages are blessed by your sponsorship of children through Compassion International. We see evidence in every child and home we visit. They are blessed by Holy Cross mission funds that they turn into self-sustaining agriculture at each church site. They are blessed as the Honduras Golf Tournament raises funds to give promising young Christian leaders the opportunity to advance their education. They are blessed by what you contribute to trip supplies and to the assembly of hygiene kits. And they are blessed when you purchase coffee, grown by the labor of God’s people, employing 20 families and giving them hope and a purpose.

One of my favorite stories revolves around one of Betesda’s satellite congregations, Naranjo. The people of Naranjo came to Pastor Omar and said, “We need a new building. The one we have is rotting away and is not safe for our people.” Pastor Omar replied, “I know you need a new building, but we simply don’t have the resources at this time.”

The people of Naranjo got together and said, “We will pray and we will clear the land for a new building.” They cleared the land and one of the elders took a stone and placed it at the corner of the newly cleared site. He said, “It is on this site that God will build His church. We will pray and watch God work.”

At the same time in the halls of Holy Cross, I was approached, without prompting, by several members who asked, “What do you need for Honduras this year?” I had just heard about the needs of Naranjo. I tell you, within two hours we had the necessary funds to purchase the materials for a new building.

We wired the money to Pastor Omar, who purchased the material in anticipation of our trip. We arrived on a Friday expecting to see cleared land and a pile of material ready for us to help assemble into a new sanctuary. What we found was a church building nearly complete. The people had worked 20 straight days to put up the building we all would end up worshiping in the following Sunday. Now that’s a partnership! Each doing what they can under God’s direction to accomplish something greater than the sum of the parts.

I hope this blog post has given you a glimpse into this special ministry. I also hope you will continue to be a part of what God is doing through this partnership. Perhaps your next step is coming on a trip? Ask anyone who has gone, or contact Lorrie or me directly. We’d love to speak with you about being a part of this ministry now and into the future.

By: DCE Dan Hampton

3 “I’m going out to fish,” Simon Peter told them, and they said, “We’ll go with you.” So they went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. 4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. 5 He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. 7 Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water. 8 The other disciples followed in the boat, towing the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, about a hundred yards.
What are you willing to jump for?

Growing up in Indiana, most people watch basketball. My family was no exception; in fact, March Madness is almost a holiday. One of my favorite memories is seeing my mother watch the games. She gets into them especially when it is a team she is rooting for, like Purdue or IU. When they score she is likely found on her feet shouting at the TV. When they make an error, she is once again on the edge of her seat “coaching” them to make better decisions on the basketball floor next time (as if they can hear her).

What about you? What will get you on the edge of your seat ready to jump for joy or exhilaration? For Peter, it was all about Jesus. Not once but twice he jumped out of the boat that he was in so that he could meet the Lord. He showed great enthusiasm to follow Christ.
Several youth and members from our congregation spent 10 days jumping out of the boat in Peru this past July. While there, they were surrounded by the Peruvian culture and languages. Some things are very different from our lives in the United States, but others are just the same.

At one point when our group had challenged the villagers to a futball game, we witnessed several local teens walking around the village checking their Facebook accounts. On the other hand, though the villagers are not impoverished or in need of our saving, their lives are quite different from ours. Still, they live in contentment, knowing that God will continue to provide for everything they need.

How often do we find ourselves just desiring more and more? Or how often do we compare ourselves to the things another person has and wonder why God is blessing them so much more than he is to us?

We spent our week helping the local missionaries add on to an existing church. We placed walls, painted, and mixed concrete. We were quite literally the hands and feet of Jesus. It was difficult for me to watch some of the construction techniques they used, knowing it could be done better with the right amount of materials, but they used everything they had and rejoiced to God. They jumped to their feet to help. I believe they helped us more than we helped them.

May we learn from them. May we find that jumping out of the boat for Jesus doesn’t have to mean going on a big trip to Peru, but it could be something as simple as letting someone go in line before you. God’s desire is for us to follow Him with our whole being. Peter did it. How is God calling you to JUMP out of the boat?