Aidan was rewarded for helping me install our espresso machine.

After the one-two punch of Christmas and New Years, we decided our lives weren’t crazy enough. So we packed up and moved in with Lindsay’s parents on New Year’s Day. Actually, the decision wasn’t quite that spontaneous-with our lease expiring, and us still looking for a home near downtown, transitional housing was a good idea.  It has been a crazy month, though.

We’re slowly getting used to chasing Aidan and Asher through a three-story house and spending more time commuting when we head for the city center.  At the same time, things have continued to progress with the church plant.

Our launch team has grown as we establish a rhythm of meeting weekly to eat, plan, get in the Bible, and pray together. We feel like God is piecing together a group of people who are well-qualified for this mission: folks who love Jesus, love people, and want to see the gospel grow downtown. We’re excited to work together…and to see the team continue to grow.

As our church plant efforts began in fall 2008, fund-raising was a big focus. As 2009 begins, we’ve continued to recruit partners to help fund Crossroads Church during the first years of its existence-and a couple more local churches have come online in the last month.

While it’s good to be able to pay for gas, we’re thrilled that these churches also want to pray and volunteer for the gospel’s sake. I frequently find myself explaining that downtown Kansas City is such a big mission field that we need this church plant to be a team effort. So we’re excited to see a variety of players involved in the game-and we’re talking with more churches and individuals who are thinking about jumping in.

In the last couple weeks we’ve started to get acquainted with some of the key community leaders downtown. By connecting with people in the downtown council, school system, community associations, business community, etc., we want to accomplish two things. First, we’ll ask for their input on the strengths and weaknesses of downtown. What are the pressing needs facing professionals, artists, and down-and-outers? How can we serve and collaborate to meet them? Second, we’ll make new connections downtown that God can use for the gospel in the days ahead.

If you’ve been reading these updates for awhile, you know that we’ve been talking with the owners of a three-story multi-use building on the West Side of downtown. The negotiation process has been long, but we think it’s coming to a head. With a lot of research time and energy invested, we’re hoping to make a call on this building in the next month. We’re looking forward to living in close proximity to the people we want to serve and befriend.

Here’s how you can pray for Crossroads in the month ahead:

Pray that God will continue to send his hand-picked people to be part of the launch team.

Pray that God will continue to send us gospel-loving financial partners.

Pray that we’ll connect with key players in the community and discover how we can best serve downtown to give Jesus a good name before Crossroads even opens its doors.

Pray that God will direct us to the right home near downtown—the one we’re currently negotiating over or another.

Some seasons of life are like a rush of pure adrenalin—others take more stamina to navigate. This month has been a demanding one for us, and we want to thank you again for your prayers! If we can pray for needs in your life, please take a moment and shoot us a note. Jesus would love that—no doubt.