CATHEDRAL FAMILY MAGAZINE 2025
Building Legacies that Last FOREWORD BY R I C K WA R R E N
THIS BOOK BELONGS TO:
Copyright © 2025 by Cathedral Family ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Published by LT Copyright and use of the curriculum template is retained by Brett Eastman. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotes are taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, unless otherwise indicated. ISBN: 978-1-950007-72-1 Printed in the United States of America
CONTENTS
APPENDICES
04 06 12 36 40 50 52
Introduction from Brett Eastman History of Cathedral Family Campaigns, Campuses and Ministries Generosity Journey and Next Steps Vision of Cathedral Family One Fund & Giving Chart How to Use this Study Guide
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SESSION 1
68
SESSION 2
82
SESSION 3
96
SESSION 4
110
SESSION 5
126 128 130 131 132 134 135 136 138 140 147
HISTORY OF CATHEDRAL FAMILY: BUIDLING ON FOUNDATIONS OF THE PAST HEART OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: BRING YOUR FAMILY TOGETHER HABITS OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: BEST PRACTICES TO BUILD TOGETHER HANDS OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: USING THEIR GIFTS TO SERVE OTHERS HOPE OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: AN IMPACT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
Frequently Asked Questions Small Group Agreement Small Group Calendar Weekly Check In Prayer and Praise Reports Memory Verse Cards (Clip and Review) Small Group Roster Hosting an Open House Leading for the First Time Leadership Training 101 Sermon Notes Answer Key
FOREWORD BY RICK WARREN For over 40 years as pastor of Saddleback Church, I’ve seen firsthand how lives are transformed when people embrace a purpose-driven life—one that is focused on contributing to God’s Kingdom rather than just accumulating wealth. One of the greatest callings we have as believers is to be faithful stewards of the resources God entrusts to us. But stewardship isn’t just about managing wealth—it’s about using it to make an eternal impact and fulfilling the Great Commission. That’s why I’m excited about this new Leverage curriculum and study guide, which follows the powerful principles laid out in the Leverage
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book by Ken Boa and Russ Crosson. This guide is not just a companion— it’s a practical tool designed to help you apply the concepts of biblical stewardship, generosity, and legacy-building in a personal and profound way. Whether you are leading a small group, facilitating discussions in your church, or working with families of wealth, this study guide will bring the truths of Leverage to life. Through beautifully produced and creatively crafted media, the teachings, training, and testimonies come to life in ways you’ve never seen before. The experiential study guide will lead you to take what you’ve learned and apply it not only in your life but also in your family, ministry, business, and hopefully, your church. Our vision is to see small groups launched in every church across the country, creating a ripple effect of generosity and family legacy, especially among families of wealth. Will you join us in this journey? This curriculum provides access to the most comprehensive digital library designed to support you every step of the way. Whether you’re a family member, church leader, small group host, senior pastor, financial advisor, or nonprofit leader, we have a playbook and pathway to guide you on this transformative journey. With the help of videos, testimonies, and group discussions, this guide will equip you to take what you’ve learned and apply it in your own life, your family, and your church. Jesus called us to store up treasures in Heaven, and this curriculum will help you take that call seriously. It’s more than a study—it’s an invitation to live a purpose-driven life that maximizes the impact of what God has entrusted to you. I encourage you to go through this guide with an open heart, ready to see how God can use your time, talents, and treasures for His Kingdom. Russ and Ken, along with Brett, have given us a remarkable resource, and I believe it will lead to transformation not only in your life but in the lives of everyone you touch.
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HISTORY OF CATHEDRALS Our church has been around for nearly 100 years, and we expect to be found still faithful when Jesus returns, whether it’s tomorrow, another 100 years, or beyond. Here is a brief timeline of some of the highlights of our rich history, beginning with the first Bible study that would become a faithful worshiping church.
1258 Salisbury Cathedral in Salisbury, England, is known for its towering spire, the tallest in the UK, and its remarkable medieval architecture, including the best-preserved copy of the Magna Carta.
1269 1077 Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, England, is the spiritual heart of the Church of England, famous for its stunning medieval stained-glass windows and its role in the English Reformation.
Westminster Abbey in London, England, is famous for being the site of royal coronations, weddings, and burials, as well as its stunning Gothic architecture and historical significance.
1220 Chartres Cathedral in Chartres, France, is famous for its exquisite collection of stained-glass windows and its architectural significance as a prime example of Gothic design.
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Children have always been at the heart of our ministry. Here is a picture of Vacation Bible School in 1972.
1275 Reims Cathedral in Reims, France, is a Gothic masterpiece, famous for being the traditional site of French royal coronations and its spectacular façade.
1345 Notre-Dame de Paris in Paris, France, is one of the most iconic Gothic cathedrals, renowned for its majestic rose windows and historical significance in French culture.
1436 Florence Cathedral in Florence, Italy, is renowned for its massive dome, designed by Brunelleschi, and its striking blend of Gothic and Renaissance architectural styles.
Children have always been at the heart of our ministry. Here is a picture of Vacation Bible School in 1972.
1626 St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City is one of the most important and largest churches in the world, famous for its Renaissance architecture, Michelangelo’s Pietà, and its role in the Catholic Church.
1880 Cologne Cathedral in Cologne, Germany, is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, renowned for its monumental size, twin spires, and intricate architecture.
1965 Children have always been at the heart of our ministry. Here is a picture of Vacation Bible School in 1972.
Milan Cathedral in Milan, Italy, is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in Europe, celebrated for its intricate façade, vast size, and breathtaking views from its rooftop.
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HEART OF CATHEDRALS 1960
Milton Street education building built.
1962-1985
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LeRay Fowler, Pastor — becomes Pastor Emeritus at retirement.
This is the 50th birthday celebration of West University Baptist in February, 1978. Dr. Fowler was pastor at the time.
1962
1981
Church calls Ronny Barner on staff as Music Minister.
Prime Time Singers (Sr. Adult Choir) organized.
1969
1983
uilding for Preschool and new activities B building erected.
Sunday School attendance reaches 700.
1971
1986-1996
Open Door Ministry organized.
Charles Blackmon, Pastor; Church’s first mission trip to Rio Grande.
1987
2000
Purchase of parking lots. Purchase and renovation of the cottage.
Contemporary Early Service began.
1996
2001
arry Landrum, Pastor; Purchase B properties on University Blvd and Amherst St.
Great Heritage, Great Hope financial Campaign begins – $4.0 million dollars raised.
2002
MARCH
NOVEMBER
Phase I of GHGH completed (new classrooms, Chapel, Welcome Center, offices and elevators).
Called as pastor in 1996, Dr. Barry Landrum, and his wife Charlotte, led the church from one service with 300 people gathering for worship, to four services across two locations, with nearly 1200 people worshipping together each week.
2004
APRIL
Phase I of Auden Renovation completed.
1997
2004
A Children’s Village/Mother’s Day Out program was started.
Church voted to purchase First Baptist Church, Bellaire (now Crosspoint Church) for $3.6 million.
SEPTEMBER
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HOPE OF CATHEDRALS 2010
MAY
Dr. Landrum retires and Dr. Patterson begins tenure as pastor
Bylaws amended, Executive Council Established, Impact Fund of $5.0 million is given, and church begins to deploy internationally
2005
2014
Imagine the Possibilities Campaign to fund reconstruction of West University Baptist and Crosspoint campuses.
Church adds Iglesia Crosspoint with Pastor Rick Vasquez and West U Chinese Church pastored by Joshua Tao as two foreign language congregations are added to the weekly worship schedule.
2008 Church launches Casa El Buen Samaritano, a free medical clinic in partnership with Iglesia Horeb to reach the poor of our city
2009
MAY
Church calls Roger Patterson as senior pastor-elect, beginning a year of intentional transition as Dr. Landrum plans to retire
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2013
In 2004, with a heart to reach our city, Dr. Barry Landrum led West University Baptist to expand to 4601 Bellaire Blvd. in an effort to reach more people living inside the inner-loop. In January 2005, Crosspoint Church—Bellaire was launched.
2016
APRIL
Church builds two student ministry buildings, one at each inner-loop campus without taking a single offering or raising funds
2021
JANUARY
Church launches third campus called CityRise Missouri City, embracing the people and campus of Emmanuel Baptist Church (formerly First Baptist Church, Missouri City); Casa El Buen Samaritano moves to CRMC and establishes permanent clinic campus; Church launches the CityRise Network in an effort to collaborate with other city reaching groups to lift the city of Houston together
2022 Kids ministry has always been a high value on all our campuses. These kids were probably at our construction site to make sure we didn’t forget the kids wing!
2018
JANUARY
Church launches the Fight For It Campaign to help re-gather and rebuild the church, and set the table for the Deep and Wide Generosity Initiative
FEBRUARY
Church celebrates 90th birthday and begins to ask, “Where will we be when we turn 100 years old?”; Strategic Planning Teams Launched
2020
MARCH
Coronavirus Pandemic hits the United States; Congregational worship moves online; CityRise Brand and YouTube channel are launched in a matter of days
Our senior high school students go on a life-transforming trip every year to Ecuador to serve people and share the gospel. It’s amazing what God does when we are faithful to respond when He says, “Go!”
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CATHEDRAL FAMILY
1
session 2
her TBA ps://cityrise.org/ link
session 3
1000 families impacted a year 20 cathedral family tours a year 10 books & video curriculums
fight for it https://fightforitcampaign.com/
D&W trailer https://cityrise.org/ deepandwide/trailer/
LEARN MORE
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Q1 2022
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CityRise Network is seeing a number of good things. We have wonderful momentum again. The Fight for It campaign has given us wings coming out of COVID and this momentum has begun to diminish the illeffects of the pandemic. There is great energy right now and a lot of new life on our campuses thanks to the campaign. Recently, we eclipsed the 1300 attendance mark in worship across our campuses. Pre-pandemic we would have 1500-1600, but it feels great to be getting close to that again, and we’re almost there! In January of 2022 we saw 12 new members join the church, and in February there were 30, with sixteen being baptized across all of our worship gatherings: our Chinese congregation, our Spanish congregation, CityRise Emmanuel at Missouri City. Just last Sunday as of this writing three were baptized at our 8:30 service, another one the Sunday before that, and nine the week before that across our services. It has been so life-giving to see this happening!
100’S OF CATHEDRAL FAMILY GORUPS In Fight for It we launched eighty new groups, and many are now going through our 30 Days to Easter curriculum. These are Community Groups that meet both on Sunday morning and during the week. God showed us some things in the pandemic. We learned that we needed to do whatever it took to establish stickier groups. Groups are the relational piece, so they are the engine for life-on-life ministry. When someone is committed in a group, they could have moved here from another country, but they’ll have a family here in their small group. But during the pandemic, some groups just stopped “grouping.” It concerned me. I said, “Wow, we’re not sticky enough.” So Fight for It was exactly what we needed to launch a new vision for community groups.
Where life change happens We had a community group of 50 do a crawfish boil—150 pounds of crawfish! They had to bring in extra chairs. It was unbelievable. Life change, community connection, fellowship was the fruit. Also the previous week the same group served together at a “feeding the city” initiative. They have positioned themselves to serve through participation in a healthy group. When group life is healthy, when the gospel is being proclaimed, people notice and say, “Hey, I’m available. I’m being stirred to use my time.” You’ll see below how we are continuing to bear down on making group life as fruitful and lifegiving as possible.
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crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
young adults https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
CATHEDRAL WORSHIP
LEARN MORE
God created us to glorify Him, and worship is at the heart of going deeper with God. Our West U campus was built on traditional worship and hymn singing, and has continued to grow as Dr. Paul Magyar has taken the reins. Through the years we have added contemporary worship styles and various campuses and services, and I am confident that our best days are ahead of us. Most recently, our combined worship teams and volunteers joined forces to create an awesome worship experience for our Fight for It campaign and beyond. As we grow our digital presence, we’re able to provide more and more worship songs with lyrics for individual, family, and small group worship experiences. When God’s people engage in worship, then they do what they were made to do, glorify God!
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What’s Happening with
CATHEDRAL FAMILIES
When we group up where the gospel is being preached, life change happens. It is the job of our staff to oversee all of it. Each weekend we have eight services, five in English, one in Chinese and two in Spanish. If you attend one worship service per weekend you have exposure to one eighth of the people of the church. Our children, youth, and adults are blessed with a church staff that works to serve Christ and serve others. The gospel is being proclaimed in many ways, and Jesus Christ is being exalted in all the CityRise campuses. We’re so blessed to have 12 pastors who can preach on any given Sunday. Very few church congregations have the luxury of hearing the message of Christ proclaimed by so many talented pastors. When I’m giving these guys the ball they take it and go. These men have been called, gifted and trained up to proclaim the gospel. When that happens, life change is happening, and we are seeing people come to the Lord and be baptized. A lot of families started watching us online during the pandemic and what we have seen is that our service broadcast has become the new front door to the church. Some of these families have been baptized and now worship here in person. God is moving and bringing these folks from watching online to experiencing and participating on our campuses and in our small groups.
8
services 16
5 in English 1 in Chinese 2 in Spanish
12
teaching pastors
What’s Happening at
WEST UNIVERSITY CAMPUS campus infrastructure https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
At our West University campus we have seen an overall increase in our weekly worship attendance as well as in the excitement in the room! In the first quarter of 2022, we have averaged 443 in weekly worship attendance compared to an overall average of 349 in 2021! bellaire In addition, we have seencrosspoint an increase in our https://cityrise.org/ Sunday morning community group attendance. locations/crosspoint/ In the first quarter of 2022, we averaged 376 in weekly attendance compared to our 2021 average of 327. More importantly we have seen a renewed energy and enthusiasm for our community groups and have witnessed real relationships being fostered! west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
In the first quarter of 2022 we have had the blessing of 5 baptisms at West U, compared to only 3 in the first quarter of 2021. One sweet moment happened just recently when we baptized a sweet 78 year old woman. She first attended West U with a neighbor who had invited her. She then connected into a community group, where she found love and acceptance. After attending throughout Fight for It, she felt compelled to make a public profession of faith and follow up with a believer’s baptism, which she did with her emmanuel missouri city community group cheering her on.mssouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cremc/
https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouWe have had 21 new members joinri-city/ West U
this year. In all of 2021 we had only 49 new members. So in the first quarter of the year we have almost had half of the total number of new members for all of 2021!
We added 21 new “off campus” groups during Fight for It, and we have six of those groups iglesia bellaire west baptist u continuing to meet, adding one new group for https://cityrise.org/locahttps://cityrise.org/ tions/icb/ locations/west-u30 Days To Easter! baptist/
LEARN MORE kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
young adults https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
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rastructure rise.org/deepmpus-infra-
bellaire rise.org/ rosspoint/
se rise.org/ wucc/
yrise.org/
emmanuel missouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cremc/
New Campus
MISSOURI CITY
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
mssouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouri-city/
LEARN MORE
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/ in We recently launched a new campus
Missouri City, and we’ve seen some amazing results already. From January 2021 to January 2022, we grew from 25 adults to 75 adults each Sunday in worship. We went from 25 in weeknight groups to 65. We have baptized 11 people in the past 15 months, and after kids young adults https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ launching the campus with 30 children ministries/birthministries/youngand five youth, we now frequently have 35 through-5th-grade/ adults/ children and 15 youth in attendance. That’s how God has grown us wide. But He has grown us deep too. We’ve seen couples come to faith, get baptized and then host a community group weekly in their home. One woman, who first came to the church Worship casa https://cityrise.org/ for free groceries, is now serving with us in https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/ casa multiple ministries. Another family we met going door-to-door were living apart from each other, but now God has helped them to reconcile in their marriage. Both of them now have professed faith in Christ, along with their twelve-year-old daughter, and they’ve all been baptized recently! CityRise Missouri City has opened ministry rooms in two local middle schools. We have ten people learning English as a second language, and another ten getting their GED. Thanks to our basketball court, we regularly see about 20 neighborhood kids come to play. Finally, our free medical clinic is connecting with the maximum number of patients for our capacity. God is so good on and around the Missourity City campus!
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75 weekly attendees 11 baptized 65 in small groups 50
youth & children
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campus infrastructure emmanuel missouri city https://cityrise.org/deephttps://cityrise.org/locacrosspoint bellaireandwide/campus-infraiglesia bellaire tions/cremc/ west baptist u https://cityrise.org/structure/ https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/localocations/crosspoint/ locations/west-utions/icb/ baptist/
mssour https:// cations ri-city/
What’s Happening at our
SPANISH SERVICES
IGLESIA
CITYRISE
crosspoint bellairekids iglesia bellaire west bapti young adults west chinese CROSSPOINT https://cityrise.org/locaEMMANUELhttps://cityrise.org/ https://cit https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birthministries/young- locations/ BELLAIRE tions/icb/ locations/wucc/ locations/crosspoint/ through-5th-grade/ baptist/ adults/
5
new members in one week alone!
123
professions of faith at community outreach events
IGLESIA CROSSPOINT BELLAIRE
There is a large Hispanic community within a mile of our location, so at Iglesia kids young adul west chinese Worship https://cityrise.org/ https://city students casa Crosspoint Bellaire, Pastor Rick Vasquez https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ministries/birth- https://cityrise.org/ministries/ locations/wucc/ and his Spanish-speaking congregation through-5th-grade/ministries/worship/ adults/ students/ casa have an opportunity to minister to them and send them out with the love of Jesus. We offer:
• • • • • • • • •
Bible classes Parenting classes for those needing it for court or immigration purposes Free Love and Respect classes ESL classes for the community Youth group Men’s group Women’s group Cafe con Maribel Kids’ Ministry
We have had a steady stream of individuals joining ICB as members in the past 90 days. In the last week alone we had 5 new members join! We had a spontaneous baptism last month and are preparing to baptize more for our Easter service. In the last six weeks, we have had a total of 123 professions of faith. There are way too many stories of God’s provision at ICB to tell here!
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CATHEDRAL EMMANUEL AT MISSOURI CITY. students
casa
With our 2021 addition of First https://cityrise.org/ Baptist Church https://cityrise.org/ students/ City into our network,casa Missouri we embraced long-time pastor Justo Robinson and the Emmanuel Baptist Church congregation who were already worshiping there. Justo’s dedication and diligent pastoral leadership there for over three decades produced a mature congregation of Spanish-speaking peoples who love to serve and study God’s Word. They are instrumental in the function of the Casa El Buen Samaritano clinic, weekly food distribution, Spanish as a Second Language and much, much more. We praise God for Justo’s leadership and humility and how he brought our church families together under the CityRise umbrella to jointly lift our city and the world by generously giving the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Worship https://city ministries/
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What’s Happening at
ONLINE GROUPS
CROSSPOINT BELLAIRE
Wes and Allison Hart felt the Lord speak to them about stepping out to form a community group for people who needed to harness technology and zoom. That group is consistent and strong and recently watched one of their group members celebrate the dedication of their first child!
God has been so faithful to Crosspoint Church – Bellaire. The resiliency of this campus has come to the forefront as the COVID pandemic arrived. Like most of the world we experienced a pivot for a while with our worship services, community groups and ministries in general. We couldn’t predict how we would come back from such a unique experience. But in a very difficult season our campus has shined, and God gets all the glory for doing more than we could ask or imagine. In fact, in many ways, the past few years have served as a catalyst for growth, development and reconnecting to Jesus at Crosspoint. Here are a few highlights:
YOUTH MINISTRY
campus infrastructure https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
SMALL GROUPS
We have seen the addition of several new groups at our campus and a new fervor for community. We have increased our community groups to 19. More than 5 Off-Campus groups have formed and are helping people connect to community crosspoint bellaire and to Christ. https://cityrise.org/
locations/crosspoint/
LEARN MORE
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
It’s been fun to watch Sam and Jenny Dagley step into leadership to help our parents of middle/high school students with a new community group called 612.
SERVE SUMMIT We hosted Serve Summit in Fall of 2021, bringing all three campuses together for a party to inspire, celebrate and recruit new volunteers for every CityRise campus. It was a huge success and went a long way to kick-off incredible ministry in all of our locations. emmanuel missouri city
https://cityrise.org/locaNEW PODCAST tions/cremc/
mssouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouri-city/
We started a new Family-Centric podcast hosted by Jennifer Dennis and Justin Kellough called, “The Almost Amazing Dinner Party.” Each week this podcast features our hosts and guests who help families in a variety of ways to connect to Jesus and help them live out their faith in Christ as life comes in a bellaire west baptist u variety ofiglesia shapes and sizes. https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
ANSWERED PRAYER
https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
A family in our church who has struggled with infertility for so long, with so many hiccups, welcomed their first child, healthy and strong, and this child was recently dedicated at our Crosspoint Church – Bellaire Campus. kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
young adults https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
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andwide/campus-infrastructure/
tions/cremc/
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
Featured Ministry
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
YOUNG ADULTS casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
cations/cityrise-missouri-city/
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
young adults https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
LEARN MORE
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
In Fall of 2021, we relaunched our CityRise Young Adults ministry. We held a Welcome Dinner in October and had 75 adults attend. Many of our community groups in the young adults demographic are growing and reaching new people. At our Sunday gatherings, we are seeing a steady stream of first time visitors in the young adults demographic. In spring of 2022, we launched a brand new ministry called CityRise Co-Lab, a co-working space for young professionals and graduate students. We gather every Tuesday to work/ study together and provide food and spiritual conversation at lunch break. Also, we have held a few fellowship gatherings specifically for single young professionals. This group is growing at CityRise and growing closer together.
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Featured Ministry
ENGLISH AS SECOND LANGUAGE CLASSES CityRise holds 19 ESL classes every week. 12 are held in person and 7 are held via Zoom. We have over 30 volunteers teaching or assisting. Our goal is to: 1) generously show the gospel of Jesus Christ by teaching the very best English classes we can 2) take advantage of all opportunities to give the gospel of Jesus Christ whenever we can as the Holy Spirit provides open doors. For both in person and Zoom classes, we strive to connect students with Bible study and worship in their native language and in their neighborhood. In just three months last year, we had 564 students attend an ESL class. In these months, our students were from: Angola, Azerbaijan, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Columbia, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Russia, Ukraine, Venezuela, Zambia
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19 weekly classes 30 volunteer teachers average monthly 188 students
23 countries represented
Featured Ministry
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
west b https: locati baptis
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
CASA EL BUEN SAMARITANO
Casa El Buen Samaritano’s mission is to share the love of Jesus Christ while providing whole-person — body, soul, spirit — healthcare to the low-income, the uninsured and uninsurable population in our community. Some of Christ’s last words on earth were, “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19). Because sharing the Gospel with our patients is at the core of the clinic’s ministry - each year we are blessed with more patients seeking whole-person healing.
Without the security of monthly donations, serving families and individuals who want to west grow inchinese their faith is not possible.kids Casa can https://cityrise.org/ https://cityrise.org/ only achieve its mission throughministries/birthcommitted locations/wucc/ volunteers, staff, partners like us,through-5th-grade/ and individual donors.
young https:// ministr adults/
The partnership with Casa has been so sweet. We love to see people get involved with that, and it’s amazing to see how God blesses the people at CityRise when they serve there. students https://cityrise.org/ students/
Worsh https:// ministr
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
LEARN MORE
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HARRY & SANDRA’S STORY
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Harry: I’ve been at West University Baptist, which is now a CityRise campus, since I was five years old until I went to college in Austin. After that I came back to Houston in 1973 with Sandra. We continued to attend the West U campus until 2005, when we went to populate the Crosspoint campus where we have been ever since.
We gave up the beach for a few years, but you know the saying “You can’t outgive the Lord.” We found an old beach house for sale as we were walking that we would later buy, and it just goes to show that although it’s not the motive for giving, God always blesses us and gives back to us, so you should always obey when the Holy Spirit is urging you.
Sandra: We raised our family there because it’s a place where everyone is involved in raising the children, where being involved in the different programs that are available helps to get the kids involved. Even the capital raising event was something for families to participate in.
We found this out when our oldest son became a minister in Bolivia. We knew that we have a tendency to want to hold onto things, but you always have to trust the Lord because he’d be safer in His hands and doing His will than here in Houston.
Sports were a big part of our lives and for our family, and we wanted to give something that would be noticed by our kids. We also took a vacation to the beach every summer, and we knew if we gave up that they would take notice as well. We wanted them to realize that it’s important to do some sacrificial giving.
Giving of our time and talents is part of the way we give. Harry: After college when we set up our home and employment, tithing was just part of our setup. That’s what we had been taught, and that’s what we wanted to do.
We gave a little bit of money from summer jobs, but it wasn’t until we were real adults that we began tithing with our money and time. Sandra would work with GA’s and missions, and I would work with RA’s, and from there we would see other leaders who would be mentors to us. Everybody has different talents, but the Lord can use all of them. We saw them model that for us, and it inspired us to help meet any needs we could, whether financially or with our time or leadership.
Harry: Unfortunately, I lost my father when I was 14, so I had to learn a lot from other men in the church. I learned when you give your time and talents that the Lord would bless that, and although I never gave to be blessed, He always blessed us when we needed it. So even when I was working 60 hours a week, I would still carve out time to volunteer at the church. And as soon as I had more time, it was really fun to grow and meet the needs we saw around us in groups, and it continues to bless me to this day.
But generosity goes deeper than just giving your money, you can sacrifice a lot, which we did, but really giving of your time and talents means a lot. I’ve seen many men working and giving to the Lord when I was younger, both Chester Arnold and Hollace Waldt modeled that for me, so I continue to lead in their footsteps. And many other great men give so much of their time, which has allowed us to do some great things at CityRise.
Sandra: The joy really comes through in our daily living, and even in tough times, we’ve been allowed to have that peace and joy.
Everything we do and give is directed by the Lord, we just try to point things in the right direction. Sandra: Even knowing when it’s time to step down and let others take over is part of giving, especially within the church. Nobody is perfect in the church, and we won’t always get along, but sometimes getting involved with different people allows you to see things from a different perspective, and that’s part of the body of Christ. If we all had the same talents we wouldn’t be used.
We’re really excited about the Deep & Wide campaign, because they’re working to connect people into small groups, as we were once fortunate enough to experience 15 years ago. The transparency that comes with a small group when you’re all together sharing the deepest things in your life really opens doors for growth and community. It’s a great opportunity for young people financially and for the giving of their time and talents. We believe so much in small groups and the change that they can bring for the Lord, and it’s really exciting for us to be a part of. God is everywhere and we want people all over the world to know this.
I learned when you give your time and talents that the Lord would bless that, and although I never gave to be blessed, He always blessed us when we needed it. 29
INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS In February, 253 people attended Dinner and Deploy, our annual evening focusing on international missions. We bring in all our international partners for our people to hear firsthand about the ministries we are in partnership with and our scheduled mission trips for the year. To date this year, we have deployed 17 to Ecuador (March).
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148
going on shortterm mission trips
7
countries represented Ecuador, Thailand, Kenya, Belize, Latvia, Dominican Repbulic, and Honduras
OUR STUDENTS IN ECUADOR For the past 10 years, our high school seniors have been traveling to Riobamba, Ecuador to live generously during their final spring break of high school. I had the privilege of going on this trip with my son Cooper, who was one of eight seniors who committed to go on this trip. Unique to this trip is the opportunity for parents to join their student and serve together. The heart of the trip, led by Jerry Edrington, is to cement our students in the gospel, being able to share their faith and to know why they believe what they believe. Jerry also has our students share their testimonies and it is a special time each night as a few students step forward to share their faith journey. It’s profound to see our kids—my kid—wash feet, share the good news, and lower themselves to live the generous life! Thank you for giving so that we can develop our students and lead more than 700 Ecuadorian children and their parents to Jesus!
UKRAINIAN RELIEF The Church also raised and sent over $50K for Ukraine relief this month. We divided it and sent half to a church in Poland we have worked with who is busing refugees to Sweden and Switzerland as well as providing for emergency needs. We sent the other half of the money to the Baptist Seminary in Lviv, Ukraine, who turned their building into a refugee center.
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ri-
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west b https: locati baptis
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
young https:// ministr adults/
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
CATHEDRAL KIDS CityRise KidStuff small groups have experienced over 50% growth in the last year. Our small groups teach the entire Bible over three years, making sure every story leads back to the significance of Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. At our 2021 Vacation Bible School, we were blessed to see 30 children come to know Christ as their personal Savior. We celebrated the arrival of 354 kids on our West University campus to worship, study God’s Word, make new friendships, and have tons of fun! At our Fall Carnival, we enjoyed seeing over 400 people show up for a fun time of celebration, community, and friendships. Our KPNO (Kids and Parents Night Out) season was hopping with 180 kids on average, up to 230 children entering our church for an incredible night of fun allowing parents a night to themselves or to connect with other couples. Each week, we welcome on average just over 300 children to attend KidRally or participate in
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LEARN MORE
small groups. Both environments were created to help lead children to know and follow Christ and we’re privileged to see amazing results. On Wednesday evenings our KidStuff team focuses on memorization and comprehension of God’s Word through Slugs and Bugs and ETCH. Children are able to enjoy hands-on projects, games, worship and small groups dedicated to hiding God’s Word in their heart! This program has seen over a 90% increase over our 2021 program!
This year our KidStuff team has been committed to sharing the gospel in a consistent way that involves parents. Our desire is to explicitly share the gospel every quarter in our ministry. We alert parents, send home guides and information for families, and give children the opportunity to talk about their spiritual journey with our Childrens’ Ministers. Our first quarter, we had over 10 children come forward and move towards baptism!
Worsh https:/ minist
50% growth in 1 year 30 decisions for Christ average weekly 300 children attendees
10 children baptized 33
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students https://cityrise.org/ students/
PARENTS OF STUDENTS
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
LEARN MORE
God is doing so much in our student groups this year already, and it’s been amazing to watch Him work! Here are some recent highlights: “Small group time really speaks to me and encourages me and gives me the motivation I need to follow Jesus again.” – a female high school student in our ministry A young woman in our ministry opened up about her biggest hang up with being near to the Lord is that she does not have a household that encourages it…She was thankful she came this weekend, so she can now be connected to mentors in her life to fill that void and hold her accountable in her walk with Jesus. There is story after story of students asking for prayer that God would surround them with better, more godly friends. At our Winter Weekend retreat a middle school boy prayed over another middle school boy with a really rough past and led him to Christ. A student recently asked for prayer because she felt unseen and not valued in her life, but at church she feels and knows that she is seen by God. She just bought a Bible and asked if one of our leaders could disciple her and help her learn how to spend time with Jesus! Students are learning how to actually “abide” in Jesus (John 15:1-10) at home instead of the “camp/event high” then not seeking Him in between. Our small groups have spurred cool conversations.
A brand new high school student that just recently moved to Houston and just plugged into the student ministry asked for prayer about loneliness, being a new student all the time is hard on her, and she said she acts confident but feels very lonely. One of our leaders prayed with her that our church would be the answer to that. We got word from a parent of a student that the student was worshiping in her room on Sunday night and having some quiet time on her own. Very cool!
increase in attendance 83% since 2020
6
small groups meeting every week
8
seniors on missions trip to Ecuador
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middle schoolers meet every Wednesday night 35
GENEROSITY JOURNEY We must always remember there is much more to generosity than just a financial transaction. In God’s eyes, our growth in generosity is less about a financial transaction and more about a transformation. It is a matter of the heart! The Generosity Journey can help us think about this transformation. Make no mistake — to move along this path requires a heart change. Moving along the path does not make us super Christians; it brings us to a greater understanding of God, not a greater view of ourselves. As you look and think about this journey, ask yourself, “What drives you to be generous?”
1
INITIAL GIVER
Courageous & Exciting First Step 2
3
Planned & Prioritized
SURRENDERED GIVER
Giving Drives Everything Else
4
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INTENTIONAL GIVER
LIFETIME GIVER
Top Priority of Life & Legacy
NEXT STEPS FERVENTLY PRAY Pray that our efforts would be multiplied and that, together as a church, we can do abundantly more than we could ask or imagine. Ask God what gift to Deep & Wide would honor Him as a step of faith that puts Him first, before all things.
FULLY COMMIT Engage in this life-changing experience and commit to do what God asks.
FREELY GIVE Ask God to show you what it looks like to give in a way that deepens your faith and changes you. Take whatever bold steps are required to see it through. If we each bring our first and best, together we will accomplish God’s vision in this next season at CityRise.
FAITHFULLY CELEBRATE Encourage others to engage with God’s vision for them personally and for our church. Communicate your enthusiasm for all God is going to do in and among us in the next few years.
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CHRISTY AND CHARLIE’S STORY Christy: I grew up at West University Baptist Church. I started going when I was three years old. My family was very active, and any time the church was open, we were there. That taught me how to be a member of a church. As an adult, I’m still active in my church in many ways. Charlie: My mother’s dad was our first family member at West University Baptist Church in the late 1930’s, and my mother was born in 1940, so she was raised around the corner from the church. As a child, that’s where all my family was, and it was home. I became sort of a prodigal son as a teenager until I was in my mid-twenties, when I had an encounter with God that brought me home again to West University Baptist and I got reacquainted with Christy. We got involved with a class for young married couples, and some of our deepest relationships came about then. West U is home to us, and we care deeply. Through the years I would pop my head into the church and drop some money in, but it wasn’t ever any type of commitment or tithe. Once, after a teaching from my aunt and uncle on tithing, we came home and Christy said “we’re going to tithe.” We weren’t making much money, but I thought if she handled it and I didn’t worry about it, we’d be fine, so that’s how we’ve rolled until recently. Obedience is a big part of it, but there’s more to it than just that.
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We’ve had the opportunity to give additionally to other organizations and missionaries, but it all started out of obedience. Now going through this series, we’ve realized that before God can do something through us, He needs to do something to us. And I’ve realized that my giving should be more than just obedience, but intentional and out of gratitude. I want it to be first from my heart, and then from my checkbook. Christy: There’s a Scripture that tells about how these people initially gave obediently, but then even more out of their hearts because of their love for Jesus. We think it’s really important to evolve that check box of obedience into something more intentional and really trusting God to provide and allow us to be more generous. Charlie: Christy and I have spent many years in the financial industry, so we know how to teach people for example about retirement. My uncle, Hollace Waldtl, used to say “Pay the Lord first, pay yourself second,” so I’ve tried to teach my children to do that in the same way that you would save for retirement. We’ve never found ourselves wanting, and we’ve continued to give and support kingdom-oriented organizations and people. But we are now trying to give beyond, and I’m excited about the change in our hearts after studying this material. Christy: There’s no question that we’ve been immensely blessed by God through so many different ways. Even just through hosting several young women from Africa while they work or go to school; they were such a good influence on our own children, and even we benefited from that. I think because of our faithfulness to the church, we’ve been really blessed. My parents got divorced when I was young, and even then, the church was my home and a safe
space for me. Back in 2005 I was diagnosed with very aggressive breast cancer. I was under the age of 40, had two small children, and the church rallied around us so much, bringing us meals, babysitting, and doing whatever they could to help us. It was so powerful, and I couldn’t imagine not having a church family in their life, because it’s such an intricate part of who we are. It’s such a blessing to do life with other people who believe what we believe, and I’m really excited for the Deep & Wide campaign and study that we’re going to be doing. It’s just another opportunity for us to come together in a small group and be vulnerable with people. It’s one thing to come and worship at church, but it’s really important to get personal and have real conversations and relationships with people. It really becomes a blessing for us and those around us when we do. To hear their struggles and winnings and to relate to people is so important, and I think that’s why the Deep & Wide campaign is another great opportunity for us to do that. I’m also excited about what we can learn about being generous. There’s just so much to learn about who the Lord is and how He shows His love for us through His abundant provision, and how He wants us to give to His kingdom. Regardless of where you are on your giving journey, there’s still something to learn. Even for us, our giving is evolving. After spending 25 years as a global asset manager, I’ve been really moved to missions and nonprofit ministry, something greater than corporate America. For the past couple years I’ve worked for a medical clinic Casa el Buen Samaritano. The more people we can see, the more people we can share the gospel with. This is why I’m here, to grow the kingdom in the most excellent way.
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LEARN MORE:
Deep & Wide splash page
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Key Dates
HISTOY OF CATHEDRAL FAMILY
session 1
DEEP AND WIDE SERMON SERIES BEGINS APRIL 24, 2022
ADVANCE COMMITMENT NIGHT MAY 15, 2022
COMMITMENT SUNDAY MAY 22, 2022 CITYRISE.ORG/DEEPANDWIDE
PRIMARY GOAL
SECONDARY GOAL
100% Engagement $5 Million Each root and every branch. We are challenging every person who calls CityRise their home to go deeper with Jesus.
To broaden our reach, we must deepen our roots in these three areas:
DEEPER RELATIONAL ROOTS - $17.4 MILLION
What are we holding back from the Lordship of Jesus that we need to relinquish control of to Him?
The engine of CityRise is our on-going ministry of worship, fellowship, Bible study, and missions. This is funded through our annual operating budget of $8.4 million in 2022 and approximately $9.0 million in 2023.
DEEPER FAITH
DEEPER STRUCTURAL ROOTS - $20 MILLION
What step do we need to take that moves us away from our comfort zone and into a deeper soil of dependence upon Him?
These resources will go to deepen our roots of infrastructure to build our digital platform and provide upgraded facilities on campus to help people connect and grow.
DEEPER SURRENDER
DEEPER GENEROSITY What new depth of generosity do we need to pursue in order to express our gratitude for what He has done for us?
As each of us deepens our surrender, faith, and generosity, we will see the fruit expressed in a joy that overflows, a greater burden for the lost, and a passion to lift our city and our world.
DEEPER COMMITMENT TO OUR CITY AND WORLD - $2 MILLION With our burden for our city, we link arms with others to work together to help our city rise. These resources include our annual missions offering and money to build out our network to have an even greater impact in our city and with our international partners.
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Deeper Structural Roots
campus infrastructure https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
CAMPUS INFRASTRUCTURE
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A big part of our goal for Deep & Wide is to build our campus infrastructure. As we talk about building up our campus infrastructure, the first phases of the work will primarily focus on our two inner loop campuses. As we launched CityRise Missouri City, we put a lot of resources there so that we could move into that facility. This generosity initiative seeks to invest in the campus infrastructure at Crosspoint and our West U Baptist campuses. In these two facilities, faithful generations have gone before us so that we could enjoy what we have. In 2005 we opened our Crosspoint Campus to reach people we had yet to meet.
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em htt tion
crosspoint bellaire
iglesia b https://c tions/icb
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ In 1997, Julee and I came here on Mother’s Day. locations/wucc/
kids https://c ministr through
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa https:// casa
https://cityrise.org/ That was the heart of this church when it was locations/crosspoint/ founded and it was the hearts of those who were here in 1954. Those faithful people erected a sanctuary at our West University campus at 6218 Auden Street, located in the heart of West University Place for people to corporately gather and hear about the love of Jesus Christ and have their lives challenged and changed.
It was the church’s last Sunday in the sanctuary before it was renovated. It’s now time for it to be updated for the ministry we are doing today and the days ahead.
At our West U location, we will light up that Jesus-stained glass that fronts Auden street that will shine out to our community. Jesus stands at the door knocking, inviting us to open our hearts to Him. There will be a new patio that leads to a new Welcome Center building. The new sanctuary renovation will be done in such a way that it’s going to facilitate worship both for classic and contemporary services. The new sanctuary will be beautifully adorned for your classic traditional worship service, but we will also be able to incorporate electronics, digital media, and audio/visual elements that are more compelling for our contemporary services. It’s going to be amazing!
We will make the foyer a bit deeper and where the playground currently sits, build a new welcome center. We’ve been working on this since I first introduced the renovation to you in 2015, and we’ve not yet been able to take these steps. Currently we don’t have any lobby space at West U. We don’t have a place where people can get a cup of coffee, sit down together and fellowship. If we can add this, it will go a long way towards building a community and deepening our relational culture. We also plan to have a big LED screen over a small stage. It will be a place to take family photos, and perhaps some sort of conversational broadcast service. Imagine being a young mom or grandma who needs some relief. You could put your kids in the indoor playground and go to have a cup of coffee and relax a bit.
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At West U, we will build an indoor playground and move the KidRally space to what is currently the Fowler Chapel. We are taking these steps in order to provide a single secure entrance for kids. We will then move the chapel down the corridor that faces to the east and fronts Auden street. This space will be wonderful for our events and classes that take place in the chapel.
We’re going to consolidate parking at West U and seek to add as much parking as possible over the next few years as we pursue properties that are adjacent to our properties.
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Let's talk about Crosspoint infrastructure. I want you to think about the education building—those three stories. This is where our preschool will be. It's where our elementary school education is, and that building needs a lot of work to make it as effective as possible accomplishing what God has called us to do with those ministries. Our plan is to do a new grand entrance in the back adding an outdoor patio with a fountain that will also be used for baptisms. We hope to have coffee service here as well. It will be a wonderful use of space that is currently used for a storage shed and our chiller for the campus. These additions outside will make the campus more appealing and the campus to flow better. As you come into the grand entrance you can go to the sanctuary, the education building, or to the new secure check in facility for kids. We’re so excited to build up campus infrastructure for our generation and the generations to come!
There’s More to Come! CATHEDRAL MISSOURI CITY As we are able, we plan to renovate a number of spaces at our CityRise Missouri City Campus. They include: •
• • •
•
Enhanced Fellowship Space Between the Sanctuary and Chapel Renovation of David’s Hall Addition of a Kitchen Finish out the second floor classroom space in the gym building Field Work for Athletics Ministry
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Deeper Structural Roots
CATHEDRAL FAMILY CHURCH
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THE NEXT GENERATION IS ONLINE ALL DAY When we ask the question, “why the push to digital”? Here’s the answer: If we don’t, we will lose the next generation that spends six to eight hours a day online. If we want to reach them, just as we’ve always believed we were called to do, we’ve got to go where they are and speak their language. The Word of God never changes, but the medium does. Today’s kids here are being shaped and led through their smartphones and we all know it. So, I don’t want to be the frog in the kettle just thinking everything’s great and miss this generation and the coming generations. We’ll keep filling our campuses up and the Lord blesses us. We’ll start as many services as we can to reach more and more people, but we can be very strategic to reach people exponentially online. So the opportunity for us in this is to break through the four walls right beyond our dense locations. Being faithful to reach out digitally involves production. Think about Fight for It, and the production that went into that. The LifeTogether team have done a fantastic job producing it for us. They’ve done this over
500 times before we ever sat down to do it with them. This is something God’s uniquely gifted them to do, so they’ve been a big help. We know we have only just begun to scratch the surface of what is possible if we are willing to keep stretching ourselves into the digital universe to be a light in the darkness of that world.
followers across 9,198 all social platforms lifetime podast 68,872 downloads monthly podast 6,000 downloads
OUR DIGITAL IMPACT Recently, a man visited our church, because he saw a YouTube short that we posted. He had been in Houston for two weeks and he googled us after seeing the short and came to visit! CityRise network positioned itself before the pandemic to meet our people where they are. Many of our members are all over the world at any given time, and my responsibility is to still shepherd them and challenge them and seek to lead them spiritually. Digital infrastructure is the mechanism we see that can do that. Here’s where are so far:
Follower Count on Social Platforms * YouTube: 1,347 ! CityRise: 586 CityRise Missouri City: 141 Crosspoint Church-Bellaire: 1,967 West U Baptist: 1,889 $ CityRise: 458 CityRise Missouri City: 167 Crosspoint Church - Bellaire: 628 West U Baptist: 569 " CityRise Twitter: 33 CityRise Tik Tok: 1,413
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Deeper Commitment to Our City and World
CATHEDRAL FAMILY NETWORK In recent years, we’ve realized that we had a network of ministries and churches forming around us, so in January, 2021, we officially launched the CityRise Network to link arms with others to lift our city as we seek to generously give the gospel of Jesus Christ. We have churches, campuses, and ministry partners. We have medical partners, people working in literacy, people fighting poverty, and much, much more. The Bible says, “Where the righteous prosper, the city rejoices!”
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We need to build the network to have a city reaching impact. If our vision is to lift our city and the world by generously giving the gospel, how do we go about that? When it comes to sizes of churches in this city, we’re midsize, we’re not a massive church. But my call, as I have conveyed many times, was, “through the church to the city,” and the Lord has not let me get away from that, so I just began to wrestle with vision and strategy to accomplish this. What if we could build an organization that creates opportunity for growth of the kingdom at an individual level where people’s lives are being impacted through a collaboration of the church and parachurch? What if we begin to care for leaders’ health, and wellbeing? We invest in a lot of ministries here in the city and around the world. But if the leader’s physical or mental health is not good, we are risking God’s resources because as goes the leader’s life and health, so goes their ministry. We need to make sure we’re caring for and loving on leaders. So we’re doing a leaders’ conference every year now just to bring leaders in to build
them up. Then we need to deploy kingdom talent to the needs of the city. That’s what a good platform does. It helps people get to work. How do we catalyze information and relevance through collaboration? We can work through our network to connect pastors with parachurch ministry leaders who can help meet the needs of their people. For instance, we can connect a pastor with a team of medical providers and mobilize the clinic. We can connect them to Attack Poverty who works to relieve food insecurity and has an amazing after school ministry. When we meet physical, social, and spiritual needs, life change will happen and lives will be lifted. We will do this by grouping leaders together and getting them into conversations. The old model of everyone doing their own separate thing is irrelevant and inefficient. Imagine what a powerful network of ministries, sharing skills, gifts, resources, and information could accomplish. That’s the power of networking!
IMAGINE WHAT A POWERFUL NETWORK OF MINISTRIES, SHARING SKILLS, GIFTS, RESOURCES, AND INFORMATION COULD ACCOMPLISH. THAT’S THE POWER OF NETWORKING! 49
CATHEDRAL FAMILY FUND You may have taken part in church campaigns in the past to which you were invited to give a second gift “over and above” your usual gift in order to make special initiatives like new buildings and new ministries possible. There was a “general fund” for ongoing ministries, and a separate “building fund,” or “campaign fund” designated for capital projects and other specific needs. While this approach has served us well, we also recognize the potential for confusion; it required an explanation to make clear which “fund” did what and not everyone was able to participate. It’s time for a change! Deep & Wide will be our unifying commitment as a church to generosity. For the next two years, everything we do will be a part of Deep & Wide. Everyone can get on board and participate. We are all on ONE MISSION – the mission of lifting our city and the world by generously giving the gospel of Jesus Christ, that pervasive Hope may be established on every street, for every person in Houston and beyond. And we are excited to introduce a single fund that will unify the generosity of everyone who is part of the CityRise network of churches, ministries, non-profits, and global partners seeking to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in new and creative ways, and send people around the world to partner with missionaries as they seek to share the gospel. Over the coming weeks you will be invited to make ONE COMMITMENT. We are trusting that God will reveal what that number is that will represent your total, radical, sacrificial generosity to the kingdom over the next two years.
GIVING CHART As you pray and discern how God would ask you to give during this time, use this gift chart as a discipleship tool – let it be something that inspires and challenges you toward greater generosity for Christ’s Kingdom as we seek to give it all for Him.
GIFTS NEEDED
TWO-YEAR GIFT LEVEL
ANNUAL GIFT
MONTHLY GIFT
GIFT LEVEL TOTAL
1
$5,000,000
$2,500,000
$208,333
$5,000,000
1
$2,500,000
$1,250,000
$104,167
$2,500,000
2
$1,500,000
$750,000
$62,500
$3,000,000
3
$1,000,000
$500,000
$41,667
$3,000,000
5
$500,000
$250,000
$20,833
$2,500,000
8
$250,000
$125,000
$10,417
$2,000,000
12
$150,000
$75,000
$6,250
$1,800,000
18
$100,000
$50,000
$4,167
$1,800,000
25
$75,000
$37,500
$3,125
$1,875,000
35
$65,000
$32,500
$2,708
$2,275,000
50
$50,000
$25,000
$2,083
$2,500,000
65
$35,000
$17,500
$1,458
$2,275,000
80
$25,000
$12,500
$1,042
$2,000,000
125
$15,000
$7,500
$625
$1,875,000
150
$10,000
$5,000
$417
$1,500,000
175
$7,500
$3,750
$313
$1,312,500
225
$5,000
$2,500
$208
$1,125,000
Many
$2,500
$1,250
$104
$1,062,500
TOTAL
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$39,400,000
COMMITMENT CARD
Cathedral Family
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
Jeremiah 17:7-8
What I/we would normally give in a year
$
(regular giving, special projects, missions, etc.)
+$
My/Our expanded annual generosity as part of the Deep & Wide initiative
=$
x 2 years
$ Gifts from my/our stored resources
+$
MY/OUR TOTAL TWO-YEAR DEEP & WIDE COMMITMENT $ JUNE 2022 - JUNE 2024
NA M E EMAIL P H O NE ADDRESS
CA M P U S
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HOW TO USE THIS STUDY GUIDE
Tools to Help You Have a Great Small Group Experience:
1
Notice in the Table of Contents there are three sections: (1) Sessions; (2) Appendices; and (3) Small Group Leaders. Familiarize yourself with the Appendices. Some of them will be used in the sessions themselves.
or co-leading a small group, the section Small Group Leaders, 2 Ifwillyougiveareyoufacilitating/leading some experiences of others that will encourage you and help you avoid many common obstacles to effective small group leadership.
3
Use this workbook as a guide, not a straightjacket. If the group responds to the lesson in an unexpected but honest way, go with that. If you think of a better question than the next one in the lesson, ask it. Take to heart the insights included in the Frequently Asked Questions pages and the Small Group Leaders section.
4 Enjoy your Small Group experience. before each session—for your group members, for your time together, and for 5 Pray wisdom and insights. the outline for each session on the next pages so that you understand how the 6 Read sessions will flow.
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OUTLINE OF EACH SESSION
A typical group session for the Deep and Wide study will include the following sections. Read through this to get a clear idea of how each group meeting will be structured:
INTRODUCTION. Each lesson opens with a brief thought that will help you prepare for the session and get you thinking about the particular subject you will explore with your group. Make it a practice to read these before the session. COME TOGETHER. The foundation for spiritual growth is an intimate connection with God and God’s family. You build that connection by sharing your experience with a few people who really know you and who earn your trust. This is helpful preparation for being able to share what Christ has done in your life with anyone you meet—which is what a disciple is ready to do. This section includes some simple questions to get you talking—letting you share as much or as little of your story as you feel comfortable doing. Each session typically offers you 2 options. You can get to know your whole group by using the icebreaker question(s), or you can check in with 1 or 2 group members for a deeper connection and encouragement in your spiritual journey. WATCH THE VIDEO. When the study directs you to, you’ll start the video and watch a short teaching segment. You can watch the videos online. Each session’s teaching will include biblical insights from your pastor.. Space is provided in this study guide to take notes you can use in the discussion to follow. LEARN TOGETHER. In this section, you’ll have an opportunity to read a passage of Scripture and discuss both the teaching and the text. You won’t focus on accumulating information but on how you should live in light of the Word of God. We want to help you apply the insights from Scripture practically and creatively, from your heart as well as your head. At the end of the day, allowing the timeless truths from God’s Word to transform our lives in Christ should be your greatest aim. STUDY NOTES. This brief section provides additional commentary, background, or insights on the passage you’ll study in the Learn Together section. GROW TOGETHER. God wants you to be a part of His Kingdom—to weave your story into His. That will mean change. It will require you to go His way rather than your own. This won’t happen overnight, but it should happen steadily. By making small, simple choices, we can begin to change our direction. This is where the Bible’s instructions to “be doers of the Word, not just hearers” (James 1:22) comes into play. Many people skip over this aspect of the Christian life because it’s scary, relationally awkward, or simply too much work for their busy schedules. But Jesus wanted all of His disciples to know Him personally, carry out His commands, and help outsiders connect with Him. This doesn’t necessarily mean preaching on street corners. It could mean welcoming newcomers, hosting a short-term group in your home, or walking through this study with a friend. In this study, you’ll have an opportunity to go beyond Bible study to biblical living. DAILY DEVOTIONS. Each week on the Daily Devotions pages we provide Scriptures to read and reflect on between sessions—a month’s worth of reflections to keep God’s Word near your heart. This provides you with a chance to slow down, read just a small portion of Scripture each day, and reflect and pray through it. You’ll then have a chance to journal your response to what you’ve read. Use this section to seek God on your own throughout the week. This time at home should begin and end with prayer. Don’t get in a hurry; take enough time to hear God’s direction. SERMON NOTES. Bring your study guide with you each Sunday and take notes during the sermon in the provided blanks. Answers for the blanks can be found on page 147 in case you miss a week or a blank.
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Building on Foundations of the Past History of Cathedral Family
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1 Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.
JEREMIAH 17:7-8
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INTRODUCTION
You cannot serve two mastsers.
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You cannot serve two masters. Jesus said this. It’s impossible to serve two masters equally. You can only love one, which leads to hating the other. When it comes to money as a master, money is a ruthless taskmaster. Money is never satisfied. Think about this: if things could make you happy, you’d be happy. You’ve got a lot of things. But, serving money creates a longing for more. It’s just not satisfying. But, serving God, well, that’s another story.
COME TOGETHER Each of us has a story. The events of our life—good, bad, wonderful or challenging— have shaped who we are. God knows your story, and He intends to redeem it—to use every struggle and every joy to ultimately bring you to Himself. When we share our stories with others, we give them the opportunity to see God at work. When we share our stories, we also realize we are not alone—that we have common experiences and thoughts, and that others can understand what we are going through. Your story can encourage someone else, and telling it can lead to a path of freedom for you and for those you share it with.
Open your group with prayer. This should be a brief, simple prayer, in which you invite God to give you insight as you study. You can pray for specific requests at the end of the meeting, or stop momentarily to pray if a particular situation comes up during your discussion.
Before you start this first meeting, get contact information for every participant. Take time to pass around a copy of the Small Group Roster on page 135, a sheet of paper, or pass around your Study Guide, opened to the Small Group Roster. Ask someone to make copies or type up a list with everyone’s information, and email it to the group during the week. Then, begin your time together by using the following questions and activities to get people talking. a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being 1 On totally uncomfortable and 10 being
completely comfortable, how do you feel when the church brings up the topic of money? (And you can’t choose 4, 5, or 6).
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What attitudes about money stand out from your childhood?
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If your group is new, welcome newcomers. Introduce everyone—you may even want to have name tags for your first meeting.
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We recommend you rotate host homes on a regular basis and let the hosts lead the meeting. Studies show that Deep & Wide healthy groups rotate leadership. This splash page helps to develop every member’s ability to shepherd a few people in a safe environment. Even Jesus gave others the opportunity to serve alongside Him (Mark 6:30-44). Look at the FAQs in the Appendices for additional information about hosting or leading the group.
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Whether your group is new or ongoing, it’s always important to reflect on and review your values together. On page 128 is a Small Group Agreement with the values we’ve found most useful in sustaining healthy, balanced groups. We recommend that you choose one or two values—ones you haven’t previously focused on or have room to grow in—to emphasize during this study. Choose ones that will take your group to the next stage of intimacy and spiritual health.
The Small Group Calendar on page 130 is a tool for planning who will host and lead each meeting. Take a few minutes to plan hosts and leaders for your remaining session meetings. Don’t skip this important step! It 2 will revolutionize your group. If anyone is hesitant, simply tell them to think about it, and you’ll get back to them.
Scan the QR code to be taken to the video for this session. This can also be accessed by going to: cityrise.org/deepandwide
session 1
WATCH VIDEO SESSION 1 Record key thoughts on the following page, questions and things you want to remember or follow up on. After watching the video, have someone read the discussion questions in the Learn Together section and direct session 3As you go the discussion among the group. through each of the subsequent sections, ask someone else to read the questions, and direct the discussion.
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LEARN TOGETHER God uses stories to guide us. In fact, the Bible is His story! When we read the true stories of Scripture, we learn what God is like and we see His plan unfolding. And we also learn principles for our own lives. How can we become a part of God’s story? By aligning our stories with His; not just understanding what it means to follow Him, but actually doing it— changing our attitudes and actions to live as He would live.
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Use the following questions to guide your discussion of the teaching and stories you just experienced, and the Bible passage on the next page. You may also want to refer to the study notes section to guide your reading and discussion.
R E A D : M AT T H E W 6 : 1 9 - 2 4 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
is the downside of storing up 3 What treasures on earth?
“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, 23 but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
Matthew 6:22-23 replacing 5 Reread “healthy” with “generous,” and
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“No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.
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are some practical ways to store 4 What up treasure in heaven?
“bad” with “stingy.” How do people’s viewpoints toward generosity affect their whole beings?
do you believe is a proper attitude 6 What toward money?
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STUDY NOTES Healthy, verse 22, implies generous. Masters, verse 24. The use of the term “master” here does not in any way condone slavery. Jesus used an analogy that was easily understood by those He was speaking to because of slavery’s unfortunate prevalence in the culture. In our day as in theirs, free people choose who or what to follow. Money, verse 24, Greek mammon, a Semitic word for money or possessions.
GROW TOGETHER Our Creator is certainly after more from us than a grudging acknowledgment that He exists. There are plenty of people who are willing to admit there’s a God, but they still don’t want to have anything to do with Him. God wants you to be a part of His Kingdom— to weave your story into His. That will mean change—to go His way rather than your own. This won’t happen overnight, but it should happen steadily. By starting with small, simple choices, we begin to change our direction. We can build a legacy that will please God. The Holy Spirit helps us along the way—giving us gifts to serve the body, offering us insights into Scripture, and challenging us to love not only those around us but those far from God. In this section, talk about how you will apply the wisdom you’ve learned from the teaching and Bible study. Then think about practical steps you can take in the coming week to live out what you’ve learned.
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do people invest in corrosive materials 7 How or eternal ones? What is the result?
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about what you have invested 8 Think yourself in (your time, talent, and
treasure). How do your investments stand up to Jesus’ standard? Can they be devoured, rusted, or stolen?
are you investing in what brings 9 How Christlikeness?
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one thing you can do this week 10 What’s to refocus your investments toward what is eternal?
a look at the Circles of Life diagram 11Take above and write the names of two or three
people you know who need to know Christ. Commit to praying for God’s guidance and an opportunity to share with each of them. Perhaps they would be open to joining the group? Share your lists with the group so you can all be praying for the people you’ve identified.
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Also consider someone—in this group or outside it—that you can begin going deeper with in an intentional way. This might be your mom or dad, a cousin, an aunt or uncle, a roommate, a college buddy, or a neighbor. Choose someone who might be open to “doing life” with you at a deeper level and pray about that opportunity. This week, how will you interact with the Bible? Can you commit to spending time in daily prayer or study of God’s Word (use the Daily Devotions section to guide you)? Tell the group how you plan to follow Jesus this week, and then, at your next meeting, talk about your progress and challenges. Commit together to taking a risk and going deeper in your group and in your relationships with each other. Ask, “How can we pray for you this week?” Invite everyone to share, but don’t force the issue. Be sure to write prayer requests on your Prayer and Praise Report on page 132. Close your meeting with prayer.
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DAILY DEVOTIONALS
There are six days of devotions. On the last day, read back over your responses and let that guide a final time of reflection.
DAY 1 Read Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going. REFLECT: It’s easy to think, “if God told me to go, I’d go—but have you?” Under what circumstances have you responded to God the way Abraham did?
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DAY 2 Read Matthew 28:19-20
DAY 5 Read Philippians 4:19
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
REFLECT: How are you invested in the church’s mission?
REFLECT: How can we know the truth of this promise unless we are willing to stop gripping on to the things of this life as if they were our true security? What do you need to release into God’s hands as you seek to be all in to what He wants to do in you and in us?
DAY 3 Read Proverbs 3:35 The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace. REFLECT: Note that legacy parallels inheritance. What would you say are the 3 main examples of the faith legacy you have created to leave behind at this point in your life? What would you change?
DAY 6 Use the following space to write any thoughts God has put in your heart and mind about the things we have looked at in this session and during your reflection time this week.
DAY 4 Read Ephesians 3:6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel. REFLECT: What do you have in Christ that you have not in any way earned? As you begin to engage with the Deep and Wide study, in what areas of life are you wanting to be more active in sharing the inheritance you have in Christ?
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SERMON NOTES WEEK 1
First to the Lord 2 Corinthians 8:1-7
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, 2 for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. 3 For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, 4 begging us earnestly for the favor[b] of taking part in the relief of the saints— 5 and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 6 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. 7 But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. 1
OUTLINE Those who are abundantly generous… 1.
Don’t wait for perfect
2. Give themselves first to the 3.
Seek to Grow in the grace of giving
This is what overflowing generosity looks like. 1.
God gives grace for the season to the churches
2. Ingredients of the generosity of the Macedonian churches a.
— Some sort of big challenge/pressure
b.
— There was no limit to their joy
c.
— Just the facts of their economic situation
Application: Ideal circumstances don’t have to be present for Application: Joy that has no aren’t defined by our circumstance.
,
, or
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in our lives so that we
Application Question: Does our giving reflect a Jesus first commitment that has an: 1.
Investment mindset?
2. According to our means? 3.
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And sacrificially at times?
Bobby’s Story
My name is Bobby, and I’m 83 years old. I’ve had the privilege of being a member of this church for 53 years, and I was the treasurer for 32 years. I’ve encountered many blessings over that time and seen God provide in wonderful ways that showed us where He wanted us to go. One instance of this was early in Pastor Barry’s ministry when we were remodeling our sanctuary. We got to the point where we were short $65,000 to finish the project for the year. We discussed six members that we could maybe ask to help make up the difference, and we decided on that Thursday that we would go home and pray about it. By the weekend, if we still needed help, we’d consider asking them for it. Sunday came around, and I was going across the muddy street to the church, and one of the couples on our list was over there waiting for me out front. They said they had $10,000 to give us and asked if and where we needed it. I told them about our situation, and they were happy to give it. That same night, I got a call from another member saying basically the same thing. He had $10,000 to give and wanted to see if we needed it. I told him the same story and he said he’d go and try to find another $10,000, which he did. The next morning, a third member on that list called and said he
had $20,000 to give and someone who was not even on the list called Pastor Barry to offer $17,000. The short version is that by Wednesday, we had $65,250 without asking for a cent. When that story got around, even more people gave. What that meant to me was the Lord was working with this church to see that it kept going, because He had bigger and bigger things for us to do in the future. He certainly did do bigger and bigger things, and I know that He is only just beginning to bless and use CityRise.
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Bring Your Family Together
Heart of Cathedral Families
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2 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[a] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.
2 CORINTHIANS 9:8
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INTRODUCTION
Trust seems like a rare commodity.
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Trust seems like a rare commodity these days. It’s hard to know who to trust or what to trust. Even the trusted names in news seem to lead us for their own purposes. When you don’t know who to trust, it’s easy to default to trusting only in yourself. The problem is that when you look at your life and your resources, you have arrived exactly where you are because you trusted in yourself. What would it look like to trust God in all areas of your life?
COME TOGETHER As we said last week, when we share our stories with others, we give them the opportunity to see God at work. Your story is being shaped, even in this moment, by being part of this group. In fact, few things can shape us more than community. When we share our stories, we can encourage someone else, and learn. We experience the presence of God as He helps us be brave enough to reveal our thoughts and feelings.
Open your group with prayer. This should be a brief, simple prayer in which you invite God to be with you as you meet. You can pray for specific requests at the end of the meeting, or stop momentarily to pray if a particular situation comes up during your discussion.
Begin your time together by using the following questions and activities to get people talking: is your favorite season of the 1 What year? Why?
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What has been your favorite season of life so far?
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In the last session we asked you to write some names in the Circles of Life diagram. Who did you identify as the people in your life who need to meet Jesus? Go back to the Circles of Life diagram on page 63 to help you think of various people you come in contact with on a regular basis; people who need to know Jesus more deeply. Consider ideas for action and make a plan to follow through on one of them this week.
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splash page
WATCH VIDEO SESSION 2
Scan the QR code to be taken to the video for this session. This can also be accessed at: cityrise.org/deepandwide
Use the notes space provided to record key thoughts, questions and things you want to remember session 3 session 2 or follow up on. After watching the video, have someone read the discussion questions in the Learn Together section and direct the discussion among the group. As you go through each of the subsequent sections, ask someone else to read the questions, and direct the discussion.
session 4
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session 5
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LEARN TOGETHER God uses stories to guide us. In fact, the Bible is His story! When we read the true stories of Scripture, we learn what God is like and we see His plan unfolding. And we also learn principles for our own lives. How can we become a part of God’s story? By aligning our stories with His; not just understanding what it means to follow Him, but actually doing it— changing our attitudes and actions to live as He would live.
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Use the following questions to guide your discussion of the teaching and stories you just experienced, and the Bible passage on the next page. You may also want to refer to the study notes section to guide your reading and discussion.
READ: JEREMIAH 17:7-8 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
does being planted by the stream 4 How symbolize trust?
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you think about the people 5 When in your life, family, friends, co-workers,
or neighbors, what do they seem to trust the most? Where is your trust?
you think of the Christians you 6 When know, how much of their trust is in the Lord? 100%? 90%? 50%?
than God, who or what do you 7 Other trust the most?
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STUDY NOTES Blessed, verse 7, also translated as happy. Roots, verse 8, literally trust.
GROW TOGETHER In this section, talk about how you will apply the wisdom you’ve learned from the teaching and Bible study. Then think about practical steps you can take in the coming week to live out what you’ve learned. have you experienced God’s 8 How abundance in your life? is the difference between a person 9 What whose trust is IN the Lord and a person whose trust IS the Lord?
o you believe God’s nature is one of 10 Dabundance? Why or why not? helps you increase your 11 What trust in God?
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Here are some simple ways to connect with God. Tell the group which ones you plan to try this week, and talk about your progress and challenges when you meet next time.
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Prayer. Commit to personal prayer and daily connection with God. You may find it helpful to write your prayers in a journal. Daily Devotions. The Daily Devotions provided in each session offers an opportunity to read a short Bible passage five days a week during the course of our study. In our hurry-up world, we often move too quickly through everything— even reading God’s Word! Slow down. Don’t just skim, but take time to carefully read and reflect on the passage. Write down your insights on what you read each day. Copy a portion of Scripture on
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a card and tape it somewhere in your line of sight, such as your car’s dashboard or the bathroom mirror. Or text it to yourself! Think about it when you sit at red lights or while you’re eating a meal. Reflect on what God is saying to you through these words. On the sixth day summarize what God has shown you throughout the week. Ask, “How can we pray for you this week?” Invite everyone to share, but don’t force the issue. Be sure to write prayer requests on your Prayer and Praise Report on page 132 . Close your meeting with prayer.
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DAILY DEVOTIONALS
There are six days of devotions. On the last day, read back over your responses and let that guide a final time of reflection.
DAY 1 Read Philippians 2:4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. REFLECT: How does trusting God translate into less concern about self and more interest in helping others and the Body of Christ?
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DAY 2 Read Matthew 6:33
DAY 5 Read Hebrews 11:6
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.
REFLECT: This is the alternative to worry Jesus offers in the extended passage of Matthew 6:25-34. In what ways is worry a clue that we’re not trusting God?
REFLECT: If faith and trust are closely related in our relationship with God, what evidence is apparent in your life that you believe “that He is” and you believe “that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him?”
DAY 3 Read Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. REFLECT: How do you need to trust the Lord with all your heart right now?
DAY 6 Reflect on the verses from this past week, and use the following space to write any thoughts God has put in your heart and mind about the things we have looked at in this session and during your Daily Devotions time this week.
DAY 4 Read Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. REFLECT: How is your heart following your treasure?
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SERMON NOTES WEEK 2
Abounding to Serve 2 Corinthians 8:8-15
I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. 10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. 11 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.” 8
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OUTLINE Those who give themselves first to the Lord… 1.
Give
2. Give with a 3.
Give from their
to serve those in need
The Nature of Giving 1.
Genuine love is
2. When we give sacrificially it is to 3.
Willingness is
benefit
to make it acceptable
Application: You can’t give Application Question: Are you ready to give from what you do have to see it to completion? Why or why not? And sacrificially at times?
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Keith & Savannah Browning’s Story We are Savannah and Keith. We met in college at the University of Florida, and in 2013 we found a home in Houston after moving for a job opportunity. We have two girls who we love and cherish; Ansley is 11 and Emerson is six. We both grew up in church and met in the Baptist Collegiate Ministries in college. We became friends, and then later we dated and got married. The student ministry was a great spiritual foundation for when we moved and joined Crosspoint. Crosspoint was the first church we visited after moving, and on that first day David and Denise Glenn invited us to a new class for young couples. That’s when we really jumped right in. Denise and David felt like a mom and dad, because they felt close to us, even though we had moved from thousands of miles away and didn’t know anyone. They were a really great influence for our family as we started our new lives. I remember the Glenns challenged us to give more than what was “routine,” and it was really difficult at first, because when we moved to Houston, we had multiple mortgages from our houses in Florida and Texas, so we had to trust God to provide for us.
We’re always reminded of Phillipians 4:19: “And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” As we gave to God, we began to see Him provide more and more for our needs in ways we would never expect. All these big changes happened as Savannah was no longer working, so we increased our giving while also cutting our income in half. As natural planners, it was difficult, but at the same time it was beautiful and sweet to see how the Lord provides. David and Denise Glenn have influenced us and our giving so much, yet we’ve heard they owe their generosity to another influence whom we have never even met. It’s amazing how the Lord continues to work through the hearts of others, and these faithful people have passed down an inspiring legacy to us and to you. While we too will likely never meet who is reading this, we pray that our story impacts how you give in the same way.
We were tithing on our net, but they challenged us to give based on our gross income. It was a challenge, but it really opened up opportunities to give more and more to support the Lord’s work, and it slowly became the new normal, even though at one point we disagreed on how much we should be giving and had to work through it. It was a hard time for us financially, so the idea of giving more was challenging. But we know God deserves our first and our best, so we ultimately decided to give more.
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