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
04 Introduction from Brett Eastman
06 History of Cathedral Family
12 Campaigns, Campuses and Ministries
36 Generosity Journey and Next Steps
40 Vision of Cathedral Family
50 One Fund & Giving Chart
52 How to Use this Study Guide
68 82 96 110
SESSION 1
HISTORY OF CATHEDRAL FAMILY: BUILDING ON FOUNDATIONS OF THE PAST
SESSION 2
HEART OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: BRING YOUR FAMILY TOGETHER
SESSION 3
HABITS OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: BEST PRACTICES TO BUILD TOGETHER
SESSION 4
HANDS OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: USING THEIR GIFTS TO SERVE OTHERS
SESSION 5
HOPE OF CATHEDRAL FAMILIES: AN IMPACT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME
126 Frequently Asked Questions
128 Small Group Agreement
130 Small Group Calendar
131 Weekly Check In
132 Prayer and Praise Reports
134 Memory Verse Cards (Clip and Review)
135 Small Group Roster
136 Hosting an Open House
138 Leading for the First Time
140 Leadership Training 101
147 Sermon Notes Answer Key
WELCOME
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
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.
BRETT EASTMAN President and Founder Lifetogether Ministries
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
HEART OF CATHEDRALS
1960
Milton Street education building built.
1962-1985
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
Church calls Ronny Barner on staff as Music Minister.
1981
Prime Time Singers (Sr. Adult Choir) organized.
1969
Building for Preschool and new activities building erected.
1983
Sunday School attendance reaches 700.
1971
Open Door Ministry organized.
1986-1996
Charles Blackmon, Pastor; Church’s first mission trip to Rio Grande.
1987
Purchase of parking lots. Purchase and renovation of the cottage.
2000 MARCH
Contemporary Early Service began.
1996
Barry Landrum, Pastor; Purchase properties on University Blvd and Amherst St.
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.
1997
A Children’s Village/Mother’s Day Out program was started.
2001
Great Heritage, Great Hope financial Campaign begins –$4.0 million dollars raised.
2002
NOVEMBER
Phase I of GHGH completed (new classrooms, Chapel, Welcome Center, offices and elevators).
2004 APRIL
Phase I of Auden Renovation completed.
2004
SEPTEMBER
Church voted to purchase First Baptist Church, Bellaire (now Crosspoint Church) for $3.6 million.
HOPE OF CATHEDRALS
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.
2005
Imagine the Possibilities Campaign to fund reconstruction of West University Baptist and Crosspoint campuses.
2008
Church launches Casa El Buen Samaritano, a free medical clinic in partnership with Iglesia Horeb to reach the poor of our city
2010
MAY
Dr. Landrum retires and Dr. Patterson begins tenure as pastor
2013
Bylaws amended, Executive Council Established, Impact Fund of $5.0 million is given, and church begins to deploy internationally
2014
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.
2009 MAY
Church calls Roger Patterson as senior pastor-elect, beginning a year of intentional transition as Dr. Landrum plans to retire
2016
APRIL
Church builds two student ministry buildings, one at each inner-loop campus without taking a single offering or raising funds
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
FEBRUARY
Church celebrates 90th birthday and begins to ask, “Where will we be when we turn 100 years old?”; Strategic Planning Teams Launched
2021
JANUARY
Church launches third campus called Cathedral Family 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 Cathedral Family Network in an effort to collaborate with other city reaching groups to lift the city of Houston together
2022
JANUARY
Church launches the Fight For It Campaign to help re-gather and rebuild the church, and set the table for the Cathedral Family Generosity Initiative
2020 MARCH
Coronavirus Pandemic hits the United States; Congregational worship moves online; Cathedral Family 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!”
CATHEDRAL FAMILY CAMPAIGN
Cathedral Family 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, Cathedral Family 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
40 DAY CAMPAIGN
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.
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
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west chinese
https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
https://cityrise.org/
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
young adults
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/ students https://cityrise.org/ students/
CATHEDRAL WORSHIP SERIES
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/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
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 Cathedral Family 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
8
5 in English
1 in Chinese
2 in Spanish
teaching pastors services
What’s Happening at
CATHEDRAL FAMILY CHURCH RENEWAL
(EPC)
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!
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
In addition, we have seen an increase in our Sunday morning community group attendance. 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!
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 community group cheering her on.
emmanuel missouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cremc/
We have had 21 new members join 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!
mssouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouri-city/
We added 21 new “off campus” groups during Fight for It, and we have six of those groups continuing to meet, adding one new group for 30 Days To Easter!
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
infrastructure https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infra-
emmanuel missouri city https://cityrise.org/locations/cremc/
New Campus
bellaire
https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire
https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY MISSIONS
mssouri city
https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouri-city/
LEARN MORE
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/ kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
We recently launched a new campus in 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 launching the campus with 30 children and five youth, we now frequently have 35 children and 15 youth in attendance. That’s how God has grown us wide.
young adults https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
https://cityrise.org/
casa
https://cityrise.org/ casa
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 for free groceries, is now serving with us in 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!
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
Cathedral Family 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
75 11 65 50 weekly attendees baptized in small groups youth & children
campus infrastructure
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
What’s Happening at our
CATHEDRAL FAMILY TRANSLATIONS
(SPANISH, FRENCH, ETC. )
IGLESIA CROSSPOINT BELLAIRE
west chinese
https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
IGLESIA CROSSPOINT BELLAIRE
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
emmanuel missouri city
https://cityrise.org/locations/cremc/
west baptist u https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
mssouri
https://cityrise.org/locations/cityrise-missouri-city/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
young adults
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
west baptist https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
There is a large Hispanic community within a mile of our location, so at Iglesia Crosspoint Bellaire, Pastor Rick Vasquez and his Spanish-speaking congregation have an opportunity to minister to them and send them out with the love of Jesus. We offer:
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
5 new members in one week alone! professions of faith at outreachcommunityevents
young adults
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
• 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!
CATHEDRAL EMMANUEL AT MISSOURI CITY.
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa https://cityrise.org/ casa
With our 2021 addition of First Baptist Church Missouri City into our network, 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 Cathedral Family umbrella to jointly lift our city and the world by generously giving the gospel of Jesus
Worship
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
What’s Happening at
CATHEDRAL FAMILY INITIATIVES
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:
SMALL GROUPS
campus infrastructure
https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
We have seen the addition of several new
ONLINE GROUPS
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!
YOUTH MINISTRY
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 Cathedral Family 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/locations/cremc/
NEW PODCAST
crosspoint bellaire https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
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 variety of shapes and sizes.
iglesia bellaire https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
ANSWERED PRAYER
west chinese
https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
west baptist u 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
kids
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
young adults
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
kids
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
students
https://cityrise.org/ students/
https://cityrise.org/
Featured Ministry
young adults
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/ LEARN MORE
CATHEDRAL FAMILY NEXT GENERATION
In Fall of 2021, we relaunched our Cathedral Family 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 Cathedral Family 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
Featured Ministry
CATHEDRAL FAMLILY MINISTRY
Cathedral Family 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
19
188 23 weekly classes volunteer teachers average monthly students countries represented
30
Featured Ministry
crosspoint bellaire
https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire
https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY PROJECTS
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 grow in their faith is not possible. Casa can only achieve its mission through committed volunteers, staff, partners like us, and individual donors.
https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/ west chinese https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/ kids https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/ young
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 Cathedral Family when they serve
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa
https://cityrise.org/ casa
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
Worship https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY STORIES HARRY
& SANDRA
Harry: I’ve been at West University Baptist, which is now a Cathedral Family 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Cathedral Family.
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.
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.
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.
We’re really excited about the Cathedral Family 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.
CATHEDRAL FAMILY GLOBAL
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).
148 7 going on shortterm mission trips countries represented
Ecuador, Thailand, Kenya, Belize, Latvia, Dominican Repbulic, and Honduras
CATHEDRAL OUTREACH
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.
CATHEDRAL FAMILY TOURS
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!
crosspoint bellaire
https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/
iglesia bellaire
https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west chinese
https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/
kids
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY KIDS
Cathedral Family 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.
https://cityrise.org/ locations/west-ubaptist/
young
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/youngadults/
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
casa
https://cityrise.org/ casa
Each week, we welcome on average just over 300 children to attend KidRally or participate in 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
Worship
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/worship/
50%
300 10 growth in 1 year decisions for Christ average weekly children attendees children baptized
30
students https://cityrise.org/ students/
CATHEDRAL FAMILY STUDENT EDITION
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.
LEARN MORE
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!
83%
45 increase in attendance since 2020 small meetinggroups every week seniors on missions trip to Ecuador middle schoolers meet every Wednesday night
6
8
CATHEDRAL FAMILY GENEROSITY
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?”
Courageous & Exciting First Step
INITIAL GIVER INTENTIONAL GIVER
Planned & Prioritized
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 Cathedral Family 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 Cathedral Family.
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.
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.
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 Cathedral Family 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 Cathedral Family 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.
PRIMARY GOAL
100% Engagement
Each root and every branch. We are challenging every person who calls Cathedral Family their home to go deeper with Jesus.
DEEPER SUR RENDER
What are we holding back from the Lordship of Jesus that we need to relinquish control of to Him?
DEEPER FAITH
What step do we need to take that moves us away from our comfort zone and into a deeper soil of dependence upon Him?
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.
SECONDARY GOAL
$5 Million
To broaden our reach, we must deepen our roots in these three areas:
DEEPER RELATIONAL ROOTS - $17.4 MILLION
The engine of Cathedral Family 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 STRUCTURAL ROOTS - $20
MILLION
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 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.
40 DAYS OF PURPOSE Families of Wealth Edition
A big part of our goal for Cathedral Family 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 Cathedral Family 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.
campus infrastructure
https://cityrise.org/deepandwide/campus-infrastructure/
tions/cremc/
LEARN MORE
crosspoint bellaire
That was the heart of this church when it was 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.
https://cityrise.org/ locations/crosspoint/ iglesia
https://cityrise.org/locations/icb/
west chinese
In 1997, Julee and I came here on Mother’s Day. 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.
https://cityrise.org/ locations/wucc/ kids
https://cityrise.org/ ministries/birththrough-5th-grade/
students
https://cityrise.org/ students/
https://cityrise.org/
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.
CATHEDRAL FAMILY EUROPEAN HEADQUARTERS
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.
ORANGE COUNTY OFFICES
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
ORLANDO OFFICES
As we are able, we plan to renovate a number of spaces at our Cathedral Family 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
Deeper
Structural Roots
CATHEDRAL FAMILY CHURCH
BRINGING CATHEDRAL FAMILY TO YOU -
ANYWHERE, ANYTIME, WITH ANYONE
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
CATHEDRAL FAMILY GOES DIGITAL
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! Cathedral Family 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:
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.
9,198
68,872
6,000 followers across all social platforms lifetime podast downloads monthly downloadspodast
Follower Count on Social Platforms
YouTube: 1,347
Cathedral Family: 586
Cathedral Family Missouri City: 141
Crosspoint Church-Bellaire: 1,967
West U Baptist: 1,889
Cathedral Family: 458
Cathedral Family Missouri City: 167
Crosspoint Church - Bellaire: 628
West U Baptist: 569
Cathedral Family Twitter: 33
Cathedral Family Tik Tok: 1,413
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 Cathedral Family 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!”
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!