Crossover’s Throwback • The Crew • 3rd Rail
Culture Shock
Street Stories What’s Next?
cover story:
www.c
Issue #
rossov
8 - side
erchur
1 // US
$3.95 •
ch.org
Can. $
4.95
Zondervan Presents:
An Un.orthodox Life • Urban D.’s journey
An Un.orthodox Culture • Hip-Hop’s Roots
An Un.orthodox Approach • Communicating the truth • Crossover Church’s story
The anticipated book by the pioneering pastor and hip-hop artist:
Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. Dropping the same date through EMI gospel is Urban D.’s sixth album complete with a separate DVD with a documentary about Crossover and a resource section that includes all five of his music videos.
Both projects in stores everywhere on
May 1st, 2007
www.zondervan.com
Hey! Welcome to Crossover! Our presentation is definitely different than most, it’s still God’s
We’re glad you’re checking out our all new S.O.U.L.
magazine.
If you have recently attended one of our services
or events, we thank you for coming to be with us. If we haven’t
message for his people.
It’s not watered down as some may
assume because of our appearance. Instead, you’ll find a solid leadership team that teaches the Word of God in context.
already personally met you, we look forward to that opportunity in the near future. You can usually catch us hanging out on the patio
after services. Maybe you are reading this and you haven’t actu-
be real, be yourself, and feel comfortable.
We believe that when you come to church you should
ally been to Crossover yet. We hope you’ll have the chance to
coming to church should be a fun and exciting experience, not a
come out and see us real soon. Either way, this magazine was
boring one. We’re here to celebrate what God as done for us,
designed so you could better get to know who we are and what we
and learn how we can develop a closer relationship with Him and
are about.
make the right choices in our every day lives. More than half of the
We believe that
people that now attend our church previously did not go to church
As you are holding this you may be thinking, “Wow, a
church that has their own magazine... and it actually looks really professional.” If you have visited us there were probably a lot of other things around our campus and in our worship service that smashed some of your typical stereotypes about church. We love to do that! If you really get to know Christ you’ll see there was nothing typical about Him either! He’s real, He’s relevant, and He’s relational! That’s what we’re about here at Crossover. That’s why we have planned our music, our prayers, our messages and basically everything we do to be real, relevant, and relational. S.O.U.L | Pg06
We’re here to celebrate what God as done for us...
”
The Crossover Cypha 5 is a compilation of artists who are all family members at Crossover. Each of the artists has donated their tracks to be part of this evangelistic project. The artists are joined by other people from the church who share their stories of transformation since they found Christ and got involved at Crossover. All the material is given to DJ Lopez who then seamlessly blends the tracks together for a solid mix that lasts over 70 minutes. These CD’s are mailed as a gift to all of our first time guests from the Tampa Bay area when they fill out a feedback card. They are also available in our hip-hop shop and on our website for purchase.
or have a personal relationship with Christ. For some, it had been several years since they walked into a church because they had some bad experiences or just thought it wasn’t relevant. Others had never been to church at all. There are also some that already knew Christ, but were looking for a place they could feel more comfortable and get involved in ministry reaching this culture.
At Crossover Community Church we believe we are
supposed to be a family... we are a growing multi-cultural faith community with people from all different backgrounds. Our family is on a journey together. Our goal is to continue to invite others to join us on this journey as we get to know our creator and fulfill the purposes he has for our lives. God has an incredible vision for our church, and we hope with this magazine you can get to know us a little bit better, and if it’s God’s plan... even become part of our family. If you have any questions please feel free to email us or call the church office. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Peace and God Bless,
Pastor Tommy, Lucy, Deyana, and Sophia S.O.U.L | Pg07
Table of Contents: Pg06: Welcome to Crossover Pg10: History of CCC Pg11: What We Believe Pg12: Meet the Staff Pg16: Sundays @ Crossover Pg17: Children’s Ministry Pg18: Tuesday Night Breakdown Pg19: The Crew Pg22: 3rd Rail Teen Service Pg23: Tri-Monthly Hip-Hop Events Pg24: Culture Shock Pg27: Harmony Pg29: The Chronicles of Media Pg30: Splinter Skate Park Pg32: Throwback (the past year @ Crossover) Pg34: I am the Church Pg38: First Impressions / Families Pg39: Drama & Poet S.O.U.L. Pg40: They Said What? Pg42: Street Stories Pg44: Connection Classes Pg45: What’s Next? Pg47: Final Thoughts Pg51: Resource / Music Reviews Pg59: MySpace... is God invited? Pg63: Behind The Music w/ KJ-52 Pg65: Behind The Thesis w/ The Ambassador Pg69: Interview w/ Todd Collins Pg73: Engaging Hip-Hop Culture...” Pg75: Fla.vor Fest Concert listings Pg83: Fla.vor Fest Workshops Pg86: Fla.vor Fest Weekend Schedule Pg87: Crossover Resources Pg90: Fla.vor Fest Welcome Pg91: Set Backs (editorial) The S.O.U.L Team: Editor and Publisher: Tommy Kyllonen Creative Director: Spe© Contributing Editors: Joel Leung, Tony Bruno, Carlos Ramirez, Mario Armstrong, Lucy Kyllonen Contributing Writers: Efrem Smith, Derrick Colon, Los-1, Tone Bruno, Josie Thomas, Mark Jannetta, Nick Mack, Lily Lorenzo, Annalise Jannetta, Jeremy Thomas, Greg Cowans, Edward Bayonet, Jonny Ratke, Bert Tinsley, Iris Colon Design Department: spec@flavoralliance.com Photographers: Carlos Espinel & Spec.a.holic
Crossover’s Weekly Service Times: Sunday’s: Multi-Cultural Services: 10:00am, 11:45am, and 7:00pm
*Children’s programming available for ages: infants -11 years during all services.
Tuesday’s: Break Down Bible Study: 6:45pm - 7:30pm Tuesday’s: Talent Development Classes: 6:30pm - 7:30pm Tuesday’s: The Crew (Small Groups) on Campus: 7:45pm - 9:00pm (in semesters) Thursday’s: 3rd Rail Hip-Hop Teen Service: 7:30pm - 9:00pm
*Printed in Canada: by Premier Printing: www.premierprinting.ca S.O.U.L Mag is published bi-annually by the Fla.vor Alliance Media Group and is a ministry of Crossover Church. Crossover is a non-profit 501(c)3. Crossover’s mission is: “To relevantly introduce the Truth of Christ to the hip-hop culture, as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives.” S.O.U.L. magazine exists to build on this mission as we take it to a national platform through print. S.O.U.L Mag / Crossover Church 7809 N. Orleans Ave. Tampa, Fla. 33604 office: (813) 935-8887 fax: (813) 935-0535 www.crossoverchurch.org • info@crossoverchurch.org www.flavoralliance.com • info@flavoralliance.com
C
rossover started with a small community of people that wanted something different. They were burned out with “organized religion” – tired of the politics, the tradition, and the masks people hid behind at many churches. They saw the needs of people on the streets that weren’t being met, and they wanted to do something about it. Pastor Joe McCutchen founded Crossover with a few other people in the early 1990’s. They moved into a facility that was basically abandoned and very run down on N. Orleans Avenue. Al Palmquist was a member of the church who met Tommy Kyllonen on some basketball courts in Clearwater. Tommy was running a successful urban b-ball league while completing his college internship. Joe and Al challenged Tommy to start an urban youth ministry at Crossover from “the ground up.” In December 1995, Tommy graduated from college with a B.A. in Pastoral Theology, with a concentration in Youth Ministry. He married Lucy Laguerra in February of 1996 and together they founded Crossover’s Youth Ministry with only 4 teens. Over the next six years, they developed a first of its kind Hip-Hop Youth Ministry, which grew to close to 200 youth weekly. During this time, the Adult Ministry at Crossover maintained about 40 regular attendees as there were three different pastors (changing every two years), each of which were bivocational. In January of 2002, Tommy Kyllonen became the lead pastor of Crossover; a new vision and structure was birthed for the church. Crossover became “purpose driven” as the leadership team developed and implemented the mission statement: “To relevantly introduce the truth of Christ to the Hip-Hop Culture as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives.” Crossover began to make several changes to better reach the community. The services quickly grew as several new people visited and built new relationships with Christ. Many soon embraced the vision and began getting involved and serving others. God has called Crossover to be a pioneer church to reach those influenced by Hip-Hop Culture. The church has become internationally known through all of the favorable media articles, as well as the numerous CD’s released by Urban D. and the Fla.vor Alliance. Thousands have visited Crossover’s website and attended the church services, looking at Crossover as a model. The once “run down” facility has been completely transformed into a unique thriving church campus that is exploding with creativity for the Creator. In less than 4 years, the weekend attendance has jumped from 40 to over 400. In addition, the Thursday night Youth services reach hundreds more each week. With all the exciting things God has allowed Crossover to accomplish, this is still just the beginning.
”
These are the roots, the history, and the foundation of Crossover. Check out page 45 to catch a glimpse of the exciting days ahead as the church builds on this foundation and works to accomplish God’s vision for Crossover’s future.
CHRIST UCE THE TRUTH OF OD TR IN LY NT VA LE TO RE DEVELOP WORSHIP, E W AS E, UR LT CU VES TO THE HIP-HOP SHIP IN THEIRstaLI ER AD LE D AN ent Y, tem IT -mission PURPOSE, UN
S.O.U.L | Pg10
”
In the essential beliefs, we have unity.
“There is one body and one spirit... there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all...” // Ephesians
4:4-6
In the non-essential beliefs, we have liberty.
“Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To his own master he stands or falls... so then each of us will give an account of himself to God... so whatever you believe about these things, keep them between yourself and God.” //
Romans 14:1,4,12,22
Many people describe us as a “Hip-Hop Church”, and that’s understandable as we target that audience and use elements of the culture in our worship services. That phrase can definitely bring up a lot of questions. If you are reading this magazine, many of you have probably attended a service here and had a great time where you saw that church could be relevant, engaging, and real. At the same time, you may still have some questions about the details of what we believe. You may think it’s all too good to be true. You may also be a parent reading this whose child or teenager recently attended Crossover and brought this magazine home. You’re probably wondering what this “Hip-Hop Church” is all about. Nothing at Crossover is traditional... that’s quite obvious. However, everything we believe and practice in our services is Biblical. There is a big difference. The “church” [as a whole] has gotten the two a little mixed up. Jesus was not a traditional guy! As a matter of fact, he was constantly in conflict with the religious leaders of His day because He kept challenging them. They tried to look “all good” on the outside, but on the inside they were “rotten”. Jesus is not so concerned with how we look on the outside, or how we dress when we come to His house, (they didn’t have suits and ties in His day), as long as it’s modest. He’s not concerned about the music we play, or the style we choose to worship Him with, as long as the lyrics are clean and glorify Him. Jesus wants our hearts to be pure! At Crossover, we will consistently change our presentation to stay relevant with the culture, but our message and what we believe will never change.
THE ESSENTIALS WE BELIEVE
1. About God: God is the creator and ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. // Genesis 1:1, 26-27, 3:22 / Psalm 90:2 / Matthew 28:19 / Corinthians 13:14
In the essential beliefs, we have unity.
2. About Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for all people by dying on the cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to heaven’s glory and will return again someday to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. // Matthew 1:22-23 / Isaiah 9:6 / John 1:1-5, 14:10-30 / Hebrews 4:14-15 / 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 / Acts 1:9-11 / 1 Timothy 6:14-15 / Titus 2:13
// 1
3. About the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and Son. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under his control daily. // 2 Corinthians 3:17 / John 16:7-13, 14:16-17 / Acts 1:8 / 1 Corinthians 2:12,3:16 / Ephesians 1:13 / Acts 2:4
“...If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have faith that can move mountains - but have no love, I amount to nothing at all.”
Corinthians 13:2
4. About the Bible: The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of all truth for all Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error. // 2 Timothy 1:13, 3:16 / 2 Peter 1:20,21 / Psalm 119:105 5. About Human Beings: People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme objects of God’s creation. Although every person has a great potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This sin nature (attitude) separates people from God and is the root cause of many of the problems of life. // Genesis 1:27 / Psalm 8:3-6 / Isaiah 53:6 / Romans 3:23 6. About Salvation: “Salvation” is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sins through self - improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer for forgiveness can any one be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our selfwilled lives and turn to Christ in faith, we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into their life by faith. // Romans 6:23 / Ephesians 3:8,9 / John 14:6, 1:12 / Titus 3:5 / Galatians 3:26 / Romans 5:1 7. About Eternity: The soul of every human being was created to live forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through salvation and forgiveness. Hell is eternal separation from God. Heaven is eternal union with God. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. // John 3:16, 2:25, 5:11-13 / Romans 6:23 / Revelation 20:15 / Matthew 1:8, 2:44-46
OUR AFFILIATIONS:
Crossover Community Church is a non-denominational church. We have people from all different backgrounds, ethnic groups, and races. You can see from our statements of faith on this page that we are a Christian Church that fully believes the Bible and teaches it in context. Our Pastors have degrees from Colleges where they spent many years carefully studying the Scriptures. All the Pastors are ordained Ministers under the laws of the State of Florida. Crossover is affiliated with the Purpose Driven Church Movement started by Pastor Rick Warren who is the author of the Purpose Driven Life book which has sold over 30 Million copies. The Purpose Driven Church principles (from the New Testament Churches) focus on the five main reasons that the church exists: worship, fellowship, discipleship, serving, and evangelism (Acts 2:42-47). Each one of these purposes is incorporated into Crossover’s mission statement. There are several other pastors of larger churches in this movement that mentor, train, and support our leadership team. Crossover also partners with The American Bible Society, YouthPartnersNet, and Southeastern University as they develop resources, provide training, and equip student interns.
S.O.U.L | Pg11
Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. (Lead Pastor) Tommy founded the youth ministry at Crossover in 1996. Starting with just four teens, he and his wife developed a first-of-its-kind Hip-Hop Youth Ministry which over the span of six years grew to 200, far outpacing attendance in the main Sunday worship. In January 2002, Tommy became the lead pastor at Crossover and a new vision was birthed to specifically reach the Hip-Hop Culture. Urban D. has recorded five solo Hip-Hop albums since 1996 and has traveled across the U.S., Germany, Japan and England performing and speaking at conferences. His music showcases a variety of east coast flavor with his trademark Mediterranean/Latin influence. His next album releases May 1st, 2007 with major distribution through EMI. In addition to his role as pastor and artist, Tommy’s perspective as a Christian leader and pioneer in reaching the Hip-Hop culture has led him to be a featured speaker at more than 50 church leadership, youth and worship conferences and workshops. Tommy is also a frequent writer, authoring articles for Relevant, The American Bible Society, and Interlinc. He has contributed to several books including the Relevant Church Book, Relevant Nation, and penning chapter introductions and articles for the popular REAL Biblezine. His first book “Un.orthodox - church.culture.hip-hop” will be released May 1st, 2007 through Zondervan publishers.
Tony Bruno aka Tone (Associate Pastor) Tone was born and raised in Philadelphia PA. He got into hip hop in the late 80’s, and got back into it in the early 90’s. Tony came into a serious relationship with Christ at the age of 17. At this time he stopped hangin’ with his old crew, and found himself rollin’ solo as he represented and communicated Christ in his inner city high school. Going to Bible College at the age of 19 had a tremendous impact in his life for his view of the scriptures, and to prepare him for the disciplines and commitments of full-time ministry. He holds a bachelor’s of Science in Bible degree from Valley Forge Christian College, and has completed some credit hours toward his master’s degree at Biblical Theological Seminary. He has a burden to reach urban/hip hop culture by effectively communicating to them the gospel and God’s version of life through scripture. His variety of ministry experience includes involvement with Inner City Missions (N. Philadelphia), Cross Movement Ministries, and Rock Ministries of Philadelphia. He currently serves as one of the pastors at Crossover where he teaches Bible Studies, speaks on a regular basis on Sundays, and leads and oversees several leaders.
Lucy Kyllonen aka Lucinator (Administrator) Lucy was raised in Queens, NY and built a relationship with Christ as a teenager. She moved to Florida for college to graduate from Southeastern University with a BA in psychology and went onto to complete her master’s in mental health counseling at USF. Lucy has been working at the church since July 2003, after the birth of her first child, Deyana. Before joining the church staff, she worked with teens in various professional settings since 1994. Lucy has been working under the Administrative Department and has helped organize and structure our current operating ministries and day to day office operations. Lucy also plays a major role in the planning and coordinating of our annual Fla.vor Fest conference. She has been a part of every Fla.vor Fest and enjoys the challenge of finding ways of improving every year, as well as meeting the demands of the growth for the conference. Besides her active role in the church, she is also married to the lead Pastor and raises Deyana and her new baby Sophia.
Derrick Colon (Youth Pastor) Derrick was born and raised in the South Bronx. After being so heavily influenced by the culture of Hip-Hop, God would save him and send him back into the very culture that had his heart. Derrick graduated from Bible College in 2001 with a degree in Theological and Pastoral studies. Derrick developed a monthly outreach at his inner-city church in Providence, Rhode Island called, “To HipHop with Love”. Later Derrick began teaching at a Christian High School as he headed up their Biblical studies department and taught a class on Hip-Hop History. God opened another opportunity at his home church, and after much prayer, Underground 101 was launched. 101 was an in-house outreach café that targeted Hip-Hop. Many were touched and challenged by the innovative methods used to reach the culture. After a year God began to move again, after much prayer, God called Derrick and his family to be the full time youth pastors at Crossover. The ministry is called, “3rd Rail and the motto is, “One touch...the rest is HIStory.” Derrick’s heart is to raise up a youth ministry that counters the culture, but does it in a way that they can totally understand. S.O.U.L | Pg12
Edward Bayonet aka Spec (Director-o-Media) Spec is no stranger to the hip.hop culture. His influences are close to home; uncle’s that were b-boys and cousins that were graffiti artists around NYC. Growing up in a single parent household, Spec was pushed to fend for himself on many occasions through out his life as he always looked out for himself instead of the well being of others. Now, Spec spends his days giving of his time, talent, and more. After obtaining an AA degree in Graphic Design & Advertising in 2000; he has been the Director of Media here @ Crossover since 2001. His graphic skills range from flyers, videos, DVD’s, CD’s, music, MAGAZINES, etc.; about 95% of what you see produced out of Crossover is created by Spec. He has stood behind the vision/mission of Crossover since 1998 when he first accepted Christ here at a concert. He also serves as the President of Flavor Alliance Media Group along side with Urban D. & Mike Estep. In 2006 alone, FAMG produced 4 national albums, 2 national DVD’s and several music/short film videos. Along side with Urban D., Spec travels the US speaking, teaching and performing at several venues and conferences.
Josie Thomas aka Symalee (Worship Director) Born in Manhattan and raised in Brooklyn, Josie has always had a passion to sing. After running away several times and watching her father lead a life filled with drugs; her mother and step dad were faced with a decision and moved her out of NYC to Florida. This caused much rebellion in her life. Her parents however decided to make a change for the better as they began attending a church. After many years, she found herself in a youth service where she felt moved to go to the front for prayer. In that moment she felt a hand brush her head and say “I am here, I have always been with you”. In that moment she raised her hands and accepted Jesus into her life. Today her heart and her soul’s purpose are to worship and serve God with all that she is and all the talents that God has given to her. She leads worship, speaks at seminars and conferences and also ministers in music alongside her husband (Jared) with their rap group Beyond Skillz. As the worship and creative arts director, her goal is to inspire youth and adults to worship in their own way with their life and talents.
Gordon Meetze aka Air Gordon
(Treasurer/Finances) Gordon has been in Tampa since 1957, and started his relationship with Christ on July 3rd, 1960 right here in the current building that Crossover is in. Gordon and his wife Carolyn have been a vital part of the several different congregations that have met here throughout the years. They just celebrated their 50 wedding anniversary in 2006! In the late 1980’s Gordon and his family were one of the last few people left at the church. Many people told him to let the church go as he was actually filling in as the pastor. Gordon followed God and held on. Although Gordon is one of our older members he is excited to see what God is doing as the church is now fulfilling a prophecy that was given many years ago. Gordon has always been willing to change and support the vision of the church as he provides priceless wisdom for the team. We say he’s the coolest 70 year old we know! Serving as the church treasurer, he oversees the church finances. Gordon has his own remodeling company and he also oversees the physical maintenance of the church property.
Eriya Kato aka Elijah
(Intern) Elijah was born in Fukuoka and raised in Kanagawa / Tokyo Area in Japan. He grew up in a Christian family but began to stray away from God when he was teenager. At the age of 21, he started building a real relationship with Christ when he traveled to the west coast in the U.S. After he came back to Japan and graduated from the university, he went to JTJ mission seminary for 2 years. In 2002 he started planting a church with his family and also started using his rap music for evangelism. In 2005 he released his 1st CD and he traveled to the States again for outreach concerts for Japanese Churches. Elijah met Pastor Tommy at Purpose Driven Conference in CA in May and then he came to Fla.vor Fest 2005 in November. In 2006 Elijah moved to Tampa to serve as an intern at Crossover. Elijah plans on eventually going back to Japan to plant a church similar to Crossover. Crossover staff is available to come and speak at your church, leaders retreat, or conference. Call the Epic Agency for scheduling: (813) 933-5319 www.epicagency.net
S.O.U.L | Pg13
Three Service times:
Sunday Mornings: 9:30am & 11:15am Sunday Nights: 7pm (featuring a guest artist)
A
ll of our Sunday services reach a multi-cultural urban crowd with people from many different backgrounds. Crossover has experienced incredible growth over the past four years. Although the church is much larger and has multiple services, it has even more of a friendly family atmosphere now than ever before. It has become an exciting place where everyone is accepted in Love no matter how they look. Our church services are geared to be different and cutting edge because the crowd we reach is not into “tradition.” Although we attract people of all ages, the majority of our crowd is younger than your average congregation, [most people here are in their 20’s, 30’s, and 40’s]. Suits and ties are not required :) ...everyone comes dressed casually, and comes to worship God in a comfortable atmosphere. Our Hospitality Team greets you on the patio with smiling faces while serving free coffee, juice, and bagels. Each person also receives a program, which contains all of our up coming events, ministry opportunities, and additional information. Our praise and worship is done with a HipHop/Rn’B style with a live DJ, worship team, and sometimes live musicians. God’s presence is always evident as people genuinely seek Him.
S.O.U.L | Pg16
The “message” is always brought in a relevant, practical way where everyone can learn something that is applicable to their everyday lives. Pastor Tommy, Pastor Tone and the speaking team use message series that include various visual elements like original short films, drama, testimonies, and music to help illustrate the messages. Printed hand-outs are often times distributed and the audience is encouraged to follow along with the teaching and “fill-in the blanks”. Power Point presentations and animated images are also displayed on the monitors giving the audience yet another way to easily follow the message. Many services end with a great prayer time or a strong challenge to make life changes, start a relationship with Christ, or to make a stronger commitment to Him. After the service the patio turns into a great place of community where people hang-out, build relationships, eat together, and even pray with each other. Food is usually served several times a month by various ministries after the services.
...the crowd we reach is not into
“tradition.” Our new Sunday night service adds some extra flavor for those that can’t make it out Sunday mornings. The first Sunday evening of each month features an open mic where MC’s spit their verses and their freestyles. Each of the other weeks always features a set by a guest artist before or after the message. There is always some great food on the patio and the basketball courts and break dancing floor are buzzing with activity after the Sunday night service. ••
Kidz Church
The Purpose of Kidz Church is to relevantly introduce the truth of Christ to 6-11 year olds through entertaining lessons, moral and fair leadership, honest and encouraging fellowship, and most importantly through personal example. Kidz Church is an exciting, high quality time the kids enjoy and look forward to. Entertainment plays a large role in Kidz Church, but it is only the means to an end, not the end in itself. Ultimately, our goal is to see lives changed and maturity developed in the children. The lessons we want them to learn are best taught when we model them ourselves and the kids see the living example of Christ in us. They may never remember a single object lesson or Bible story skit, but they will never forget how their leaders treated them. Ultimately, good programs help, but what God uses to changes lives is people. Relationships are key. In this day and age, in the Hip-Hop culture especially, many children grow up in broken homes. Kidz Church may be the only place they find a loving, comforting adults who takes an interest in them. It is our chance to share God’s love with children who will, under other circumstances, never experience any kind of love. We also have the chance to teach them basic lessons in life such as playing fairly, sharing, and basic listening skills. In Kidz Church, we show the children that we care about them while we teach them to be disciplined. We do not provide a baby-sitting program, but value the kids enough to give them their own age appropriate kids service. What we do can be the difference between life and death.
Little Believers
Three, four and five year old children explore and play in our Veggie Tales themed Little Believers classroom. Their minds are stimulated with many opportunities to learn through songs and music, short videos, puzzles and group games. Little Believers is a positive and enriching experience for this age group as they learn, play and interact with one another and our passionate volunteers.
Tiny Tots
The ground on the Crossover campus is not only holy but also apparently fertile. Because of the increase in children being born into the Crossover family the nursery soon became over crowded so, in April 2006, we opened up the Tiny Tots classroom in the church house and split the nursery. The room caters to children between the ages of 18 months and 2 years old. With the help of our church volunteers, the room boasts original air brushed murals on both the inside and outside walls, a brand new carpet and plenty of toys for the kids to amuse themselves while their parents attend service. The willingness and dedication of our volunteers allowed us to stretch our small budget further than we ever anticipated. The space also allows for us to have larger bible study groups for children aged 6 thru 11 on Tuesday nights.
Nursery
Our fun and vibrantly colored Nursery offers an environment where infants up to 18 months, can receive the undivided care and attention of our qualified volunteers. Infants are cuddled and cared for whilst listening to soft lullabies, and they also have an array of toys to play with. The Nursery Ministry is available in all Sunday services and Tuesday evenings during regular church programming. Everyone involved in running the ministry is looking forward to the future and helping your children get to know their Creator as their best friend.
S.O.U.L | Pg17
“BREAK IT DOWN!”
That part of the song that deserves special attention when the emcee gives the deejay the go-ahead to do his thing. Well, Tuesday night breakdown is a time where believers are given the opportunity to give special attention to the basic teaching and breakdown of the Scriptures. The agenda is simply meeting once a week to take our time going through an entire book of the Bible. We start at the beginning of a book, and go through a portion of it every week until we come to the completion of that book. The purpose behind this method is to create an awareness of viewing scripture in light of the contextual settings and circumstances before interpreting them for where we are today.
“
What What we we learn learn with with our our minds minds must must make make its its way way to to our our hearts. hearts.
”
At Crossover, we believe this to be the healthiest way of Biblical interpretation. During Tuesday Night Breakdown people are having their scriptural appetites fed through the simple, practical presentation of God’s Word, with a time of Q&A as well. The purpose, however, is far beyond just becoming more knowledgeable, but to show the need for everyday application of what we’re learning and appreciating every week. What we learn with our minds must make its way to our hearts. Tuesday Night Breakdown is frequently described as a time when we break down the scriptures for the purpose of God breaking us down.
S.O.U.L | Pg18
crew: |kroō| noun
[treated as sing. or pl.] A group of persons involved in a particular kind of work or working together.
The Crew
is a group of people that meet regularly to build relationships and fellowship as they grow in their walk with Christ. The Crew is an intimate time of learning together in a small atmosphere where you can personally get to know each person in your group. Women’s Bible Study consists of several groups broken down between married and singles. We have built a family of diverse backgrounds which bond together for the sole purpose of drawing closer to God. Our crews have been able to apply biblical teachings to everyday life situations. Through the Word of God, we have learned to break down and counter life’s many barriers on real issues such as sex, self esteem, anger, self-control, as well as many others. At the same time we have studied subjects like eternity and understanding our destiny. Through relationship building, and accountability we will continue to grow spiritually and build our community.
“
We have built a family of diverse backgrounds which bond together for the sole purpose of drawing closer to God.
”
Men’s Bible Studies dig deep into the areas of becoming a real man of God as well as being the spiritually leaders of our families. Unfortunately in most urban communities it’s hard to find a lot of real men. Many of us have felt these effects first hand as we ourselves or our close friends have grown up in broken homes. With God’s help we can break this cycle! Our emerging families now look a lot different, because Christ is in the center. Meeting every Tuesday night, our men have built strong relationships with accountability to each other as they are being discipled in God’s Word. Once a month the married men actually meet with their wives as couples in a study geared towards Men and Women. Let’s be real... Studying the Bible is not always a high priority for the typical urban teen, but every Tuesday Crossover has several different teen groups of girls and guys that are digging into the Scripture! Teens are at a pivotal stage in their lives. We want to make sure we talk about real issues they are going through and share how they can deal with things from a Christian perspective. Topics like dating, materialism, peer-pressure, and evolution vs. creation teens are the ones that will not only change the next generation, but change those around them today as they shine the light of Christ.
Kids are important
We believe that it’s important to have an age appropriate bible study for your child. We are not a baby-sitting service. Children are at the center of Gods kingdom and he values them so much. It is our mission to share the word of God with his children and help them grow even at a young age.
Join our Crew in order to be involved in our journey to work towards Christ.
crew@crossoverchurch.org • toll free hotline: (888) 602.1153 S.O.U.L | Pg19
A
live D.J. spinning the hottest Christ centered Hip-Hop, smoke machines to set the mood, a live urban Hip-Hop worship team harmonizing to hot beats, backlit signs reminiscent to that of a movie theatre, and four T.V. monitors displaying videos and images on the screens to grab the crowd’s attention. One might think we are talking about a club somewhere, but we are talking about the 3rd rail Teen Service. It happens every Thursday night @ Crossover Church. As you enter the room and see all the teens (6th-12th grade) dressed in durags, hats, braids, timberlands, jerseys, etc. It is so clear that they are accepted just as they come. From every background, and nationality, it’s all love in this place. New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Philadelphia, and many other spots up north have moved to Tampa and made 3rd rail their Church. Many will never go to a traditional Church, but they feel very comfortable here. It’s also important to note that many originally from the Tampa bay area have also felt the urge to hang out here as well. The service sparks off at 7:30 and ends at 9:00 sharp, with an after service hangout time till 10:00. This is not your typical service: it’s geared to reaching out to those who are influenced by Hip-Hop culture. The basketball courts open from 6pm till 7:30, and then reopen from 9pm to 9:45. There is also an open break dancing floor following the service as many of the local B.Boys come to practice and show there skills as others watch. The first Thursday of every month is S.O.U.L. Session which stands for Speaking on Urban Life. It is done in a talk show format with live poetry and emcees spitting on the mics. The crowd is also involved as the two hosts go out into the audience and get them to participate. We can’t forget the Hip-Hop shop located in the Church lobby. This is the spot to cop some of the hottest Hip-Hop joints for your soul. If you’ve ever wondered if Christians can rap and still represent the Creator... well, come check out the Hip-Hop shop. Every first time guest gets a free crossover magazine and cypha mix CD.
But what’s up with the name 3rd rail?
In the Subways the 3rd rail is the power source that moves the train. Without it nothing happens. In the same way our lives need to be plugged into a power source. That power source is our creator, for us He is the 3rd rail. Most Thursdays have a special guest Hip-Hop artist do a mini concert before the word is presented. This always gets the crowd hype and ready for what God wants to do.
S.O.U.L | Pg22
In 2005, the youth ministry went through a serious change in its service. The youth ministry was slowly turning into a college age ministry and older. The majority of people coming were now in their twenties and even older with a packed house, but what about the teens?
“...young adults were eventually no longer permitted to come...” All that changed with a shift in its focus and a desire to see the teens of this city reached for Christ. The young adults were eventually no longer permitted to come on Thursday nights, as we started our Saturday night service and Thursdays then became totally geared to the youth. Long before the change, they also prayed about bringing on a full time youth pastor to dedicate his entire time to youth ministry as the pastors and leaders running it had other responsibilities that had become their main roles. In January of 2006 that became a reality. But it was important for Crossover not to just hire anyone, but someone who had experience. Not just in youth ministry, but also in Urban Hip-Hop culture. After several possibilities we soon found that Derrick Colon was the best fit. Born and raised in the rough section of The South Bronx Derrick knew all to well the reality of urban living. After coming to Christ out of the Hip-Hop culture in 1991, he would later be called back to the very culture he had come out of, Hip-Hop. Pastor Tommy (Urban D) and Derrick met in the late nineties, and they had always kept in touch, never realizing that God would put them together to help further His work of reaching the culture.
The Fla.vor Alliance crew and Crossover members have put on more than 30 major concert events consistently every three months at Crossover. These events feature a nationally known Christian Hip-Hop group as the headliner. Fla.vor Alliance, Crossover groups, and other local artists are the opening acts. Each event is more like a mini-festival as we have several things happening around our campus during the concert. All the elementz of Hip-Hop are represented as we have a B-Boy/B-Girl (break dancing) expo and competition in the Turnstyle room or the basketball courts as a live DJ spins some old skool break beats. We have a graffiti expo outside by the skate park, a DJ expo takes place in the main auditorium with several DJ’s that run the music throughout the night. In addition to all that... the patio is open with food for sale, the basketball courts are open, the skate park and skate shop are open, and the vendors alley on the backside of the building is open with several product and resources available. There’s lots of action at the spot!
“
Crowds av
average between
600-800
”
These events are an exciting time at Crossover with over seventy five of our church family members volunteering to help out each time. Crowds average between 600-800 as we have people attend from across the state and beyond. These events are geared to be evangelistic as we reach out to the community... but they also serve a dual purpose! Christians also need a place to come out and have fun! The results of these events have been incredible as hundreds of people have built a relationship with Christ, and many believers have been encouraged and inspired! The magazine you are holding in your hands was designed by a brother who met Christ at one of these events several years ago! Our concerts have included nationally known groups such as: The Cross Movement, Da T.R.U.T.H., Flame, KJ-52, MARS iLL, Pettidee, Corey Red & Precise and many others.
S.O.U.L | Pg23
“That’s the last box” Eddie said to his wife as they loaded up the moving truck. They take each other by the hand to get one last look at their place, so they go up the concrete steps and through the tall double doors of their 4-story brownstone apartment building in the middle of the block located downtown. The hardwood floors echo their footsteps as they walk throughout the large rooms that look even larger & taller without their furniture in it. Standing at the doorway while ending their last round, they take a final look, sad, as if leaving behind a good friend. “It’s a new time in our lives, but I’ll never forget the life we built here,” said Carla to Eddie. Sharing each other’s feelings, they turn to make the final exit. Even the switching off of the light echoes as they turn and go through the large doors, and back out of what was their home for the last time. It took the skill of city driving to pull out from the curb and into the tight lanes of traffic with the large moving truck, pulling their car behind it. It was like saying goodbye to more old friends as they made their way through the neighborhood to the sounds of some jazzy hip-hop. “I wish we could pack up their latte and take it with us,” said Carla. “I know, me too,” Eddie responded as they passed their favorite curbside cafes. The more they passed those memorable places as they drove toward the outer boundaries of town, the more they reflected on the many times they shared together with their friends on the job, at their favorite restaurants, theaters, or just nighttime summer strolls. They rarely had to drive to these places (which only would have been frustrating anyway with the congestion). If a destination wasn’t within walking distance, they would just jump on the subway, which got them there quickly without the stress of dealing with traffic. Their friends were people from all types of ethnic and racial backgrounds, as it seemed like the whole world was right in their neighborhood. The more miles grew between themselves and their city, the more the distance grew with what they were used to.
To say they departed from their city is an understatement, as they re-located to another state on the other end of the country. The indicators that showed them they were close to their new home were different from those of their former home. Before it was by the sight of skyscrapers that appeared miles before reaching the city, now it was simply by highway signs that directed them through the stretches of green. After two days of steady highway driving (stopping once overnight), Eddie and Carla reached the borders of their new hometown. They’ve been there before (at least when house-hunting of course), but they hadn’t noticed certain things that they were noticing now. Like the traffic. There weren’t a lot of cars on the road, but it was still moving slow because that’s just how the people were driving – some even under the speed limit. There was hardly anybody walking or hanging outside, but there weren’t even sidewalks on the sides of the roads anyway. With the few people they did see, there didn’t seem to be any diversity of ethnicity or culture. “Well, here we are,” Eddie said to Carla as they finally pulled into the housing development where their new home was. “Yup” she responded back. A few neighbors were waiting for them when they came up to the driveway. Most of them, however, were watching from inside their houses through the window. They seemed hesitant to make Eddie and Carla feel welcomed into the community, maybe because their skin tone was different from everyone else’s in the area, or because of the name of the state that was written on the license plate of their car, or the accent in their voices that clearly made it known they weren’t from the town they just arrived in. One neighbor did come out and introduce himself, but not without following the introduction with a word of instruction. “I know that you have this big moving truck today,” said the neighbor, “but just so you know in the future, my parking space begins here.” “Sorry” Eddie replied, “I’ll remember that from now on.” Turning to each other, the looks on Carla and Eddie’s faces were enough to communicate their realization that things won’t be like what they’ve been used to. It’s a no-brainer to think of the best way to describe Eddie and Carla’s experience – culture shock. All of us have experienced it at one time or another. For some it may have been at a time of re-locating, but for most of us it was probably a visit to somewhere different, and we had the relief of knowing that the strange sense of change from being in a different environment would only be short-term. Many times Christians don’t deal well with culture shock. When someone visits a church and that visitor looks and sounds obviously different from everyone else, the people of that particular church may feel uncomfortable by that new person’s presence. The only comfort they may have is either in that person not returning, or in eventually looking and sounding like everyone else the more he or she sticks around.
S.O.U.L | Pg24
The longer Christianity has been around, the more we’ve seemed to develop the notion that Christianity is a culture, but I’m not so sure I see it that way. When we think about culture, one aspect we think about is beliefs and values, but we also think about forms of expression. Well, as we want to see people impacted by the person and truth of Jesus Christ, we definitely hope to see people’s beliefs and values line up with those of God’s. At the same time, the question of whether or not cultural expressions need to change is a valid one. For example, I’ve seen Christian magazine articles about foreign missionaries and in the article would be a picture of the missionary in a 3-piece suit and a gold watch speaking to the crowd who is sitting and listening, dressed in their native clothes. Now, of course I’m not against suits or the people who wear them. They’re reaching people too. Standing by the missionary, however, would be Christian leaders from that native land, yet dressed in a 3-piece suit. Is that a necessary or expected part of change for people who begin a new life with Christ? Honestly, I would say it isn’t. It makes me think of the record found in Acts 8:26-39. This is where God’s Spirit leads Philip to a high official from Ethiopia who had been visiting Jerusalem to participate in worship there.
by: Tone Bruno
This man was the treasurer directly under the Queen of his country. The record tells us that the Ethiopian official was reading an Old Testament prophecy from Isaiah and was confused about it. Philip explains the passage to point to Jesus as the Savior of the new covenant. He believes Philip’s message, is baptized, and then God takes Philip away. What an exciting record of how God orchestrated for this important official to come to faith in Christ. Without taking away from that fabulous moment, I like to let my imagination take it even further. I think about how this treasurer to the Queen, one who directly communicated with her on a regular basis, went back to his homeland with his already established influence, and impacted his country, his culture, with the message that he was just changed by. The effects of that event are present in Ethiopia today. What’s interesting is that God’s Spirit takes Philip from the treasurer at the point of his inner conversion and baptism. At the same time, although Philip was highly important as one of the early church apostles, God took him away before there was any opportunity for the Queen’s official to assimilate to the appearance or expressions of Philip’s culture. This Ethiopian official was a part of the Jewish belief system, since he was reading the prophet Isaiah, but surely there were cultural distinctions between himself and those from Israel and Jerusalem based on where he was from. God saw fit to take Philip away at the point of the inner change alone. I love to think about how many back in Ethiopia were changed by this official’s influence for Christ, and how their cultural expressions became aimed at the truth of Christ. Now when we fast forward to where we are many hundreds of years later in our era of time, I view the communication of God’s message much the same. It makes me think about the story of the Calvary Chapel movement of the 1960’s and 70’s. Chuck Smith, a non-hippy minister in southern California, was led in his heart to begin ministering to the hippy culture – those rejected by mainstream society at the time. One day he and his wife began cooking some food, taking it to the beach to give to the hippies hanging out there, and talked to them about Christ. As they believed and were changed by the message, they were showing up to his church, barefoot and all (which he didn’t make them change as they came). Eventually, these same hippy’s who were reached were going back to the beaches and hang out spots themselves, looking the same but believing differently, and were the ones doing the reaching out back into the cultures they came from. As this progressed, today there are Calvary Chapel churches all around the country, and guess who the pastors are. Yup. These hippies who were reached by those who went back to them with the gospel. Now, hip-hop is not my primary drive or inspiration, but we do live in a time where hip-hop is one of the most influential cultures today, and, it so happens that I’m a hip-hopper. As a side-note, mainstream secular hip-hop has evolved into having assimilated an automatic immoral value system (although it wasn’t that way as it was coming up in the 80’s). Many who are a part of it now assume to carry and immoral lifestyle in the drive to be “authentic” as a hip-hopper. Well, there are those of us who are from hip-hop culture that have been impacted by the same truth of Christ that was told to this Ethiopian official hundreds and hundreds of years ago. That truth was relayed to us by those who are not of hip-hop culture, and like the Queen’s treasurer and the hippies of southern California, we’re now going back into our worlds, looking like we did before in our cultural make-up, but thinking differently, believing differently, having different values, and communicating that same message to those in the culture. This is the description I like to give to Crossover Church, which is only one among many works around the world wanting to be effective for Christ. By God’s goodness, Hip-hoppers come to our church with a way of thinking and living that is influenced by the message of secular hip-hop, and they are inwardly changed by the gospel and God’s value system. They used to play the field of sexual promiscuity, and now want to get married to one person for life. They used to be on violent agendas, now they want to share Christ’s love. Their primary influences used to be the immorality of secular hip-hop artists, now it’s the Bible, and Christian hip-hop music which represents Biblical perspective. All of this change is taking place, yet still in the same baggy clothes, braids, and style of music. Crossover is also literally one of the most culturally diverse places I’ve ever seen, yet with everyone sharing in common the internal transformation that comes with knowing Christ. There are also those who are not hip-hop that come through our doors, believe the gospel told by us who are, and go back into their non-hip-hop worlds relaying that same truth. All of these categories of people still culturally look like they did before, but see life differently than they did before. It’s the ultimate form of culture shock – not because someone looks different or sounds different in their speaking accent, but because they think differently, feel differently, sound different in what’s important to them now. It’s more than just being uncomfortable by culturally different surroundings. Taking it further, its being and becoming like the character of Christ, where God shocks the cultures that He communicates to through his people, for the purpose of salvation, understanding, and living - not appearance or style. THAT is what it’s all about. So, rather than viewing Christianity as its own separate culture, I like to view Christianity as being impacting to every culture, from within that culture, and for within that culture. •• S.O.U.L | Pg25
thing we do. society, it is all around us and in every The dictionary definition of HarUnfortunately music has been corru ony is to serve God with our have a common goal. Our goal as Harm mony is to be united in peace and was the original purpose That hip. atmosphere of praise and wors voices as we lead his people into an than that of other erent diff is ony Harm for tion God’s direc of music. Sounds easy enough, but y Kyllonen, our goal Tomm r Pasto our ther under the same vision of traditional churches. Working toge and young adults youth urban The h. churc l tiona tradi foot into a with God’s help is to reach lives that may never step r sove Cros at Here fit in, a place to call their own. of today are looking for a place to . being for se purpo our e. Their lives are we hope to help them feel at hom of today’s Music is an extremely important part pted from its original purpose.
l Purpose” “Our Sole Purpose is to give your Sou
all desire to worship in a way that is So if seeing a DJ scratching and ourse comfortable for us to fully express some singers vocalizing worship to and es rhym ing s, an emcee spitt spinning, a beat boxer making beat place for you! Out of the the any interest, than this is God in a style all their own spark up ony’s worship technics Harm ribes desc box the ght out of ordinary, non traditional and just strai lyrics and styles fool you! c, musi ed however not to let the remix (techniques) and style. Be careful lly live a life pleasing to tota to is it but show a on is not to put This harmonic team’s ultimate goal ld reflect Christ in all shou that Worship is a lifestyle, a lifestyle God in every way, shape and form. l tota a be ld shou ns actio your your words and areas of your life. Your appearance, reflection of Christ in you. to God. We Worship is an expression of our love lves and be ourselves.
CD: Available now: Harmony’s new resource uring feat EP e” eleas pre-r “Reflections
6 new songs, with 4 instrumentals.
tions” Coming in spring of 2007: “Reflec umentals, original worship vocal tracks, 13 instr This album is a (two disc CD) offering your use. lyric sheets and power points all for ear and spirit cally create sounds pleasing to the United in complete agreement to musi
14
Har-mo-ny:
S.O.U.L | Pg27
The Media Department @ Crossover embarks on it’s journey... All around the campus of Crossover you will see several productions from the Media Dept. Our media director, Spec oversees all of the production from the team which includes: print, videos, sound, etc.) The past year has been an incredible year of growth in so many areas of the church and this is especially true of the media department. With the technology that is pushed into our culture every year, we are prone to keep up with these advancements at an alarming rate. We can’t even remember the last time we used a VCR tape in a service, and that is just one example. Crossover began with the freshest technology of it’s time back in the late 90’s. We had the astounding “Over Head Projector” with marker written transparencies. Yes ladies & gentleman, it is fair to say that we have come a LONG way. Now don’t be fooled, Crossover might look like it has a lot of mula, but that is just plain WRONG!!! See what we have here is a lot of talent! The media team @ Crossover goes far beyond the boys in the booth. Many individuals contribute in several viable areas. Some of these important areas include: writing scripts for the short films, filming/editing, photography, working the lights and stage props; honestly the list could go on and on.
Granted, we do have a few church family members who love to just help us out and volunteer their time and talent in our media department. We truly appreciate these people and their willingness to help out; we can always use the help. Many of our volunteers have gone above and beyond working in the sound booth at the church. One of our media volunteers work for a major audio/video company here in Tampa. Several individuals have a passion for film/audio and have taken courses of study in those areas. One fella toured the US with a Master’s Commission group as an audio technician. A husband and wife duo took it upon themselves to edit our services for local broadcast on public access channels... we never asked them! It was in their heart and a lot of fruit has come from that. Numerous testimonies can be heard at Crossover and even around Tampa Bay about the hip.hop church on TV. Some of our fam have uncanny writing abilities and have shown favor to Crossover by blessing us with scripts that help produce/proof our short films & stories for our magazines. All churches have talented people. You may have to dig for a while and be patient, but they are out there. You have to give them a platform. Crossover is a living example of that. The media team @ Crossover along side with Flavor Alliance Media Group recently produced a new film series called “Press Play.” This is the second set of short films that our media team has produced. These videos have also been submitted to film festivals across the country. The DVD is designed to mirror certain topics for sermons; it is basically a visual illustration. The response from these DVD’s has been incredible. Get ready, we’re just getting started! We look forward to the next couple of years to see what God has in store for us. It’s amazing when we take a step back and see that it all began with an over head projector. ••
S.O.U.L | Pg29
Intro by Mark Jannetta (Splinter Founder): You know you’re growing in influence when you can get other people to articulate what you stand for. Our most recent grant video featured the Mothers of two of our skaters... and we got the grant. This article is written by Nick at a pivotal time for Splinter as I hand off the Crossover Park to Jorge, Adam and Chris. If others cannot communicate the vision then I haven’t done my job. Splinter is moving from a local park to a nation wide network. The vision cannot stay safely tucked away in my mind, but must be released in the leaders who take up the mantle and run with us. God told us to be fruitful and multiply. Splinter’s working on doing just that.
Splinter 2006 by Nick Mack Splinter has taken flight and it has been a progressive and busy year. We’ve done demos, competitions, trips, and even added a new park in Indian Rocks, Florida and in California. Our enthusiasm to go on more trips and skate at or build more parks is increasing and we are looking forward to what 2007 will bring. Splinter comes from humble beginnings that we are very proud of. We are still trying to keep as close to the grass roots as possible while also establishing and maintaining the contacts that will allow us to expand and make our presence felt in the main stream skate industry. Striking a balance like this is often pretty tough, but we have been blessed with some fine people and even some generous ones to provide the drive and resources that have allowed Splinter to carry on progressing forward. Skateboarding is continuing to grow and thrive in America. While the commercial band wagon may be sweeping through this industry we are trying to ‘keep it real’ as they say. Remaining relevant stays at the top of the agenda at Splinter, but the motivations for doing so are far deeper than the fact that utilizing the current trends and gimmicks would no doubt make us a tidy chunk of change. Money wasn’t the motivation for Splinter’s conception and it isn’t the reason why it continues to grow. Business may keep this boat afloat, but that’s not the full purpose of this life boat.
Splinter is growing because we love skateboarding and skateboarders. We also love God... in a very cool and totally noncheesy sort of way. We skated in “Go Skateboarding Day” in downtown Tampa because we are proud members of the Tampa skate scene. When hundreds of skaters gather together to give a real representation of what skateboarding is all about, even in a slightly illegal way, how can we not take part and do our best to show everyone who gazes on at us that skateboarding is actually a positive and beautiful thing. God created it after all. We are a genuine part of that, not a Christian mock up version. We’ve had a lot of parents commenting on how they like the atmosphere at Splinter. The fact that it’s on the grounds of a church does a lot to ease the minds of parents who realize just how dangerous it can be to skate in the streets and we’re happy to offer a safe place to skate and hang out. However, we believe that Splinter exists on the streets wherever any of us go to represent ourselves and what we are about. Being Christ like becomes much harder when you step outside the doors of the church/skate ministry, but we belong there as much as here. Splinter is mostly growing because God loves skateboarding and skateboarders. Based on what we know about the people who he hung out with when he walked the earth, if Jesus was around today he’d probably have a few skateboarders as friends. I reckon he might even wear a pair of Vans. God loves me... and I’m a skateboarder. This is the message of Splinter. ••
S.O.U.L | Pg30
Nov. 3rd-6th, 2005 Fla.vor Fest 2005 was our biggest conference to date as it went international with attendees all the way from Spain, The UK, and Japan! November 28th, 2005 Crossover was featured on the front page of the Life Section in USA Today. It was a great article that was the biggest mainstream media exposure the ministry had ever received. Over 300,000 people visited our website that day alone.
S.O.U.L | Pg32
March 11th, 2006 Da’ T.R.U.T.H. was in concert at Crossover for a dope night of Christ Centered hip-hop. Over 500 came through and experienced another great Crossover Concert.
March 2006 Crossover’s new youth pastor Derek Colon and his team give the youth ministry a new identity: “3rd Rail... one touch and the rest is HIStory.” December 17th, 2005 THE “Jesus... one of us” Production took place during our weekend services. Over 40 cast members were a part of this impacting drama that brought over 40 new people to Christ.
January 1st, 2006 Crossover had its first ever “New Year’s Eve Jam” featuring Cross Movement Records recording artist, Flame. Our church family got together to celebrate with worship, food, games, & a fresh concert.
April 2006 Crossover’s video café opens on the back side of the church. In this space people can drink coffee and eat food as they view the service on the big screen. April 15th & 16th, 2006 Easter Weekend, we launched a new series “MySpace... - is God invited?” The message talked about Christ leaving His space and over 30 people built new relationships with him that weekend as over 550 people attended. April 2006 New Tiny Tots kidz space is opened on the campus as it focuses on children 18 months to 3 years. This greatly helped alleviate the growing pains we had in our nursery as people here just keep having more babies! Must be something in the agua! May 16th, 2006 Crossover receives the Church Health Award at the 2006 Purpose Driven Church conference; presented by Pastor Rick Warren. (peep the pose!)
August 22nd, 2006 Crossover releases it’s second DVD edition of “Press Play” This is a collection of original short films that tie in with message series. check the ad on pg. 28
November 2nd-5th, 2006 The 7th Annual Fla.vor Fest - hip-hop/ emerging ministries conference is held at Crossover with the launch of the all new S.O.U.L. mag! The conference also jumped off by adding another stage with close to 50 artists performing.
Sept. 5th, 2006 The Relevant Nation tells the stories of 50 people under the age of 40, all of whom are living active, passionate lives that have grown out of their Christian faith. Urban D. & Crossover is 1 out of the 50 featured in the book.
S.O.U.L | Pg33
an D. my Kyllonen aka Urb written by: Pastor Tom
Church is a word that has overall developed a negative connotation in the American culture. Polls in the last number of years have unanimously awarded Church as the most boring place in America. Right now, we have a large number of youth and young adults growing up that have never been inside the four walls of a church. Some would say we’re entering a post-Christian era in the United States. What church is really about and how it’s defined has changed over the years. Church has become defined as “a place where certain things happen” - such as worship, preaching, and prayer. People started saying, “I go to church,” just like they go to the mall or to the corner bodega. People say, “I attend church,” just like they attend a school or a college. Or others say, “I belong to a church,” just like they belong to a health club or a service organization with programs and activities. So many people both inside and outside of the church began to view church as a vendor of religious services and goods. Think about that for a minute; that’s how many people now view it. Church has become more of a place instead of a group of people on a mission. Members, leaders, and even culture are guilty of this scenario. Think about it; we come to church to learn about God and how He can help us fix our problems and heal us from past hurts. Church is where you come to have others teach your kids about God. It’s where you come for your weekly feeding of God’s Word. This is where you come to hear some great music and connect with some people. Not that any of that is bad; these are all vital necessities. The problem for many people is that the church has become the only place where these experiences happen. They don’t talk to God or study His Word as a daily habit. These people usually expect the pastors of the church to read the Bible for them and teach them everything on Sundays. They also don’t teach their kids about God, as they expect someone else to do it for them. Many become consumer minded when it comes to church, and they are looking for a church to meet every single one of their spiritual needs. I read an article on Relevant Magazine’s website that said the church’s motto has changed from, “We are the church here to serve the lost and broken world,” to “What does this church have to offer me?” Of
S.O.U.L | Pg34
course a church body should strive to meet people’s needs, but there is a balance where participants also need to give back, as it this is part of God’s plan. It all boils down to the original definition of the church. Here is a biblical statement that is going to rock some of ya’ll. There is not one verse in the New Testament that says, “They went to church.” Now, you might be thinking, ‘What? I thought those people always were in church.’ Well, according to the Bible, it is actually impossible to ‘go to church.’ I know some of ya’ll are really tripping now. You might even be reading this article as you sit in a building referred to as a church! But bear with me; I’m really going to cap it off. If you told someone at your job today “I’m going to be going to church tonight,” that would technically be a theologically incorrect statement.
“
Church has become more of a place instead of a group of people on a mission.
”
The church of the New Testament never referred to a building or even a meeting that took place. It referred to the people of God who were together on a mission. So in light of that definition, we cannot go to church, because we are the church. If you have a relationship with Christ then you and I make up the church. I AM THE CHURCH, YOU ARE THE CHURCH, WE ARE THE CHURCH! The past few years I have seen a lot of people proudly rocking shirts that say “I am Hip-Hop”. Would we be proud enough to rock a Shirt that boldly said, “I am the church?” We recently gave out shirts to all of our volunteers at Crossover that said, “I am the church” on the front. On the back it continued and said, “...and I meet with the rest of my family at a place
called Crossover.” It’s sparked up some conversation, and helped some of us be more aware to represent. Every time you see a reference to the church in the New Testament it never describes a building or an organization. The word church is always used to refer to a gathering, a crowd, a group, or an assembly of people who believed in Jesus Christ. Acts 14 is a great example of that. This passage talks about Paul and his crew returning to the city of Antioch. Paul was the man! A few verses before that he was in the city of Lystra and got stoned. These cats literally mobbed him, pulled him out of the city and stoned him until they thought he was dead. After they dipped, the disciples gathered around Paul. He got up, brushed off the dust, wiped the blood, and kept rolling. He was a raw dude. So as the disciples returned to Antioch, they wanted to tell all the believers the good news about that and all the others that received Christ. Check out vs. 27 as it says, “On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples.” Notice that first part of the verse, “They gathered the church together”. You can’t gather a building together can you? No, because the church is us; it’s you and me! In the New Testament the word church is from the Greek word, “Ekklesia.” This word meant an assembly of believers that gathered together for a purpose and a mission. The term is used in the singular to describe several churches in a region as it talks about that in Acts 9:31. But, it is also used to describe the church that is made up of believers from everywhere on earth. We are part of a local and a universal church, meaning a group of people that follow Christ. One of the biggest things we are supposed to be about as the church is our mission. Rick Warren stated that, “today the church is more known for what it’s against rather than what it’s for.” That’s a sad, but true statement. When someone is on their death bed, or dying, or about to leave forever their last words are usually the most important thing that they will say to those they are leaving behind. We have all seen it in the movies, and some of us have even experienced this in real life. If we look at Jesus’ last words to his disciples it was all about giving them their mission. The mission was to reach more people and let them know about the hope, forgiveness, and relationship that He offers. In Matthew 28:19-23, and Acts 1:8 Jesus gives this mandate to His followers. This is what we’re supposed to be about as the church! So let me encourage you like the writer of Hebrews to not give up meeting together, but let’s not stop there! Let’s also be about our mission, and let our actions throughout the week hollar...
‘I AM THE CHURCH!’
S.O.U.L | Pg35
First impressions mean a lot! Statistics show that most people that visit a church will already decide if they are coming back before they ever hear the pastor speak. Some make their choice even before the service starts! The past few years we’ve made great strides in trying to make a better first impression on all of our first time guests. We have a
HOSPTIALITY TEAM that sets up free bagels and coffee on the patio for our weekend services. They are
also the first ones that greet people with a smile and hand them a program as they walk in. This is the team that also runs our information area on the patio where you probably received this magazine. As you noticed most of our services are pretty full, our
USHERING TEAM assists people in finding seats as they enter the main auditorium or our outdoor
video cafe. They also assist in passing out additional material, keeping order, and helping take up the offering in our services. Crossover has a lot of activity around the campus. Our
CLEANING TEAM keeps the facility looking fresh.
None of us want to go into a dirty bathroom, or walk into a building that smells with trash everywhere. The cleaning team keeps God’s house looking good. We want people to come in and have a good experience and a good first impression so when it comes time for worship and the teaching they can enter in and listen without being distracted. If you want to help us continue to make good first impressions, you can see someone at the information booth to get involved.
Marriage is an institution that was created by God. It’s a commitment that is supposed to last for life. With all the pressure and stress in our culture it seems like commitment is becoming a tough thing for people to stick with. We see families breaking up all the time. The effects it has on children and adults can be devastating. We know that God desires for us to build solid families that are healthy as they grow in him. In 2004 Crossover developed its Marriage Ministry. This ministry is designed to help couples strengthen their marriage and their families. This ministry sponsors a quarterly event which usually consists of a dinner, a workshop, or a trip that features teaching, fellowship, and fun. During the in between time several of the leading couples pour into younger couples by spending time with them and mentoring them.
S.O.U.L | Pg38
The Drama Department
has developed and performed several original productions here at Crossover. These productions included acting, video, dance, song, rap, and poetry. This creates a platform for people to discover, develop, and display their talents and passions. Some of the events had a cast of over 40 people including a stage crew and set designers. Recent full blown productions included “The Mission II”, “Jesus... one of us”, and “To hip-hop with love.” We’ve seen many people build new relationships with Christ and other believers get seriously challenged. Short skits are also frequently used during our services. They are sometimes live, and sometimes filmed and edited on video. These skits are sometimes funny and sometimes serious as they deal with real issues that vividly paint the picture to illustrate the message that Pastor Tommy, Pastor Tone, and the speaking team are sharing. The Drama team is made up a group that is very diverse in background and ages. Drama is not just entertainment, but a form of communication. Through drama we communicate how God’s word relates to our everyday lives.
“We’ve seen many people build new relationships with Christ and other believers get seriously challenged”. PoetS.O.U.L.
is an event held a few times a year much like our concerts... just on a smaller scale and appealing to a more “laid back” audience. Poet S.O.U.L. features performers doing poetry and spoken word, reflecting real life laced with Christ centered worldview. This is an outdoor event held on Crossover’s patio complete with torches, candles, and a live DJ spinning mellow hip-hop, R&B, and jazz instrumentals. A special feature of PoetS.O.U.L. is the R&B style artist / singer / group that performs two separate sets in between all the poetry. PoetS.O.U.L. has featured such national artists as Lisa McClendon, Demetrus, Bobby Roman and many more...
S.O.U.L | Pg39
Newspaper
“Shouting Hip-Hop’s Praises”
story by: Cathy Grossman November 28th, 2005 (front page of Life Section)
Internet
“Welcome to hip-hop church - a multi-racial, multi-ethnic, mega decibel, authentically biblical worship service where urban street sound and style take a holy spin. Crossover does 21st century church in a first century fashion, going into the world like the apostle Paul in Athens, telling of salvation in the language of the streets.”
Purposedriven.com/Pastors.com
“A hip-hop church’s search for purpose” article by: Tobin Perry August 2005
“Crossover Community Church has learned to use the Purpose Driven Model of ministry in a way that is uniquely their own. After getting a handle on who their target was, the church began to use any method necessary to reach them. For example, every three months they have a hip-hop concert at the church where they bring in well known bands to play. Throughout the concert a low-key gospel message is weaved in as artists comment on what their Christ-centered songs mean to them. At the end of the night Kyllonen and other speakers fully explain the gospel and give an invitation to accept Christ. Many in the congregation came to know Jesus for the first time through these events. Lily Lorenzo attended one of these concerts after seeing an article in the newspaper about it. She was so impressed with the church that she moved from Orlando to Tampa just to attend on a regular basis. The decision changed her life forever. Now just five years later she serves as the church’s small group director.”
S.O.U.L | Pg40
Belief watch: ‘Word’
Magazine
article by: Lilit Marcus and Patton Dodd July 31st, 2006
“Hip-Hop services are popping up all over. Lawndale Community
Church in Chicago packs the house with their rap-inspired version. The leaders of Minneapolis’s Sanctuary Covenant Church do hiphop services six times a year. Pastor Tommy Kyllonen’s Crossover Community Church gained ten times as many congregants when it started using hip-hop in their services.”
Nightly News
Television
segment aired on: December 15th, 2005
“Crossover was featured in a national news segment that
reported on the growing number of churches using hip-hop in their worship services.”
Crossover has also been featured in The New York Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Relevant Magazine, Tampa Tribune, Charisma Magazine, and The Weekly Planet among several others.
•Abused•
Bert Tinsley’s Life Abused, molested, abandoned, oppressed and forgotten... This was the life that Bert had to live growing up. He was abused and molested by his mother, oppressed and later abandoned by his own father. Ultimately he believed that God had forgotten him, “Did I do something to upset him?” he would often ask. Eventually, Bert escaped the den of hell that he called home, living a life bent on destroying him; drugs, alcohol, and promiscuity became every day life. One day an angel was placed in his path and invited him to a place that changed his life. He shared that Crossover was like a lighthouse to his storm-battered life. Now, he has fallen in love with his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and daily tries to surrender every aspect and detail of his life to God. “I pray that He uses the pain of my past to save someone who is as lost as I was. Please cry out to the Lord, He will come running wherever you are, He is faithful.”
•Twin Boys•
The Renee Bunt’s Story Renee was born to an alcoholic and abusive mother, an absent father and an over-controlling grandmother. Surviving the family trauma in her early years, she also experienced drugs, alcohol, abusive relationships, suicide attempts, prostitution and even being raped. She attended a more traditional church for several years, but eventually slipped away. Renee would have never pictured herself in a hip-hop flavored church, but it was her three sons (two being twins) that begged her to come to Crossover, and then kept waking her up each Sunday morning. God began to do a new thing in her heart as she got reconnected with Christ and connected with a new spiritual family at Crossover. She eventually began serving in the kid’s ministry along with volunteering her time in various other areas. Renee recently went through heart surgery and shared about the overwhelming support she felt, “I have not had to worry about meals, house cleaning, laundry, school uniforms, and supplies for my boys, or transportation to and from school for the boys or wherever I need to go! God truly has blessed me all of my life and it took me 43 years to see it! God used my Crossover family and my twin boys to bring me back to him!”
S.O.U.L | Pg42
•Fla. Migrants•
James and Cynthia’s journey James was born and raised in the South Bronx. Need we say more? No, but here it goes... He really only attended church the few years he was in Catholic school. Cynthia was born in Chicago and raised between there and Tampa, she spent most of her childhood in church. As she got older she stopped attending church by the time she turned 16. She and James met in Tampa and briefly started attending a church as they were still living together, but the journey to church didn’t last because they didn’t feel comfortable or welcomed. Living right down the road from Crossover, they would pass by all the time and wonder what was going on over there. One day, Crossover was having a yard sale and Cynthia wanted to stop and check it out. (Garage sales are her weakness). After a couple of minutes a member of the church, Luly Davila, gave Cynthia a magazine and invited them to come and visit on an upcoming Sunday. A few weeks later, she and the troops (the children) began attending Crossover. “He (James) wanted to know about it and always told everyone about it”, she said. It took six months and an argument almost every Sunday until he actually decided to join the fam. James shared, “I didn’t like how my wife would leave to come to Crossover. I wanted to lead my family in our Christian walk.” James soon came and has been here ever since. Since that day a couple years back, they’ve gotten involved in the Kids Ministry and Youth Ministry among several other areas, and by the way, their children love coming to church. They’ve stated, “We don’t know where we would be if we didn’t have Christ and Crossover, and we thank God for that.”
•The Crossover Courts•
Heather Muller’s got game She grew up in the projects with her mother taking care of her and other siblings, while she worked hard trying to support the family. As she grew up one of her close friends started to hang with the wrong crowd. It soon seemed like all the young girls around her were getting involved in sex and drugs when some of her 12 year old friends became pregnant. Instead of the street life, she emerged herself in sports, poetry and her education in order to keep herself away from things she didn’t want to be involved in. Heather found herself separated from everyone as well as God. A few years later her family came to Tampa, it was a big life change for them. After a year of living around the corner from the church campus, she realized that Crossover had a B-ball court, so she started to come by and play ball. On one particular Tuesday night service, Derrick, the youth pastor, asked her to come to bible study. At first she wasn’t sure but she decided to check it out and it turned out that she loved it and she connected with some of the other girls and leaders. Soon she started coming to every single service along with a bunch of friends she invited. Heather felt comfort and love at Crossover while at the same time she began to grow in her relationship with God. She began to understand that God did everything for a reason. Heather experienced true forgiveness and found a place that felt like home.
•Miracle Man•
Jonny Ratke’s Drama Johnny’s mother left his dad when he was only 8 years old, and left him to a household filled with anger and abuse. At age 13, he was shot in the head at point blank range with a 45 caliber pistol. As he laid in a coma he felt God’s presence for the first time. After his miraculous recovery he continued down a path of drugs, sex, and violence. He survived three overdoses and several car accidents where he actually broke his back three times! He began to search for God again as he was taking high doses of narcotics to ease his extreme pain. One night as he was at home alone channel surfing he came across Crossover’s church service on the Public Access television station. Jonny stated, “It seemed like it had people who hadn’t been raised perfectly either... but they still had a relationship with God.” He soon started attending Crossover and grew in his new relationship with Christ. Jonny also shared, “I am now putting the bad parts of my past where they belong...in my past, and holding on to all the wonderful blessings Jesus has so thankfully placed in my life.” Jonny is truly a walking miracle! There’s not enough room to print all of the details here, so if you ever catch him on the patio he can give you the extended version of his incredible street story.
S.O.U.L | Pg43
These are a series of classes that help people grow in their personal spiritual commitments. Our goal at Crossover is to always help people take their next step of growth in their relationship with their creator.
101Membership Connection Class: In this workshop you’ll learn more about Crossover’s unique vision, strategy, structure, and goals. This class is all about connecting with Crossover (your family) as you also are connected with Christ (your leader). We’ll be sharing the story of our church’s beginning and our incredible vision for the future. If you feel comfortable at Crossover and would like to get more involved, we encourage you to come out and officially join the family!
201Maturity Connection Class: In this workshop you’ll learn more about maturing in your relationship with Christ. You’ll hear several important ways that your connection with your Creator can be strengthened.
301S.H.A.P.E. Connection Class: In this workshop you’ll discover and reaffirm what you were shaped for. Each of us was made with passions for certain things. In this class you’ll get connected to a ministry where you can grow and serve others.
401Mission Connection Class: Coming in 2007!
*Connection Classes are offered quarterly on a Saturday from 11am - 3pm with free lunch provided. You can sign up on the patio at the information area or visit our website @ www.crossoverchurch.org to get the dates and register for our next class.
S.O.U.L | Pg44
As Crossover continues to grow we are aggressively trying to maximize the space God has given us. In 2006 we opened our outdoor video venue for more seating during services. We have multiple services on Sunday, and we have a service on Thursday night service that is specifically for teens. Even with all these additions we know that we will still soon have more space issues again as we continue to grow. These are great problems... but what’s NEXT? Even though we love this campus and many of us have worked hard on customizing it make it the unique place that it is, we know that God has an even greater vision for our church. Crossover plans on relocating in the near future to facility on a main street that will provide plenty of square footage, parking, and visibility. Our new campus will expand all of our current services, programs, and ministries while it will also give us the ability to add several new ones. When, Where, and How are the questions! With every major project we’ve undertaken, these have always been the questions. God has always answered them and always provided every need. Our story is one that is filled with miracles, and although relocation would be our biggest challenge yet, we know that this will be an even greater opportunity for God to shine and get his props! Although we’re excited about a new building, we know it’s not our final destination. It’s only part of our journey. What we are doing as we journey defines who we really are. Our church is reaching people from all over the Tampa Bay area, but we are also touching people across the country and even over seas. Crossover has become internationally known as the first church model that is effectively reaching the hip-hop culture. The ministry has developed several resources with some featured on page 87. What’s NEXT with our resources? As there are virtually no other resources to equip leaders to reach the hip-hop culture we plan on continuing to fill that gap. The staff and leaders are currently developing several new CD’s, DVD’s, curriculum, and books that will be released in the near future. We believe that God has called us to impact this culture worldwide. Keep our team and our ministry as a whole in your prayers!
How can you stay connected to WHAT’S NEXT?
You can become a Ministry Partner. By checking out this magazine many will quickly assume that Crossover has plenty of finances. In actuality, Crossover is made up of predominately lower to middle income urban young adults. Many of them have also recently started their relationships with Christ. Although our church is quickly growing in numbers, our finances are much lower than your average congregation of our size. Even though our resources are limited, we still believe in doing things in excellence. We have a committed staff that has financially sacrificed to work full-time at the church. Many people in our congregation also volunteer countless hours. We are building a team of like-minded people that will become part of our “team” through prayer and financial support. Although we started a building fund and many of our members are actively involved, we know we need people from the outside to come along side and join us. You can be a part of what’s next! We ask that you look over this magazine and prayerfully consider being a part of our extended family. For information and details on Crossover’s Ministry Partners visit our website: www.crossoverchurch.org
S.O.U.L | Pg45
from the: Crossover Staff Hopefully this magazine has provoked some of your spiritual thinking. Before you put it down, I want to leave you with two final thoughts. The first one is that each one of us is made with a longing to know our Creator. At some point we’ve all questioned why we are here. Now, more than ever our culture is searching for meaning and purpose. If you look around you can observe that search everywhere; you can hear it in music, see it in movies, and watch it play out in every day real life. We soon figure out that this materialistic lifestyle that the media has pushed on us... just doesn’t satisfy! Even when we get some of the stuff we wanted or achieve some of the goals that we worked so hard for... it seems we still long for more! There’s still an empty spot inside of our souls. That spot can only be filled with a personal relationship with Christ. Until we understand this, our lives will continue to seem like an endless cycle of searching. If you feel like this your search can end today! We’ve all messed up and made mistakes, but we now have an opportunity to get things right and get reconnected with our Creator. This can happen by building a personal relationship with God’s son -Jesus Christ. He came and paid the sentence for all of our sins as he died on the cross to be the sacrifice in our place. The Bible shares in Romans 10:9-10 that if we have faith and believe then we will be forgiven and will have life forever in heaven. You don’t have to wait to come to God until you get everything together... because you’ll never get it together on your own. Right now as you hold this magazine you can simply talk to God and tell him that you need him and want to do it his way. Let him know you are sorry for all the things you’ve have done wrong. That relationship that will change your eternity can start right now!
What happens next is the second thought I want to share with you. Each one of us is made with a need to belong to something. Many people try to find this in fraternities, community organizations, political groups, even in street gangs. These groups can provide some form of belonging and ownership, but God has something much more fulfilling for all of us. If you ask most people they will tell you that they believe in God, but the majority of our society has no real involvement in a local church family. Many will say, “Well, I believe in God, but I just study the Bible at home.” Or some will say, “I watch church on TV, and that’s my church.” Each one of us is called to belong, not just believe. Ephesians 2:19 says, “You are members of God’s very own family, citizens of God’s country, and you belong in God’s household with every other Christian.” (LB) According to the Bible, being a member of the church means being a vital organ of a living body. The church is a body, not a building; it’s an organism, not an organization.
For the organs of your body to fulfill their purpose they must all be connected to your body; it’s exactly the same for you as a part of Christ’s body. Each one of us was created for a specific role, but you will miss a major part of this if you’re not attached to a living, local church family. We all have our different gifts and talents that God has given us so we can help each other. Crossover is a growing family of believers. There are many different talents and abilities that our family has. We are just common people, but together, as we work towards our vision, we attain uncommon results. We’re not perfect, and we never will be, because we are made up of humans. However, we are a family that is there for one another and clearly understand that our purpose is to reach out to others that need to know Christ and discover their purpose in life. If you believe in God and don’t belong to a church family, I encourage you to get involved somewhere! Don’t miss out on what God has for you! If you feel comfortable here at Crossover, we’d love to have you become part of our diverse family. If you need anything... let one of our family members know. We’re here for You!
Peace and God Bless,
Crossover Staff
S.O.U.L | Pg47
“Hip-Hop Church” by: Efrem Smith + Phil Jackson
As someone who didn’t grow up in hip-hop culture, this God inspired book by Pastors Efrem and Phil definitely encouraged me and gave me lot of information that I previously didn’t know about this culture. This is no doubt a must read for parents of teenagers, and for pastors that want to truly reach younger generations. It will open your mind. Phil and Efrem know what they’re talking about as they lead churches that impact the culture. Their knowledge isn’t just from text books; it’s from real ministry on the front lines. The book really encourages people that we must engage the culture as it’s the church’s mission. I realize now that hip-hop is redeemable!
• ivpress.com
- reviewed by: Brother Greg
“Velvet Elvis” by: Rob Bell
Jesus wasn’t a Christian; let me say that again, Jesus wasn’t a Christian. I know when I first read that, it was a bit strange, but the longer I pondered the statement it began to resonate deeply in my mind. What was He then? He was a Jewish Rabbi, living in a Jewish land, governed by a strict Jewish law (he was also God, but that’s another topic all together). This is one of the many simple, but poignant truth’s that Pastor Rob Bell points out. Rob stresses the importance of historical context in scripture because it digs to the very root of what we believe. The scripture was written by specific people, in a specific time, for a specific reason. It was not handed down in cloud from God. He goes on to explain how doctrine and theology are not bricks in which our wall of faith was constructed, but instead, springs on a trampoline to help us jump higher in our understanding of God’s ways. For some people this may shake the very foundation upon which their religion is built, and ironically that’s the purpose of his book. Rob is a passionate Christian thinker not afraid of the tough questions. He makes it a point to let you know asking questions is a vital part of following Jesus, which in many ways is counter culture to our Western-Judean formula.
• zondervan.com
- reviewed by: Jeremy
“The Relevant Nation” edited by: Heather Zydek
This unique book features 50 activists, artists and innovators under 40 who are changing their world through faith. It showcases a very diverse group of leaders from those known in the urban world like Efrem Smith and Tommy Kyllonen to others we need to get to know like Shane Claiborne and Constance Rhodes. The book has a series of conversational profiles complete with pictures, quotes about them from other leaders, and interesting facts about their personal lives. Brain McLaren described it like going to dinner with 50 of the most interesting younger Christian leaders in the country. Their stories will inspire you and further prove that God is alive and well among younger generations.
• relevantbooks.com - reviewed by: Cas One
Holy Hip-Hop DVD hosted by: Christopher ‘Play’ Martin
This documentary style DVD was a long time in the making. Play takes you into the world of Christ-centered hip-hop. It features well known groups such as The Cross Movement, Corey Red and Precise, and Canton Jones. One negative would be that there seems to be quite a few unknown artists featured which tends to make some points drag. This could be the parts where people might press the FF button. It does end on a great note as Play has a strong take out message where he shares some of his story how God has changed him and how he wants to impact the culture for the next generation as he himself is a father of teenagers. Certain chapters on the DVD can really be a good resource for those wanting to learn more about the movement and put on display what Christ is doing.
• amenfilms.com
- reviewed by: Cisco
S.O.U.L | Pg51
1. Pettidee
“Thug Love”
Beatmart Recordings
If you’re not scared to get your bounce on for the Lord... then you need to cop the long awaited album from the 0.G. of krunk. This chart topping project has something for everybody that’s a fan of the Dirty, Dirty! Make sure you check out my jam “Don’t stop”. Another one you’ll want to press replay on is “Let go”. This is a track that you’ll really hear petty’s heart pour out in the verses. So get ready to get your krunk on, with thug love!
- pettyville.com
- reviewed by: Brother Greg
2. Why
Hip-Hop 2K6 “compilation”
Cross Movement Records
The first track on the CD, by Lecrae, is one of the best on the whole album. Lecrae raps about making disciples, giving Christ the glory in what he does, and questions us with, “what will you do after the music stops?” Didn’t Christ tell us to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20)? Another hard hitter is the track titled Breathe (by Flame). Flame is on to studying God’s Word as well as trying to draw others to Christ by saying “Come with me.” If you’re looking for more of a hiphop/R&B feel then, make sure to check out the fifth track with R-Swift feat. JR. There are no fillers on this CD; every artist is talented and anointed!
- whyhiphop.com
- reviewed by: el Joel
3. Surreal
and DJ Balance “Future Classic”
HipHipisMusic
The first time I met Surreal at Crossover, it didn’t even dawn on me that this was the same cat that used to be part of Double Helix, a secular underground group. He seemed so humble. Surreal has smooth, hard hitting, thought provoking lyrics. This disc hasn’t left my CD player. It’s been my wake up music each morning. Surreal’s musical influences come from all over, while the centerpiece is his expression of what God brought him through. If I had to put a word to his new album “Future Classic” it would have to be “growth”.
- soulkitchensound.com - reviewed by: Bert
4. Reggaeton
Baptism “various artists”
Lion of Zion Ent.
The hottest and newest flavor of sound is Reggaeton. If you want a cd to bump in your ride then reggaeton baptism is for you. Blazin beats, hot hooks, and a unique sound make this a must for music heads everywhere. The song that really stands out is, “Nada Mas.” “God is the one who picks me up when I’m down.” Yo, that says it all. So if you want fire and passion with a message of hope, then it’s time for you to get baptized with reggaeton baptism
- lionofzion.com
- reviewed by: Iris
• get these resources / albums and more @ our Hip.Hop.Shop in the lobby or @ flavoralliance.com
S.O.U.L | Pg50
November 1st- 4th, 2007
8th annual
hip-hop/emerging ministries conference Held @ Crossover Church in Tampa, Fla.
Purpose Statement:
“Fla.vor Fest exists to train, network, and resource emerging leaders to effectively impact the hip-hop culture for CHRIST.” The conference jumps off with Crossover’s Thursday night “3rd Rail teen service.” Friday and Saturday feature workshops during the day and festival concerts in the evening. Sunday closes the weekend with Crossover’s innovative hip-hop flavored church services.
The 2007 Fest will feature four workshop tracks: • Emerging Urban Church • Hip-Hop Youth Ministry • Artist in Ministry and Industry • Outreach to your Community (New Track)
Evening concerts will feature: 2 stages featuring close to 50 artists along with a Break Dancing competition, 3 on 3 basketball tournaments, Graffitti Expo, Skateboarding Expo, over 35 vendors, and more! There will be a special pre-conference free luncheon on Thursday at 1pm for pastors engaging the culture. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------“I’d say that crossover does a great job at strategizing, organizing, and executing the hardest part of a Christian Hip-hop weekend - getting people to attend the workshops, and making sure that once they attend, the workshops do not disappoint in importance and impact.” - Bradey Goodwin aka The Phanatik of The Cross Movement - Philly, Pa. “The content was very relevant. In fact, in all my years of ministry this conference has been the MOST relevant. All of the workshops equipped me with knowledge that I can currently use in ministry. I’m not exaggerating - literally all the workshops!” - Anonymous from a 2005 feedback form “It’s extremely well prepared, on point, and always features incredible speakers. It’s always fresh and exciting each year, but still sticks with its mission. It’s helpful in ministry and it’s a fun event to be a part of.” - Roger Perez, youth leader at New Life ministries in Miami, Fla. “The workshops were incredible and to the point. They covered key objectives that my church was in search for. Hospitality was awesome, very humble staff, humble ministry.” - Anonymous from a 2005 feedback form
Register today @ www.flavoralliance.com Early registratio
n and artist su
S.O.U.L | Pg53
bmission until
June 1st, 2007
.
June 1st & June 2nd , 2007 Flavor Fest expands to host a summit in the mid-west as they partner with Pastor Phil Jackson and The House in Chicago. Flavor Fest summit expands the vision of Flavor Fest as it will equip leaders in the mid-west that can’t make it all the way down to Fla. It will be kick off with a Friday night concert, continue with workshops throughout the day on Saturday, an end off Saturday night evening with a hip-hop service. The entire event will be hosted at Lawndale Community Church which is home of “The House”. • The one day summit will feature workshops for pastors, youth pastors, and artists. • There will be a pre-summit luncheon on Friday at 1pm for Pastors engaging the culture. • Registration opens in January of 2007. • There is NO artist submission for the summit.
Look for more summit locations in 2008.
Nov. 1st-4 th, 2007
I know many people that had a page and shut it down as it became a temptation, a distraction, and even an addiction. I commend them
C
for knowing when to say “enough is enough.” You have to be really disciplined and careful as you surf other people’s sites. Just like the
ommunity, Identity, Time, and Space are important things...
rest of the internet, at any given click you could find yourself looking at
These are some of the driving forces behind the internet’s largest cur-
some inappropriate pictures, videos, language, or music. If you’re a
rent phenomena - myspace.com. With well over 100 million users, it’s
believer, you have to keep in mind that you’re there for a purpose... to
now become larger than Ebay or Google! The past number of years
be salt and light. That’s our calling all day, every day, every where...
the internet has become a huge community of chat rooms, message
even in cyber space.
boards, instant messaging, and blogging. In less than three years, myspace has made history by becoming the largest online community ever. It has become the place to be for teens and young adults, and with all the media attention, there are now many middle-aged and older adults that have even joined the network as well. Although so many people struggle with commitment and opening up, we all still long for relationships and community. It’s how God created us. It’s no surprise that millions are flocking to this spot that brings some forms of community and connection with others. Most of us know it’s a place where you meet new people and connect with old friends. Your personal page can display your pics, music, videos, blogs, etc, and it’s all free! (Except for the amount of time that it costs you)... and it will cost you lots of that.
As I travel, perform, and speak, more and more people were
asking me if I had a myspace page, since a lot of music artists have their own pages. I was well informed about it, but I kept putting it off. I knew it would cost me some time that I didn’t have because I was in the process of dedicating my time to completing my first book. When I
Urban D.’s Myspace page: myspace.com/urband813
completed my writing in the spring of 06’, I finally got signed up to what Spec calls, “The beast”. Since then, I’ve been able to literally con-
nect with thousands of people as the friend list keeps growing, and the
had all kinds of people hit me up that I would never have had a chance
emails keep flowing. Myspace is definitely not for everyone! It can be
to minister to otherwise. Teens that were contemplating suicide have
a dangerous place if you’re not there for the right reasons. I’m definitely
emailed me; there have been in-depth spiritual questions; it has also
not an advocate that you should have a page.
been a great place for me to even connect with members of my church.
“
Some people from the church may be shy in person, but will suddenly
...at any given click you could find yourself looking at some inappropriate pictures, videos, language, or music.
S.O.U.L | Pg59
For me personally it has become a great ministry tool. I’ve
”
become a social butterfly on the internet and hit me up on the regular. It’s been a good connecting point. Just tonight, in fact, a female hit me up that has recently started coming to our church. She was reaching out for help as she’s really confused and searching. Her site was definitely not one of a church girl. I showed her site to my wife for accountability and quickly knew another female from our ministry should follow up. This is real ministry happening in a new way that we didn’t have a few years ago.
by: Tommy Kyllonen
In addition to all the direct contact, there has been tens of thousands of peo-
ple that have had a chance to listen to my music, and many of the listeners that have hit me up with comments were not Christ followers. Its dope to be able to surf around and literally find hundreds (probably thousands) of Christ-centered hip-hoppers with sites displaying their music, their story, and His story. We don’t have much radio support or
Our Top 24
video channels that play our stuff. Since mp3.com shut down, there hasn’t been one
1. myspace.com/isgodinvited
central place for the masses to find our music. Myspace has become a new pipeline to
2. myspace.com/urband813
more people than ever. Even in the middle of the darkness, there are a lot of pockets of light reppin’ Christ.
3. myspace.com/specademik 4. myspace.com/flavoralliance
During the spring of 06’, we did an original message series at Crossover
with the same title of this article. It was complete with short films, special music, and
5. myspace.com/rawsrvnt
testimonies. The four week series kicked off on Easter weekend with a message en-
6. myspace.com/craignice
titled “He left his space.” Throughout the messages it continually challenged people to
7. myspace.com/beyondskillzmusic
look at the profile of their lives. Over 50 people built new relationships with Christ and several people made changes in their lives and on their personal myspace pages.
8. myspace.com/los1music 9. myspace.com/dvize813
Many of you reading this have a page on the network yourself. My challenge
to you is what’s your identity there? I’ve seen a lot of very disappointing sites on there from people that claim to be believers. Why do some of us have this separation of our faith from the other compartments of our lives? Paul tells us in Romans 12,
10. myspace.com/legupmusic 11 . m y s p a c e . c o m / 3 r d r a i l s e r v i c e 12. myspace.com/prodigalministries 13. myspace.com/2iceborn
“take your everyday, ordinary life, your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking around life - and place it before God as an offering. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out.”
(The Message)
14. myspace.com/surrealsound 15. myspace.com/djmorphiziz 16. myspace.com/therealcoreyred 17. myspace.com/pettidee 1 8 . m y s p a c e . c o m / c r o s s m o v e m e n tr e co r d s 19. myspace.com/lampmode 20. myspace.com/sphereofhiphop 2 1 . m y s p a c e . c o m / h o l y h i p h o p m i n istr y 22. myspace.com/beatmart
He’s sharing that everything we do is a form of worship. God wants to be
invited and involved in every space of our life... even our myspace. So, let your identity in him shine at work, at school, at home, and online! When you really let him change
23. myspace.com/lionofzionent 24. myspace.com/syntaxrecords
you from the inside out... you can’t help it. ••
S.O.U.L | Pg58
www,iamspec.com
“The minister that travels with Eminem hands him a C.D. Eminem responds by saying, “Is this dude dissing me?” The answer, “No, he has a message for you.” The song was Dear Slim by KJ-52. We caught up with KJ to ask him some questions regarding Music, industry, ministry, and Christ.
S.O.U.L: S.O.U.L: What influenced you to use emceeing to reach the culture? KJ-52:
I think mainly because emceeing reached me. Way before being saved, people like public enemy, K.R.S. ONE, and so on were saying things that just grabbed my attention. It influenced everything from the way I thought, to what I believed in, to the way I acted, and it showed me the power of words, and what they could do to change an individual. It was never the end all, be all for me, but just another vehicle that Christ could use me in.
S.O.U.L: How do you feel about the state of Christian
Hip-Hop?
KJ-52: In some aspects we’re going forward, and in some
aspects, we’re going backwards. From an industry side, we’re actually going backwards. Artists are selling less product, we’re getting into less venues, and many artist that were hot five or six years ago are simply maintaining. On the other hand, we’re growing. We’re getting into areas that were closed to us just a short time ago. The talent pool is definitely bigger, and I just don’t mean emcees, but producers and everything that goes along with that has come a long way. As far as why we are not growing, I don’t blame the industry but the artist. There just seems to be a lack of depth and maturity in Christian emcees today. Many are so unteachable, and many have no idea how it’s really done.
S.O.U.L: When you look at venues like Rap Fest or Flavor Fest, those venues are small in comparison to some of the stages that you are able to rock, such as Creation Fest, and some of the bigger festivals that can accommodate tens of thousands of people. What would you say to those who would say to you, “he thinks he’s too good to get on some of these smaller stages?”
KJ-52: Well, one of the reasons I can’t always play those
venues is that this is my bread and butter. I will never look down on those events, and I’ll try to do them if time permits, but the fact is I’m booked eight to ten months in advance, so it’s not that I’m to great for the little people, but hear my heart, I’m just mad busy.
How do you respond to those who would say, “You’re a white emcee and you just can’t identify with the urban experience?
KJ-52:
First of all, I would say, at the end of the day, I can only be me. I can only be what God created me to be. At the same time, let me say that I’m someone who was raised in Ybor city, which is one of the worst neighborhoods in Tampa, and I was also raised in Palm Harbor, one of the nicest neighborhoods in this area. So I guess you could say I could identify with both worlds. As far as my music not being able to identify with the urban crowd, I have to disagree with that. Every time I rock a show, madd kids are coming up and feeling my music. Not because it’s KJ52, but because it totally spoke to where they are. I will also say that I do know that I have a huge suburban fan base, but anybody that is popular has a huge suburban fan base. I think it’s wrong for us as emcees to totally ignore the suburban youth simply because he’s not hood. Everyone needs the gospel.
S.O.U.L: How did you feel about the worst Hip-Hop moments that were aired on VH1, especially since you were part of that special? KJ-52:
It was kind of interesting, but at the same time troubling. One of the interesting things was the fact that I was even on the radar. The troubling part was they were basically saying was that anyone who attempts to bring true spirituality to the table is not really reppin’ Hip-Hop. The song that made the radar screen was my song to Eminem. They felt like I was wrong for even targeting him simply because they felt like he would rip me apart lyrically. One thing that is so important to understand is that Eminem is just a person. It was never my intention to make this song to capitalize on his success, but to present the message of the gospel to him in hopes he would respond to Christ. Hear my heart ya’ll, it’s all about ministry.
In conclusion:
It is no surprise that God is raising up soldiers to reach an unreached generation, and whether that is Hip-Hop or punk, it’s still the blood of Christ that will draw and save men. The youth of the ghetto need the Lord, but if it stops there, we missed it. There are more suburban youth buying Hip-Hop than ever before, so the question that must be asked is this, are their souls less valuable simply because they live nicer? KJ52 brings a flavor that can reach the suburbanite as well as the urbanite, it’s all good. ••
to get the latest news, concert dates, music & more on KJ-52; visit his website: www.kj52.com
S.O.U.L | Pg62
When we think of Holy Hip-Hop, many names come to mind. But one name that is on top of the list is definitely The Ambassador of The Cross Movement. Known for his East Coast flavor, catchy hooks, theological prowess, and the ability to break down the deepest Christ-centered idea to the average head on the block. We spoke with him about what is going on in his life. S.O.U.L: How long have you been a believer? AMBA:
I have been a believer since the age of four, and at the age of seven, I was discipled. There was a period of five years where I fell off, but always knew that I had the call of God on my life. It was at the age of 18 where God just really revolutionized my commitment level. At 19, I went to Bible college and I have been moving forward ever since.
S.O.U.L: What influenced you to use emceeing to reach the Hip-Hop culture? AMBA:
I think it was just a natural outworking of the great commission. With that being my purpose and rap being the means by which I would make a contribution to the social scene, and watch the two become married to fulfill the great commission of Christ. So the bottom line is rap was just the natural thing for me to use to reach out to a culture that is so heavily influenced by rap. I also want to note that I had no outside influence to do this as a ministry. It was simply the call of God on my life. Also, in looking at the culture, many styles just jumped out at me, and one of those being K.R.S. ONE. His style really motivated me to use this form of evangelism in a lecture-style format. My style would not be to promote any political agenda, but a theological one.
S.O.U.L: How do you feel about the state of Christian Hip-Hop as it is right now? AMBA:
Right now, I’m a little bit out of the loop when it comes to seeing who’s doing what. I’m in the middle of a planting a church and I have been locally focused. I have not had the time to really notice who’s doing what. But I will say this, I continue to see many people out here who have the talent that one longs for, but I would really love to see those same people step it up theologically as well.
S.O.U.L: As an artist at the top of your game, you go off to seminary and leave the ministry in Philadelphia. So many people would have feared to make a move like that, why do you feel you had to do that?
AMBA:
The bottom line is the call of God. I wanted to become equipped to really fulfill the great commission, and for me, that did not only include rap, but a deeper study of the scriptures. I was watching the heavyweights in the faith, and had a desire to be like them in the sense of being taken seriously. Many would take me seriously, up to a point, but now with a Masters degree under my belt, I’m able to minister in areas that would not normally be opened to a Christian who raps.
S.O.U.L: You are now a teaching pastor at Epiphany fellowship in Philadelphia. How is the church going, how is it going to be different from other churches out there, and is this going to be a Hip-Hop Church?
AMBA:
Things are going real good at Epiphany, even though at this point it is still only a church plant. We just got things going on Sundays in September. At this time, we have a core base of about 30 people who will help begin the start-up process for this new work in Philly. To answer your question as to how this Church will be different from other churches, I really can’t say at this time. Only time will tell what happens as we move forward. This will not be a Hip-Hop church in the sense of calling it that, but it will be a place where heads can come and chill in an atmosphere that is comfortable, and at the same time, relevant to the culture that is before us, namely, Hip-Hop. The sanctuary will be set up in such a way as to encourage relaxation. In other words, cats can come in with their coffee and still get the word of God.
S.O.U.L: What advice would you give to those emcees that are just newly saved, and all of a sudden find themselves in the midst of ministry, namely rap?
AMBA:
I would tell them to sit and grow for a while. Too many new converts try not to follow the biblical mandate to sit at the master’s feet and become a disciple. If we are not careful, we can do more harm than good to the church. As many of us have seen those same emcees who want to take the world for Christ are nowhere to be found one year after their conversion, simply because they were not prepared spiritually for the fight. When we all understand that ministry is a very weighty thing, we would take it more serious. My final word is count the cost of following the Christ - Grace and peace, the Ambassador.
In conclusion:
As we look at the state of the Church, and the state of Christian Hip-Hop, it is so refreshing to have a voice that can speak to the culture, bring truth, spit rhymes, and hold theological conversations with the best of them. William Branch is truly an ambassador to the culture. He brings to the table a voice needed in these last days that will silence the critic, convert the head on the block, and encourage the body of Christ to stand up and be accounted for. ••
keep up to date with The Ambassador on his website: www.theambassadoronline.com
S.O.U.L | Pg
When Flavor Alliance recording artist Rawsrvnt [born Eduardo Puyol] set out to bring the Word of God to the hip-hop culture, his mission was to release life-changing, professional music with a Godly twist, that would impact lives in the process. He wanted to touch people soul deep. “I established Soul Deep Ministries to affect the depths of people’s soul with the truth about God’s unconditional love, forgiveness and acceptance,” Rawsrvnt said of the ministry he began in 2002. “Many folks simply scratch the surface, but I wanted to take it a step further. I feel if people were to truly understand how much they are loved and valued by God, they would no longer want to live in sin.... instead they would want to be in direct fellowship with the One that loves them just the way they are... Raw.“ By following the direction provided by his inspiration, Soul Deep Ministries has grown in its efforts to spread the message of the Gospel through hip-hop music. Rawsrvnt has provided the soundtrack for the ministry releasing Representin’ [2003] Gone Fishin’ [2004], a limited edition remix EP, Unshakeable [2005], and his highly anticipated hip-hop worship album, In Rare Form, [Released nationally by the Flavor Alliance Media Group on August 1, 2006 through Infinity Music Distribution]. In Rare Form is also the first Christian hip-hop/worship album to be released nationally in mainstream media.
“God asked me to do a worship album...
“It was amazing,” Raw said of recording the worship album. “I loved it. I kicked my shoes off and just had one on one time with the Lord. The worship album holds a special place in my heart and represents my growth as an artist and a Christian.” “I am predominately known for my flamboyant stage presence and dirty south crunk music,” he said. “When God asked me to do a worship album, I was like ‘Lord, You want to use me to bring Your people to worship? Wow!’ I wasn’t at all hesitant to pursue recording [releasing] a hip-hop worship album because worshipping God is something I do on the regular anyways. I was just amazed that He wanted to use me to do it. Since I followed through with His request, I have seen thousands blessed by the album in more ways than I can describe. It just goes to show you, God can do anything He wants through whomever He wants to as long as that person has a willing heart and chooses to be obedient. He isn’t so concerned with how you look on the outside; it’s the attitude of your heart that He’s focusing on.” Rawsrvnt hopes the vibe his album gives is about substance, not symbolism. That way everyone can enjoy a personal relationship with Christ... no matter how they look, dress, dance or speak. “In Rare Form serves as a ministry tool for churches everywhere to relate to the people of today and speak their language,” he said. “I want to ignite a flame of fire that will continuously burn in their hearts and eventually impact their lifestyle. My intent is to bridge the gap between contemporary fans and hip-hop enthusiasts by creating a worship experience that will be remembered for generations to come while impacting the industry with sound evidence that we can effectively worship through hip-hop without losing the core essential of what [for so long] has been forsaken.” “In Rare Form is a peek inside the secret chambers of my heart,” Rawsrvnt adds, “and it affords the listener a glimpse into my intimate moments with the Lord.” Since worshipping God is such an important asset of our relationship with Him, Raw believed it was time to really show people what his lifestyle is off the stage and behind the music. “I show them a real man serving a real God that really loves us.” ••
for more on Rawsrvnt visit: www.rawsrvnt.com
S.O.U.L | Pg66
T
his is so serious right now. I’m on the phone with none other than: Todd “T Clezzy” Collins! That’s right boy, I ain’t stuttering’, the man who’s been behind the boards for 17 years in Christian music and some of the very top names in the game. If not all of them.
Los: What’s good Todd, you started your professional career with Gotee Records right? T.C: I grew up in music because my dad was a music minister as I was growing up. After I graduated from college I was about to start my graduate assistance program and start graduate school. I had a friend who lived up in Nashville and he was already working in the music industry, well, he called me up one day and said “Why don’t you come up for a couple days before you start grad school and lets hang out, let’s just chill together”. So I said, “Ya know, I never been to Nashville before, yeah, I’ll come up for a couple weeks before I start school”. Well as it turns out he was working on a record during the two weeks I was there and I ended up working on that record singing backgrounds, programming, playing live instruments on it and I just basically caught the bug. He convinced me I could be working up here in Nashville, and so I moved here and started working. That was back in 1989, so it’s been a while. But professionally, the first record I ended up working on was the DC Talk: Nu Thang record with Toby (Mac) and we’d gone on from there. Los: Is Beatmart Recordings everything you envisioned it to be? T.C: It’s definitely going in that direction, yes. To be honest with you it’s
kind of a hybrid between what I learned early on in the Gotee days and the Tooth and Nail model of today, as they created the label to be the “go to” label for Christian Rock music. We want Beatmart to be viewed as the definitive urban label for that kind of stuff. Originally we started out Gotee Records being an urban label, but because of me and Toby and Joey just loving good music in general we kind of took a left and then a right turn and ended up singing groups like Jennifer Knapp, Johnny Q. Public, The
Katinas and Sonic Flood and stuff like that. It wasn’t just urban music. Well I’ve taken that and learned to really focus on what Troy (Todd’s brother) and myself are good at, which is urban music and being an urban music label. Period. We’re not gonna try to branch out and sign a rock band or a “singer/song writer” any time soon. So, to answer in long form, yes, it’s going the way that I had hoped so far. And it’s going slow enough that we can stay behind the reigns and manage it well. We’ve purposely stayed small to catch our bearings so to speak, even though we have 7 artists on the label.
Los: Do you have beat makers that produce for you or do you do a lot of the music yourself?
T.C: Yes, I get beats from other guys and we do have producers that I
have making more of a “musical” track rather than just “beats”. Anyone can make a beat, but it takes more than just a beat to make a track. I don’t do all the work myself, nor do I want to do it all myself. If I did, I’d have a lot of the artist sounding somewhat the same and I don’t want that. As a label guy, I want to have as much variety as possible, but I do get the final say on how the track comes out. The way we make records, Los, is like this... we’ll record 25 songs and out of those 25 songs we’ll pick the top 12 songs. So first an foremost it’ll make for a better record because your only gonna pick the best 12 songs, rather than me giving an artist a budget and saying, “hand me your 12 songs and lets put your record out”. I’m a big stickler for making sure the 12 songs are good songs, not just artistic statements. I don’t want artistic statements. I wanna sell records, ya know. So, I’m real tough on the artists on giving me good songs; mainly catchy hooks. I can trust what an artist is gonna say throughout his verses, content wise, so I want the artist to work on, lets say, 5 hook ideas for 5 new songs and I might go back when they’re done and say ok, 2 of these are awesome, 3 we’re gonna throw out. But if all 5 are great, then I’m gonna say ok, let’s go ahead and record all 5 of them and keep going. It’s probably a controlling aspect of the artistic process, but in that, in my 17 years of me doing this, it causes me to push the artist maybe harder than they push themselves to write good songs.
I want good songs that people are gonna remember and when they hear it on the radio or more importantly at a show, they’ll want to go a store and buy that record. And it’s not an easy process, there’s been times where I’ve been in arguments and disagreements and so forth and not only has it been good for the artist but it’s been good for me. It’s pushed me to realize that iron sharpens iron and two heads are better than one and three heads are better than two and if you have more than one person making decisions, making a say so, it’s gonna make that art that much better in my opinion. It comes down to the artist’s ministry statement, the whole objective is to get that statement out to as many people as possible and to do that you have to sell records to as many people as possible, ya know. It’s a “one hand washes the other” type mentality.
Bobby Bishop
Los: What’s your most current musical project and how’s it going? T.C: Right now, we actually just signed an artist from Seattle named Willy Will, his record is in the first conception stages.
He’s not even writing verses, he’s only coming up with song ideas to new tracks. But in the mean time I’ve worked on the DC Talk Tribute record and a new exclusive Beatmart compilation, we also just finished up the Soul P. project.
Los: Did you ever think you’d be helping cats from hoods around the U.S. get national airplay? T.C: Honestly Los, no I never did, in other words that was never in my plan and I don’t really even look at it that way.
I look at it as... this is my job and this is what I’ve been called to do and if I didn’t hold the platform that God has allowed me to hold, somebody else would help them. It just so happens that I’ve been thrust into this position to be able to shed some light on a genre that needs light shed on it. I look at it as these guys have something to say no matter where they’re from or what they look like and they deserve a shot just as much as anybody else and if it’s good stuff... let’s get it out there, let’s make it known.
Los: Just for those who don’t know, (1st time readers, new believers or maybe even some well in age who haven’t heard about the Gospel Hip Hop Movement), tell us how the Gospel reaches the nations through Beatmart? T.C: First of all, I don’t look at Beatmart the label as the mouth piece for Hip Hop. I look at the artist as the mouthpiece and we’re a conduit to help them get the message to the masses. We’re the passageway for the masses to hear the artists. Our vision and mission and ministry is that of a facilitator of helps to artists that have the right message. We’re trying to illuminate something that needs to be heard in a relevant and current fashion. Ya know what I’m sayin’? I think that in the last 3 to 5 years Christian hip hop has, itself, become more relevant and acceptable to people that wouldn’t normally listen to Christian Hip Hop. People are more open to listen to something that’s relevant and comes from kids that are more timely. And I think that its part of our job to make sure that the music is relevant for the listener to capture the message; you see what I’m sayin’? Hopefully we’re a conduit for artists to get their message across.
Pee Wee Callins
Fresh Digress
Japhia Life
Los: What’s in store for your future? More beats or something totally left field? T.C: I want Beatmart to obviously grow and thrive and in 8 to 10 years, basically do what we did with Gotee, sell it to a
major company. That’s the obvious macro goal. So far as the micro goal, I see myself putting a close to the hands-on producing side of things within the next 5 to 10 years so to speak. I still want to produce records but more or less oversee the production rather than do the hand-on. But I still want to be in urban music and the reason I say that is because I don’t want to be viewed as this 45-50 year old man trying to make beats for 21-22 year old kids. I just don’t think that’s relevant. I’d rather oversee and be creative and at the same time nurture and foster the creative outlets of younger guys and bring them up. I want to nurture guys who know music and can play music and arrange vocals, and actually sing, not just know how to run a computer. I want to continue to be an urban label, jazz, even rap core. I’d love to find a good Rap/Rock band. But you know what Los, I’m so in love with the urban culture and music that I still want to focus on what I’m good at. I do want to grow the arms of the label in other aspects, as far as management and booking. I want to have somewhat of a clothing line, just some t-shirts and shorts... some lifestyle stuff. That’s along the vision that Troy and I share.
Los: That’s a great vision; I think it sounds like Beatmart might just be the savior for Christian Rap... LOL! T.C: Well listen, don’t put that kind of pressure on me Los! LOL! I actually do want that, and it comes from my competitive
nature, I’m a very competitive guy athletically and that nature comes out in me in that I want to be the #1 Christian Rap label and you know why... it’s because it’s very tangible and do-able and nobody’s really taking it and running with it. Me and Troy are sitting back going “nobodies gonna take this thing, lets us take this thing and run with it”. What about the Cross Movement? I have the utmost respect and love for John Wells and the Cross Movement guys and what they’re accomplishing up in Philly. They’re doing it right and they’re doing the slow build just like we are. I feel like one, or the two of us, could hold up that Christian Rap mantel and champion it in a big way. And I’m saying that in a good way not in an un-humble competitive way, ya know. The other guys that I know who really “get it” are Tim and Steve over at Syntax Records. Ya know, there’s enough room for everybody out there, in other words Beatmart doesn’t just want to have things locked down, because the more people that succeed in this genre the better it is for everybody in the whole Christian industry.
Rob Hodge
Pettidee
Soul P.
Los: Word, mad humble. Let me start closing it up with how you balance all this with your family? T.C: Man, I’m fortunate enough to not have to punch a clock. If something comes up I can drop work and, let’s say, pick
up my girls from school at 3 o’ clock - I can do that. I have to give those guys credit, my wife and kids are extremely supportive and extremely patient with what I do, but it hasn’t come without a lot of sacrifice. I’m fortunate enough to have made enough money over the years though publishing and stuff that I can offer my wife a lifestyle to be a stay-home mom, she can handle the kids on a daily basis, she doesn’t have to hold down a job and she’s comfortable that way... so things have worked themselves out into a system. So I’m allowed and blessed with a lot of flexibility and I have no idea how it got to be that way for me because I surely don’t deserve it.
Los: Todd, I’ve appreciated your creative mind and musical gifting since the mid 90’s and it’s very encouraging for me as an artist to see the people with the reigns in their hands really pushing for the right reasons. T.C: Well, Los this can be on or off the record, but what you guys are doing down there in Tampa... I’ve always supported what you’ve been doing since the early days and love what you’re doing. I certainly appreciate what you guys do for our industry, and it’s no small task. You may see it a pebble in a pond or a boulder in a pond, but it’s a much needed thing and it doesn’t go un-noticed by guys like us up here. So keep it up, Tommy has our full support, you guys have our full support in anything and everything that we try to do. ••
DJ Morphiziz
Beatmart Family S.O.U.L | Pg68
The
2004 Grammy Awards show saw the hip-hop group, “Outkast” win the award for album of the year. Outkast is made up of two rappers, Big Boi (Antwan Patton) and Andre’ “Icecold” 3000 (Andre’ Benjamin) as well as the recent addition of smooth soul singer Patrick “Sleepy” Brown. Outkast, winning this award ought to bring the issue of hip-hop as culture to center stage for anyone working with youth today. Not just because of how hip-hop has taken over the music industry in the same way the Williams sisters have taken over tennis, but also because of how hip-hop as a culture has taken over the National Basketball Association. This was witnessed through basketball players/hip hop artists such as Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson. This goes as far as using the hip-hop culture to sell soda, candy, and clothes to young people today. To see hip-hop as simply rap is to simply not understand the impact and influence of a greater movement. Rap music is not only just one element of hiphop, but rap is only one element of the two-disc c.d. of Outkast’s latest project, “Speakerboxxx/The Love Below.” This project is not just sporting rap lyrics against tracks of heavy bass; it also has songs, like “Hey Ya” which sounds more like the B-52’s. In one instance, Andre’ doesn’t even rap, but sings like some sort of 60’s rock star on “American Bandstand.” Andre’ also sings on songs which bring forth the sounds of big band jazz, 70’s soul, and other styles with lyrics which deal with urban culture. If you listen to the whole project, it is really a venture into the history of African-American music and culture as well as American culture as a whole. Outkast ascension into the mainstream of American culture is just a piece of the whole, which is how hip-hop as a culture is influencing our world. For anyone who just thinks of hip-hop or rap as a music form this may be new for you, but for true hip-hop heads what you’re about to read is not going to be about something you didn’t know. The heads of the hip-hop generation have known for quite some time that this is about life; it is about a lifestyle as a whole. True hip-hop heads understand that hip-hop is not just about music; it is a culture, a way of life, language, fashion, values, and perspective. Hip-hop is history, present day living, and future. Hip-hop is an economy. It’s the ability to take the inner-city negative cash flow system of hustling, pushing, pimping, and banging and turning it into a multi-million or possibly even billion dollar business now known as “gangsta rap.” Hip hop is groups like Public Enemy using rap to address racism, oppression, and poverty and then their leader “Chuck D,” turning it into a new political movement getting urban young adults active like the days of the Civil Rights Movement. This in itself is culture, for someone who truly knows the struggle of AfricanAmericans and
S.O.U.L | Pg73
other ethnic minority groups in this country. Though hip-hop tells the stories of a multi-ethnic mass of urban youth and the communities they live in, you cannot help but see the lives of inner city AfricanAmericans center stage. African-Americans have a history of turning a negative into a positive, like the way slaves took the intestines of the pig that was thrown to them from the slave master, turning it into “chitlins.” Like the way the “n” word, which was the most derogatory word you could call a human being, now being used as a term of endearment between two homey’s in the hood that have much love for one another. Hip-hop is about inner city and lower class life. It’s about trying to live out the American dream from the bottom up. It’s about trying to make something out of nothing. Hip-hop is about the youth culture of New York City taking over the world. I believe hip-hop culture can be used as a vehicle for ministry to young people. Now, there are aspects of hip-hop culture such as “gangsta” rap in which it is debatable whether it can be redeemed for Godly purposes, but there are many ways in which hiphop culture calls us to revisit how we present the truth of the gospel to young people today. That fact that hip-hop encompasses dance, beats, and rhythm, could help us rethink how we approach praise and worship. Rap and graffiti could assist us in exploring new ways of presenting the gospel creatively through spoken word, poetry, painting, and aerosol art. Hip-hop as culture dealing with the lives of under class people groups could lead us to have discussions on the approaches Jesus used in dealing with the poor, the hurting, and the “Outcasts” of His day. Even the controversial sides of hip-hop force us to get real on a regular basis with young people on issues such as sex, violence, poverty, and racism. Hip-hop could be used to explore other cultures and ethnic groups or to get in better touch with your own. When one begins to see hip-hop as more than just rap music and as culture, it opens new doors for evangelism and how we become learners, observers, and missionaries to those in the culture and those influenced by it. It allows us in contemporary culture to be as Paul was on when he addressed the altars built to unknown gods and used them as vehicles to present the true God who can be known intimately through Christ Jesus in the Book of Acts. “Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols.”
-Acts 17:16
Paul was able to behold the idolatry around him in the city of Athens. In similar fashion hanging out in hip-hop culture within the city raises its own issues of idolatry. When I read sections of Source magazine where it talk about various rap artist who go into the studio and aren’t able
to record their raps without being high on weed and drunk on Jack Daniels, my spirit is provoked as I read about this idolatry. I remember as a former high school basketball coach, coaching games in packed gymnasiums hearing rap music and smelling weed during warm-ups. I could look into the stands, into the glazed eyes of some of the young people. Observing videos with women hardly wearing anything falling all over the male star provokes my spirit as I see another form of idolatry. These are aspects of the hip-hop culture that grieve my spirit deeply as I see things that are truly idolatrous lifted up as just a normal way of life for the youth culture. The thing about this verse that we must keep in mind though is that it’s not the end of Paul’s engagement with the culture around him and this should not be the verse that totally defines the church’s engagement with the negative aspects of hip-hop culture. “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God fearing Gentiles and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.”
-Acts17: 17
Paul didn’t just live totally in how his spirit was provoked by the idolatry in the culture around him. He reasoned with people within the culture around as well. Paul, in his ministry as laid out in Scripture, had to deal with religious opposition as well as opposition from other belief systems and philosophies within the various cultures he encountered as he traveled. He had to be able to reason within people inside religion, outside religion, and of various religions. “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying, ‘What would this idle babbler wish to say?’ Others, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,’ because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. - And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, ‘May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?” For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean.” -Acts 17: 18-20 Paul develops a relationship with the philosophers of the culture of the city of Athens. There are philosophers within hip-hop culture and I want to have a dialogue with them. Preachers of the church and philosophers of hip-hop ought to be in conversation. I realize that by engaging in hip-hop culture as a pastor, I am subject to the same diversity of responses as Paul received from the philosophers of the culture of the city of
Athens. When I’m hanging out with youth and young adults within hip-hop and urban street culture, I get many responses. Some look at me wondering what I’m doing there, others are excited that I want to connect with them in a meaningful dialogue, and with some I get the chance to share my theology and compare it with their philosophy. There is a part of me that surprised by these various responses because I grew up in hip-hop and urban street culture, so I wonder at times why I’m not connecting as well as I think I should be with today’s contemporary hip-hop culture. I have to remind myself that the older I get, if I don’t stay in touch with urban youth culture I can become an outsider to it. I also have to remember that now that I’m a pastor, whether I like it or not, I’m perceived as an outsider by those in hip-hop culture outside the church and even some who are in hiphop and the church. My goal is to be a hip-hop theologian within hiphop culture having dialogue and reasoning with hip-hop community members and philosophers. In my opinion rappers are the greatest philosophers within hip-hop culture. The main point here is that hip-hop is a culture and within the culture there are philosophers. If the church desires to engage hip-hop culture and not just be provoked in spirit by its idolatrous negative side, it must build bridges within the culture that church theologians and hip-hop philosophers might reason together. Check out how Paul breaks it down in Acts 17:22-25. By engaging the culture of Athens, Paul was able to gain an audience with them and reason with them. He used an interesting strategy though for sharing the message of the one true God; he used their own cultural altars and he quoted one of their own poets. He starts out his presentation to the men of Athens by saying he has observed that they were very religious. In order to be a church that engages hip-hop culture we must observe it and we must study it. In order to impact the hip-hop culture with the Gospel of Jesus Christ we ought to know something about it. We cannot afford to simply paint hip-hop as the enemy of the church; we must engage the culture in order that hip hoppers within it may come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. With this model of contemporary evangelism in place, the church is now position to proclaim an ancient message with a relevant and relational model.
S.O.U.L | Pg72
nov. 3rd, 2006
nov. 4th, 2006
+ Corey Hicks
+
+ Tedashii
Short-Tee Japhia Life E Cross
+
Shekinah & DJ Lady Grace
G-Notes
1Way Paris Fisher Legacy
Illy Graham Amplified
Double Portion
Surreal
Let it Shine Peter Grace Sestor
+ Rawsrvnt
Mark-J
+
+
Demetrus
+
Corey Red S.O.U.L | Pg75
J-Kwest R-Swift James Daniels
nov. 3rd, 2006
nov. 4th, 2006 2ice Born Optimus Sestor
+ The Ambassador
Pettidee
Mr. Del
Corey Red
R-Swift
Rawsrvnt
Beyond Skillz
G-Notes Tedashii J-Quest CZ
Blesses One Mad Prophets Christ’s MC
+ YSG Timothy
Elijah
Urban D.
Spe©
Out World Mark-J Shekinah Sivion & Surreal
Japhia Life
+ 1Way
Demetrus
Craig Nice
God’s New Perfection Legacy
Hazakim
Willie Will
Fros’ T
Redeemed Thought
doors open @ 7pm (both nights)• only $10.00 @ the door limited to the first 1,000 guests • (fest registrants get in free with badge) Friday Night Only: B.Boy Battle & Expo (see b.boy Nova for details) S.O.U.L | Pg74
Larry Acosta
HMC/Urban youth workers Institute - Santa, Ana, Ca. Larry is the president and founder of the Hispanic Ministry Center, Urban Youth Workers Institute & Kidsworks. Larry’s passion is to envision and shape the emerging generation of urban leadership for transformational ministry. Larry graduated from Biola University, Talbot School of Theology and completed his doctorate in Leadership Development at Fuller Theological Seminary. However, his claim to fame is that he is married to his lovely wife Jayme and they have four wonderful children. www.uywi.org
William Branch aka The Ambassador
Epiphany Fellowship/Cross Movement - Philadelphia, Pa. William ‘Duce’ Branch is co-founder and primary spokesperson for the nationally known Christian rap group The Cross Movement, and is co-leader of an inner-city church plant recently launched in North Philly. Duce graduated from Lancaster Bible College with a BA, and went on to get his masters at Dallas Theological Seminary. He has been ministering the gospel through rap and preaching for nearly fifteen years. www.theambassadoronline.com
Phil Jackson
The House Church - Chicago, Ill. Phil is founder and president of Bringn’dafunk communications Inc. He has served God full time on the front lines of urban youth ministry for nearly two decades. Each year he speaks to thousands of youth across the country and trains and consults urban leaders across the nation. In 2003 Phil partnered with Lawndale Community Church and planted the first Hip-Hop Church in the west side of Chicago – The House. He is co-author of the recently released book “The Hip-Hop Church.” www.thehouse.com
Jonah Sorrentino aka KJ-52 - Cape Coral, Fla. KJ grew up in the Ybor City hood of Tampa. He built a relationship with Christ as a teenager and began to fuse his love for hip-hop with his new faith. He released a few independent projects before getting signed to Forefront Records in 1999. After that he signed with BEC (tooth n’ nail) and has released several successful records as he’s sold nearly a half a million albums. KJ has had the opportunity to go on several major tours and spread the message of Christ. Being a leader in the industry he has a wealth of information to share. www.kj52.com Proverb Newsome
Way FM Radio Personality- West Palm Beach, Fla. Proverb was a founding member of the Christian hip-hop group 1Way. They went on to record several albums and tour throughout the 90’s. During this time he also developed a love for radio as he started his own show “Jam Sessions” on Way FM in South Florida. His show has reached countless people as it has been on the air for over a decade. The 1Way crew is currently working on some new music to be released soon. www.myspace.com/proverbialman
Jeff Yale a.k.a. Big Greek
Real Life Church/Prodigal Music - Tampa, Fla. Jeff and his wife Jodi currently serve as the associate pastors of Real Life Church in Tampa. Their weekly youth service “Get Live” is one of the national hot spots for youth ministry in Foursquare. Besides his duties as youth pastor he is also the director of Prodigal Music which is a ministry that sends Christian artists throughout the country spreading the message of Christ. Jeff is also the district youth pastor for Foursquare in Florida. www.prodigalmusic.org
Mike Estep
Fla.vor Alliance Media Group/Pacific Grove Productions- Tn./Fla. Mike has a long history of ministry that includes him serving as a missionary, a church planter, a pastor, and in executive positions with the church of the Nazarene. He recently became a partner and the CEO of Fla.vor Alliance Media Group as he also runs his own video production company. Working in Nashville for many years, Mike has a wealth of knowledge in ministry, marketing, and the music industry. www.flavoralliance.com
Eddie Velez aka The Preachin’ Puerto Rican
New Birth Fellowship - Atlanta, Ga. Eddie is originally from up north, but eventually made his way down to the ATL. He soon partnered up with Danny and Marco and started a company called “Holy Hip-Hop”. He became the host of their syndicated TV show and co-hosted their radio show at one time. Eddie also MC’s the annual Holy Hip-Hop awards each January in Atlanta. He has also been in ministry full time at Eddie Long’s church in Atlanta as the head youth director overseeing thousands of teens. www.holyhiphop.com
James Cole aka J.C.
S.O.U.L | Pg79
Media Sharp USA - Tampa, Fla. His company has over 20 years of experience of strategic public and media relations planning. James has worked with local, regional, national, and international media outlets. He has extensive experience in creating effective marketing campaigns. Working with mainstream radio stations and record labels has also given him a wealth of inside information about the music industry. He now also works with several non-profits as God continues to open more doors for him to impact the community. www.mediasharpusa.com
Fros’T
4th Man Music Group/ Victory Chapel - Los Angeles, Ca Over the last 10 years Jason Neville aka Fros’T has performed concerts in 30 of the 50 states in the US as well as overseas in Hong Kong, Cuba, Mexico, Singapore, Nicaragua, Holland, England, and the Philippines. Fros’T has released 3 Nationwide cd’s, 1 movie soundtrack and appeared on 5 Compilations since 1996. Fros’T is also President of 4th Man Music Group which has released over 15 projects. Jason became youth pastor and founded Go 4 it youth ministries in 1999. He now serves as pastor of the church his Dad founded in 1976 along side of his Mother Donna Neville. www.4thmanrecords.com
Todd Collins
Beatmart Recordings - Nashvegas, Tn. T.C. helped launch Gotee Records in the mid 90’s along with Toby McKeehan (Toby Mac) and Joey Elwood. Todd’s production skillz helped put the label on the map. He eventually sold his shares of the company and went on to produce and develop new acts. He’s worked with artists such as Out of Eden, DC Talk, Greg Long, and Audio Adrenaline among others. He and his brother Troy recently launched their new label “Beatmart” with distribution through Sony/BMG/Provident. www.beatmart.com
Fred Lynch - Hutchins, TX
Fred is a dynamic youth communicator with over 18 years of inner-city ministry experience, and is the founder of UrbNet, a national network of urban youth workers. At the age of 18, Fred helped found P.I.D. (Preachas In Disguise), one of the first gospel rap acts, and went on to record 6 albums. Fred is the author of “The Epic”, an artistic translation of the Gospel of John in rap. www.gettheepic.com
Brad Mathias
Infinity Distribution - Nashville, Tn. VP of development – EBI Video & Film/Ceo Paw Island Ent. Group/ VP of Operations Butterfly Group/ VP of Operations Infinity Music distribution/ Private Media Consultant/ Whiplash Records – managing partner/ father of 3, married 15 years, BS and doctorate. He has a pastoral calling and is working towards finishing a degree for ministry. www.infinitymusicdistribution.com
Ryan Flemming aka DJ Rhino
The Revolution - Gary, In. Ryan graduated from Bethel College in 1997 with a B.A. in Christian Ministries. After college, he along with YSG Timothy, Combustible the Poet, AP, and DJ Allstar formed the hip hop crew Wax Museum performing and releasing several CDs including his solo mixtape, “It’s Time.” In 1999 he moved to Gary, IN as an Urban Missionary where he interned for a year and a half, and then served as an associate and youth pastor at another church. In 2002 he got married to Johanna who is from Brooklyn, NY. In 2005 they started The Revolution, an inner-city church plant in Gary, IN targeting the hip hop culture.
Adam Dorso
Youth Explosion - Queens, NY As a young adult, Adam led a rebellious life, but eventually turned his life over to Christ at the age of 19. God put a vision in his heart for a new ministry called Youth Explosion at his father’s church. In a few short years, Adam became Christ Tabernacle’s Youth Pastor, and, today, serves passionately along with his wife, Luz. Currently, Youth Explosion Ministries has grown into one of New York City’s largest youth groups, with over 600 young people, and continues to expand beyond Glendale, Queens. The ministry has been featured on the 700 Club, BET Nightly News, ABC Teen News, CBS News, and recently in the NY Times, VIBE Magazine, and NY Newsday. www.youthexplosion.com
Benny Lopez aka DJ Lopez
FCA/Progress Village Middle School - Tampa, Fla. DJ Lopez originates from the city of brotherly love. He graduated from Southeastern University with a BA in education. Benny is currently completing his master’s in education as he also teaches full time. He has served in various areas at Crossover from leading the Turnstyle junior high ministry to putting together The Crossover Cypha evangelism mix CD’s. At his schools he has led the FCA groups and hosted concerts, events, and club meetings that have seen hundreds build a relationship with Christ and many get connected to a church.
Carl Zalak aka Z
Connection Classes @ Crossover Z was raised in Long Island and moved with his family to Florida as he got older. He built a relationship with Christ in College and soon led his entire family to God. Carl started attending Crossover while still in college and quickly got involved in several ministries. He and his wife then moved an hour and a half away to Ocala for business opportunities. The past four years they continued to make the trip to come to Crossover and serve. He and his wife have helped develop and run Crossover’s Connection Classes which are adapted from the Purpose Driven model.
Josh Niemyjski aka Plastic
Sphereofhiphop.com/Illect Records - Rochester, Mn. Josh wears many hats as he has developed the largest online Christian hip-hop community. Working for Uprok (Tooth n’Nail) for several years helped him build many relationships within the music industry. Today he also runs his own publicity company helping artists get radio play and visibility. Josh and some of his partners also started an indie label Illect Records which continues to grow on the internet and beyond. www.sphereofhiphop.com Bios for Crossover staff who are workshop presenters: ( Tommy Kyllonen, Tone Bruno, Derrick Edward ‘Spec’ Bayonet, and Josie Thomas ): can be found on pages 12 and 13.
Colon,
S.O.U.L | Pg78
Track #1: “Emerging Urban Church” (engaging adults and young adults) 9:30am
“The Realities of planting a church targeting Hip-Hop Culture” - Ryan Flemming aka DJ Rhino - Pastor of Revolution Church in Gary, Indiana - // - Using his current experiences planting The Revolution as a backdrop, we’ll explore some challenges that are unique to planting a church targeting hip-hop culture as well as discover some practical ways to be effective.
10:20am
Transition
10:25am
“Warning: Worship ‘technics’ may scratch your surface.” - Josie Thomas - Worship Director @ Crossover Bridging the gap... Making a difference... Impacting lives... Things we all want to do, but how much is too much? How far are we willing to go? Hip Hop and R&B are very controversial; can this Technic be used in the church? All music was originated for God, its time to take it back. Join us as we discuss how we can effectively take the tool that culture and society use for their benefit and transform it into something that benefits the Church body and God’s Kingdom. Together let’s scratch the surface of the real problem with our worship and get back to the heart of the matter!
11:15am
Break
11:30am
“Campus Design” - Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. - Lead Pastor @ Crossover Architecture is language. What does your facility say to people? There’s always potential! Crossover’s older buildings have blossomed into an innovative model. As the visionary for the campus master plan - come check out Pastor Tommy’s session that will discuss creating specific space for fellowship, prayer, sports, children, and more. You’ll see how being intentional about light, art, paint, and patio blocks can go a long way!
12:10pm
Transition
12:15pm
“Get Your Weight Up!” - William Branch aka The Ambassador - Teaching Pastor @ Epiphany Fellowship in Philly / Artist with Cross Movement Records - // - Amping up our Christianity both personally & corporately. Lyric wise, talent wise, & church wise its clear to see our quality has gone up... but what about our faith, our theology, & our daily walk?
1:00pm
Lunch on both patios 2:30pm General Session in Main Auditorium “Sexploitation” - Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. - Lead Pastor @ Crossover Let’s face it... sex gets people’s attention! The media knows it... so now more than ever it’s everywhere we look; billboards, magazines, commercials, music videos, movies, the internet, and now even your iPod and your cell phone! It has saturated our culture, our congregation, and even our leaders. In this general session we’ll get candid as we look for real answers in scripture and accountability. 3:30pm Free Time until concert @ 7pm
S.O.U.L | Pg81
Track #2: “Hip-Hop Youth Ministry” (engaging teens) 9:30am
“Relevancy vs. Irrelevancy in Gospel Hip-Hop” - Adam Dorso - Youth Pastor at Youth Explosion / Christ Tabernacle in Queens, NY - // - Billy Graham once stated, “The methods always change, but the message stays the same.” In this session we’ll examine “the method” of Christian hip-hop and how it is being used to reach an unchurched people group with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
10:20am
Transition
10:25am
“Pride vs. Humility” - Eddie Velez - Director of Youth Ministry at New Birth in Atlanta, Ga. - // - The greater part of Hip-Hop Culture is laced with pride. Pride on how bangin’ the lyrics are or how crunk the track is. Pride on how hot the ice is or how nasty the rims are... pride! Could it be that we as lyrists, producers, dancers, pastors, teachers, etc. have carried over the luggage of pride from our journey out of the world into our Christian pilgrimage?
11:15am
Break
11:30am
“Crossover into the public schools” - Benny Lopez - Director of FCA @ Progress Village Middle School/DJ with Crossover & Fla.vor Alliance - // - Thousands upon thousands of youth are lost in the public schools each year. The church has a responsibility to mentor, teach, and bring the word. Come check out how hundreds are coming to Christ each year through DJ Lopez’s strategies of using Christ-centered hip-hop in the public schools.
12:10pm
Transition
12:15pm
“To Hip-Hop with Love” - Derrick Colon - Youth Pastor @ Crossover - // - A historical backdrop of the elements of hiphop spoken from experience. Pastor Derrick was there when hip-hop gave birth in the South Bronx. Come hear his story, his mission, his approach, and his love for seeing the culture of hip-hop connect with Christ.
1:00pm
Lunch on both patios
2:30pm
General Session in Main Auditorium: “Sexploitation” - with Pastor Tommy of Crossover Church
3:30pm
Free time until the concert @ 7pm
Track #3: “Artists in Ministry & Industry” (engaging culture) 9:30am
“3 fingers point back, majority rules!” - Josh Niemyjski aka Plastic of sphereofhiphop.com / Illect Records / Sphere Publicity - // - Josh has become the go to guy when it comes to radio and internet promotions. Sphere has become the largest Christian hip-hop site on the net with millions of visitors annually. Check out this session as he shares what we get right and wrong about the music industry.
10:20am
Transition
10:25am
“Radio Suckas never play me... how to get played!” - Proverb Newsome of Jam Sessions on Way FM / artist with hip-hop group 1Way - // - This session will be discussing how to present your music to radio for spins. It will focus in on the three specific areas of promotion, packaging, and quality.
11:15am
Break
11:30am
“Everything you need to know about the Music Biz” - Jonah Sorrentino aka KJ52 - national hip-hop artist / producer / writer (This session will be a customized video session KJ recorded specifically for Fla.vor Fest w/ Urban D. doing Q&A) - // - KJ is no stranger to the music industry as he’s navigated it for over 10 years and sold close to half a million records. He’ll shatter the myths and spit the facts about the sometimes shady music biz. He’ll share research, current trends, and great insight into what’s next as we use music as a tool to reach the masses for Christ.
12:10pm
Transition
12:15pm
“Ishmael or Isaac?” - Brad Mathias - VP of Infinity Music Distribution / Whiplash Records / Mathias Consultancy This session will be from an industry insider’s perspective as he stresses how you need to learn to recognize God’s call and timing on your music ministry.
1:00pm
Lunch on both patios
2:20pm
General Session in Main Auditorium: “Sexploitation” with Pastor Tommy of Crossover Church
3:30pm
Free Time until concert @ 7pm
S.O.U.L | Pg80
9:00am 9:30am 9:55am
Doors open: Prayer in Main Auditorium General Session - Welcome/Worship - Main Auditorium Split into 3 separate tracks:
Track #1: “Emerging Urban Church” (engaging adults and young adults) 10:00am
“Me & Media” - Edward Bayonet aka Spec- Dir. of Media @ Crossover So much captivating media is produced throughout the world on a daily basis. Unfortunately, the church is still playing “catch up” in this area; but, we must learn to bridge this gap. Learn. Create. Display
10:30am
Transition
10:35am
“See What I’m Sayin’ ” - Tony Bruno aka Tone - Teaching Pastor @ Crossover Truly engaging our culture with God’s way of life can be a serious challenge. This workshop will discuss some ways to communicate authentic Biblical perspective with creative suggestions to help engage today’s urban crowd with a quality impact, not just a talk.
11:15am
Break
11:30am
“What the Urban Purpose Driven Church looks like” - Carl Zalak - Dir. of Conn. Classes @ Crossover The Purpose Driven model works in white suburban California, but can it really work in my hood? In this session we’ll walk you through Crossover’s structure that has taken and tweaked the PD classes and model. It’s transferable because it’s based on Biblical principles.
12:00pm
Transition
12:05pm
“Being a leader who remains solid at heart” - Larry Acosta - President/Founder of Urban Youth Worker’s institute - LA, Cali. - // -How can you continue to lead bold ministries among the challenges of the hood... without losing your own heart and soul in the process? How can you lead from a position of greater wholeness and health?
1:00pm
Lunch on both patios
2:30pm
General Session in Main Auditorium : “Still Lit up” - with Pastor Tone Bruno of Crossover The torch of ministry is the greatest priority for the body of Christ to pass on to the generations and cultures that are emerging under them. In this general session we’ll talk about the need for hip-hop ministry to recognize its own distinctions, yet also remember that we are receiving the torch of the same message that came from those before us. 3:30pm Basketball Game - Pastors vs. Artists (On Crossover’s Court)
Track #2 “Hip-Hop Youth Ministry”
(engaging teens)
10:00am “Doing and Building Youth Ministry as a TEAM” - Jeff Yale aka Big Greek - Youth Pastor @ Real Life Church/Florida State Dir. of Foursquare Youth -//- As pastors we are to “equip” the saints to do the ministry. This session will show you how to take youth from your group to become part of your team instead of just being attendees. Learn some keys to making your youth and leaders reproduce themselves and make your ministry “independent”. S.O.U.L | Pg83
10:30am
Transition
10:35am
“Kingdom ‘Jack-o-nomics’... high jacking youth culture for the kingdom” - Fred Lynch - national speaker/college professor/formerly of P.I.D. -//- We all have tried it. Taking the reigns from society and forging an effective and contemporary way to communicate God’s truth that doesn’t turn kids off. But where do you draw the line? In Kingdom ‘Jack-o-nomics’, Fred Lynch shares practical methods for striking a balance between being too worldly for the church, and too churchy for the world.
11:15am
Break
11:30am
“To Hip-Hop with Love-The intro” - Derrick Colon - Youth Pastor @ Crossover -//- In this session Pastor Derrick will challenge youth pastors and youth workers to rethink how they do youth ministry. When we understand that we are losing a generation of youth to the streets, something has got to change. Topics include: “The room that speaks, the church on the block, stop speaking Christian and speak Christ.” There will also be a short time of Q & A at the end.
12:00pm
Transition
12:05pm
“Speaking Truth to Youth” - Phil Jackson - Pastor @ The House in Chicago, Ill. This workshop is to equip you to learn the basics of studying the text in its context (exegesis), how to bridge the message from then to now (hermeneutics) and how to deliver it with power to this generation (homiletics). Now don’t trip it will be very practical and you will leave with the tools to speak truth to youth with power. Weather you rap, speak or disciple youth one on one these tools will help you make the text come alive.
1:00pm
Lunch on both patios
2:30pm
General Session in Main Auditorium: “Still lit up” - with Pastor Tone Bruno of Crossover
3:30pm
Basketball Game - Pastors vs. Artists (On Crossover’s Court)
Track #3: “Artists in Ministry & Industry” (engaging culture) 10:00am
“Artist and Label relationships” - Mike Estep - CEO of Fla.vor Alliance Media Group/Pacific Grove Group The music industry is rapidly changing with the onslaught of the digital age. Traditional label structures are quickly crumbling as a whole new era is emerging. Check out this session as we discuss digital distribution, myspace, and licensing deals.
10:30am
Transition
10:35am
“Smart Marketing” - James Cole of Media Sharp PR firm Today there seems to be a million and one ways you can choose to market your music and your ministry. Most of us desire to get our stuff in the general market so we can impact lives... but what’s the smartest way to do that? In this session James will share some great insight as he has worked with mainstream urban media for several years.
11:15am
11:15am - Break
11:30am
“The value of Time” - Jason Neville aka Fros’T - Pastor at Praise Chapel in LA/CEO of 4th Man Records Come check out how this artist turned pastor has balanced his family, his ministry, and his emerging label for the past decade. In this session we’ll learn the importance of keeping our priorities straight.
12:00pm
Transition
12:05pm
“Production, Label Management, and Artist Development” - Todd Collins - CEO of Beatmart Records/Award Winning Producer -//- Todd is no stranger to the music industry. He was one of the founders of Gotee Records, and is an award winning producer for some of the top names in Christian music. Come hear his perspective on production, label management and artist development as he now owns his own label.
1:00pm
1:00pm - Lunch on both patios
2:30pm
General Session in the Main Auditorium: “Still lit up” with Pastor Tone Bruno
3:30pm
Basketball Game Pastors vs. Artists (On Crossover’s Court)
S.O.U.L | Pg82
S.O.U.L. Mag (Speaking on urban life)
Previously known as the Crossover and Fla.vor Fest Magazines this new branding now brings these pieces together as it is released twice a year (in the spring and the fall). The magazine does have a focus on Crossover and Fla.vor Fest, but it has now branched out to have even more content with several thought provoking articles on faith and culture. There are lots of great ads and even music and resource reviews. These are available exclusively through our website
Press Play series I and II
Both of these DVD’s are a collection of short films from original message series from Crossover. This DVD also includes a Crossover worship experience, commercials, intros, and music videos. These films can be used for your personal enjoyment or to be used in small group settings or in large gatherings at worship services. If you are a pastor, youth pastor, or leader and you’ve been looking for a way to visually engage people as you speak to them - this is an excellent tool.
Message Series
These are original message series that are culturally relevant to urban and hip-hop culture. Series include: “MySpace... is God invited”, “The Sales Pitch”, “Spirituality in Hip-Hop”, “Extreme Makeovers” and more. You can download the transcripts, the outlines, and power points and then take the series put your own flavor to it and teach it at your ministry. These series can also be accompanied by video clips from the Press Play DVDs.
Crossover Cypha Mixx CD
The Crossover Cypha’s are an evangelism CD that always contains over 20 blazing tracks that include hot new music and touching testimonials both from Crossover members. This CD has shown to be a very fruitful witnessing tool to the masses. Not only does the listener enjoy the sounds of some Christ centered hip-hop and R&B, but they also realize there are people who have been through similar hurts and pains. An invitation to accept Christ always closes out each cypha.
Thomas Nelson’s Real Bible
This Bible is presented in the NCV version and is specifically geared towards people into hip-hop culture (youth and adults). This unique Bible comes in a magazine format with full color glossy pages that include the scripture, articles, pictures, music reviews, and hot topics in culture that people deal with. The Bible also includes a CD with some hot Christian hip-hop on it. Pastor Tommy had the privilege to be one of the writers in the project as he wrote 18 of the intros to the New Testament books along with several articles.
Fla.vor Fest 2 Disc DVD sets and live audio CD
Steelroots Inc. and Fla.vor Alliance Media Group teamed up to bring the first ever 2 Disc DVD in hiphop. These discs contain some of the highlight concert footage and interviews including artists: Corey Red, Pettidee, 4th ave. Jones, New Breed, and more... over 20 artists in each set. This is a great tool for those who are unable to get Christian hip-hop videos (over 3 hours of footage in each set). Music videos are also included on vol. 2. Also available is the exclusive live concert recording of the hottest performances from the Fest... 20 plus tracks of heat!
Crossover Service DVD’s
Now you can check out a Crossover worship experience at home and show it to your people! These DVD’s include the worship and the teaching along with all the unique elements that many of the services contain. You can choose from the latest series from our website; “Sexploitation”, “The Creator’s Top Ten”, “Ghetto”, “Reasonable Doubt”, and more!
S.O.U.L | Pg87
Thursday Nov. 2nd
6:00pm 7:30-9:00pm
11:00pm
Friday Nov. 3rd 9:00am 9:30am 10:00am 1:00pm 2:30pm 3:30pm 5:30pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 7:15pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:00am
Saturday Nov. 4th 9:00am 9:30am 1:00pm 2:30pm 3:30pm 5:30pm 5:30pm 6:00pm 7:00pm 11:00pm 11:30pm 12:00am
Sunday Nov. 5th
9:00am 9:30am 10:00am
11:45am
2:00pm
Registration opens on patio 3rd Rail hip-hop teen service (Main Auditorium) This is our service geared towards high school and junior high students. *Seating is limited in the main auditorium, but additional seating will be available in our video venue and Turnstyle rooms. *Get here early to assure seating in the main room. Campus Closes - Gates will be locked
Doors Open - Prayer in main auditorium Opening workshop in main auditorium Workshops begin in 3 separate tracks (pgs. 83-82) Lunch on both patios (conference registrants only) General Session in main auditorium Basketball Game: Pastors vs. Artists (optional) Inside areas are CLOSED - *Mandatory meeting in main auditorium with Friday Night artists. Vendors area opens up for set up Tickets go on sale at gate to the public for evening concert / Food goes on sale on patio and vendors area opens in back Doors open for evening concert Concert ends Vendors area closes Crossover Campus Closes - gates will be locked!!!
Doors Open - Prayer in Main Auditorium Workshops begin in 3 separate tracks (pgs. 81-80) Lunch on both patios (conference registrants only) General session in main auditorium Free Time until concert @7pm Inside areas are CLOSED - *Mandatory meeting in main auditorium with Saturday Night artists. Vendors area opens up for set up Tickets go on sale at gate to the public for evening concert / Food goes on sale on patio and vendors area opens in back. Doors open for evening concert Concert Ends Vendors area closes Crossover Campus Closes - gates will be locked!!!
Campus opens Prayer in Main Auditorium Multi-Cultural Service including hip-hop worship with Harmony, special music from Fred Lynch, and a message from Pastor Tommy. *(We suggest this service for seating purposes!!!) 2nd Service - same format as the first service.
Children’s programming is available for all ages both services. Seating in main auditorium is limited; once it is filled additional seats will be available in our video venue.
Closing Fellowship time @ University Square Mall - Food Court
S.O.U.L | Pg86
We live in a fast paced world that is confined by time.
Most of us feel like we don’t have enough of it. Even though there are all these technological advances from pocket PC phones to laptop’s with wireless modems... it seems like it just makes us more accessible and even busier. Many of us live hectic schedules that are full of deadlines, appointments, and meetings. We aren’t very fond of these things, but it’s become part of being an adult. It seems there’s so much to do that soon we find ourselves pushing the margins in our lives so there is really no space left for any error. Some of us like to like to live there. We’re the ones that get up at the last possible minute, we arrive at the airport right as they’re closing the gate, and we’re the ones speeding in our car to get to work. We procrastinate, we take on more than we can handle, and we juggle 17 different things. The grind and the stress can sometimes seem exciting and fun in a sick way.
it off because other things seem to be going okay. That’s kind of how it was with the roof. Some of our staff has been up on the flat two story roof and saw the dip were the lake formed in the rainy summer time complete with tadpoles. That can’t be good. But, everything seemed to be holding okay and someone was supposed to look at it when they got around to it. A big storm came through and a few of the offices on the second floor started leaking. We broke out the brooms and headed up on the roof for a newly formed ministry of the church; the sweeping crew. It rains a lot in the summer in Florida - everyday, sometimes a couple of times a day. Soon we had several volunteers sweeping the roof off every time it rained, if we didn’t it started leaking inside. Well, the more we swept the roof, the more tore up the surface got, and the quicker it leaked. It was like a catch 22. We had plans to get it fixed, but apparently they didn’t material quickly enough. Our staff walked in one morning to find the ceiling on the floor in three different offices. Guess who had to clean it up? We did. But, we had messages to write, people to call, errands to run, ministry to do. It all had to be put on hold. This was serious, and nasty! There wasn’t time to recruit volunteers. It needed immediate attention. We had an eventful day of clean up that consisted of sealing the roof and tearing out soggy dry wall and insulation that had this incredibly funky odor.
Then the unexpected happens. The thing you didn’t plan for. It comes at the wrong time and messes up your whole agenda. It could be as simple as hitting all the lights, or getting stuck behind the guy going 20 miles per hour under the speed limit. It could be as complicated as the other person you depended on that didn’t come through with their end of the bargain, or it could be your computer crashing and losing all the precious files. We’ve all been there before, we all have our stories, and we all know it sucks. It seems like everything suddenly starts caving in on us, and now we have Many set backs can be avoided as we see the signs, to deal with a mess that we never thought would be part of but we ignore them. On the other hand, some set backs just the already crowded equation. I recently found myself in the happen. God allows set backs to take place in our lives to middle of one of these wonderful set backs. shape our character and teach us some lessons. My man James writes about this in the New Testament as he tells The roof caved in. Our facility at Crossover may look re- us to consider it pure joy when we face trials of many kinds. ally cool with all the graffiti and the remodeling we’ve done, He’s not saying be joyful about the actual problem, but in but it’s still an old building. We can forget this by looking just the results that are going to come from it. Know that God is at the most visible parts. We’ve hooked it up and it looks still working in the midst of a crisis, a missed deadline, or a good. This is kind of like our lives isn’t it? We’ll clean up the messy disaster. We need to learn to pause and listen, and outside to put the front on, but the structure of our heart may maybe even laugh at ourselves a little bit. Stop wallowing be on the verge of collapse. We know our heart may not be- in your self-pity and be open to what your creator might be ing doing that well, as there’s some signs there, but we’ll put trying to say to you the next time your roof caves in. ••
top picture: Elijah (intern from Japan) hard @ work, fixing the ceiling... bottom pic: Elijah & Pastor Tone in the muck; but still have time to strike a pose.
Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. is the lead pastor at Crossover Church. When he’s not sealing roofs and cleaning up soggy drywall, he’s spending time with his wife Lucy & his two daughters Deyana & Sophia.
S.O.U.L | Pg91
If you are reading this issue of S.O.U.L. mag and you’re here for the Fest - WELCOME to Crossover! We’re glad you came down to sunny Fla. to join us for a hot weekend packed with insightful workshops, innovative church services, dope concerts, and some fellowship that we’ll never forget. Above you’ll see the campus map so you can know exactly where everything is located. Check out the following pages in this issue that contain the general schedule, a detailed workshop schedule, workshop presenters info, and the concert line up for both stages. If you need more information you can stop at the info. booth on the patio and one of our Crossover volunteers will be happy to serve you.
available across the whole campus
Key.Grid
1: Registration // 2: Prayer Patio // 3: Nursery // 4: Hip-Hop Youth Ministry Track (main auditorium) 5: Patio // 6: Info. Area // 7: Basket Ball Court // 8: Restrooms // 9: Hip.Hop.Shop 10: Artist Track (video café) // 11: Little Believers // 12: Emerging Urban Church (turnstlye) 13: Skate Shop // 14: Skate Park // 15: Graffitti Expo Wall // 16: Tiny Tots S.O.U.L | Pg90
Rawsrvnt • Todd Collins • Engaging Hip.Hop Culture
Myspace...
is God invited?
KJ-52
Behind the the Music Music Behind www.flavoralliance.com
Issue #8 - side 2 // US $3.95 • Can. $4.95
The Amba-
ss-ador Behind the the Thesis Thesis Behind