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e’re glad you’re checking out our latest issue of 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 already personally met you, we look forward to that opportunity in the near future. You can usually catch us hanging out after services in the lobby. Maybe you are reading this and you haven’t actually been to Crossover yet. We hope you’ll have the chance to come out and see us real soon. Either way, this magazine was designed so you could better get to know who we are and what we are about. As you are holding this you may be thinking, “Wow, a church that publishes their own magazine…and it actually looks really professional.” If you have visited us there were probably several other things in our facility and 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, and our messages and basically everything we do to be real, relevant, and relational as we point you to Christ. Our presentation is definitely different than most, but what we’re presenting is real truth that you can apply to your life right now. It’s not watered down as some may assume because of our appearance or style. Instead, you’ll find a solid leadership team that teaches the Word of God in context. We believe that when you come to church you should feel comfortable so you can be real. We believe that coming to church should be a fun and exciting experience, not a boring one. We’re here to celebrate what God has done for us, and learn how we can develop a closer relationship with Him and make the right choices that honor him in our every day lives. There’s definitely going to be some challenges to stretch us to grow, but we’re here to push each other and help support each other. More than half of the people that now attend our church previously did not go to church 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 a ministry truly reaching the culture. At Crossover Church we are a family…we are a growing multi-ethnic, multigenerational, economically diverse community of faith with people from all different backgrounds. Christ is the thing that unites us. 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. It’s an exciting time at Crossover as our new location has positioned us to impact this city like never before! As we follow God’s direction we know our greatest days of impact are ahead! 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,
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When people visit Crossover Church they make many comments about the loving environment, the creativity, the facility, the music, the arts AND the incredible amount of diversity. For those of us that regularly go to this church we can easily take the diversity for granted, but this is definitely not the norm in most churches in America. Leadership Network in Dallas, Texas invited Crossover to be part of the first ever two year program for large, thriving multi-ethnic churches. We are now being recognized by other organizations, not just for our music, arts and creativity, but also for our diversity. Our leadership team has had the opportunity to learn, collaborate and dream with eleven other large multi-ethnic churches from around the country. We gather twice a year in downtown Dallas, Texas at Leadership Network’s headquarters. Only 7% of churches in America are multi-ethnic. Now, the definition for that is that there is at least 20% diversity... so technically it could be 80% one ethnic group and still be considered multi-ethnic.
Crossover Church does not have a predominate ethnic group as we are so diverse. Research shows that there are only about 1% of churches in America that have our diversity and even less that have our age demographic. Why is this? When we look at schools, businesses, neighborhoods... even your local Wal-Mart in any mid-size to major city we see lots of diversity. Why not in the local church? Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. shared that Sunday mornings at the local church is the most segregated time and place in America. Close to fifty years later our society has greatly changed and integrated, but the local church still has not. Why is this? There are lots of reasons, too many to list in this short editorial. But, in a nutshell a few reasons would be preferences, tradition and history. Since I’ve been the pastor these past 10 years Crossover Church has always been multi-ethnic organically and intentionally. But, we haven’t done this just to be different, or new or trendy. We’ve done this because we’re following the scripture. In Matthew 22 Jesus was asked what the most
important commandment was. He replied in verse 37, “You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself.” Tampa is a big melting pot and many of our neighbors don’t look exactly like us. But, we follow Jesus’ words as we love them. We welcome them. We reach out to them. The New Testament church was “reflective” of their communities. Of the nine churches in the book of Acts seven were multi-ethnic. The other two were not because they were in mono-ethnic communities. The gospel is for the Jew, the Gentile, the Black, the White, the Brown, the Young, the Old, the Rich, the Poor! If you check out Acts 13 the church in Antioch had a multi-ethnic pastoral leadership team with the pastors from Africa, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and Asia Minor. They were the first church to send out missionaries. They were the most influential church in the New Testament! Crossover Church is multi-ethnic because we see this in the scripture. Our elders, our staff,
our leadership team and those that serve in various areas are made up of a very diverse group of people. This is becoming a movement. The magazine you hold in your hands is put together by an incredibly talented, multiethnic team of creatives. The common thing that brings all of us together is our love for Christ and the urgent mission he has on our church to reach this city and the world. Creating with lots of color,
Pastor Tommy “Urban D.” Kyllonen grew up in a multi-ethnic environment in Philly. He is multi-ethnic himself as he is Greek, Spanish, Finnish and a quarter unaccounted for...
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Pg.05 – Welcome! Pg.06 – Editorial Pg.10 – What We Believe And Why Pg.11 – DNA & Core Values Pg.12 – History Pg.14 – Crossover Staff Pg.16 – Church Council Pg.17 – You’ve Got Mail! Pg.18 – Sunday Vibe Pg.19 – SNV Pg.20 – Crossover Kidz Pg.22 – Roots Groups Pg.26 – Connection Classes Pg.27 – Next Pg.28 – Crossover Urban Leadership College Pg.30 – Jerrell Johnson Pg.32 – The Movement Pg.35 – Hip-Hop Shop Pg.36 – Community Outreach Pg.40 – Supernatural Baptisms Pg.44 – Big Rich Pg.46 – Nikita Carter Pg.48 – New Artist spotlight - A.M. Pg.50 – Prayer Pg.54 – Coming Home Pg.56 – Remix Pg.58 – Activate Pg.59 – Financial Peace University Pg.60 – Ministry spotlight - The Vine Pg.62 – Media Pg.63 – Flavor Fest Conference Pg.64 – Supernatural Events Pg.66 – C.H.O.S.E.N. Pg.68 – W.A.R.R.I.O.R.S. Pg.72 – Storytellers Pg.74 – S.O.U.L. Fashion Pg.76 – Music Reviews Pg.78 – Oscar’s Miracle Pg.81 – Crossoverchurch.org Pg.82 – Soul Significance
THE S.O.U.L. TEAM
Publisher: Tommy Kyllonen aka Urban D. Creative Director: Edward Bayonet aka Spec Contributing Editors: David Wylie, Lucy Kyllonen Contributing Writers: Delia Harris, Kerlyn Joseph, Lucy Kyllonen, David Wylie, Charlynn Ramirez, Paul Ferrara, Tito Rodriguez, Lans Jones, Mario “Marz” Armstrong, Danielle Oliva, Nikeya Williams, Joshua Mason Review Team: Brovah Greg, DJ Missional, Clok, Joshua Mason Photography: Carlos Espinel - carlosespinelphotography.com Design Department: iamspec.com * Printed by
IMAGEMEDIA.COM in Tarpon Springs, Florida
For information on advertising visit: www.thesoulmag.com and download the current press kit for detailed demographics, ad rates and specs. S.O.U.LMAG is published two times annually by Crossover Church. Crossover is a non-profit 501(c)3. Crossover’s mission is “To relevantly introduce the Truth of Christ to those influenced by urban/hip-hop culture as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives.” S.O.U.LMAG exists to build on this mission as we take it to a global platform through print and digital media. S.O.U.L Magazine/Crossover Church Mailing Address: 8870 N. Himes Ave. #654 Tampa, Fl 33614 Physical Office Address: 1235 E. Fowler Ave. Tampa, Fl 33612
*All S.O.U.LMAG issues are now available digitally at our website: THESOULMAG.COM | @THESOULMAG CROSSOVERCHURCH.ORG | @CROSSOVER813
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WEEKLY SERVICE TIMES
Sundays: Sunday Vibe - 10am & 11:45am / Sunday Night Vibe - 7pm All three services are the same format (guest artist performance at the 7:00 pm service) All three services have children’s programming for infants up to 5th grade.
ROOTS GROUPS BIBLE STUDIES
These groups meet in semesters in homes and on the church campus on different nights of the weeks - check out our website for current groups.
www.crossoverchurch.org/rootsgroups
Thursdays: The Movement Hip-Hop Teen Service 7:30pm - 9pm Campus closes at 10:00 pm / Junior and Senior High School Students ONLY
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Some people describe us as a “Hip-Hop Church”. We are not a Hip-Hop Church - We are a Church. We model ourselves after the New Testament Church. We have church in the urban context in 2012/2013, so we will communicate in today’s language. We use Hip-Hop, R&B, Reggae, Salsa, Art, Film, Dance, Poetry and Drama to communicate the gospel... but music and style does not define us, our passion and commitment to Christ does. We have created a relevant, comfortable atmosphere but we take our faith serious. We ask hard questions and talk about things many churches don’t usually address. We’ll go there. Jesus was real and raw... in a loving way. If you are reading this magazine, many of you have probably attended a service here 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. Not much at Crossover is typical or traditional. We’re intentionally out of the box. 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”(Matthew 23). 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 glorify Him. Jesus wants our hearts to be pure! At Crossover, we use our freedom to be creative, so we will consistently
change our presentation as we engage our 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 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 4:1415 / 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 / Acts 1:9-11 / 1 Timothy 6:14-15 / Titus 2:13 3. About the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is coequal 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 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 self-willed 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
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
IN THE ESSENTIAL BELIEFS, WE HAVE UNITY.
“...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.” // 1 Corinthians 13:2
OUR AFFILIATIONS
Crossover Community Church is a non-denominational church. 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 Universities and Seminaries where they spent many years carefully studying the Scriptures. The Pastors are ordained Ministers under the laws of the State of Florida. Crossover is affiliated with the Purpose Driven Church Network led by Pastor Rick Warren who is the pastor of Saddleback Church in Orange County, Ca. He is also the author of the Purpose Driven Life book, which has sold over 40 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 that mentor, train, and support our leadership team. Crossover also partners with The American Bible Society, Leadership Network, Urban Youth Workers Institute (Reload), and School of Urban Missions Bible College and Theological Seminary as they develop resources, provide training, and equip students and church planters. S.O.U.L | Pg10
1. WE’RE A BUNCH OF CROSS-OVERS! We practice whole hearted devotion to Jesus! We’ve crossed over from death to life. We don’t compromise. We go HARD! - Matthew 22:37-38
2. DOWNLOAD THE APPS!
We value biblical teaching and the application of scripture. We believe when God’s word is applied and downloaded it will radically transform lives. - 2 Timothy 3:16-17
3. WE ARE MULTI-ETHNIC, MULTI-GENERATIONAL AND ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE. We
value everyone! No matter what their skin-color, age or financial status. Christ is our unity factor. This is what the New Testament Church looked like and what Heaven will look like - Acts 13:1
4. HEALTHY THINGS GROW! We value growth. Healthy Christians grow and healthy churches grow. Roots
Groups, classes, mentorship and serving help people grow deeper. Our church continues to grow as our influence grows deeper in our city. - Ephesians 4:15-16
5. YOU DON’T NEED A TITLE TO BE A LEADER. We value leadership. We believe in transformational leaders who demonstrate holiness, integrity and a positive influence on the lives of others. - 1 Timothy 4:12
6. TO CHANGE THE GAME, CHANGE THE FRAME.
We embrace Innovation and Creativity. We love change. We are learners. We think big, take risks and hold a healthy disregard for the impossible. - Isaiah 43:19
7. GOOD IS NOT GOOD ENOUGH.
We strive for excellence. We know there is no reward for the squandered potential, half-hearted effort or lukewarm faith. - Colossians 3:17
8. NOT EVERYONE RAPS! We value everyone playing his or her part. It’s not all about what happens on the stage or on
the mic. We want every individual to use his or her unique gifts, talents and abilities to connect others to God. We create multiple platforms for different gifts to be used. - Romans 12:6-8
9. REAL RECOGNIZES REAL. We are culturally relevant. We are real. We don’t put on masks. We don’t use spiritual
jargon or Christianese. Our music is loud, we love God and we communicate like it’s 2013 (not 1913). - 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
10. WE ARE A MOVEMENT.
We have become a model. There are dozens of other churches like ours popping up around the country and the world. We’re here to provide training,(Flavor Fest), resources and coaching. We will unite, show love and help expand God’s kingdom. - John 13:35
11. WE CELEBRATE!
We will not take this move of God for granted. We will regularly celebrate people coming to Christ, getting baptized, becoming members, serving and growing deeper in Christ. Ministry is the highest calling and we will remain grateful for God’s hand of favor on our church. - 1 Chronicles 16:8
12. WE’RE HERE TO REBUILD THE CITY!
We engage in community transformation. We will meet tangible needs and bring empowerment as we share and live out the gospel. We’re here to make a lasting difference in our community. Where it is dark, we bring the light of Christ! - Isaiah 32:18
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GOD HAS CALLED CROSSOVER TO BE A PIONEER CHURCH TO REACH THE URBAN COMMUNITY.
Crossover 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 near Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. Al Palmquist was a member of the church who met Tommy Kyllonen on some basketball courts in Clearwater. Tommy was running an urban b-ball league while completing his college internship. Joe and Al challenged Tommy to start an urban youth ministry at Crossover from scratch. In December 1995, Tommy graduated from college with a B.A. in Pastoral Theology, with a concentration in Youth Ministry. He married Lucy in February of 1996 and together they founded
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Crossover’s Youth Ministry with only 4 teens. Over the next six years, they developed a first of its kind Hip-Hop Styled Youth Ministry, which grew 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 bi-vocational. In January of 2002, Tommy Kyllonen became the lead pastor of Crossover. A new vision and structure was birthed for the church. Crossover Church was re-launched as the leadership team developed and implemented the new mission statement:
“To relevantly introduce the truth of Christ to those influenced by Urban/ Hip-Hop Culture as we develop worship, purpose, unity, and leadership in their lives” (based on Acts 2:42-47).
Crossover carefully and prayerfully began to make several changes to better reach the community. The church quickly grew as several new people visited and built new relationships with Christ. Many soon embraced the vision and began getting discipled and involved in serving others. Within a few years the church had to add a second Sunday Service and then a third. God has called Crossover to be a pioneer church to reach the Urban Community. We are multi-ethnic,
multi-generational and economically diverse. The church has become internationally known through all of the favorable media articles, as well as the numerous CD’s, books, magazines and resources produced by Urban D. and other innovators at the church. Millions have visited Crossover’s website and thousands have attended the church services,
looking to Crossover as a model. The once “run down” facility on N. Orleans Avenue was completely transformed into a unique thriving church focusing on outreach. The church grew from 40 to over 500 that attended 3 Sunday Services. In addition, the Thursday night Youth services reached hundreds more each week. In January of 2010 the campus was sold to a Haitian Church (Christian Assembly) and Crossover began temporarily meeting in the ballrooms at the Comfort Inn Conference Center on Busch Blvd. The church actually grew and reached many new people during their time at the hotel. In November of 2010 they moved into their newly remodeled 43,000 square foot facility on Fowler Ave (The former Toys R Us). With the new location and the huge amount of space, Crossover is now making Christ famous in a way they only dreamed about! The church is experiencing an incredible time of growth and community impact as it is truly a move of God! We are REBUILDING THE CITY! Stay tuned... we’re just getting started! •••
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Tommy founded the youth ministry at Crossover in 1996 after graduating from Southeastern University with a BA in pastoral studies and a concentration in youth ministry. In 2006 he went back to Southeastern University and completed a master’s level Church Leadership Cohort. Starting in 1996, with just four teens, he and his wife developed a first-of-its-kind Hip-Hop Styled Youth Ministry that over the span of six years grew to hundreds, 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 those influenced by Urban/Hip-Hop Culture. Urban D. has recorded seven Hip-Hop albums since 1996 and has traveled across the U.S., Africa, Australia, Germany, Japan and the UK performing and speaking at conferences. He has ministered at over 1,000 venues with his music. His project “Un.orthdox – church.hip-hop.culture” spans three spectrums of media; music, film, and print. The CD/DVD received major distribution through EMI, and Zondervan published his book with the same title. His latest album “Un.heard” is now available on itunes.
Tommy “Urban D.” Kyllonen
Lead Pastor
Tommy is also a frequent writer as he is the publisher/general editor for S.O.U.LMAG. He also has authored articles for Relevant, Dasouth.com, Holyculture.net, Pastors.com, Rapzilla.com, and The American Bible Society. 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 latest book “Next” serves as a great tool for new believers. Check him out at www.urband.org and you can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Youtube under “urband813” Lucy came to Florida by way of Queens, NY where she was raised. She attended Southeastern University and graduated with a BA in Psychology and went on to complete her Master’s in Mental Health counseling at USF. Before joining the church staff in 2003, she worked with teens in various professional settings since 1994. Not only is Lucy the Lead Pastor’s wife, but also currently she works in the Administrative Department assisting with the day to day operations of managing a church. She is also involved in the planning of church events and activities. Her life has become the church, but more importantly the people in it- in specific, the women of the church. Lucy leads C.H.O.S.E.N. Women’s Ministry and is dedicated to equipping women in leadership roles and reminding all women of their worth and identity in Christ. Lucy is actively involved in teaching membership classes, small groups and mentoring women. She has also served in ministry as a speaker, alongside her husband and contributes articles to the S.O.U.Lmag you are holding. She is humbled that these accomplishments have been the work of God in her life and her willingness to be His vessel.
Lucy Kyllonen
Lead Pastor’s Wife Women’s Ministry & Administration
As much as she loves being in ministry and fulfilling her purpose, using her gifts and talents, her favorite thing and what she enjoys most is spending time with her best friend (her husband) and being a mother, teacher and role-model to her two growing and curious daughters, Deyana and Sophia. You can find Lucy on Twitter and Facebook at @lucyk813
Lans’s coming to Crossover Church marks his return to Florida after an extended stay in North Carolina. After earning his B.A. in Education at USF here in Tampa and teaching for several years, Lans responded to God’s calling him to vocational ministry by enrolling in seminary. He relocated to N.C. where he completed a Master’s of Arts degree in Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest. Besides teaching in schools for nearly two decades, Lans has also taught several Bible Study Classes, facilitated fathering courses, and holds numerous certificates from nationally recognized fathering programs. He has also helped mentor many young men/fathers. Lans is excited to be at Crossover as the small groups and discipleship pastor. He is using his teaching expertise to organize and coordinate all of Crossover’s Roots Groups as well as oversee the discipleship programs and ministries here at the church. Lans, his wife Kelly, and their seven wonderful children enjoy spending family time together. They also enjoy attending the sports and plays that their children are involved in. Their entire family is excited about their new church family. Connect with Lans on Twitter @lansjones9
Lans Jones
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Dr. Pickens has a B.A. from North Central University, an M.Div. from Ashland Theological Seminary, and a D.Min from Bethel Theological Seminary. He has taught over 14 years at North Central University, Southeastern University, and SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary. He has served over 20 years as assistant pastor, church planter and lead pastor at several churches in Minnesota and West Virginia. He has five years of field experience in Romania. Gary has a huge passion for the urban community, helping to pioneer the Parker Street Ministries in Lakeland, Florida. He desires to see young leaders raise up and change the future of our cities. Dr. Pickens is also a current professor with SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary and will be teaching some of the classes of the Crossover Urban Leadership College.
Dr. Gary Pickens
Check out Dr. Pickens on Facebook as he has lots of friends from all over the world!
College Director
Lily Perlaza
Finance Director / Flavor Fest Dir.
Lily was born in Brooklyn New York and moved to Orlando when she was 8 years old. Lily has been attending Crossover since she moved to Tampa in 2000, after graduating high school. Lily has worked in business settings and sales in Tampa. Prior to being on staff Lily worked for an international mortgage company and had a specialty of working with clients in their finances, home loan needs and foreclosure proceedings. After attending Southeastern University, Lily finished up her BA In Business Management at the University Of Phoenix. Lily has been a part of the Flavor Fest planning team since 2000 and is now leading the Flavor Fest team through administration, grant writing and conference planning in order to further fulfill the mission. Several years ago Lily hosted her first small group by the pool of her apartment complex with some friends. Her love for seeing people grow in the word and get connected in relationships led her to become Crossover’s small group director where she was overseeing groups for several years. Lily now uses her business management degree as she runs all the finances at the church and makes sure everything is done with accountability and integrity. Known as Crossover’s Coupon queen, Lily is serious about making every penny stretch as clipping coupons is her way of making the church budget stretch to its full potential! Lily is married to Martin Perlaza who you can find on the drums. She spends a lot of time with her nephew Andres and enjoys her favorite shows on HGTV! Connect with Lily on Twitter or Facebook @lilygodzchild Delia was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay area (California). She grew up in a home that loved God and had a long history of serving the local church. At a very young age she was on the road every weekend, in her family group called “The Born Again Singers”. They ministered to churches and major prisons in the U.S. such as San Quentin, Chino, and Carson City Nevada and at state wide correctional institutions. She attended Patten University in Oakland, CA, were she obtained most of her musical training in Voice and Symphonic percussion. In 1988 she graduated from the Universidad Cristiana Latino Americana in Cali, Colombia South America with a B.M. in Sacred Music and a minor in Theology.
Delia Harris
Worship and Arts Director
For the past several years, though always involved heavily in the local church, Delia has worked in the corporate world as a seasoned professional to senior executives of Fortune 500 companies. In 2008 Delia married the love of her life John Harris, a minister and an amazing man of God. Together they desire to see people’s lives radically changed by their relationship with Jesus Christ. Delia serves as the worship director at Crossover and oversees worship in the 3 Sunday services as she works with singers, musicians, DJ’s, rappers, poets, artists and dancers to experience God’s presence in a fresh way each week. Connect with her on on Twitter or Facebook @Remixworshipper Paul aka Paully P comes to Crossover with his wife Brandy and family from Boston, Massachusetts. Together, they have over 20 years combined ministry experience with a major focus on Children’s Ministry. Paul grew up in a Christian home, the youngest of 8 children and spent most of his childhood in the Boston area. He has attended Zion Bible College, Beacon University and Connecticut School of Broadcasting. He has served as a Children’s Minister/Director with 5 different churches in several states. He also was the Campus Pastor for two years at Foxboro Christian School in Foxboro Massachusetts. Paul met his wife while he was attending Zion Bible College and they were married in 2003. They have added 4 children to their family: Ethan, Isabella, Madison and Paige. Paul and Brandy’s heart to teach children about the love of God ultimately lead them to Crossover!
Paul Ferrara Kidz Director
It is Paul and Brandy’s firm belief that the faith and prayer of a young child is powerful. It is untainted by the world and a child simply believes that what they are praying will be answered by God. Paul spends any free time he has with his family and can be found most nights by his grill, the gun range, killing spiders for Urban D. and occasionally on a golf course. He enjoys riding his motorcycle, a good Red Sox game and chillin’ with family and friends. Connect with paul on Facebook @ Crossover Kidz
* This is the listing of our staff as of July 2012. Check out our staff page on our website as our team is continuing to grow! S.O.U.L | Pg15
Our Church Council is a group of elders from our church that meet monthly with our lead pastor and our finance director. They are a solid group of leaders that have been faithful at our church for many years. This group helps make the major spiritual and financial decisions at the church and provides accountability for our pastors, our church staff and leadership. These men are prayer warriors and leaders in their homes. (1 Tim. 3) Gordon is originally from North Carolina and has been in Tampa since 1957. He started a relationship with Christ on July 3rd, 1960 at Crossover’s former North Orleans Campus. Gordon and his wife Carolyn (of 56 years!) have been a vital part of the several different congregations that met at the former campus over the years. In the late 1980’s Gordon and his family were one of the last few people left at the church. They hung in there and although Gordon is one of our older members he is over joyed 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 and prayer for the council. We always say he’s the coolest old guy ever!
Gordon Meetze
Isreal is from Hoboken, New Jersey and has been following Christ for 36 years. He has been married to Sylvia for 33 years and has 3 grown children that are all serving Christ. Israel has been in the Air Conditioning field for 26 years. He and his wife have been faithful members at Crossover for over 9 years. They have a calling to minister to married couples. Over the years serving at our church they have led many marriage events and small groups as they have counseled and discipled dozens and dozens of couples. They also serve together in the nursing home ministry on Sunday mornings. Israel brings great wisdom to our church council as he is regularly interceding for our church. Iz also enjoys playing and teaching latin percussion... you might occasionally see him playing congas at one of our worship experiences.
Israel Cabrera Brainard is originally from the beautiful island of St. Kitts in the Caribbean. He has been following Christ for 30 years. Brainard and his wife Nan have 5 children. They have been attending Crossover for over 7 years. In 2004 Brainard started his own Air Condition company “Morgan Air”. God has greatly blessed his business and raised him up as a leader in his field. Brainard brings a great business mind to the council along with his solid biblical foundation. He also enjoys mountain biking, playing guitar and serving in the nursing home ministry. Brainard and his wife have led several small groups over the years and poured into many people at the church. You can check him out leading one of our Roots Groups and occasionally playing guitar with our Remix Worship Team.
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FACEBOOK Manny Germ Garcia
JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR LETTING COME AND EXPERIENCE YOUR SERVICE IT WAS GREAT AND MY PRAYER SERVICE AFTER WAS GOOD I REALLY AM IN NEED OF FINDING CHRIST AGAIN AND I WILL BE BACK NXT SUNDAY. GOD BLESS EVERYONE.... July 29th 1:49pm Kimberly Faultnor Hello! I went to your church tonight and I have to say it was amazing! I grew up in Miami so I love hip hop music! I’ve got
Jerome Vierling @rootedjerome 30 July @flavorfest is going to be POWERFUL, see you there... #flavorfest2012 flavorfest.org FavoritecuzinDJwill @favcuzndjwill 30 July #Jesusbus will be back for #flavorfest2012 - new and improved! Stay tuned! Scribbling idiots @scribblingidot 30 July Who is gearing up for #flavorfest2012? We will be there!
two girls and they had a blast in your children’s area. I was amazed at how welcoming everyone was I got hugs and hand shakes and pats on the back from everyone. I felt very loved, welcomed and comfortable to be myself! Thank you so much for your love and reaching the urban community. God bless you all Kimberly Faultnor July 15th 11:38pm Veronica Duncan Walters Our family went to Crossover Church this morning and had a blast! Pastor Tommy “Urban D” preached and taught and we experienced Crossover Church! Wow! What a DAY! July 8th 4:48pm
Dash @dashthedj July 28 @crossover813 married couples small group teamed up with @feedingtampabay to help put together 13,000 lbs. of food: instagr.am/p/NoKSVeCbGV/ MeganMaze @M3gg3rz @coreyhicks9th and @urband813 choppin’ it up @ crossover813 - updating us on what’s going on in NOLA @ The Vine: instagr.am/p/NrOFnhGgjw/
Post, Message and Tweet about us and we might publish it next time around!
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Pastor Tommy Kyllonen
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SUNDAY VIBE
SUNDAY NIGHT VIBE
Our Sunday services give off a refreshing vibe as they reach a multi-ethnic, multi-generational urban crowd with people from many different backgrounds. Crossover has experienced incredible growth over the past several 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. It’s common to find a homeless person sitting next to a professional athlete, next to a single mom, next to a business owner, next to a multi-generational family, next to a former drug dealer - it’s amazing what God is doing! 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, suits and ties are not required :)
Our Sunday night vibe service is the same worship and message as the morning with some added extra flavor for those that can’t make it out to the earlier services. We realize many people in our culture now have to work Sundays during the day, and we want to provide a time they can come out to a worship service. Crossover also desires to reach that crowd that just can’t roll out of bed Sunday mornings, and this service creates that time slot that attracts a lot of college students. USF is just up the street and this is the service many students are now attending. This also gives people options if they want to do something during the day with their family and then catch the night service instead. Sunday Night Vibe regularly offers Open Mic for MC’s to come up and rap/freestyle with the live DJ. The freestyle session changes each month from topics on the screens, to objects picked out of box, even to reverse battles.
Every Sunday | 10:00am and 11:45am
Every Sunday @ 7pm
…most people come dressed casually, and come to worship God in a comfortable atmosphere. Our First Impressions Team welcomes you with smiling faces. 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 an R&B/Hip-Hop/Gospel style with a live DJ, worship team, and a mix of artists, poets, rappers, dancers and live musicians. We sometimes even mix in some Spanish, Salsa and Reggae flavor. God’s presence is always evident as people genuinely seek Him. SNV ARTISTS: A.M. & JUDAH OF TWELVE TWO PRODUCTIONS
The message is always brought in a creative, practical way where everyone can learn something from the scripture that is applicable to their everyday lives. Pastor Tommy and the speaking team use message series that include various visual elements like original short films, drama, testimonies, object lessons and music to help illustrate the scripture and the topic. Printed handouts are sometimes distributed and the audience is encouraged to follow along and take notes with the teaching and “fill-in the blanks”. 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. Our staff and leaders make themselves available after each service to talk and pray with people. Our prayer room is located at the front right side of the auditorium and is open before, during and after all services with a prayer team and free bibles and devotional books for those in need. After the service the lobby turns into a great place of community where people hangout, build relationships, and eat together.
We always have some creative MC’s wow the crowd with a fun time of rhyming that represents Christ. Each of the other weeks always features a set by a guest artist after the message. This varies from local acts to nationally known groups. Every few months instead of an artist we have a large Break Dancing Event at the end of the service that we host in the lobby. This is always an exciting night where dozens of incredible dancers show off their moves in a friendly competition. You can check the website each week to see the upcoming artists for that SNV. The urban crowd especially likes to hang out at night so after service the large lobby becomes the place to be as break dancers hit the floor and people talk, eat and pray together. •••
+Tune in every Sunday and watch: crossoverchurch.org/live
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Welcome to the Crossover Kidz Church! We are a high impact in your face ministry that is created to appeal to the children of today. The ministry includes several classrooms designed for specific age groups. Each class is staffed with trained and skilled teachers that desire to be involved in ministering to these young lives. Each member of our Children’s Ministry team has one thing in common: a passion for children and a heart for God. The purpose of the Kidz Ministry is to make sure our children are taught the word of God in a way they can understand and let them have fun while doing it! Children will be taught valuable biblical lessons that will help them in their home, school and everyday life. Our goal is to make sure God is made real to them and give them tools on how to begin and maintain a true relationship with Christ at a young age. Our Vision: To win children to Christ and raise up a spiritual army of young people not only for future purposes but for the present ones as well.
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Nursery aka “Da Crib” - Newborn to 2 ½ years old Your precious little ones will enjoy sing-alongs, play time and interaction from their teachers right at their level. Our teachers aren’t afraid of getting their hands dirty while they play and introduce God’s love to the littlest one. The team members have a special way of connecting and comforting each child in their care. Parents can relax and enjoy the service while their child(ren) is well taken care of. “Nursing Mom’s Room” We have a room set aside for nursing mothers only. This room provides a quiet, comfortable place where you can meet the needs of your infant while enjoying the service on a large flat screen. “Tiny Tots” – Ages 2 ½ & 3 Toddlers are taught using age appropriate curriculum that includes videos, bible stories, art & crafts and songs. They also have a space where they can let loose and work off some of the energy they are so famous for. Our team members are great at being hands-on while helping your toddler learn about God’s love. “Little Believers” – Ages 4 & 5 The preschoolers in this age group experience a unique learning time. Live music is just the start of their time with us. We include a video based curriculum that is designed to teach your child the bible at their level. Object lessons, crafts and games are all part of the fun they will have while learning that God loves them.
“Kidz Vibe” – Ages 6 – 11 Your child(ren) will experience church like never before in our Kidz Vibe. Our team members keep your kids going from the moment they enter our classroom. We have live worship, skits, games, videos and object lessons that help deliver the message that God is real and He wants to be a part of their life. We have fun but keep it real so your child can be a leader at home, in school and among their friends. We’ve started a new “Kidz Next Class” with the Elementary age group. We take the 4th and 5th graders into a separate room, after praise and worship, and get deep with them about their relationship with God. We teach them how to move from uncertainty to confidence in their walk with Jesus. We also go over other topics such as: 1. Going from feelings of unworthiness to forgiveness. 2. From being unable to empowered. 3. From being unprepared to equipped. 4. From being undeveloped to maturity. When these classes are over the kids will receive a certificate of completion and will be able to help co-teach the next group! We also teach K-3rd grade the same materials but with either a skit or puppet added in! The kids break into small groups and go over pre-selected questions that have to do with each topic. This allows the workers to have more of a one on one time with them.
The Kidz Church Ministry takes place in our new Crossover Kidz Church Wing and is offered during all three Sunday Services. Service times are 10:00am, 11:45am and 7:00pm. Parents can bring their kids to our Check-In area in the main lobby. Check in time starts 15 minutes before service and ends 20 minutes after service has started. Security of your children is vitally important to us. We will Lock Down the Kidz Church Wing once Check-In time has ended as an added protection for the children in our care. Parents are encouraged to pick up their child(ren) at our Check-out area once service has ended. We encourage parents not to bring children into the main auditorium as the content is geared towards adults and teenagers. Crossover is not afraid to address real issues in our adult services. Some of the content discussed is not appropriate for children. We do have a family room that is available where you can sit with your children if you choose not to check them into the kids ministry. We’ve also started a new Kidz Hip-Hop Dance Crew! They meet once a week and have been featured in several of our Sunday Services. This is group is headed up by Tammy Cruz who is a dance instructor at Dance World at the University Mall in Tampa.
Our Kidz leadership team consists
Crossover
Kidz Direct
or: Paully P
of over 60 volunteers. Nearly half of them are part of our Jr. Worker program which allows kids ages 8-17 to serve in the various areas of the Kidz Ministry alongside adult leaders. They fill out an application with their parent, then both go through our training and sign a 6 month commitment. The child shadows for a week then get placed on the schedule. Parent’s emails and cell numbers are put into our Kidz leadership team’s data base and are updated every week. We are firm believers that God doesn’t limit His power to ages. These kids in our Jr. Worker Program learn how to serve, and exercise compassion for others at their young age! Our staff and adult team members go through extensive training and background checks before they are approved to work with your children. Every Sunday, hundreds of children are cared for in our Crossover Kidz Church Ministry.
Visit us online: crossoverchurch.org/kidz
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RG CROSSOVERCHURCH.O At Crossover Church (CC) we understand the times; we recognize that those who are influenced by Urban/Hip-Hop music and its culture may not readily feel comfortable or be unconditionally welcomed “as is” into many other churches in the Tampa Bay area. At CC we love Hip-Hop as a genre, you know - its style, its flavor, its swag, and we also love Jesus; yet, it is not our view that these two things have to be mutually exclusive. Because CC’s central focus is fleshing out the greatest commandments of loving God and loving others (Matt. 22:36-40), we believe it paramount that every aspect of our church’s life demonstrates our commitment to live these commandments. All of our ministries are intentionally designed to create and sustain environments, which are conducive to fostering obedience and growth in these areas. This is especially true of our Small Groups Ministry that we call Roots Groups. It is more than to fair to say that CC is an exceptionally diverse church. Its congregants cut a large swath across ethnical, generational, educational, and socio-economic lines. Additionally, the church is located in North Tampa in an area infamously known as “Suitcase City” due to its large transient and homeless populations. Because of these challenges, it has become apparent to the church’s leadership that the continued unity, growth, and sanctification of the church’s members must be attended to as a priority. It is for this reason that the church has made the necessary steps to engage and develop its small group ministries even further and help people put down roots. Everything that is attempted at CC is done with the intention of sharing the gospel message with everyone and enabling believers to become mature in Christ (Eph. 4:13). The many salvific professions expressed routinely at CC are exciting and we praise God for them, however, these salvation
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/ROOTSGROUPS
experiences, in and of themselves, are not the end goal of the ministry. At CC we also want believers (new, young, and older) to grow in their faith so that they may ever more accurately conform into the image of the Him who died for them (Rom. 8:29). The Small Group Ministry at CC plays an integral part in that process and is therefore worthy of, and receives, serious attention, investment and development. There are three primary objectives for the Roots Groups Ministry at CC and while each is distinct in purpose, they are all interrelated and multi-faceted. The first objective is the saturating the hearts and minds of CC members with the ideological pillars of the small group ministry. The second objective is the constant exponential expansion of new small groups; the aim here is for more and better groups, not just bigger ones. The third objective is the intentional development of leadership skills for small group facilitators through discipleship and trainings.
OBJECTIVE 1: THE PILLARS
The three foundational principles of the small group ministry at CC are considered, and thus termed, the Pillars. These principles are an indissoluble part of CC’s self-defining identity and as such they are deliberately and consistently infused into the cultural conscience of the church. The first Pillar is “The Point” of small groups. This is the ultimate purpose of small groups and why they are an integral part of CC. Small groups at CC exist to glorify Christ by presenting an environment where individuals can create, nourish, and reap the benefits of building intimate relationships with other Christ followers. Through small groups, church members have an additional opportunity to improve their knowledge of God, deepen their love for God, and develop more positive faith building relationships with other believers.
The second Pillar is “the Philosophy” of CC’s small groups. This is the belief system behind the small groups explaining why we have them. Small groups at CC provide members an accessible venue in which they can actualize their desire to obey Christ’s command to love one another. Christ instructs his followers to live their lives for Him in communion with Him and each other. Small groups provide an obvious group setting in which church members may more conveniently get to know, serve, and care for one another. Small group’s members learn, grow, laugh, cry, serve and pray together; in essence, they let CC members live and love in closer, Christcentered communities. The third Pillar is “the Protocols” of CC’s small groups. These are the functioning logistics and operational norms that determine and bring organization to the many diverse small groups. Procedurals bring order to the groups enabling leaders and members to know the systemic methodologies that ensure the groups can be managed and run efficiently. Without a standing modus operandi there is a greater risk that problems, conflicts, and otherwise routine concerns may defuse the effectiveness of CC’s small groups. The Protocols are in place to reduce that risk.
OBJECTIVE 2: SMALL GROUPS EXPANSION
The second objective for small groups at CC focuses on their expansion. Small group renewal and growth are paramount to the ministerial life of the church; therefore, small Groups at CC are coordinated to maintain a healthy amount of communication, synchronization, and collaboration. Groups are encouraged to be interdependent but not codependent as information, resources, and activities are shared only to a point where individual group growth can flourish and group individualism is not stifled. Communication is an essential part of the small group ministry at CC. There is no room for lone rangers or independent islands within any ministry at CC; this is especially true for small groups. Everyone in every group is better served when there is a sufficient level of openness about the happenings and accomplishments of other groups. Every individual having complete access to all the particulars of everything that occurs in every other group is not only unrealistic but also unnecessary; a general awareness of things like what other groups are doing, how they are serving others, and what other groups may need, is a thoughtful way of keeping individual groups connected to each other and the church as a whole. Intentionally open and shared communication concerning what other groups are doing piques curiosity, promotes interest in other groups for following semesters, and deters harmful rumoring. At CC small group synchronization is considered a valuable asset. Groups need not be identical in subject or content matter, group dynamics, curriculum and materials presentation formats, nor leadership styles; they must, however, be on
the same page about things like the small group Pillars, leadership philosophies, and role of the small group within the larger context of CC. Synchronization will contribute to the sense of unity within the church without demanding uniformity. It is the desire of the leadership at CC that the small groups collaborate more. Collaborative efforts for church wide events have, in the past, consistently proven successful and accomplished much for the neighboring communities. It is presumed, therefore, that the same may be true when implemented on the small groups’ level. Groups could coordinate events, activities, and outings, etc with each other for the purposes of evangelistic ministry, service projects, corporate worship and fellowship. Similarly themed groups can work together to maximize ministry and service efforts, promote intergroup fellowship, and share learning experiences. The third objective of CC’s small groups ministry centers around leadership development. Small group leaders at CC are just that, leaders. They are an absolutely indispensable part of the work that God is doing through CC. Their contribution to the “building up of the body” effort at CC is so vital that without them, Crossover could literally do no small groups. Because of this, and because of the value attributed to the small groups ministry, CC has begun investing greater amounts of its resources (include time, money and personnel) into the equipping of its small group leaders. Both the efficacy and the number of small group leaders have been slated for increased attention and development. ••• The Seven Step process utilized for leadership development at Crossover Church is as follows: 1. Identification of potential leaders based upon demonstrated interest and capabilities observations. 2. Recruitment of potential leaders as determined by availability and capabilities analysis. 3. Education of potential leaders in an academic / classroom style setting acquiring and improving leading, facilitating, and teaching skills. 4. Training of potential leaders through the means of mentoring, co-facilitating, and interning followed by a leading skills readiness and competency evaluation. 5. Commissioning of new leaders in a graduation-like ceremonious event and the birthing of a new small groups. 6. Supporting of new leaders by actively serving and encouraging them as well as providing continuous mentoring opportunities. 7. Reproduction of more leaders through the repetition of the preceding cycle.
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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. This series of classes is designed for adults and teens.
101 MEMBERSHIP CONNECTION CLASS:
In this workshop you’ll learn more about Crossover’s unique vision, what we believe, our structure, and how you can get involved. This class is all about connecting with Crossover (your family) as you are connected with Christ (your leader). We’ll be sharing the story of our church’s beginning, our journey of growth and our incredible vision for the future. If you feel comfortable at Crossover we encourage you not to date our church... put a ring on her finger and officially become part of the family.
201 MATURITY CONNECTION CLASS:
In this workshop you’ll learn more about maturing in your relationship with Christ. You’ll learn several practical and important ways that your connection with your Creator can be strengthened.
301 S.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 fulfill your purpose as you serve others.
401 MISSION CONNECTION CLASS:
As Christians it’s our mission to share our faith with others around us. This workshop will better equip you to engage others in your community and around the world. Crossover has several local opportunities for you to fulfill you mission and several upcoming opportunities around the country and beyond.
* Connection Classes are offered monthly on Sundays during the services @ both 10am and 7pm in our classrooms in the back part of the building. Children can attend their regular classes in the kidz wing. At a Sunday service you can look for dates and details for upcoming classes inside of your program and you can sign up on the back of your connection card or visit our website @ www.crossoverchurch.org to register for our next class.
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THE
CLASS When Christ enters the life of a new believer, real change occurs. But for
most of us, we have no idea what that truly means; we are unsure of what we should do next?
The NEXT class is designed to provide basic foundational truths and understanding on our new found Christian faith. It encourages us to grasp
onto the assurance of our salvation and grow in our relationship with the Lord through grace and the power of the Holy Spirit.
THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE FOUR WEEK CLASSES ARE: - Assurance of our Salvation - Forgiveness of the Believer - Filling of the Spirit - Walking in the Spirit towards Maturity
Crossover Church has been experiencing an explosion of new growth and most of our new people are coming from a background where they weren’t consistently raised around church, biblical teaching or Christian principles being lived out. This class provides a great NEXT step for them to learn about their new relationship with God. But, this class is geared not only towards people that are totally new in the faith, but also for those that want a refresher course to help strengthen their walk with Christ.
The NEXT Class is ran by a team of teachers from Crossover. It is a four week class that takes place on Sundays during our services at 11:45am and 7:00pm. We hold the classes in the back classroom wing behind the main auditorium. Since we started the classes in 2010 we’ve had hundreds of people go through the class. The NEXT Class is regularly offered, so you can sign up for one of the upcoming ones on the back of your connection card at the next service you attend.
ARE READY FOR WHAT GOD HAS NEXT?
If you recently started a relationship with Christ you can pick up Pastor Tommy’s new book “Next” in the prayer room which is to the right of the stage in the main auditorium. This book gives you some great next steps to take in your new faith journey and it also includes the Gospel of John. S.O.U.L | Pg27
Developing Leaders to
REBUILD THE CITY Do you have a desire to see God rebuild the lives of people in the city? You now have the opportunity to get your education and hands on ministry at a thriving urban church. Outreach Magazine has listed Crossover Church as one of the most innovative churches in America. Our ministry has been recognized for our unique approach to effectively reaching the urban community. The new church campus is located on an 8 lane street that has over 60,000 cars pass it daily. Even though it is on a commercial street, the neighborhoods that surround it are some of the roughest in the state of Florida. The area is known as Suitcase City due to it’s high eviction rates and homelessness. You will have the opportunity to learn from this amazing ministry as we rebuild the city together.
ADMISSION:
Application, Pastor’s and General Reference, Official GED, High School and/or college transcripts, One page typed essay (Personal testimony), One page typed essay (How did Jesus lead - according to the New Testament?), photo and a $20 application fee.
COHORT LEARNING:
Crossover’s partnership with S.U.M. provides “state of the art” live, two-way classroom interaction with professors from around the country. Our cohort will be unique in that our director is also a professor for the school and he will be present much of the time in the classroom. Here’s what others are saying about Crossover Church and their new college... “Crossover Church and Tommy ‘Urban D.’ are the future of the church in the present. This ministry is theologically sound, creative beyond imagination and a missional force.” - Derwin Gray - Lead Pastor @ Transformation Church Charlotte, NC
“Tommy Kyllonen is one of the new breed of young pastors in the reformation generation.” - Rick Warren - Pastor @ Saddleback Church Orange County, CA - Author of Purpose Driven Life
MISSION:
Crossover Urban Leadership College and SUM Bible College and Theological Seminary equip indigenous leaders from cities and around the world by offering affordable theological education combining academic instruction with practical hands on ministry.
ACCREDITATION:
ABHE: Association for Biblical Higher Education. The ABHE is a member of the Council for Higher Education (CHEA).
PROGRAMS OFFERED:
Bachelor of Arts in Biblical Studies (Biblical Studies, Church Planting, Global Missions, Pastoral Ministry and Youth Ministry) Master of Arts in Biblical Studies with languages (56 hours) Hebrew and Greek Master of Arts in Biblical Studies without languages (56 hours) English only Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership (38 hours)
AFFORDABILITY:
3 Trimesters (11 Week Trimesters) Graduate in 3 years with little to no college debt Annual Tuition: Visit www.sum.edu for details
“SUM gave me the Biblical training I needed to be able to support my call to urban church planting, and Urban D. pastor of Crossover Church, mentored me through the process of fulfilling that call. I am excited to see the fruit this partnership will bring!” - Corey Hicks - Lead Pastor @ The Vine New Orleans, LA
“For over a decade, Crossover’s ministry has inspired artists like me to go beyond talent, and become leaders of transformation in many nations.” - Bobby “Tre-9” Herring - Hip-Hop Artist & Co-owner of dasouth.com
“Crossover Church is on the frontline of Kingdom Impact on culture today and God is enlisting soldiers to make a difference! Come and get trained by some of the most relevant, anointed, biblically sound generals of our day!” - Fred Lynch “P.I.D.” - Lead Pastor @ The Myx Dallas, TX - Author of “The Script”
“The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed, to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.” Luke 4:18 (NASB) If your heart burns to share the good news to those in the urban community that are broken, if you desire to see healing and see freedom for those addicted and oppressed... then get ready to rock the city for Christ!
For an application or additional information: Contact our Cohort Director: Dr. Gary Pickens drpickens@sum.edu or 813 971-8887 ext. 231
FINANCIAL AID:
Pell Grants, Stafford Loan, Cal Grants, Veteran Benefits Students receiving financial aid: 94%
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SM You have been doing a lot lately. I have seen you involved in videos online, hosting events, performing in events, and so much more. I noticed a lot on Twitter and FB. Tell me about yourself, being a Christian, and being an artist. Tell me how and when you became a Christian and how the artist thing developed.
like this.” I feel good about it because it was able to show people you are not the only person that is into Kid Robot, or skateboards. I like sci-fi movies and stuff like that. So, not only was the response good in numbers, but in reaction too. I was able to connect and identify with people. And that was the goal, too. So, that was big.
JJ I was in a Christian family. So that is pretty much what we believed. but it wasn’t until 2006. I had a friend in high school, and I didn’t even know that he was a Christian. It was one summer, we started talking and hanging out, and he would say some stuff, and I would ask him a question, “What do you mean by that?” All of a sudden, that would turn into a conversation about Jesus. From there, it just kept rolling. He would introduce me to people that he knew. They were kids my age though. I had never seen kids 15, 16, 17, years old; 20, 25 really living for God. I never seen that. And they were doing music like me too. I was like, whoa, blown away by that. Through that whole process, I began to build a real relationship with God and I stopped battle rapping. I used to battle rap at school. Since then, I have been making Christian music.
SM When I hear Dream SODA, and PB&J, I think people can see that living a Christian life can be positive. When they see that you are having so much fun with the way that you are doing your music and the way that you present it in excellence. I think they get comfortable with being who they are in Christ. At least, that is what I get from your mixtapes. Your stuff is just nice. I heard that you were putting together a Homeless Heroes mixtape. What is going to be on that mixtape?
SM So you are saying that your friend was a Christian, but he was not throwing it in your face? He was just being a good friend? JJ He never preached at me. SM The truth just came out? JJ Yeah, through his actions. And I seen that first hand. Some people say, “Oh yeah, you have to do this...”, but that’s why I am really trying to be about the love of Christ and relationships with people. I do that instead of just saying “If you follow this, this, and this”, or “You need to get this or this.” Just loving people can go along way, taking them for who they are. My friend used to come to my battle raps, too, and be like, “good job”. SM So you think that comes across when you are making your music? JJ Yeah SM Even if somebody did not recognize that you were talking about God all the time, they would see there is something different about your music, because it is so quality; good stuff, and people just eat it up. Tell me about the SXSW freestyle contest. How did you get involved with that?
JJ Well, its funny because dream SODA is kinda like the Homeless Heroes mixtape, but I am doing a mixtape with cartoon themes with my friend, his name is O’brien; OB, is his producer name. Me and my friend SET, we do videos on Youtube, and it is going pretty good right now. So, I just want to put that mixtape out for people that love 80’s cartoons, that just want to hear something funny. I am not always serious all the time. I have a side to me that’s fun, that’s like a kid, and I like cartoons and stuff, too. I just wanted to put that out there. SM Tell me about the Rob Dyrdek. We heard you met him as you did a video for him. JJ Rob is a skateboarder based out of California. He is famous, and he is also known for shows like Rob Dyrdek’s Fantasy Factory, Rob & Big and Ridiculousness on MTV. He is really close with DC. He has a skateboard company, alien street wear or something like that. We did a video for him, we actually sent it to him, and he actually saw it. He sent us a message through twitter and said, “You know what, I saw the video, and whenever you guys are ready, come and see me.” And we were like, WHAT? So, we flew down to California, and we got to met him and give him the painting that we did for him. It was cool. He gave us some advice. It was unbelievable getting in front of this guy, you know? He follows us on Twitter. Its pretty cool. SM I saw one of his shows before. He put the Monster Energy drink logo on his entire back. Man, I was like, WHOO! He is hard core. I see that you received an Everyday Hero Award a while ago. Why did you get that award?
JJ My man, Scott Free, hit me up from Atlanta. Then Tre9 and Sketch the Journalist from DaSouth, contacted me and they were like, “Yo man, we have a freestyle competition, and we really want you to come out.” You can audition, but they came to me, and said, “We want you to do this!” I was like, wow. So, I didn’t really have the funds at the time, so they were like, “We are going to try to get you out here anyway.” So, I scraped up whatever money I had, and went down there, and that was that. It was cool. It was fun. It was difficult because everybody down there would see my videos on the internet, and people were like, “Naw, he writing that.” They were saying like, “He didn’t just freestyle that.” And then to actually get there, and be able to compete, it was crazy because in my last round when I went, everybody was like, “Oh my gosh!” It was like they were watching a magic show or something. They were so shocked to see that I could actually rap without writing it down. And from there, they gave me the win.
JJ We submitted some videos to Bay News 9 on what we do, and they actually hit us back. So, they set up a date to come film, we told them what we do. They liked what we do; painting and rapping. They thought it was cool. They also thought it was cool because we give to autism as well. That’s why the Everyday Hero came up. Not only are these guys out here doing what they love to do, there is a cause behind it as well. We were trying to be adamant about giving to something. And they came out and filmed us. The next we know, we were on the news all day. It was great.
SM What was going on out there? What was SXSW about?
JJ You know, a lot of it is by mistake. It’s just me telling my story, and just me being who I am. That’s the key. I always tell people, “Be who you are, and people who are just like you will recognize that, and they will identify with that, and you will draw those people, instead of trying to be something else.” I just try to stay consistent in being who I am. That is my goal. I put it out, and if people like it, they like it, and if they don’t, its cool. But I just try to get better at what I do. I think what people are seeing now is what I’ve been practicing since I was 6 years old. I will continue to do what I do; that’s all it is. I am doing the same thing i was doing 7, 8, 10 years ago. Everybody has their time. Patience is something helps me stay a better person.
JJ Dasouth was having something like a conference tied in with it, like we have Flavor Fest here. They would have workshops. I went to one of the workshops. It was really good. They were teaching artists about outreach, about your CD, and how to present yourself. It was not only that, but there were workshops about artist development, as far as in your ministry. They had people and artists on panels, like Trip Lee, and people of that nature. SM How many contestants were there in the Freestyle competition? And did you know any of them? JJ Yeah, There were 8 contestants. I knew my man, Enlightenment. I heard of Ruslan from the Breax, he was in it. That was all the people I knew. Sean Johnson was in it, a cat named Chauncey. I can’t remember everybody. There was talented cats! SM I heard you talking about a new mixtape. I take it you were talking about the new one, Dream SODA, that you just put out. How do you feel about it? I know you had a synopsis in there about how you have it set up and everything. How do you feel about how it turned out? JJ It was a great success. When I first put it out, I just wanted 50 downloads, and I ended up getting 1,000 downloads in like 3 days. I was like WHOA. I had artists that I respect saying, “Man I listened to it, and it was dope. I liked it. It was good.” There were secular people, too. They were like, “Yo, I really S.O.U.L | Pg30
SM I am seeing the love of what you do come out in the work that you do. You seem so comfortable in it. What makes you so comfortable in doing such excellence. Do you write rhymes and just throw them away? Do you write a whole page and be like, “No, this is not right”, and then just throw it away, or just trash a beat because it’s not perfect?
SM That sounds like something that I heard Bruce Lee talk about. He said, “Be like water. You gotta flow.” Be water, my friend! That is what I am seeing when I hear your stuff, or see you perform; it comes out so natural. You are just being yourself. Let it flow! Download Jerrell Johnson’s new DREAM SODA Mixtape for free on bandcamp.com
INTERVIEWED BY MARZ S.O.U.L | Pg31
CROSSOVER’S TEEN SERVICE
Every Thursday night, Crossover holds its HipHop teen service for junior and senior high school students. At 7:30pm, the doors open and teens pile into Kidz Vibe. The ushers are welcoming them at the doors, giving the teens high fives and saying their what’s ups. The 2 minute countdown hits the screens and the anticipation builds. The clock gets down to the final 10 seconds and as soon as it finishes the teens go wild as they rush to the front of the stage.Teen Remix kicks off the service with worship. DJ Lopez or DJ Pez are on the one’s and two’s, teens singing, and emcees all come together to lead us into worship with the Creator. They sing soulful songs, as the words are displayed on the big screen. The most beautiful part of this worship experience is seeing teenagers building an authentic connection with God.
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After worship, the teens hear a relevant message using dramas, hip-hop artists, music videos, video clips, and real life testimonies to help illustrate the truth of Christ.
DJ Lopez and The Movement’s creative team use as many people as possible to be involved in each service and feel ownership. Some weeks we have an interactive S.O.U.L.Session (Speaking on urban life) with a talk show format. We regularly break up into smaller groups where teens can build with the leaders, ask questions and get prayed for. Teens are given a chance to build a relationship with Christ or take the next step in their walk with God.
The service ends before 9pm, teens have the opportunity to hang out on campus until 10 pm. The lobby becomes the center of action as you will find teens dancing on the dance floor showing off their latest moves, teens building with each other while emcees circle up to spit their rhymes for Christ. The Crossover Gym is full of healthy competitive action as teens and adult leaders play dodge ball. Many teens request prayer after services and have a time to
Why the name... The Movement? In our culture, teens are being affected by the wrong kind of movements: Peer Pressure, Drugs, Sexual promiscuity, Violence, Gangs, etc. We know there is a need for a real movement, one that points them to a relationship with Christ. No, It doesn’t Stop there! Once they Got it, they move it as they stay on their grind living unashamed and boldly proclaiming Christ. It’s contagious... our teens are pushing others around them to get with the movement! It’s growing! Let’s GO! •••
talk with leaders. At the end of the night, teens are able to go home with a sense of purpose. They are empowered to go out into their
www.crossoverchurch.org/teens
homes, schools and the streets making noise for CHRIST.
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ur Hip-Hop Shop was established back in 1999 as we had so many people asking where they could get Christian Hip-Hop. Back then it was really difficult to find it at any stores and digital downloading didn’t exist yet. We started our shop with about 8 different releases. We even had a few cassette tapes - lol! We continued to keep reinvesting and adding more and more artists as several of them came to perform at the church. Soon we added more counter space and eventually we maxed out the small lobby we had at the old campus.
Moving into our new space has been amazing for our shop as we’ve been able to expand it like we only dreamed before.
Today we have over 100 CD releases... plus: Bibles, Books, DVDs, Magazines and within the past year we added Christian clothing. We now carry several clothing lines for Men and Women along with hats and gel wrist bands. If you are looking for positive music that will uplift you - we got it. We carry the latest Christian Hip-Hop and
R&B. We even have a few Reggae and Reggaeton CD’s! If you are looking for a good book or study Bible - it’s here! If you are looking for some fresh gear that you can represent Christ in... we got you!
You can feel great about purchasing from our Hip-Hop Shop and vending machines as all of the proceeds go directly back into God’s work! We use the funds to print more magazines, CDs, and devotional books that our church gives away for FREE! We give away thousands each year... as you are holding one of the magazines in your hand! So support and help us plant more seeds for Christ in our community.
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Crossover has always been very missional focused, but since we’ve moved to our new campus it has given us the ability to take outreach to a whole new level. The location has been incredible. Although we are located on a main commercial street that has close to 60,000 cars pass each day, we are right in the middle of a very needy community with the highest population density in Hillsborough County. This community is referred to as “Suitcase City” due to it’s transient nature with high eviction rates, homelessness and poverty. Our goal is to empower people in our community and help them put down roots.
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Meeting their spiritual needs and helping them grow in Christ is our main objective, but we also want to assist them with their physical needs. As we look throughout the New Testament we see the church serving and assisting the needs of people in their community. This is part of living out the gospel. This also shows that we care about them and it builds relationships and trust. We came to this community to build it up and give back. Through Christ we see the potential in our community.
Crossover holds four major outreach events at our campus each year (1 per quarter). In the spring we host our annual “Roots Fest”, in the summer our “Back 2 School Jam”, in the fall our “Flavor Fest Block Party” and our “Christmas Jam” in the winter. Everything is free at each one of these events that are held in our parking lot and inside of our building. We partner with Feeding America to donate thousands of pounds of groceries at each event (we buy this food for pennies on the dollar). GFS has donated thousands of hot dogs and bottled waters. We partner with over a dozen different organizations that have resource tables (see some of the sponsors below). We have a kidz zone outside with bouncy houses, face painting, a rock climbing wall, petting zoo and obstacle course. A sports zone is set up with a 3 on 3 basketball tournament and a live Hip-Hop Concert is rocking from a stage outside the front of our building. Most of our outreaches have health screening (HIV, Blood Pressure, etc.) and dental care in separate RV’s. In the lobby we have several of our barbers and stylists giving free haircuts. There are mountains of donated clothes and shoes given away. We also have a prayer area with counselors, bibles and devotional books. In 2012 we gave away 1,000 backpacks with school supplies at our Back 2 School Jam and ministered to thousands as we hosted several miniservices in our auditorium with special music and prayer right before the back pack distribution. Hundreds of our members volunteer thousands of hours each year to make these outreach events a huge success as we serve over a thousand people at each event. If you’d like to serve at the next one - sign up at a Sunday service. If you’d like to donate or partner with us for the next one email lily@crossoverchurch.org
Our church is also regularly doing projects and meeting needs in our neighborhood through our Roots Groups. We have partnered with the University Community Development Corporation, The Family Resource Center, Positive Spin and several other organizations to serve people in our zip code of 33612.
Pastor Tommy makes it a point to meet as many guests as he can at every outreach event.
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COVER STORY
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ver the past 10 years there has always been people regularly starting a relationship with Christ and getting baptized at Crossover. I remember when we first got our portable baptismal tank around the time I first became the pastor. We wanted to be able to baptize people at our services and have the congregation witness what it looked like to publicly proclaim their relationship with Christ. Our very first baptism included Lily Perlaza who is now on staff at Crossover. There are lots of incredible memories that each baptism service had over the years. Baptism is such an important thing to our church because it is something we see the New Testament church regularly doing. Although our church is different and innovative, we strive to be about the things that the New Testament church was about! There is a big difference between what is tradition and what is biblical. If it’s biblical, we’re going to do it! It may look a little different (we aren’t baptizing people in the Jordan River), but we’re going to get creative and make it happen. Baptism is an important moment in the Christian’s life. To be clear - baptism is not the thing that saves you and it is not the key to your salvation. But, it is something we see believers in the New Testament doing and even Jesus did it. As we look throughout the book of Acts we see people that said they believed the message of God (The gospel) and then were baptized. Biblically it is seen as your public confession that you are following Christ. We can easily get that mixed up here in America where many times people will raise a hand in a church service or they will come down front and get prayed over and we can think that is our public display. There is nothing wrong with doing those things as they are “a” public display. We often pray with people in services at our church to start a relationship with Christ as we see what Romans 10:9-10 says. But, as we look in scripture we see baptism is the biblical public declaration of someone’s faith in Christ. People’s theology on baptism is often mixed up. It honestly can be frustrating as a pastor as I have this same conversation with lots different people regularly. Many times they will say, “I’m not ready to get baptized yet as I have to work on some issues in my life first.” Then I will ask, “Do you have a relationship with Christ?” They reply, “Yes, but I’m working on some things...” Please hear me... Baptism is not about your works and what you are doing to clear up issues in your life. Baptism is simply about declaring that you have started a relationship with Christ and you are following him. Again and again in the scripture we see the exact day people believed they were baptized! Acts 2:41 says, “Those who BELIEVED what Peter said were BAPTIZED and added to the church that day - about 3,000 in all.” I emphasized those two words Believed AND Baptized. It happened that same day. They didn’t have to get everything right in their life, they didn’t have to go to a 10 week class, they simply believed and got baptized. Many times Christians can make things more complicated or we create too many hoops for people to jump through. Discipleship is absolutely necessary, but according to the Bible it comes after people “believe” and get “baptized”. If they understand the gospel and start that relationship with Christ then it’s time to publicly celebrate that through water baptism! Several years back we had a brother come to service who had just got out of jail a few hours before, but he was authentically now following Christ. He briefly shared part of his story and we baptized him that Sunday with not a dry eye in the building. He went on to get discipled and get his life clean.
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Romans chapter 6 gives us a clear picture of what baptism in water really means. It basically says that when we go under the water it represents us dying like Christ died, but when we come up out of the water we are being raised into our new life in Christ as he was resurrected. Verse 5 says, “Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.” It symbolizes our new life in Christ. So if you are reading this and you have a relationship with Christ and you haven’t been baptized then I encourage you do it the very next chance you get. It’s a beautiful celebratory moment to share with your church fam, family and friends. As Crossover Church began to grow we started having baptisms more frequently and the number of people getting baptized increased. In 2010 we sold our former campus and temporarily started meeting at a hotel. This hotel had a big pool in the lobby and you know what we were already thinking! We asked the hotel if we could baptize some
people during our 3 services on Sunday and at first they really didn’t know what to say. They were like, “Well, as long as there is nobody else in the pool.” We said, no problem, we’ll only be using one end of it. We sent some ushers out there to talk to the few people swimming and let them know we were going to baptize a few people and it would just take a few minutes. Next thing you know we basically took over the entire pool area as everyone from the service came across the lobby and gathered around the entire pool. The people swimming all got out and became part of the crowd of a few hundred people. April 25th of 2010 was a big day for our church as we took over this hotel lobby pool and baptized 33 people. We were amped! It was the most people we ever baptized in a single day. The entire hotel was going crazy cheering with us! Everyone was so caught up in the moment we didn’t even realize how much water got tracked through the lobby and bathrooms. That week the we found out the hotel management was upset and threatened to kick us out if it happened again. We apologized and they honestly needed our rent money, so it was all good. Our church did a couple of more baptisms there and made sure we dried the floors and bathrooms. In the fall of 2010 we officially moved into our new facility and our church continued to grow with even more people coming to Christ. We did several baptisms in the church, but the amount of people coming to Christ was not consistent with how many we were actually baptizing. I felt inside we needed to do something differently, but I didn’t really know what that was. In August of 2011 I saw a video from another church that did a big water baptism event and it really rocked me. I showed it to our staff and all of us were like wow... what if? We began praying and dreaming and set the date to do a big baptism event at our one year celebration of being in our building. I stepped out on faith and declared in staff that day that we were going to pray and believe to baptize 100 people that day. Everyone kind of had that look like, “Here’s pastor Tommy dreaming big again” - lol. We all hoped for it, but when you’ve never seen God move exactly like that you wonder what will really happen. Over the next few months we kept praying and October rolled around and we began signing people up and I told our church that we were going to baptize 100 people that day. People cheered, but I’m sure many doubted it would be that many. Our one year celebration came quickly and honestly it was a stressful week. On the outside things seemed to be going well at the church, but behind the scenes there were lots of stressful factors. Many people were going through a crisis and we were trying to be there for them. The church was doing better financially, but still catching up on a lot of bills from a tough summer with low giving. Things were so tight that week that we were not able to run payroll for our staff of 7 people. That was actually the 2nd week my wife (who also works at the church) and myself were not able to get paid and we had depleted our savings to get by. Here we were leading this large church that everyone looks up and
we’re barely struggling to get by. It was a very pivotal testing moment of our faith. It was a tough moment for me as a leader. I could have easily had a pity party. Even though I lost some sleep, I pushed though and trusted God. Sunday November 6th, 2011 God showed up and rocked us like never before. It was a moment in ministry like I had never experienced before. As a national artist and speaker I’ve been involved in some very large events, but nothing compared to what took place that day. As I shared it was a rough week leading up to the day and that morning I got the report that only 35 people had signed up to get baptized. My heart sank. I knew from experience that everyone that signs up doesn’t always show up. I was going to challenge people to step up and get baptized even if they hadn’t planned to, but I really didn’t know what to expect as this was all new to us. The services that day were powerful. When we first moved into the building a year before we didn’t have carpet on the floor at first. During one of the services we gave people markers and had them write the names of people on the floor that they were praying would come to Christ and come to our church. Carpet was laid on the floor right before our grand opening. So as we celebrated one year in the facility we had several people get up and stand in spot where they had written those names under the carpet and share the supernatural miracle. Tammy Kelly stood up and shared how she invited her former husband and his new wife to Easter Sunday. They came, accepted Christ and became members at the church. She pointed over to them as they were sitting together. People were shocked and many got emotional.
Then Noelia Ramos stood up and shared how she wrote Eli’s name on the floor as he was in prison at the time. He got out, started coming to the church, built a relationship with Christ, got mentored by several men in the church and he was getting baptized that day! (There is more to that story I’ll come back to it in a minute - read on - it gets better!) Worship was amazing, we also had my man Benjah and his band here doing some special music as well. At the end of the first service as the message was wrapping up I gave out the challenge for people to step up and get baptized. There was no excuses if they didn’t come ready as we had special T-Shirts made up, towels and flip-flops. Everyone stood up and I invited the people to step out of their seats and come down to the front and then walk out the side door to get ready as the crowd would cheer them on. I counted to 3 and people started streaming out of their seats into the isles. They kept coming and coming and the crowd was cheering and going crazy to see what God was doing. We then moved everyone from the auditorium to outside to the very front of the parking lot right next to Fowler Ave. We had two portable baptism tanks set up along with bleachers and a stage. Cars driving by were stopping to see what was going on as they saw a huge mob of people gathering around these tanks. So many people were getting baptized that we were running out of water in the tanks as it was getting all splashed out. We had to get several guys to run back to the church and still filling up buckets to add more water. What a great problem! That day 113 people got baptized. It was a book of Acts moment. Truly supernatural. Everyone was blown away and was talking about it for months. The very last person to get baptized was Eli (the guy that Noelia had wrote his name on the floor). After he got out of the tank he got down on one knee and asked Noelia to marry him. She said yes! What a way to end off the baptisms! I had the honor to marry them in January and they are doing great serving in our church’s youth ministry. God rocked us that day! More than 100 people were baptized, people came to Christ, people were encouraged and challenged and God provided all the finances for the church to get caught up on everything. A few days later I left to go speak at a conference in Australia and I was celebrating the whole 17 hours there! S.O.U.L | Pg42
Over the next few months we again began to dream and say when are we going to do that again? Easter of 2011 we had close to 200 people respond to start a relationship with Christ, so we planned on having our next big water baptism the Sunday after Easter in the spring of 2012. We started sign ups and got all the T-Shirts ordered. We were ready for God to show up in a major way again. The weeks leading up to Easter were packed with preparation as we had our big Roots Fest outreach the week before Easter and then we were gearing up for the biggest services in the history of our church. Easter Sunday was another one of those God moments. Our worship and arts and creative teams put together an incredibly engaging service that clearly shared the gospel. The worship was bangin! We kicked off a new series called “Supernatural” on the book of Acts. I started the message from the inside of a casket as the message was entitled “Dead Man Walking”. When they put the casket down on the stage they walked away and I then popped out and the crowd was shocked. I shared some of my story how I was a dead man walking in my sins. John Harris shared some of his story and Melissa Pagan did a solo as Mary Magdalene. I then shared about Jesus’s life, crucifixion and resurrection. There was a moving dramatic closing piece with the crosses and the two thieves. We then gave an opportunity for people to respond to the gospel and over 300 prayed. We know it was that amount as we gave out 3 cases of my new book “Next steps on your spiritual journey” and 100 books were in each box. We were blown away and praying hard that many of them would come back the next Sunday to publicly proclaim their new faith through water baptism. Sunday April 15th was another one of those book of Acts days. There are usually a lot of people at most churches on Easter, but the week after is usually emptier than before Easter. Not at Crossover Church that day. Over a thousand people were at church and our second service was actually just a full as Easter. We had my good friend Rawsrvnt and his band lead us in worship and I preached on Acts chapter 2 where the holy spirit empowered the believers to go out and preach the gospel in the streets in other languages and that day 3,000 people believed and were baptized. We ended the service with a worship song where 3 different people came out and gave their testimonies via video as they held up a sign that said I was baptized at Crossover. Jay Nobles shared how he got baptized and stepped down from professional wrestling in the WWE as God was moving him away from that lifestyle. Penny stepped up and shared how she had been caught up in her addictions and felt unworthy, but she got baptized and God has changed her. One of our teenagers 12 year old Mason shared how his friend Josh invited him to Crossover and he gave his life to Christ. As we continued in worship I came back to the stage and gave the challenge for people to step out of their seats to get baptized. Again the people came flooding out into the isles and down front as we gave them high fives and cheered them on. In each service, just as we thought we were done, there was then more people that came down front. It just kept going! The crowd moved outside to the front of the parking lot and a few minutes later a huge line of men, women, teens and older children came out in their blue T-Shirts as we cheered them on into the tanks. The second service was especially emotional for me as my 9 year old daughter Deyana got baptized. As parents, there was never a prouder moment for my wife and I to see our daughter taking this step. I was all messed up. That day 146 people publicly proclaimed their faith in Christ. In just over 5 months we saw 259 people get baptized! What an amazing season at our church. We are in awe of this move of God. Pray for these people as discipleship is now what is next for them. Many of them have attended our “Next” class and many are getting plugged into Connection Classes and Roots Groups. We are excited about more supernatural moments like this coming in the future. You may be part of the next one! We know it’s only going to continue to grow as God leads us to REBUILD THE CITY! •••
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o some people, transformation is simply defined as a shift from one form to another. To believers, it can be a spiritual and miraculous event. Christian rapper and Tampa Bay Storm’s Defensive Lineman, Richard Myron Jones a.k.a. Big Rich, experienced the greatest transformation of all. His change inspired his new album, “The Transformation”, released on June 10th through J. FAM Music. Big Rich was born on March 20, 1987 in Texas. Like so many children today, Big Rich grew up in a broken home. His father was absent, while his mother was in and out of jail. He was raised by his grandparents, with a grandfather who had the reputation of being a drug dealer. Needless to say, he grew up watching the effects of what violence and drugs could do to a family and a community. Not knowing any other lifestyle, but sensing life should not be like this, he was told he would never get out of the hood and would not amount to much. It was Big Rich’s passion to prove them wrong.
He came back to the U.S. and was signed in February 2012 to play for the Tampa Bay Storm in the arena football league.
Big Rich attended La Marque High School near Houston, Texas. His school grades were suffering, and he constantly got into trouble. This is also around the time he met, friend and now CEO of J. FAM Music, J. Long. Big Rich had no direction, no passion, until football. In his freshman year of high school, he tried out for the football team. He now had a new focus. Knowing his only options were “hustle or play ball”, he put all his efforts into football. Not only did he have to push himself to play hard, but his grades also had to be good enough in order to play. Knowing his family could not assist him with getting into college, he had to put everything into football and trying to obtain a scholarship. After receiving several acknowledgments in his senior year; including Greater Houston’s Defensive Player of the Year, he was awarded a scholarship to attend Texas Tech University. He would be the first in his family to graduate high school and attend college. Through college life at Texas Tech University, Big Rich continued playing football and enjoying the craziness of the party college scene. He tried to establish his music career by recording with high school friend, J. Long, but plans fell through and the timing was just not right. It was during this time that some teammates starting bringing him to bible study classes. At the time, Big Rich admits, he was going just for the free food. Football, getting into trouble, partying, smoking, and drinking filled his days. He was distraught to lose his starting spot on the football team after hurting his shoulder. The trouble worsened while at a college party with some of his boys. The drinks were flowing and emotions were high as Big Rich and another guy at the party started freestyling and battling. He was clearly getting under the other guy’s skin, because his opponent and his boys started pushing Big Rich and, of course, Big Rich’s boys had to retaliate. A fight erupted. Big Rich and one of his close friends headed for the car to grab a gun. Once they reached the car, they were fighting over who would get to shoot. Both men fought to gain control of the gun. During the struggle, he noticed some bullets falling out. Big Rich managed to obtain the gun and turned immediately towards his rival. The gun was aimed at the man’s head, and Big Rich pulled the trigger. The gun did not fire, and both men’s lives were spared. Two weeks later, more trouble headed Big Rich’s way. He and his friends jumped a guy and Big Rich went for the gun again. The guy ran and they knew the police would be called. Big Rich jumped in his car, pulling an illegal u-turn, and caught the attention of a police officer. The police car’s lights flew on as Big Rich struggled to hide his gun under the driver seat, but it would not fit due to the seat being broken. He was unable to hide the gun by the time the female officer reached the driver side door. Big Rich just dropped the gun at the side
of the seat. Not knowing the officer would search his car, when the officer asked if he had any weapons he said no. She decided to search. Big Rich was secured in the backseat of the police car. And so “the transformation” began. While seating in the back of the car, Big Rich remembered bible study class and the power prayer can hold, and started his plea to God. He looked to the sky and prayed for God to get him out of this one. Big Rich prayed so hard and promised to devote his life to Christ. As he turned his eyes back to the cop searching his vehicle, she closed the trunk and walked back to the police car. She opened the door and let Big Rich go; she did not find the gun. A new man emerged from the car. Big Rich was faithful to his prayer and promise to God. He would live his life differently and live it for Christ. Looking back, Big Rich realized God was always present and calling to him, but time and time again he ignored it. Big Rich was ready to listen now. He started reading and studying the Bible. Shortly after, he obtained his starting position back on the football team. Through college he needed the extra help to keep his grades up. He was tutored by a young woman by the name of Lori, who helped him raise his grades. Little did he know, this wonderful woman would later become his wife. Big Rich’s hard work paid off when he was signed to play in the Canadian Football League in 2010. He came back to the U.S. and was signed in February 2012 to play for the Tampa Bay Storm in the arena football league. Though this brought Big Rich closer to home, he is still away from his loving wife. Through God’s grace and their loving commitment, their marriage is strong enough to withstand the distance. She comes to visit and they continue to Skype, call, and text each other whenever they can. His prayers for a Godly woman were answered. Big Rich is enjoying Florida, and his new team. He also ministers to his teammates to aid them in walking with God. His teammates ask him to pray before the games and he chooses inspiring scriptures like Isaiah 41:10, “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.” Big Rich continues to play hard and concentrate on his music and football career. He would like to play for the NFL, carry on his music, and even start his own ministry one day. He is taking his second chance to help the youth understand the importance of having God in their hearts and that there is always a better path to go down. Big Rich and J. Long’s paths crossed again, and the timing could not have been more perfect. Both men had a relationship with Christ and living according to God’s word. It was time for “The Transformation” to be told. He hopes through his music he can reach people and share his testimony and God’s word. Big Rich’s first album, “The Transformation” is now available. With testimonials and inspirational singles like “Home” and “Jesus I Need You” featuring J. Long, this album is sure to have an impact on the Christian music scene.
Read more about Big Rich and J. FAM Music @ bigrichonline.com Follow him on Twitter @bigrichjfam.
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BY DJ MISSIONAL In Exodus 15:20 Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, responds to God’s deliverance by breaking out into a dance of joy! In fact dancing shows up several times in scripture as a form of praise and worship. Nikita Carter has been at Crossover dancing in adoration to our God since 2009. Nikita came to the U.S. as an International Student from the Netherlands to the University of South Florida where she studied psychology and dance. She recommitted her life to Christ at Crossover and was Baptized on Mother’s Day 2009. As a young girl growing up in the Netherlands Nikita knew she loved to dance. Now God put it on her heart and opened the door for her to start her own dance ministry. This past summer Nikita had a unique opportunity to minister and partner with Thru GuiDANCE ministries in Rwanda, Africa. The mission of Thru GuiDANCE is to “eradicate poverty using Scholarship and Visual & Performing Arts as vehicles of reconciliation with God, community, and self.” As Nikita finished her studies at USF God revealed to her His desire to use her in new ways. She asked the Lord for direction and to show her how to serve Him more. It was soon after that the Lord revealed the great work of Thru GuiDANCE ministries to her. This organization was a perfect fit for her in her love for dance. She began to pray and soon connected with the organization. They quickly responded with a “Yes! Please join us in Rwanda this summer!” Thru GuiDANCE is a fresh form of participation in God’s mission using dance for healing and worship. Most of the youth and young adults Nikita served became orphans as a result of the genocide in Rwanda. Research from The American Dance Therapy Association has shown dance to be therapeutic and this becomes even more evident when considering that this dance will be expressions of praise and worship. Nikita’s training in psychology and dance came together in this trip as she was part of the healing and reconciliation through dance worship to Christ. This was awesome opportunity for healing in the type of post-traumatic stress that the people of Rwanda have faced. Through praise dance these youth and young adults encountered the healer and the councilor and Nikita was right in the mix of it. I love to see how God weaves together our talents and experiences for his glory! ••• S.O.U.L | Pg46
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“Twelve Two Productions is something that God placed on my heart,” Garcia said. The name Twelve Two Productions came to A.M. during his daily devotional time with the Lord. “I was just reading the word, and I came to Romans 12:2, and it was powerful, it spoke to me, that’s when it hit me, that’s it,” Garcia said. Now four years later with the help of his best friend Judah Cabrera, A.M. has produced and released several albums including Epic and The Mechanic, two of Twelve Two Production’s latest albums. “We believe in the transformation power of the gospel,” Cabrera said. “We believe that music is the most powerful influence in the world.” A.M., grew up in the church, but it wasn’t until he was on his honey moon with his wife, that God spoke to him about going into the ministry. “I wanted to do something with my life,” Garcia said. “I decided to enlist into the Air Force.”
story of God?” Garcia said. “God on a throne coming down…God can do anything.” Pastor Tommy ‘Urban D.’ Kyllonen, who met A.M. last year at Reach Record’s Man Up Concert, said that A.M. has a fresh new sound as he both sings and raps, and has solid content in his lyrics. Not only does A.M. create music for his ministry, but he also does the graphic and website designs for his company. “We use all of our own stuff,” Garcia said. In the future A.M. hopes to widen his ministry to the movie industry, where he wants to create Christian based movies that deal with relative issues that Christians face everyday. “We need to present Christ in the way that people can receive it,” Garcia said. •••
Cabrera, who joined Twelve Two Productions to support A.M.’s vision of ministry, believes that A.M. is a man that has completely surrendered his life to Christ. “I believe in the vision that A.M. has for the ministry,” Cabrera said. “I’ve always seen him as a visionary.” Preaching the gospel is what A.M. does with his music and ministry, his lyrics are inspired by God. In his new album Epic, A.M. tells the story of redemption through creation, God, and Revelation. “What is more Epic then the
You can check out A.M.’s latest project “Epic” at www.twelvetwoproductions.com. The project features Urban D., Goldin Child, Judah and it’s available for FREE download – so go and get it!
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Prayer is simply a conversation with our creator. It is a time we should give thanks, praise, reflection and intercede for others needs and also bring our own needs to God. In our fast paced world of busyness and shallow relationships this has leaked over into many people’s spiritual lives as well. We don’t know how to pause and be still. Many of us don’t know how to spend some time talking and listening with the one who made us. We must change this and press in! It is vital that a church and a ministry have a prayer covering. This is especially true for one like Crossover that is on the front-lines in the urban community. We are an oasis in a very rough neighborhood. Just a few hundred feet from our facility there are people sleeping in the woods, there are drug deals and prostitution among many other things going on. We are in the middle of the enemy’s territory and he’s not happy that lives are being changed by Christ at our church. The Bible says in Ephesians 6, “For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.” This is a battle we are in and we are in a spiritual war zone, so we must be prayed up. Our church had a prayer patio area at our former campus on the frontside of our old building. In our new facility we have a Prayer Room that is connected to our main auditorium to the right side of the stage. This room is open on Sundays before, after and during all 3 services. There is a team of prayer councilors in there praying over the service, the connection cards and prayer cards from the week before. They are available to pray with people at any time during or after the services. We also have free Bibles and free devotional books written by our pastor “Next steps on your spiritual journey”. If you come to Crossover we encourage you to stop by the prayer room and spend some time talking with God! S.O.U.L | Pg50
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R
eminiscent of the Roman Empire and
Yes, it is the father in me that is jumping
its gladiators, the societal status of the
up and down yelling my lungs out for this child;
American athlete continues to rise far
unashamed about who sees me and careless as to
beyond admiration or mere heroism
what others may think of my behavior. You see, this
and is quickly approaching the point of cultish
is my son that is running and he is more than the
worship. Because of our addiction to our games and
six-year-old boy that lives in my house; he is the
the rush we receive from winning, it has become
image of me, a flesh and blood manifestation of the
increasingly more difficult for even our more
unity I have formed with his mother. He is, in fact,
dispassionate members to resist the tide of athletic
my crowning achievement, my masterpiece.
fanaticism that has engulfed our culture.
So no matter what is at stake or what will or
It is precisely because of our country’s
will not happen after the game, it is all too pointedly
corporate obsession with sports that I make an
irrelevant at this moment. All I can see is my little
attempt at self-deception and convince myself that
boy running as hard as he can, giving it all he’s got
I have become immune to this cultural indulgence.
to make it home; safe. And then, as if on cue, the
At some point, I even begin to pride myself on the
Spirit taps me on the shoulder and opens my real
grandiose displays of impassivity I can exhibit at
eyes. I begin to see how even in the midst of my
the sporting events I attend. But all this changes the
enthrallment with our cultural passion, God is still
moment he steps up to the plate and smashes one
able to manifest His Word into my life. The truth
deep into left field.
of 1st Corinthians 9:24 becomes illuminated in my mind and heart as it slowly dawns on me – This is
As he rounds the corner and sprints for
what it is like for You isn’t it Father? In this moment
home I find myself jumping up and down on the
another piece of who You are has been revealed
bleachers cheering (no, it is more like screaming)
to me hasn’t it? Lord, You have given me this son
for him to give it all he has, hold nothing back, and
and this moment so that I might begin to see and
finish strong. The matured adult part of me attempts
understand my own life from Your perspective. This
to remind myself that this is just a T-Ball game; there
is what it means to run in such a way as to obtain the
will be no trophies, rings, or shoe endorsement deals
prize. This is the joy you feel as you see your child
offered at the end of this one. No highlight films or
round the corner and head for home. This is what
Tonight Show appearances, not even an after-the-
it means to love and be loved as a child of the Most
game on-the-spot interview. The rational, logical
High God. •••
part of my brain attempts to stand up, perhaps even shame myself for getting lost in the emotions of the moment; but the father in me slaps that part of my brain down and swells even larger, compelling me to shout my encouragements all the louder. S.O.U.L | Pg55
elevantly affecting our communities,
our
families,
“worship experience” is one
our churches and our times.
of our ultimate desires for the
God is a god of change and
congregation. Worshipping God
consistency, of
creativity and
has nothing to do with how good
simplicity. Using His word as our
we sound, but it has everything
foundation for all things, we can
to do with the truthfulness of our
see that He rarely did anything
hearts & spirits as we worship.
the same way twice when
John 4:24 tells us, “God is a
changing an entire culture. For
spirit, and His worshipers must
this reason even though we are
worship in spirit and truth”.
orthodox in our view of scripture,
When we do this, we cannot help
our practical application to how
but be changed into His image.
we worship God is not traditional compared to most churches today.
We believe in using
any means necessary to reach others for Christ while staying true to God’s principles.
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ncountering God in the
inisters…
Gen X, Y, Z…
ncorporating as many art
we believe that we are called
forms as possible during our
we want to reach all generations
to be ministers of the gospel
times of worship is part of our
for Christ. There was a minute
of Jesus Christ.
philosophy.
We believe that
when our focus was on the Gen
the bible as God’s word to us,
God is the redeemer not only of
“X”, but as time continues to
fully inspired and authoritative.
man, but of all art forms (singing,
move forward so is our mission,
Our medium for
spreading
dancing, rapping, DJ’ing, poetry,
”To relevantly introduce the truth
His word and strengthening
etc). It’s important to realize that
of Christ to those influenced by
the body of Christ is through
God speaks to each of us in our
urban / hip-hop culture; as we
the arts, primarily “music”. We
own unique way. Therefore, why
develop worship, purpose, unity,
have a strong R&B and Hip-
limit the method He wants to
and leadership in their lives.”
Hop influence in our music but
use to transform us, love us and
We want to lead our culture
we are not limited to that format.
make us more like Him.
in a Christ-centered, biblical
We accept
We use many genres of music
way.
and art forms as long as the
our lives, but the lives of future
message we are sharing points
generations to come.
Thus changing not only
in one direction… Jesus Christ.
An amazing worshiper, good friend and mentor Pastor Sam Cintron once told me, “We are a culture that hears with our eyes and the Arts is what stirs the culture”. Sam and I are from the same tribe. I strongly believe that the Arts play a key role in the worship experience in our churches today. But what sets our Art forms apart from those in the secular arena? GOD’s WORD embedded in our hearts, souls and minds! When we know who He is, then we will know who we are in Him. It is then and only then that we can BE STRONG, BE BOLD and BE HOLY in our expressions of Arts.
- Delia Harris | Crossover Church Worship Director
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We love those that SERVE at Crossover! There are
may have a special video and then we have a guest
hundreds of people that regularly serve at our ministry.
speaker from outside of Crossover that shares about
We couldn’t do church without them. We couldn’t
leadership and serving. They affirm them and remind
serve our community in so many ways without them.
them what a huge impact they’re having even beyond
Being an urban ministry that has a limited budget,
the people they directly serve as there are many
we heavily rely on people to volunteer their time to
people from around the world that look to Crossover
serve and lead in several areas.
as a model. Pastor Tommy
Doing ministry at a fast pace in a
then shares some leadership
growing church can be draining
principles and shares some
at times. In 2011 we started an
details of where Crossover
event called “Activate”! This is a
is heading in the next few
special evening held a few times
months. The evening usually
a year that is exclusively for
closes in a prayer time
those that serve. We empower
where the staff pray over our
them and they get activated!
volunteers.
The evening starts out in the gym with our staff serving
Activate is an awesome shot of empowerment for
all the volunteers a free dinner.
We eat together
each of our volunteers as they are fed, loved on,
and then we have some fun as we play a few team
appreciated, poured into and reminded “why” we do
building games. The event then moves over to the
what we do. It’s all about changed lives and rebuilding
main auditorium where we give out some awards to
our city! It’s become a highlight for our volunteers and
volunteers who have really recently stood out. We
our staff!
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By: Charlynn Ramirez
tudent loans…life insurance… car payments…mortgages…investments… budgets….baby steps…financial peace is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking upon these things. Thankfully, Dave Ramsey has devised a program that anyone can implement regardless of his or her financial status; this program is best known as Financial Peace University. Financial Peace University (FPU) is a ten week program that helps people dump their debt, get control of their money and learn new behaviors around money that are founded on commitment and accountability (two concepts that cause the average person to run away screaming regardless as to how they are applied). Studies have shown that the average family that completes the course and applies the concepts as described by Ramsey pays off $5,300 in debt and saves $2,700 in the first ninety-one days after beginning FPU and is completely out of debt, except for their mortgage, in eighteen to twenty-four months. It is results such as these that peaked my interest and gave me the needed push to sign up for the program. As the FPU commercials were played week after week in service, my excitement level steadily increased. I began to try to figure out what crazy things we were going to be asked to do during the course….Having John Harris as my instructor simply added another layer of anxiety (you just never know what he’s going to throw at you). Either way, I was gearing up for victory…victory over my finances! I knew that FPU was going to help me get there. It was within the last three weeks of FPU previews/ advertisements that it dawned on me…..I could see myself teaching this course one day in the future. I shared this with a close friend during a casual conversation, and she looked at me like I was crazy. Roughly one week later, with no mention of what she and I had discussed, I was approached by John Harris. The FPU sign-up had gone so well, that he now needed assistant coordinators to help him lead the course. After much thought and prayer, John asked me to be one of his FPU leaders! What an honor, and nothing short of an answered prayer (God really does know the desires of your heart ). A little while after I accepted the challenge, I told John about the strange way everything had simply “fallen into place”….of course I got nothing but a smirk from him. As I went through the program I was in awe at the level of responsibility that God and the Crossover staff has entrusted to me. Families have poured out their hearts
order and your debt is eliminated. No, you do not have to be an FPU coordinator to make an impact in the lives of others… it was just another way that God chose to challenge me and my talents. FPU has opened my eyes to how much of an impact I can be when my time and money are allocated properly. Working through the FPU baby steps has served as a constant reminder of how critical it is to keep God first and foremost in all areas of my life [especially in time and money management]. Financial Peace University is truly one of the best investments I have ever made with my time, my money, and my leadership skills. I am on my way to obtaining Financial Peace… why can’t you? FPU is now regularly offered at Crossover. The next semester will be promoted at church services on Sunday and through the church website.
and shared life changing experiences. I have learned a lot from each individual in my class, both married and single. I have had the honor to work through this uphill financial battle with several of them through prayer, encouragement and most of all a kind ear. Many simply want to be heard and reassured that they are not alone while facing the challenges of life…The challenges of personal finances are no exception. Financial Peace University was created to empower and give hope to everyone from the financially secure to the financially distressed. Once you’ve worked through the steps of the program, you realize how much more you could do to touch the lives of others when your finances are in S.O.U.L | Pg59
The Vine; New Orleans, LA Lead Pastor Corey Hicks Interview by Joshua Mason
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- Who was Corey Hicks before Christ and how did that transformation start? CO-HICKS - The Corey Hicks before Christ is that person that nobody in my family wanted to see again. I started off as a very sharp young man. Even though I grew up in the hood of the Lower 9th Ward, I had a very good support base in my Grandmother, aunts, and uncles. Then my Mother eventually came back into my life. As a single parent she struggled to provide her best for me. Although she was a minister and lived a pure life, I drifted into a life of criminal activity. What started off as a social weekend alcohol and drug thing, eventually turned into a lifestyle of addiction. By me selling the drugs, I always had a large quantity at my disposal. This led to a severe marijuana, cocaine, and heroin addiction and a life full of pain, which eventually led to a cycle of prison and rehab over and over again. I would have either died of an overdose, been murdered, or spent the rest of my life in prison if it weren’t for the consistent prayer and fasting of my mother and a ministry called Jesus Miracle Power. That’s where my relationship with God grew from knowledge of Him to actually knowing Him.
S.O.U.L - You are a loved figure in the Crossover family among youth and
adults. What is your connection to Crossover and Pastor Tommy? CO-HICKS - My connection with Pastor Tommy and the Crossover family started with Brandon “Legacy” Greene. Legacy and I graduated from the same Bible College and eventually were on staff at the college together. He exposed me to Crossover Church. My first visit changed my life. I had been doing urban ministry and Christian Hip Hop for about 4 years and had never encountered a ministry like it before. I then registered to perform at the next Flavor Fest and was accepted into the Artist slot. Consistent travel to Tampa to do ministry opened the door for me to have close-knit relationships with Pastor Tommy and all of the Crossover Staff. Brother Greg, who runs the Hip-Hop shop, is like an uncle to me. I love everyone at Crossover! Pastor Tommy and the church continue to inspire me to advance the Kingdom of God in the urban arena.
to plant urban churches, but my wife said she wasn’t ready. Looking back, I wasn’t quite ready either. So we followed the call to campus ministry where we served for over 4 years. During those years, we saw thousands of students give their lives to the Lord. It was the students that sparked the transition in our ministry. When I looked at the students that were graduating, several that had given their lives to the Lord were in worse condition years later, while others were solid in their faith. The solid ones were the ones that had gotten discipled in the local church. That subtle observation sparked a paradigm shift in me. I began to remember God’s call on my life to plant churches and although I still host and serve at various outreaches, I have a huge passion for discipleship. Jesus mandated for us to go and make disciples… Not just do outreaches. After following the call to plant The Vine, my life has never been so fulfilling. I encourage and challenge people sensing the call to plant churches or take a pastoral position at a church to step out in faith. If you do, you won’t regret it!
S.O.U.L – Tell me about your outreach ministry to teens. CO-HICKS - We do two weekly outreaches to local campuses. One is at a
High School named John McDonough, where the Mayor was quoted saying that it would be more common for a student there to die before a soldier in Afghanistan. We also host another outreach at Dillard University, where there are huge needs as well. We launched an official Youth Night this past summer. God has given us so much favor with the young people in the community. We are seeing young people get saved and delivered from homosexuality, sexual activity, and drug addiction. My favorite story is Devin. We met Devin at an outreach across the street from the church. I asked him if he spit and he said “yeah.” So I told him to spit something. It was filled with curse words and murder, but I was impressed with his skill level. I then asked Justin DocWitnH to spit a 16 for him. I saw him later and approached him about solidifying his relationship with God. He gave his life to Christ that day. Two months later I baptized him, his mother, and 6 of his siblings. It was powerful! We have several youth events lined up where we hope to bring hope and healing to the lost and dying generation in our city. One of the events we have planned is an event called The Bridge. It will consist of worship, a message, and several hip-hop performances.
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S.O.U.L- The transition from witnessing at
an outreach to actually starting a church may seem like a huge leap for people. What was that process like as far as what the Lord was doing in you and how you responded? CO-HICKS – I started off as a Youth Pastor and began to have a passion for pastoral ministry. After taking the Book of Acts and Church Planting classes in college, I began to sense a strong call S.O.U.L | Pg60
- There seems to be a movement of healthy urban church planting in which many of the members say it is the first church they have “felt home” at. I find it interesting considering the urban community has historically never had a shortage of churches. Are you seeing that and if so what are your thoughts?
CO-HICKS - Definitely. I asked several people that have become members
of the church the same question. I asked them, “What do you like the most about the church?” They all said the “Family” feel of our church. They all said that they felt like they were welcomed right into our “Family.” This is huge because many of today’s families are dysfunctional. So when they come into an environment where there is healthy functionality, they finally feel like they found a home where they can grow and enjoy life. We don’t just operate as a “clique” on Sundays. We do life together and I love it! We plan to plant more churches in New Orleans, other cities, and nations abroad. I applaud all of the Church Planters keeping this movement alive.
R-Swift on the mic
S.O.U.L - What are your thoughts on Hip-Hop and the culture in church? What
are some of the boundaries, if any, leaders and members should be mindful of? CO-HICKS - I challenge all churches in the urban context to engage the HipHop Culture. I have preached at my church with a sports coat and a T-Shirt with a fresh snapback on. Our church is not a Hip-Hop Church, but the HipHop Culture heavily influences us. Our worship team does a variety of music from Israel Houghton to Chris Tomlin, where we sometimes sneak in a 16 bar hip-hop verse. Our church loves it! I would encourage churches to allow artists in the church to participate in the worship service or invite local artists to come in and minister to bring this dynamic to their worship experience. I would caution leaders to make sure that it doesn’t become more Hip-Hop influenced than Holy Spirit influenced. It was a year before I actually spit a song for the offering. People probably assume that I rap all the time because I am a National Hip-Hop Artist, but that’s not the case. It’s not about pushing my music as much as it is about pushing the Gospel and giving others an opportunity to be used. I encourage Artist and Emcees that lead in the church to guard their hearts against impure motives and selfish ambition. Other than that, LEGGO! I look forward to Longevity Music Artists and other National Artists spitting at the church. We have already had R-Swift, Zion, and Heath McNeese spit for our 10:30am Worship Service.
S.O.U.L - What is your vision for where you see the Vine in 5 years?
CO-HICKS - Right now we are running about 100 people after starting the
church a year ago with a Core Team of 12 people. We are rapidly increasing in growth, which is causing us to either look for another facility or move to two services. In 5 years, I personally see us launching at least another if not multiple other sites. Right now, we are located in a very urban area in the 7th Ward. There are other areas such as the 3rd, 7th, and 9th Wards that the Lord has put on my heart. I also have a heart to plant in other major cities, including urban areas in foreign lands. We will be taking our third trip to Jamaica this year, but next year, we are planning to expand to Central and South American countries. Those are areas where I would like to plant a church within the next 5 years. Please pray for us as our main goal is to obey and please the Lord. God has allowed me to know that it is not about doing a bunch of stuff. Rather, when I am face to face with Jesus, I want Him to say well done my good and faithful servant. You did exactly what I asked you to do. Whatever that looks like… That’s where I want to be fam!]
In the streets...
for more on The Vine, visti: www.thevinenola.org Community Outreach
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Workshop Speaker: Scott Free S.O.U.L | Pg62
General Session Speaker: Fred Lynch
Workshop Speaker: Flame
T
he vision for Flavor Fest began to unfold in 1999 as our team saw the huge need of people asking for training and resources to better reach those influenced by urban/hiphop culture. Crossover’s ministry experienced an influx of calls, emails and visits of people from around the country. They began hearing about our ministry through Urban D.’s (Pastor Tommy) first national CD release, “The Missin’ Element”. The inside jacket of the CD had some pictures and information about our HipHop Flavored Youth Ministry. We tried to accommodate all the requests, but that alone couldn’t really teach them or answer all their questions. God began to birth the vision for Crossover to host a conference to focus on reaching the urban culture. The first Flavor Fest was launched in November of 2000. Our mission statement is “To train, network and resource leaders to impact urban/hip-hop culture for Christ.” The conference targets pastors, church planters, youth workers, church leaders and artists. Over the years Flavor Fest has become the premiere event for the Christian Hip-Hop Community. Over 15,000 have experienced it live over the years and countless more through TV shows, DVDs and the internet. Several TV networks, newspapers, websites, radio shows and magazines have done exclusive reports about the Fest. The INSP (Inspiration) Network sent a crew to capture footage for their TV shows. Jaq Thomas, who did marketing for INSP was quoted by the Tampa Tribune saying, “Tommy is a true pioneer in every sense of the word. He has set a standard, pushed it out there, and now the world is paying attention. Last year INSP spent $35,000 to film Flavor Fest. We’re willing to spend that kind of money because it is an awesome conference. A lot of people are being changed by this ministry.” INSP also partnered with Crossover to produce two double disc DVD sets (vol. 1 and 2) along with a compilation CD to accompany it. All three of these projects were nationally distributed and sold thousands of copies each. Urban D. also hosted the TV show “Flavor Fest Hip-Hop Series” on INSP and I-Life that ran for several seasons. Crossover Church’s purpose statement is to reach the Tampa Bay community and to also provide training, resources and guidance for other ministries reaching out to those that are influenced by Urban/Hip-Hop Culture. Flavor Fest is a major launching pad for fulfilling the second part of our ministry’s purpose.
We continue to hear incredible reports from ministries who have attended the conference and implemented things they learned at the Fest. The diversity of these places range from New York City to Kentucky to Indian Reservations to Sydney, Australia! It’s been exciting to watch this movement grow from just a handful of churches engaging the urban culture to literally hundreds. Each year the conference has grown in numbers, organization, sponsorship and solid training. The Conference kicks off on Thursday Night with the first general session. Friday and Saturday during the daytime are packed with 20 break out workshops in 5 tracks along with 3 additional general sessions. Saturday afternoon is a huge highlight as everyone from the conference serves together at the Flavor Fest Block Party outreach on our campus as we serve hundreds of families with groceries, haircuts, clothes, health care and more. Friday and Saturday night are open to the general public as we feature our Festival Concerts featuring the top names in Christian HipHop, R&B and even some reggae. Some of the artists that have performed at Flavor Fest are Lecrae, KJ-52, The Cross Movement, 116 Clique, Da Truth, Jin, The Breax, Benjah, Rawsrvnt, The Ambassador, D-Maub, Trip Lee and many more. The conference ends off at the 3 Sunday Services as most of the attenders stay to close out the weekend and worship with the Crossover Family. Flavor Fest 2012 was our 12th annual conference and our largest to date. Many conferences and “ministry trends” never last that long. We’re still here. We feel like this thing is just getting started! The Fest is so much more than another conference or a passing trend. For more than a decade many young innovative leaders have been growing and maturing. Many have been saying “We Got Next...” We’ve been praying and planning about how the church could look and how it biblically should look. Many of us have now stepped into lead positions at our churches and ministries. It’s a new day for the urban, multi-ethnic church as “Next is Now”. How will we steward what we have been given? What will change? What needs to stay the same? These are things we discuss, dialog and wrestle with at the Fest as we ask God to equip us to lead by his spirit. Our 13th annual conference is coming up in October of 2013 as we talk about “Rebuilding The City”. We hope you can join us. For registration and all the details go to: www.flavorfest.org
Urban Coaching Network Panel S.O.U.L | Pg63
October 6th - 9th, 2011
November 6th, 2011
December 17th, 2011
March 31st, 2012
April 8th, 2012
Flavor Fest “Unite”.
“One Year Celebration”
3rd annual “Christmas
Our second annual “Roots
Easter 2012 was our
The 11th annual Urban
featuring national artist
Jam” featuring Tampa Bay
Fest” outreach where
largest attendance ever
Leadership Conference
Benjah. Crossover
Ray’s Sean Rodriguez.
we served hundreds of
as 1,400 people came to
gathered over 3,000
celebrated what God had
There were over 700 toys
families with clothes,
church as we started our
people from all over the
done in the first year in
given away along with
groceries, haircuts,
“Supernatural” series on
world at the workshops,
our new facility. There
thousands of pounds of
prayer, resources and the
the book of Acts. Pastor
general sessions,
was a record 113 people
food. Sean shared his
love of Christ.
Tommy came out of a
outreach and evening
that got baptized that day!
testimony and Pastor
coffin and talked about
Tommy shared the gospel
being a “Dead Man
as over 150 people
Walking”. 300 people
responded!
responded to the gospel
concerts.
and received Pastor Tommy’s new book “Next steps on your spiritual journey.”
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April 15th, 2012
July 1st, 2012
July 8th, 2012
August 18th, 2012
August 20th, 2012
Week two of our
Crossover hosted the
Our very first “Freestyle
The “Back To School Jam”
- Crossover Urban
“Supernatural” series we
IndepenDANCE day
Competition” was hosted
was our largest outreach
Leadership College was
preached on Acts 2 where
break dancing battle and
at our Sunday Night
in our history as we saw
launched as we partnered
people believed and were
fireworks display at the
Vibe service. Rappers
the huge need in our city
with School of Urban
baptized. There was a
7pm Sunday Night Vibe
had several freestyle
and gave away 1,000
Missions Theological
supernatural response
Service.
challenges to advance to
backpacks along with
Seminary. Dr. Pickens
as 146 people publicly
the next round. Female
school supplies in addition
became our Cohort
proclaimed their faith
artist “Sicily” won first
to groceries, clothes,
Director as we began
through water baptism!
place!
haircuts, health screening
training students for full
and dental care.
time urban ministry.
October 4th-7th, 2012 Flavor Fest “Lead - Next is Now!” Our 12th annual Urban Leadership Conference featuring Jin, Derwin Gray, Scott Williams and artists Ambassador, The Breax, Michelle Bonilla, D Maub, Bobby Tinsley, Da Truth and many more... Thousands came to see and learn from the supernatural ministry that is happening at Crossover. S.O.U.L | Pg65
WHO WE ARE C.H.O.S.E.N. Women’s Ministry is available to any and all Crossover ladies who are college age and up regardless of background, ethnicity and economic status. Our vision is to empower and embrace every woman as a Daughter of the King. Each one “chosen” and placed exactly where God wants them, to accomplish His will for such a time as this.
OUR PURPOSE C.H.O.S.E.N. exists to provide teaching, godly counsel, accountability and fellowship, not only for the women of Crossover, but for our community and beyond. In turn, we can expect better women, wives, mothers, daughters, leaders, workers, etc. who understand their full potential and their purpose and choose to serve God and others through this ministry. Our heart is to create community and intimacy between the women. Our attempt to accomplish this is through Crossover’s small groups (Roots Groups), which are held in homes and on our church campus and run on a semester schedule. Also, we hold workshops, attend conferences, ladies night out, retreats and our most popular event, “Secret Sisters”.
WORLD VISION On a global level, we sponsor a young child through World Vision, Esther Dismas. Esther is from Tanzania and lives in an AIDS/HIV infested community. C.H.O.S.E.N. ladies give only $1 a month to help support Esther and be a part of helping her receive an education, provide clean water, food & necessities.
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GETTING INVOLVED There are no fees, application or requirements to be a part of this Women’s Ministry except to be at the CHOSEN age! Certain activities may require a pre-registration or RSVP. Special updates or current events are emailed, announced in our Sunday Service, published in our church program and/or posted on Facebook: www.facebook.com/pages/CHOSENWomens-Ministry/117705257158
For additional information on this ministry or to keep tabs on the latest with Lucy: Email: lucy@crossoverchurch.org Facebook: www.facebook.com/lucykyllonen Twitter: www.twitter.com/lucyk813 S.O.U.L | Pg67
We believe the urban community is in crisis due to the lack of real
showed a clip from the movie Courageous and we put the call out
men. Because men are not taking their proper leadership positions,
there for father’s to step up. Close to 200 father’s came to the front
there is a lack of role models and healthy families. In the city,
to take “The Resolution”. Our elders and church leadership read
many women are having to step up and try to fill the gaps as many
each line as the men repeated it in front of the congregation. They
grown men act like grown boys. Ladies are the ones that fill most of
then signed it along with two witnesses and a member of our church
the seats in your average urban church. Crossover Church is an
council prayed over the men.
anomaly as it is a church full of young urban men of many colors. The men are here... but that’s not enough. We want to build them up, equip them and send them out to be world changers.
Warriors exists to help all men understand how important they are to God our Creator, giving themselves to something bigger than themselves. Warriors is about helping men understand what essential
On Father’s Day 2012 was our biggest Father’s Day in history as we
parts of their lives are missing. The Warriors are about growing a
had a powerful, challenging message about “Biblical Manhood”. We
true love for Christ and grasping the truth of Jesus Christ through:
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W. Worship A. Adoration we build a R.Real R.Relationship I.In O.Our R.Righteous S.Saviour! Warriors enables men to build a solid relationship with Christ that will produce change that brings out effective men of God, fathers, husbands, and leaders that will make a real contribution in their families, in our community, and in our church. We promise to give men what they need in the contrast to what they want, encouraging them to engage in the many different opportunities offered here at Crossover to move them forward with Christ! Everything we do is to help men grow as
2 SAMUEL 22:40 “For You have armed me with strength for the battle;You have subdued under me those who rose against me!”
real, authentic disciples of Jesus Christ. We have gatherings in which we deal with different life issues, struggles and battles that men go through. Some events we offer are our annual Retreat 2 Advance. Each Roots Group (Small Group) Semester we offer several groups that are specifically for men. Through regular studies of God’s Word, we build and maintain strong relationships with other men. As we reach out to more men, we bring them into the true knowledge and understanding of what it means to be a man following Christ. The men serve in many different areas and events here at the church regularly. We are leaders, ambassadors, workers together for God through Jesus Christ - We are building an army of God’sW.A.R.R.I.O.R.S.!!!
Check us out on facebook.com/warriors813 S.O.U.L | Pg69
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The stories of these Crossover Family members have been changed forever by the greatest story ever told! - Interviewed by DJ Missional
ELI AND NOELIA FRIAS
Eli and Noelia are newlyweds! They first met way back in 1999. In fact, Eli was Noelia’s first boyfriend. At that time Eli was rough around the edges and began to get in trouble and even ending up locked up a few times. But Noelia still saw a glimpse of Eli’s potential and saw through Eli’s troubles but kept him at a prayerful distance. Over the years God put it on Noelia’s heart to continue to pray for Eli. When Crossover moved into the building in October 2010 members were given the opportunity to write the names of people that they would like to see come to Christ on the floor before the carpet went down and Noelia wrote Eli’s name. Soon after that Eli was released from prison and decided to come with Noelia to Crossover and he gave his life to Christ. Noelia’s persistent prayers paid off! As part of Crossover’s one year celebration in the new building one hundred and thirteen people were baptized and Eli was one of those. When Eli came out of the water he had an engagement ring in his hand and drenched in new life got down on his knee and proposed to Noelia! They are now happily married, serving at Crossover and following Christ together!
MIKE JONES
Nothing says energetic stage presence like back-flips. Mike Jones is a singer songwriter musician, and music and video producer and yes he does back flips on stage. Jones came from San Antonio Texas in January 2011 as student at the University of Tampa to study film and media art. He first came to Crossover in February of 2011. Most of his time he is busy producing music and videos with his company MiC SOLO Productions. Soon after his arrival at Crossover, Mike won an online video contest that landed him a gig on the Rachel Ray Show, and studio time in Platinum Sounds to record his single “My Love Iz 4 U” - a song about his dedication of his life to Christ. He will finish school in December of 2012 and plans to continue pursuing his music career full force and go on a nation wide tour. Jones plans to stay at Crossover and offer his talents to the church as long as he lives in Tampa because he loves the diversity and the Biblical roots of Crossover. He regularly produces videos for Crossover and occasionally raps, sings and leads worship with Remix. Keep up with his work on his website http:// microphonejones.com/ and register to receive all five of his albums for free!
KRISTY BURCHARD
This talented lady has an extraordinary entrepreneurial and creative drive that has driven her to launch two of her own businesses, Formulated Lines LLC and a spin-off company, Stash Groove Clothing Design which recently released their signature product the Stash Groove record handbag. The diversity of talents that God has blessed Kristy with have been expressed in a wide array of professional design mediums including graphic design, video production, motions graphics, apparel design, interior design, photo design…just to name a few of her many talents. Kristy is also a break-dancer and graffiti artist, which is what originally drew Kristy to Crossover way back in 1998. Since then she has used these brilliant gifts at Crossover in many ways to serve God and the church. Kristy has a big heart for using her gifts for ministry and also seeing others explore their gifts and how to use those gifts for God’s Kingdom. If you would like to see some of her work visit Crossover’s prayer room to check out her airbrush and interior design skills and visit her websites www.formulatedlines.com and www.stashgroove.com
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THE IPINA FAMILY
Rafael aka Rafi and his wife Lizette aka Lisa Ipina first came to Crossover Church in February 2011. They heard about Crossover from a friend that Rafi works with. Rafi had mentioned that he was looking for a church and was told about Crossover and about the various activities that the church had for the whole family. Rafi and Lisa were especially interested in a church that their daughters would enjoy and Crossover seemed to be a good fit. Rafi’s family was very curious when they first came to Crossover because they were used to dressing up in Sunday best and a more traditional church but quickly realized that this was the right church for them. They felt welcomed and comfortable and realized Crossover would be a great church because it offered activities and discipleship programs for the whole family. This family is very involved in serving at Crossover in a wide variety of activities and you will see them volunteering a great deal of time with Crossover’s many ministries. Their children are now very active members of the Movement Teen ministry. Since going to Crossover Church Rafi has seen his family go through a transformation as they grow deeper in the Lord. They were all baptized in the past year at the church. Crossover was an answer to Rafi’s prayers. The Ipina Family is a huge blessing to Crossover.
THE WASHINGTONS
David and Teikoa Washington first came to Crossover back in 2010 when Crossover was in transition between the old campus and was meeting in a hotel until they got into the new building. They found out about Crossover back in 2008 when listening to Chris Chicago’s Hype Radio Show while they were living in Long Island. God began to foreshadow that this would become their church home. They then moved to Tampa so David could take a job at McDill Airforce Base. After a while they were reminded of Crossover Church through a radio add for Flavor Fest, but were not yet able to check out Crossover due to other commitments. However God kept drawing them toward Crossover and they were drawn to the strong preaching from Pastor Tommy, the strong ministry to the community and the diversity. After just one visit they both realized that this is where God had called them to be fed and to use their talents to serve. Teikoa and David began to get involved with the ministry immediately. David began to serve with Crossover Kidz and the teen ministry. Teikoa joined the finance team and quickly Crossover discovered her ability to do hair, which works well with all of Crossover’s outreach to the community as they provide free hair care to children around the neighborhood. They continue to serve in a variety of ways and be a blessing to our church fam. The Washington family is a great light to our church and to our community.
NATE AND MIRIAM SPENCER
After seventeen years in the public school system Nate Spencer felt called to ministry. Even though he had a strong sense of calling on his life from a very young age Nate tied to run away from his call. God kept calling him and the people around him kept telling him to answer the call on his life. So after nearly two decades as a teacher Nate then felt called to go to seminary, which prepares people for full time service in the church. Nate finished Asbury Seminary in 1998 and became a pastor of four churches at the same time! Just one year into that ministry his first wife had already been diagnosed with cancer and went to be with the Lord in 2000. Nate continued to see God’s hand during this difficult time and the Lord told him, “Trust me”. Nate pastored for ten years in the United Methodist Church but felt a nudge to step down because of his growing concern for deeper biblical convictions than they were offering. In 2007 Nate married Miriam. Nate and his wife currently serve with Crossover in a variety of ways as they are co-teaching the connection classes, assisting with discipleship curriculum, serving with their roots group, and the Crossover prayer ministry. The Spencer family has recently moved to Tampa and are an amazing new edition to the Crossover fam!
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GRP FLY X Y.F.K. CADET VARSITY JACKET This is our first cut & sew premium piece of clothing. Each piece was hand made from premium materials and textiles. This piece includes detailed patch work and embroidery. This is winter jacket will withstand the heaviest winter weather.
SQUADRON RED TEE This was a collaborative effort with our newly assigned wonderboy intern Avery. Avery came up with the initial plane sketch and we took it from there. Shouts out to all the Cadets who rep our brand. THE SQUADRON RISES!
SQUADRON WHITE TEE This is the variant color way of our red Squadron tee. THE SQUADRON RISES!
STEALTH CADET TEE This is our classic presentation of our iconic Cadet logo. We named it Stealth because it just looked tough (seriously just looked mean). You may have seen a lot of people tweet G.F.C.O.E., this is our new code for GRP FLY CADETS OVER EVERYTHING. THE SQUADRON RISES!
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The Christian Hip-Hop Movement continues to grow every day. Many of you checking out this magazine are just discovering it. If you’ve been around this genre for a minute, you know its come a long way. When many of these artists release their new albums they now hit the top 10 charts on iTunes and land on the Billboard charts. 2012 was another huge year as many mainstream doors opened for artists like Lecrae. It’s been amazing to watch the growth in artistry and ministry. There is a lot of incredible talent out there - established and emerging. Space doesn’t allow us to review all that we would like to, but we picked some Hot projects for this issue that are definitely worthy of recognition. These projects are available on iTunes and at Crossover’s Hip-Hop Shop... we suggest you check em’ out and enjoy!
J’SON
“Growing Pains” – Lamp Mode Recordings www.lampmode.com
This is one of those times I’ve been asked to review an album and the album ended up reviewing me smh... Enough Said! “Growing Pains” by J’Son will help you through the most difficult sufferings that God allows us to go through during our journey towards perfection. That is the theme of this project and it is executed perfectly! From song to song you feel the pruning shears of the LORD at work through J’Son’s transparency, especially when he gives personal testimony on each GP interlude. If you are going through ruff times I would encourage you to get this Album and listen to it from beginning to end. Few artists have the ability to make you cry when you listen to their music and J’Son is definitely one of those artists! No need to point out any individual track because this album is not about just one song. Correction, I’ll point out “Parent Me” which is a bonus track on this album. He should make it a bonus track on every album after this until he gets a well-deserved Grammy for it (One of the best songs of all time in my opinionated fact), Hurry up and get this! - Clok
JERRELL JOHNSON
“True Colors” - Indie www.jerrelljohnson.com
Hey Fam! Get ready for artistic masterpiece from our Crossover family member, and my spiritual adopted son. Jerrell Johnson known as the freestyle champion on our campus, and current SXSW (in Texas) freestyle champ hosted by Dasouth.com. This project isn’t his first as he has released several great mix tapes prior to this one: The Green Screen, Peanut Butter & Jealousy and the new Dreamsoda. My personal favorite on this album is track #2 “Time” this being because my 93 yr. old grandma went to be with the Lord two years ago, and this song make me think about her and others. Track #7 is also powerful, “Skin I’m In”, which Jerrell spits about people that’s not satisfied with who God created them to be, and how he views them. A favorite of our teens @ Crossover is track #6 “Making these Words”, feat. producer Cliff Brown formerly of The Justice League’s 5 yr. old son Jaden. Jerrell raps about the state of the music in the culture today. The album also features Eons Garner, and Kerlyn Joseph. This one is definitely for fans of True Artistic Expression from a artist who has a passion for the Lost! Come see me at the Crossover Hip-Hop shop and I’ll give you a listen! - Brovah Greg
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TRIP LEE
“The Good Life” - Reach Records www.reachrecords.com
Just out of the Lab is Trip Lee’s 4th album The Good Life, And it was worth the wait. For those of us who loved the diversity of music on his last project “Between 2 Worlds” - you will definitely vibe with this one. This project charted and sold over 20,000 copies in the very first week! My personal favorite on this project is track #5 “Fallin’” - feat. J.Paul where Trip spits about when we sin, and fall short God is there to pick us up! Check out the amazing music video on YouTube as it reminds me of the floating islands from the Avatar movie. Track #2 “Robot” which is the theme for the album cover is about all of us being slaves (robots) to sin from birth, but that’s no longer the case for us that are now in Christ! For us who are unashamed check out track #8 “One Sixteen” feat. KB and Andy Mineo. Other artists featured on this album include Lecrae, Suzy Rock, V.Rose, Jimmy Needham, Jai, and Leah Smith. So get ready to experience the Good Life! - Brovah Greg
FLAME
“The 6th” - Clearsight Music www.clearsightmusic.com
Perhaps you were already captured by his last album. This album will soon grow on you in that same way. Flame is getting deep with God’s story on this album. Maybe you are like me and you can’t afford biblical counseling. Well this album was refreshing for me because Flame’s seminary studies and gifting in biblical counseling really come through on this one. And the counselors that I know don’t got beats like this. Flame shows his ability to take God’s story and reveals how we are part of it. Flame told the Huffington post that he titled the album The 6th because it was on the 6th day that God created humans and that this was also his 6th album. Flame has called this work a “study in anthropology” (a study of humans). But if you have taken any anthropology classes this is far from that boring. Flame is able to go deep with it and yet do it in a way that you can take to the block. Also worth mentioning is the all-star cast Flame has brought together on this joint: Lecrae, Thi’sl, V.Rose, Pastor AD3 to name a few. There are tracks you can dance to and some tracks with R&B flavor and some very lyrical tracks as well. There is even a dubstep track on here. “The 6th” debuted at # 1 on Billboard Gospel #1 on iTunes, # 2 Billboard Christian # 8 Billboard Rap. Flame already has a GRAMMY®, is four-time Dove Award winner and two-time Stellar Award nominee. But above all that this album shows Flame’s heart for God and people. Be blessed and get your copy asap - DJ Missional
JUDAH
“The Mechanic” - Twelve Two Productions www.twelvetwoproductions.com
Judah is relatively unknown in the Christian Hip-Hop arena but you can tell by listening to him he has been at it for a while. Personally I hope his latest release, “The Mechanic” makes him a household name. Having attended his album release party at Crossover (you can also see him at Flavor Fest 2012!) it is clear by his performance, let alone his lyrics, that his love of Christ comes from a life intimately familiar with the struggles of the hood. I love the theme of the album, which is basically that Christ is the Mechanic always willing and able to fix our brokenness. The production is stellar, with a grimy, almost techno, feel that makes you think you’re in a machine shop. Judah shows a lot of versatility in just 7 songs. He raps slow but powerful on songs like Fix Me, speeds it up on Ambulance, sings on most of his songs and shows a clear Island influence on songs like Repo Man (feat. Goldinchild). There are not a lot of features on this album although Twelve-Two Productions label mate A.M. makes a great appearance on Solar Energy. He doesn’t need features though, you get the feeling this is a man sharing his heart, raw and uncut, who happens to be incredibly gifted as an artist. You can download the album free at twelvetwoproductions.com. I paid for mine and don’t regret it one bit so remember to support the ministry as well so we can hear more. - The Homie Joshua S.O.U.L | Pg77
BY: KER-LEEN
CHILDHOOD
Raised in Nicaragua, Oscar came from a big family. He is the last of five children. There was an older brother, older sister, two middle brothers and then came Oscar. He grew up with both parents and he describes his childhood as being “beautiful”. His father was a hard worker, making sure that his family was always provided for. He describes his father as an honest man and despite being raised by a hard worker; Oscar chose a different way of life very early on. Although he had parents that provided every material thing he could ever want Oscar was still very curious about street life. After having to deal with three other boys that chose a life of drugs, alcohol and the like, his mother was worn out by the time she got to Oscar. She didn’t put a tight rein around him; instead she let him learn on his own. Following the ways of the brother that came before him, Oscar began to learn about things he shouldn’t have at the tender age of 12 years old. He experimented with weed and alcohol and adopted the streets as a second home. He always carried drugs in his socks and he followed his middle brother around non-stop. When a fellow gang member from California sent his brother a tattoo machine, his brother introduced tattoo art to their hood in Nicaragua for the first time. When his middle brother got his first tattoo, Oscar desired to have one too.
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In the early 90’s it was extremely hard to come by a tattoo machine in Nicaragua. After discovering the tattoo machine under his brother’s bed (where it was hidden), Oscar called a friend over that day and did his first tattoo. His brother often had him prep the tattoo machine, so Oscar knew just how to sanitize and use it. After purchasing his own tattoo machine he became well-known for the art in his hood. Because of the stigma attached to the ‘Fourth Element’ of hip-hop, A.K.A. Graffiti, Oscar never pictured himself as a Graffiti artist. In fact, he had plans to open his own tattoo parlor. His designs were influenced by hip-hop and prison life. He could never pay attention long enough to do well in his math class because he was always concentrated on tagging. His entire desk was covered in his designs. It was the same at home; his designs started from the bottom of his room wall and reached the ceiling. His family and teacher would chide him about the form of vandalism but to Oscar, it was art and a fascination. He created many tattoo flash notebooks and at the same time continued developing his gift. Growing in popularity for his tattoo artwork, he had many clients in his neighborhood and got better with every client. One day a group of neighborhood vandals asked Oscar to join them on one of their tagging trips. He was hesitant at first but eventually joined them and began his first affair with graffiti. During that time, Oscar was heavily influenced by gangsta rap. One of his favorite hiphop groups was NWA. He described himself as being “Eazy E’s #1 fan”. He would tag the words ‘Eazy E’ on everything from stadium walls to hospital walls. Known as ‘Zank’ at the time, he later began tagging his own alias.
had now accepted Christ. One night after being lured into drinking at a house party, Oscar found himself drunk and dancing on top of the bar at a club. While in his drunken state he told his brother “something worse is going to happen to me because I’m a failure to God”. He remembered the sisters that had prophesied over his life at the church back in Nicaragua and became guilt-ridden. After that incident, he began a cycle of going to work and drinking after work. One day, while at work doing roofing, he slipped from a roof and hit his leg on a 2X4 and then on a piece of metal. No matter what he did to tend to the wound it took a long time to heal. He woke up one day and his entire leg was swollen. He couldn’t walk, he felt weak and his skin was pale. His brother took him to a doctor and after receiving antibiotics had his blood tested. The doctor called them into the office and said “I think you have cancer in your blood”. Oscar once again remembered his experience at the church in Nicaragua and he rejected the diagnosis in Jesus’ name. He then went to the hospital to get a biopsy. The results of the biopsy came back and confirmed that he had a type of cancer called MDS (Myelodysplastic Syndromes) which are a group of diseases that affect the blood and bone marrow. In order to cure this disorder, Oscar needed bone marrow donors whose marrow matched his. The fact that he didn’t have insurance and much money made it seem like an impossible situation. He once again asked God for protection in the name of Jesus. He feared that he would return to Nicaragua and die there of cancer and in shame. As the cancer ate away at his body he needed multiple blood transfusions. During a blood transfusion at the hospital one day he declared and received the blood he was taking as “The Blood of Jesus”. He immediately felt God’s forgiveness. Despite a prognosis that he would die, he believed in Jesus for his healing.
CONFUSION
HEALING AND RENEWAL
GROWING LOVE FOR GRAFFITI
By his late teen years, Oscar had tried many drugs but it was alcohol that he struggled with the most. He recounts that “alcohol controlled me”. Where he could control the effects of 4 or 5 blunts, he became incoherent after 5 or 6 bottles of alcohol. His affinity for drugs and alcohol became very strong. He put his artwork on the back burner and became consumed with the desire to satisfy his flesh. He even used tattoo art as barter for drugs. While telling his story, Oscar cringed at the fact that he once used Bible pages to roll his blunts. After years of drug and alcohol abuse he woke up one day after consuming loads of crack and alcohol and felt sick. He was sick physically and spiritually. He realized that his life was a mess. His relationships were in shambles and his future seemed so unclear to him. He decided that he had two options: his first was to start college. His brother, who had been sending him gifts and pictures of his life, seemed to be doing well in America. Since Oscar had always wanted to follow him, going to America became his second option. America seemed like the best choice for him at the time because he was in search of an escape from all the drugs and alcohol.
CLARITY
Oscar always knew that there was a higher power, a God, somewhere. Although he wanted to be sober and free from his addiction, before leaving for America, he did not know how to do that. Suddenly, he had an epiphany and decided to go to church. He walked into a neighborhood church in his jeans and sneakers one night and immediately felt God’s peace and acceptance. During this youth service it was as if he was the target. He was well-known for his tattoo art and graffiti both of which were not acceptable in the eyes of the congregation members. He prayed for God to take away his addiction that night and to help him decide what his next steps were. He pleaded for God to show him His love. As the message was preached that night, Oscar heard the name of Jesus for the first time. As evil was rebuked “in the name of Jesus” he remembers the name of Jesus being so sweet. He described it as being “just the kind of drug his body needed”, as he experienced a high like no other. A couple of the sisters in the congregation pulled him aside and told him that just the night before, as he drove by the church, they had vowed never to invite someone like him into that congregation. God made them swallow their words because there he was, accepting Jesus! One of the sisters prayed over him and prophesied that Oscar was going to do great things wherever he went.
TEMPTATION AND SICKNESS
One Sunday, he drove around endlessly in search of a church to walk in to. Ironically, every church he went to was closed. He finally drove by a small Hispanic church that carried a marquee that read: “Clinic of the Soul”. He thought, “I’m sick, and I need a doctor”, and asked his brother to turn the car around. He walked into the church still in his hospital scrubs with his hospital band still around his wrist and went up for prayer. He recounts, “I knew that God would save me and make me new. I knew that the miracle was there”. He gave his drug addiction, fornication, and his tattoo art to God. He gave everything up and decided that he would no longer use the body as his canvas for art. He then began to shake until his knees buckled and some ushers ran up, stabled him and began to pray for him. They asked for healing in the name of Jesus, and in that moment, he felt a gush of fluid come from deep within his body and up to his mouth. Not wanting to soil the alter he ran to the bathroom and let the fluid go. What he saw in the toilet was horrible, purplish bile that he realized was the cancer. He had one more bout and realized that the cancer was going to leave his body and he was going to be healed. One brother had followed him to the bathroom and rebuked the sickness, in the name of Jesus. Oscar was once again reminded of his first encounter with Christ in that church in Nicaragua. He joined the brother and exclaimed, “Yes, I rebuke you in the name of Jesus! Don’t ever come back!” Some time after that, while resting at home, his brother noticed that two bright red dots had formed in one of Oscar’s eyes. His brother was alarmed but with a peace that surpassed all understanding Oscar said, “It’s the blood of Jesus that’s inside of me and it’s cleaning me.” His red blood cells started working and healing him from that point on. He later received a call from Moffitt Cancer Center informing him that they would grant him Medicare and cover his medical costs at 100%. After testing his family, his sister and another middle brother were matches for him. God had worked great miracles for him and once again, as it was in his childhood, everything was “beautiful”. After being invited to Crossover Church by a friend during a Flavor Fest concert, he immediately felt at home. He was ecstatic at the fact that he could use his talents and serve Christ at the same time. He now uses his gift to create beautiful murals on the Crossover Campus and around the Tampa Bay area. As he reflected, Oscar realized that he is special in God’s eyes. He realizes that the Blood of Jesus is what healed him of his addictions and of his sickness. He now tags all of his inimitable and distinct artwork with the alias ‘The Blood of Jesus’ as a reminder of this. •••
After moving to Tampa, FL with his brother, Oscar discovered that his brother was still drinking and doing drugs. This presented a great struggle for him because he S.O.U.L | Pg79
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Everyday the internet continues to expand it’s influence and reach. We know the net is a huge outreach and resource tool. Our site is updated
each week with the theme of the upcoming Sunday’s message/series. New video content is regularly added on our youtube page. Our news, Crossover Kidz, The Movement Teens, upcoming artists and events are updated weekly. Practically anything you may be looking for about our church can be found in the links. Our Roots Groups (small groups) have their own link with a detailed list of groups available for the current semester.
Our video player page has become one of the most popular destinations on our site as people can watch our Sunday services live at 10:00am, 11:45am, and 7:00pm. They can interact and fill out a connection card, prayer requests and give their offering all on the same page. The page also has a link to watch previous services on demand and also gives the option to download the audio from the services if they want to listen to them on their ipod or computer. Around 1,000 people from all over the world watch our services live each Sunday. We live in an internet driven age. Crossover has found that around a third of it’s first time guests are coming as they heard about it through first checking out our website. Many people from our church now give their tithes and offering through the giving link on the website each week. We encourage you to check out crossoverchurch.org on a regular basis and look for new features to be added as we constantly keep you connected. This is also a great way to introduce your friends, family and co-workers to Crossover as they can check out the website before they come and visit... it may be the very thing that makes them feel comfortable enough to come check it out in person. Pastor Tommy also regularly sends out a weekly email to our database to update them on what’s happening and what’s coming up.
Crossover regularly updates our Twitter, Youtube, and Facebook - follow us today...
S.O.U.L | Pg81
The frame hung from the ceiling in the basement. No wheels. No handlebars. No seat. It was all banged up and looked worthless to the eyes of this nine year old girl, but he promised her she would have a brand new bicycle. Although she could not comprehend how a piece of metal that was found in an empty lot with surrounding trash could turn into a girl’s dream come true bicycle, she had no choice but to trust her father and believe he was telling her the truth. It was her only hope. So she anxiously waited. Every once in a while she would peak, but she was scared to look because she was afraid she would be disappointed. Every day after work, he would head down to the basement to begin working on his new project. She would hear him humming, whistling or occasionally yelling “yes” when something seemed to be going right for him, as if he knew what he was doing. And then she saw it with her own very eyes. It no longer hung from the ceiling. Instead, it was propped up by it’s own kickstand. It was a shiny red with handlebars, a chain and pedals to turn the wheels and even a seat! It was everything she had hoped for and dreamed of. A real girl’s bicycle and she would no longer have to beg her brother to use his ugly green boy’s bicycle. That day she witnessed the transformation of a “nothing” turned into “something.” It was the day she experienced a truly hand-crafted miracle made especially for her. It was the day, her dad became her hero. From that day forward, there would be no one and nothing that could tell her any different about her loving and trustworthy father. It was sealed. This vivid memory reminds me of a powerful analogy in the bible between the Master Potter and his clay. It is a perfect illustration of God and His desire to mold, transform, and sanctify us as we journey through this earthly life.
“But now, O Lord, You are our Father; we are the clay, and You our potter; and all we are the work of Your hand.” -Isaiah 64:8
Dedicated to my loving father, December th,
However, God cannot even begin to mold and transform us in this life unless we are first willing do our part. And our part starts with trusting who He is and what He is capable of. He is capable of all and there is nothing impossible for Him. It also signifies that this is a process that does not occur overnight. When clay is being molded and being made pliable it is a very slow and steady process. The clay is placed on an electric wheel that spins slowly at a steady pace. If the wheel turns too fast, the clay will tear apart and the process starts over again. In the same way we have to be patient with the Lord and how He chooses to mold us, which is so not like us in this have-it-your-way, fast paced, instant gratification world that we are used to. And since the Potter does all the supernatural work inside of us, sometimes it can be painful and unpleasant at times. Especially when it requires removing all of the impurities and negative qualities such as anger, greed, pride, arrogance, bad attitudes and lust. All of which will impede the finished product, His masterpiece. And this totally surrendered masterpiece results in a new found freedom, joy, peace and security that is only found in the hands of her Potter. My Father knew what he was doing when he was transforming the metal (clay) into a bicycle (masterpiece). It was also evident that he enjoyed what he was doing and took delight and pleasure in his work. There is no doubt in my mind that my dad loved me dearly and he was equally excited to give me the desire of my heart. All he wanted me to do was trust him, believe him and be a patient nine-year old which was very difficult to do, but turned out to be rewarding. However, it was much more than just a new bicycle. My dad paved the way for me to be able to trust and have faith in the unseen. He shaped and molded my mind to allow me to comprehend that an even greater Heavenly Father was at work in my life and who knew me even before He placed me in my mother’s womb. My dad’s love for me caused me to experience discipline and training (unwanted at times) that has resulted in my new life in Christ. I am a truly hand-crafted miracle chosen and made uniquely for my Potter. He is my hero. There is no one or nothing that can tell me any different about my Heavenly Father. I’m His little girl that he watches over and continuously shapes into the woman He wants me to be. It is sealed. •••
Angel Laguerra who is with his maker.
17 1943 - April 24th, 2012
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