CROSSover

JANUARY 2014! SHARING THE LOVE OF CHRIST THROUGH BASKETBALL, DINNER, AND DEVOTION! JOHN 5:24

I tell you the truth, whoe ver hears my words and believes him who sent me has eternal life an d will not be condemned; he ha s crossed over from death to life. John 5:24 NIV

Far left: CROSSover Game Action Left: Major League Pitcher Jaye Chapman Above: Chipola College Basketball players

The Vision Becomes Reality

happened at an evangelism crusade in Chipley. We have been very excited to see our kids respond to God and choose to put Him rst in their lives. Many of them choose to attend church with us on Sundays and we enjoy a meal at the house afterwards. Please continue to pray for CROSSover, as now we get to disciple these young people to be disciple makers themselves.

Harvesting Fruit
Two years ago, The CROSSover Ministries, Inc. began with a vision of using an empty gym and a desire to share Christ with Chipleys youth. John 5:24 was the verse that served as our foundation. We could have never imagined what would follow by letting Him lead this ministry. We prayed that God would use this ministry to bring some of Chipleys youth into a loving relationship with Him. Understanding that we may be the planter, the sower, or the one who harvests the fruit, we continued forward with showing Gods love to our young people not knowing if we would see any of them accept Christ as their Savior. Since our last newsletter, we have seen many youth get saved or rededicate their lives to Christ!!! Most of these

Guests Sharing The Gospel

Blessings Abound
We have been blessed by so many people these past 6 months. Sunday School classes are continuing to partner with us to provide food each week. Many of you partner with us through prayer and nancial gifts. Shiloh Baptist Churchs youth group spent a day cleaning up the gym and school grounds as a part of Disciple Now. This ministry would not be reaching the youth if it were not for you. Thank you for letting God use you to bless CROSSover.

CROSSover has had a number of great messages shared with us recently by guests. We enjoyed our rst professional athlete in Major League Baseball-pitcher Jaye Chapman. Some of the nationally ranked Chipola College Mens Basketball team and Coach Patrick Blake shared their testimonies with us. Marlon Lewis, a spokesman from Youth Challenge of Florida, also spoke to us about staying out of gangs and criminal life activity. Tim Shoemaker of Shiloh shared a gospel message through a magic show. Two college students from the Baptist College of Florida, Nigel Todd and Justin Toffolio, both gave their testimonies. Family Life Missionary Michael Corbin shared stories about how God led his family to adopt 4 children in Arkansas. God has truly blessed this ministry in so many ways. Thank you to everyone who has spoken Gods word to our youth. Forrest Smith: 850-814-2041 forrestllsmith20@gmail.com Kelly Smith: 850-814-1225 ksmith@eyecarenow.com

YOUR GIFTS ARE NOW TAX DEDUCTIBLE!!!

Contributions can be made to: The CROSSover Ministry, Inc. 1272 Wells Avenue Chipley, FL 32428

Marcus Swint:
Crossed Over for Christ
Im Marcus Swint and I have been a member of the CROSSover ministry for two years. I am currently 16 years old and a junior in high school. Like most of my peers, I am involved in multiple extracurricular activities, mostly being sports. Many of Chipleys athletes play football and basketball, with basketball being the most popular. CROSSover targeted our youth knowing this and it has allowed many participants to attend. When the CROSSover ministry started, it was held on Tuesday nights, but was changed to Wednesday nights. This happened because Mr. Forrest and Mrs. Kelly, the hosts of the ministry, found that some people could not make it on Tuesdays due to sports practices. On Wednesday nights everyone meets in the old Roulhac Middle School gym at 5:30. First, we pray and then we play pickup basketball. This lasts until 7:00. From there, we eat. The food is brought by courteous Sunday school classes from First Baptist Church and Shiloh Baptist Church. I give a special thanks to them and what they have done for this program. While eating, a devotion is given to the youth to send us home with an encouraging message to retain and potentially share with our community. This occurs weekly but the CROSSover ministry offers more spiritual activities to the youth. One Wednesday, instead of staying at the gym, we were all taken to an evangelism crusade held at the Ag Center. This turned out to be a big night for our teens in terms of response, being saved, and truly devoting their lives to a greater purpose through Jesus Christ. I happen to be one of the participants that got saved that night. This program has done other things to reach out to the community. For example, CROSSover invited our youth to the Fields of Faith, took them to the Fall Festival at FBC to work in a booth, invites anyone interested to church every Sunday, and more. I attend church with Mr. Forrest and Mrs. Kelly on Sundays and can tell that they, as well as the other members faithful to this ministry, are really trying to make a spiritual difference. The CROSSover ministry has made a huge impact on my life and the lives of many more. Thanks to this ministry, I have been compelled to pursue the Gospel and live my life through Christ Jesus. (Join us in praying about Marcus joining a mission trip team that is going to serve in the Dominican Republic this summer.)

Top: Sharon Hynes led our youth in lling shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child Bottom: Our Christmas party rafe winner - Christian White We had another wonderful Christmas Party with lots of prizes for our kids. We are so thankful for everyone who helped make it a success. Sunday school classes from Shiloh Baptist and First Baptist Chipley brought and served food.

Feel Led To Partner With Us?

Thank You For Making CROSSover Possible-We are so appreciative of everyone who has partnered with CROSSover. We rst want to thank you for praying for this ministry. Thank you to Charles and Donna Gunter, Jim and Sharon Hynes, and Justin Toffolio who are with us each week pouring into the lives of our youth. Sunday school classes led by Al Guettler and Coach Whitcomb of First Baptist Chipley, as well as Shiloh Baptists class led by Chris and Lydia Kneiss bring delicious meals for us to enjoy each month. Shiloh also covers the months with a 5th Wednesday. Thank you for all your support! CURRENT NEEDS: Update Gym Lighting-Over half of the lights above the court are no longer in working condition in the Old Roulhac Middle School gym (see picture to left). After much consideration, we have decided to raise funds for updating the lights to current government standards in order to maintain the gym for us and the community in the future. The cost will be approximately $4,000 ($2,000 materials & $2,000 labor) for 15 High Bay Halogen Light Fixtures. Top: A picture of gym lights that are no longer working. Only 40% of the lights above the court work. Bottom: The 1st Wednesday is still open for anyone wanting to supply dinner. Want To Provide A Meal-CROSSover still has the 1st Wednesday of each month open for anyone interested in a one-time or monthly partnership of providing dinner. We plan on feeding 50 people each night and the kids really appreciate the food. Typical meals are: pizza and chips, hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken ngers, spaghetti or any other home-cooked food. Please let us know if you are interested in partnering with us!