Ministry at Work: Chick Fil A

Hello everyone!

Wanted to share about my past year working part time at Chick Fil A.  I am thankful for the opportunity to work both at the church and in a secular job.  Some of you may be chuckling at the fact that I just called Chick Fil A a secular job.  Granted, many of my managers believe Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and repent of their sins, yet not everyone working there is a christian and nor everyone that comes to eat.

I personally do not have much direct contact with our guests as I am in the kitchen preparing the hot foods. My ministry to the guests of Chick Fil A includes making the extra efforts that we are serving quality food.

Living the Gospel at work isn't easy.  It is unnatural...at first.  Though living the Gospel at work can be difficult, we are called to live out the Gospel.  We are called to work our hardest to glorify God.  We are called to serve our bosses and be obedient to them.  We are called to speak the Gospel to others as well.  I believe it is easy for most of us to work hard.  It is harder to serve our bosses joyfully.  It can even be harder to actively speak the Gospel.

What does it take to actively live out the Gospel at work?  It starts with an understanding that:
1.  We are sinners
2.  We deserve the wrath of God
3.  Jesus Christ took our wrath
4.  We are called to know God
5.  We are created to be image bearers of God
6.  We are called to love others...one great way to love others is to share the Gospel of Christ that they may have eternal life!  Your co-workers may be on a path to face the wrath of God...love them and share the hope in Christ!

The fast paced work of a fast food restaurant prevents opportunities for enough time to have conversations.  Most are short conversations.  I have worked with two people that openly profess that they don't believe in God.  I have worked with one younger brother that I have been able to encourage and disciple some.  I have had some opportunities to discuss some doctrine with some of my managers.  These conversations have been a joy!  And I am challenged every day at work...the way I work represents Christ to my unbelieving friends and encourages or challenges my christian co workers to work for the glory of God.

It has been a sweet and challenging time.

Student Ministry Mother-Daughter Tea

A few weeks ago, the student ministry hosted a mother-daughter tea.  Jane Herlong, former Ms. South Carolina and motivational humorist, entertained us to begin the brunch.  Ashley Jones ended our time by speaking about what God’s Word says about conflict and popular issues in a mother-daughter relationship.  It was a sweet time of fellowship and good teaching!

Out of the mouths of babes...

This past Sunday was Volunteer Appreciation Day at Crosspoint Church.  To honor our teachers and volunteers that serve weekly in our children’s ministry and to display the impact they have had on the children, our four-year-olds through fifth graders sang a song and recited scripture verses they have been taught this past year.  It was a great testimony to our congregation to hear the gospel message recited through the mouths of the little ones.  To hear the verses, follow the link below to Crosspoint's webpage and click on "Children's Ministry Verse Recitation" (4/17/11). 


Children's Ministry Verse Recitation

John 3:16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave His only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

1 John 1:8-9
"If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and truth is not in us.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins
and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

John 14:6
"Jesus answered, ‘I am the way and the truth and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.’"

Titus 3:5-6
"He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ, our Savior.”

Romans 10:9-10a
"If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’
and believe in you heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified.”

Hebrews 4:16
"Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence,
so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”

2 Corinthians 3:18
"We, who reflect the Lord’s glory,
are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory,
which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.”

Romans 8:28-29
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him,
who have been called according to His purpose.
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son…
And those He predestined, He also called; and those He called, He also justified;
those He justified, He also glorified.”

Matthew 28:18-20
"And Jesus came and said to them, 

‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.   
And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’” 

The Great Northern Adventure: Spring Break 2011

March 19th-24th twenty-five college students, twenty-five international students, and 7 Crosspoint staff spent their spring break in New York, Washington D.C., Baltimore, and Annapolis. The international students were from ten different countries including places like China, India, Russian, Tunisia, Iran, and Germany! Weems Creek Baptist church in Annapolis, MD was kind enough to host all 57 of us in 17 different homes.

The purpose of the trip was for Crosspoint college students to spend time building relationships with international students. Did you know that at Clemson there are over 1,000 international students from more than 80 different countries? At Crosspoint, we desire to be faithful with the gospel by seeking to reach these students with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was getting to partner with the Baptist Collegiate Ministry at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD. We had the chance to walk around the Naval Academy and then join the midshipmen in BCM for dinner. After dinner we participated in the BCM weekly meeting. It was a lot of fun to interact with the midshipmen and to see a part of Annapolis that a lot of people don't get to see!

Another favorite part of the trip many students have mentioned is the stay in their host home. The students seem to really enjoy getting to have dinner with their family and being a part of their lives. I pray these students would see a picture of the gospel through the hospitality of these families.

Overall, the trip was a huge success (I mean, no one got lost in New York)! The students seemed to form close relationships with one another. There were many opportunities to have good conversations and to share the gospel. Hopefully, these relationships will continue into the summer and fall. Please pray for the relationships that were formed and international students in Clemson, SC.

Yijie, Hannah, Wenshen, and Yaxin in Baltimore, MD

Morgan with Ashima (India) and Jing (China)

Our whole group in Washington D.C.

Written by Jenna Wayment

Student Ministry Girls' Lock-In

Posted by: Caroline

This past weekend, the student ministry held a girls lock-in at the church. Overall, it was a great night with little sleep! Amy Chasteen was able to share her testimony along with a clear presentation of the Gospel. The girls also had the chance to hear the testimonies of Leslie Mansfield, Lauren Pippen, and Savannah Stone as well. They were challenged to place their identity in Christ and to find their worth and beauty reflected from God’s word, not the world. We also had fun times playing sardines in the dark around the church, having a Project Runway competition, dancing, and decorating journals.

I was reminded at the beginning of the semester that the last thing we desire as a student ministry is to be a social club for the students. While that seems obvious, it can be easy to get caught up in making sure that the students are having fun, while failing to be intentional with the gospel at every event. Therefore, when planning the lock in, I wanted to make sure it was more than just a night of fun activities. The ladies who spoke throughout the night were faithful to proclaim God’s truth and point the girls to Christ as they testified of God’s grace in their lives. I’m so thankful for the speakers and their willingness to sacrifice a little sleep because I know that the Lord used them in a big way!

Thanks to everyone for your continual prayers for the students at CrossPoint and the work we do with the student ministry!

Enjoy some pictures from the night…

 

20/20 Conference

One of the biggest events in college ministry during February was the 20/20 Collegiate Conference at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. This conference was designed to equip students to engage the culture around them and on their campus with Christianity and the Gospel. It is common today for many people to have objections against the belief in a God, the idea of one absolute truth, the claim that Jesus is the only way for salvation, and more. This conference sought to provide students with a logical approach to confronting these issues with the goal of sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ as the only hope of salvation.

The Group that went to 20/20 in Southeastern's Binkley Chapel

We were able to stay with a host church in the Raleigh area who has graciously provided lodging for us the past two years and continues to be exceedingly hospitable to our group. This year we took about 67 students and staff to the conference, which is the largest group that we have taken so far! One student has already shared with me after the conference how she was challenged to be more intentional to share Christ with those around her. Hopefully, this type of encouragement was true for many of the students who went, and we hope their lives continue to reflect the Gospel to the world.

Crosspoint Kids - On a Mission!

God has definitely been at work in the Children's Ministry at Crosspoint Church.  Not only have we seen major growth over the past few months (we had 79 in attendance at the Kids Christmas party - the most we've ever had!), but there has been an overwhelming zeal from many of the children to learn about God.  

Most recently we have begun a missions curriculum for the four-year-olds through third grade during Kids Worship and for the four and five-year-olds during Kids Connection.  For the months of January and February the children will be learning about world missions.  Each week we will be “visiting” a new country and will be learning about the country’s attributes and physical characteristics, as well as missions and missionaries associated with that country.  The verse we will focus on is Matthew 28:18-20 - The Great Commission.

It's so neat already to see the kids' excitement each week as we visit a new country.  And it's even more exciting to see them making connections between what they already know about God and what it means to do missions.  It is our hope that as we continue to disciple these children and teach them more about who God is they will begin to recognize more about who they are, seeing their sin for what it really is, and ultimately, responding in worship to the holy God.  It is worship that fuels a passion for missions.  So it is a passion for God that we hope to instill in our children at Crosspoint Church.  

"When the flame of worship burns with the heat of God’s true worth, the light of missions will shine to the darkest people on earth. Where passion for God is weak, zeal for missions will be weak."  Let the Nations Be Glad, John Piper