We are crossroads - Amazon S3

we are

crossroads

The 2014 report of generosity, wild stories

and Jesus-surprises.

If you¡¯re on this team, you invested in Kathryn and Paul¡¯s story.

And it might just blow your mind.

This is us, Crossroads:

a bunch of entrepreneurial, grass-rooty,

city-loving, world-changing, money-investing

Jesus followers who believe that when

we run with God, we¡¯re running the

right direction. No excuses. No safety nets.

Just a scrappy, strong, vitamin-pounding

team that follows one heavenly Leader.

626

WEEKEND SERVICES

ACROSS ALL SITES

THIS YEAR

278

LOUDSPEAKERS IN

FOUR AUDITORIUMS

5,580

INCHES OF

GUITAR STRINGS

1,436

FIRST IMPRESSION VOLUNTEERS SERVING EACH

WEEKEND

250

PARKING CONES

105,226

VIEWS ON YOUTUBE OF PAUL

AND KATHRYN¡¯S STORY.

THAT¡¯S HOPE GONE VIRAL.

876

¡°For multiple generations, the

men in my family left their wives.

The word ¡°love¡± was a fictitious

thing, only in fairy tales. As a

child we moved 11 times...isolation

was inevitable. I kept a safe distance,

afraid of being loved, afraid of being

wholly known. I fell into an abusive

relationship, and crawled deeper into

my numb place. But eventually, I met

Paul. He was the first man I wanted

to follow; a man with a

heart for God. We got

married a year later,

but there were still

places in my life I kept

hidden. Locked.

I felt God say, ¡°Give up that other

relationship. No ties. Go back to your

husband.¡± Seven months went by,

and I finally found the courage to end

my affair. I texted my husband,

strictly out of obedience, and I said,

COMMUNITY GROUP

¡°Can I come home?¡± And my

WORKBOOKS PRINTED

husband said ¡°yes.¡± He welcomed

me home!

4,210

Somewhere in the

process, Paul and I

drifted. We busied ourselves and

became like roommates. At one

point, I took off my ring for four

months, and he didn¡¯t notice. I

daydreamed about being single,

being free. Finally, I left. Within a

week, I got in a relationship with

another man. I spiraled. I knew God,

I knew better...but somehow I felt my

life was unrecoverable.

It wasn¡¯t easy. It took a long time to

learn how to receive

love and rebuild our

marriage. Paul and I did

the Journey Home

group together, and

that helped lead us to

deeper levels of

conversation and

healing with things in

our family¡¯s past. Then we went

through the Community Group

called Story Formed Life. It was a

game changer! It taught us biblical

truths that brought us breakthrough

and unity. We also served

together¡ªdoing GO Cincinnati¡ªa

much needed reminder to know

what it¡¯s like to serve side by side in

the Kingdom.

I ended up finding Crossroads, an

adulteress woman in the back of the

auditorium, alone in the dark. I would

sing that song about God making

beautiful things out of us. I went

through the Strong Journey without

Paul, and asked God if I was lost.

In all this, God showed me

that he is a faithful God.

And when I experience

that kind of forgiveness

from God and from Paul,

without deserving it?

That is love.¡±

BAPTISMS THIS YEAR

#wearecrds

So the churches were strengthened in the faith, and they

For His unfailing love is great, and it is intended for us, and His

increased in numbers daily. Acts 16:5

faithfulness to His promises knows no end. Psalm 117:2

585

COMMUNITY GROUP

LEADERS

$30,890

SPENT ON MARRIAGE

COMMUNITY GROUPS

$80,000

SPENT ON 7,737 PRAYER

EXPERIENCE PARTICIPANTS

$5.50

PER JOURNEY

SMALL GROUP KIT

$1.27

PER INDIVIDUAL

JOURNEY GUIDE

1

919

PARTIERS AT THE MIDDLE

SCHOOL BLOCK PARTY

1,500

192

These numbers tell quite a tale. This is one sloppy,

wonderful narrative, filled with subplots and surprise

endings. It¡¯s a true story about how God can use just

about anything to pursue us.

MILES WALKED WHILE

PRAYING FOR UC AND

CLIFTON

18

ROOFTOP HVAC UNITS AT

THE NEW MASON SITE

FOR EACH CASE OF BIBLES

WE GIVE AWAY

12

ELF APRONS WORN BY

AWAITED VOLUNTEERS

1.1

MILES OF WHITE CHRISTMAS

LIGHTS IN THE OAKLEY

ATRIUM AT AWAITED

17

DOZEN DONUTS MUNCHED BY

VOLUNTEERS EACH WEEKEND

1,026

90

NEW DISCIPLING RELATIONSHIPS

CHURCHES MOBILIZED THROUGH

CHURCH OF CINCINNATI

$20,000

WORTH OF DISASTER RELIEF

FOLLOWING TYPHOON HAIYAN

256

GO NEW ORLEANS PARTICIPANTS

$497,975.77

INVESTED BY EATING BEANS AND RICE

$3,613.43

235

3,971

EMPLOYED THROUGH CINCINNATI WORKS AT CITYLINK

PIECES OF USED BARNWOOD

DISTRIBUTED DURING

¡°THE NEW MAN¡± COMMISSIONING

$51,342

4,144

GIVEN THROUGH BENEVOLENCE

#CITYOFWONDERS POSTS

ON INSTAGRAM

3,100

#1

4,141

INVESTED IN BEANS AND RICE WEEK

STARTER KITS

KIDS RECEIVING CHRISTMAS GIFTS

THROUGH ANGEL TREE

5,150

27,049

14,126

204

59

285,000

14

VIDEO SHOOTS, INCLUDING KIDS¡¯ CLUB

$147,000 1,065

TWITTERERS FOLLOWING

@CRDSCHURCH

INSTAGRAM FOLLOWERS

LIKES ON FACEBOOK

SUBSCRIBERS TO THE DAILY

LIKES ON THE INSTAGRAM

POST OF BRIAN¡¯S WALLET

5,389

MAN HOURS SPENT BY

VOLUNTEERS PREPPING KIDS¡¯

CLUB WEEKENDS

ESTIMATED WORTH OF ANGEL TREE

GIFTS DONATED

38

300

#WEARECRDS SELFIES SHARED

17,064

MEALS PACKED FOR SOUTH AFRICA

HOMES BUILT WITH HABITAT

FOR HUMANITY

HASHTAG IN THE COUNTRY

DURING GO CINCINNATI

AVERAGE WEEKEND ATTENDANCE

58

1

SEX SLAVERY SURVIVORS

RE-INTEGRATED INTO SOCIETY

BOOK IN THE BIBLE

NAMED NUMBERS

STUDENTS SERVED THROUGH

WHIZ KIDS AT 7 SCHOOLS

173,266

CHECK-INS TO KIDS¡¯ CLUB

E>CHECK SYSTEM

240

85

13,632

40

BAPTISMS ON GO TRIPS

CARS GIVEN AWAY THROUGH WHEELS

HOURS VOLUNTEERED AT CITYLINK

TERABYTES OF

VIDEO STORAGE

DRUM HEADS

32,337

205

Seriously. Remember when a fricking BEAR went

looking for love in the Oakley parking lot?

Digits for days.

CUPS OF COFFEE HANDED

OUT ON UC¡¯S CAMPUS

$24

BEAR IN A PARKING LOT

All those social media

posts? All that money

spent on microphones?

All those volunteer

donuts? They¡¯re an

investment in people like

Donavan. And our return

is the impact that

Donavan is now having

on other lives.

Donavan¡¯s Story

¡°I just got back from a GO South

Africa trip to Cape Town. And I

came back a changed man.

The team had spent the day on home

visits to AIDS patients, and we were

reflecting that night on what we¡¯d

experienced. Patrick, a black South

African pastor from an AIDS-ravaged

village, was sitting in on the meeting

to give his insights. He shared how, in

his 10 years of working with churches

and mission trip participants from all

over the world, this was the first time

he had personally met African

Americans (there were three of us on

the team). He had

always considered us

like family¡ªyet he had

never seen an African

American sacrifice

time or resources to

help South Africans.

We gave him hope.

We made him feel

loved. We were

Jesus to him. And

all we did was show up. (We may

have gone through a few boxes of

tissues that night.)¡±

#wearecrds

We, though many, are one body

in Christ, and individually members

one of another. Romans 12:5

MICROPHONES

PEOPLE USING FREE WIFI

3,092

7x1027

HOUSEHOLDS INVESTING

REGULARLY THROUGH EGIFT

APPROXIMATE NUMBER OF ATOMS

IN BRIAN TOME¡¯S BODY

1,200

AT-RISK SOUTH AFRICAN CHILDREN GIVEN

HOLISTIC SUPPORT EACH MONTH

50,000+

3,200

5,775,000

CROSSROADS PENS USED

CDS GIVEN AWAY PER MONTH

AIR MILES TRAVELED BY 325 GO

SOUTH AFRICA PARTICIPANTS

$240,735

2,048

276,890

WORTH OF FREE COFFEE

KID BIBLES GIVEN AWAY

KIDS¡¯ CLUB VIDEO VIEWS IN 145

COUNTRIES

107

LIFE-SIZED GOLIATH POSTERS

DOWNLOADED

837

VOLUNTEERS CREATING ENVIRONMENTS FOR KIDS EACH WEEKEND

80

SEX SLAVERY SURVIVORS CURRENTLY

IN INDIA AFTERCARE HOMES

7,495

GO CINCINNATI VOLUNTEERS TACKLING

425 SERVICE PROJECTS

495

CLIENTS ACTIVELY ENGAGED IN

CITYLINK¡¯S FIRST YEAR

65

5,342

JOURNEY PARTNER CHURCHES

PARTICIPANTS IN

174 COMMUNITY GROUPS

$544,000

GIVEN THROUGH STOCKS

238%

GROWTH IN FLORENCE

COMMUNITY GROUPS

325

1,036,567

79,030

CROSSROADS CLIFTON FIRST

WEEKEND ATTENDANCE AT BOGART¡¯S

327

TOTAL ATTENDANCE THROUGH 43

WEEKS OF 2014

VISITS TO

AWAITED TICKETS GIVEN AWAY

ONLINE

COMPLETING THE CINCINNATI

WORKS JOB READINESS WORKSHOP

AT CITYLINK

29,302

684,337

SUPER BOWL SERVICE ATTENDANCE

51,643

AWAITED 2013 ATTENDANCE

9%

Esme¡¯s Story

¡°For a long time, Esme

(5y), has been asking

Jesus every night to

show himself to

her¡ªshe wants to

literally see him and hear

him. Each week at Kids¡¯

Club she¡¯s been learning

how to talk to God and

how much he wants to

talk to her. It¡¯s been

beautiful to witness her

heartfelt faith and also

hard when she wakes up

each morning,

frustrated, saying,

¡°Mama, he didn¡¯t come!¡±

I¡¯ve been at a loss at

how to support and

encourage her. But we

just keep asking

because this Mama

believes God wants to

reveal himself to children

most of all. This morning

Esme rushed down the

steps BEAMING and

clutching her notebook.

¡°Jesus spoke to

me Mama! I

heard him!¡±

She was glowing with

the joy of an answered

prayer and an encounter

with God. ¡°He told me to

be kind and love my

friends.¡± Such a sweet

reminder that miracles

still happen and I never

want to forget to keep

asking and have the faith

of a child.¡±

#wearecrds

On the day I called,

you answered me; my

strength of soul you

increased. Psalm 138:3

11%

4%

$3,670,166

Weekend services

Revealing God¡¯s truth through

teaching and creativity.

Open books. When you give,

this is where it goes.

16%

$6,783,088

West Side

$4,437,969

0.1%

First Impressions

Creating environments where

our friends connect with God.

$1,641,425

Kids¡¯ Club and

Student Ministry

OPERATING

EXPENSES

$19,617,605

(47%)

10%

$46,372

Florence, etc.

Don¡¯t cry for Florence, y¡¯all.

It still has that new car smell.

1%

We spent

Sharing God's story with kids,

students and families.

Seriously, wide open. Our books are audited each year by Barnes,

Dennig & Co, Ltd. and always open. Let us know if you'd like to see more.

$41,450,572

$3,971,713

Infrastructure

for freedom, for our friends,

for flipping the city.

Supporting staff and

volunteers on the front lines.

4%

$1,498,030

$517,944

Oakley

$28,465,987

TOTAL GIVING

CAPITAL

SPENDING

That leaves us a little short,

right?That¡¯s right. We

planned on the $13 million

gap, covering it with about $3

million from existing cash

reserves, and $10 million in

mortgage debt.

$21,832,967 (53%)

35%

$14,485,563

Mason

IT

Holding systems together

behind the scenes.

7%

Leigh¡¯s Story

$3,107,689

ReachOut

Running after our neighbors in

need, here and around the world.

3%

$1,290,613

Community Growth

Uniting churches and

helping a big church feel

like home.

¡°I showed up at Crossroads Mason

one day on my own accord...came, kind of

settled in. I didn¡¯t even tell my friends I was

here. I just sat in the back and took it in. Any

time I approached anything Christian, I was

turned off immediately. This is the first place

where I felt like, ¡°It actually is okay to not be

100% on board right away with all of this. This

is somewhere where I can come and explore.¡±

The biggest change in me is that I¡¯m

approaching everything I¡¯m hearing

now¡ªnot with criticism and how do I

argue against this, but with a much

softer heart. I¡¯m open minded and things

are making sense now. That¡¯s the big

difference.¡±

#wearecrds

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me. Proverbs 8:17

Unexpected:

A West Side Story

419

BRAND NEW SEATS IN

THE WEST SIDE AUDITORIUM

2,140

CEILING TILES REPLACED

31.9

ACRES

$6,783,088

TO PURCHASE

AND RENOVATE WEST SIDE

Evelyn¡¯s Story

I remember when my family said

that we would give money to help

support Crossroads, and it was

so cool to see my parents

sacrifice getting things they

wanted in order to build this

place [West Side]. I now see why

it¡¯s a big deal to give in this way.

I went through a heavy time last

year in high school, and I can say

that I have been healed, and it feels

awesome to be able to smile and

laugh and have joy again. I used to

be really mean to my parents¡ªI

didn¡¯t realize how disrespectful I

was to them. I love them and really

appreciate them now.

And now I have friends who didn¡¯t

even know if they believed in God

showing up to High School ministry

and church! I have friends who have

literally been transformed by God

through student ministry. The way

they deal with problems is totally

different. We know there is a better

way to get through the pain, and we

learn that here. It¡¯s a place that

feels like home, and it¡¯s right in our

backyard!

#wearecrds

$6,215,987

IN UNEXPECTED GIVING

1,755

IN ATTENDANCE

FIRST WEEKEND

We haven¡¯t all heard this story.

But man, it¡¯s a good one.

(Cue: ¡°Gee, Officer Krumpke.¡±)

Our giving budget for 2013-14 was

$22 million. That¡¯s what we expected

to come in through the generosity

and smart investments of our

teammates. That number was born

from all kinds of strategy meetings,

prayer sessions, accounting nitty

gritty, bold conversations. That $22

million was enough to start building

construction in Mason, create

excellent weekend experiences

across all sites, continue our

game-changing work in CityLink,

South Africa and India, and fund

ministry for kids and community

groups and everything else we

believed God wanted us to do this

year. Yep, it¡¯s a biggy bold number,

especially coming off of Game

Change and wondering if those

generous people would keep on

giving. But we wrote it down. We

planned against it. We told God we

needed him.

Then something unexpected came

up. In the sticky summer of 2013, we

found out about a middle school on

the West Side that was closing, and

might be for sale. No, Cleves wasn¡¯t

in our strategic plan. And no one had

any idea how we¡¯d pay for it. But we

felt like God was calling us to this

place on the West Side¡ªto reach

more people for Jesus there. So we

went for it, expecting to spend an

additional $5-7 million over our

budget to cover the purchase and

renovation. God gave us the vision

and the building, so we trusted him

to provide the means.

We didn¡¯t get what we

expected. Our giving

last year was nowhere

near $22 million. It was

more like $28 million.

It was another amazing, completely

humbling example of how God will

abundantly provide.

Now to Him

who is able to

do far more

abundantly

than all that we

ask or think,

according to

the power at

work within us,

to him be glory

in the church

and in Christ

Jesus

throughout all

generations,

forever and

ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

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