Everywhere That I Go

This Sunday Crossroads will be singing "Everywhere that I Go" by Israel Houghton

This stirring worship song was written by Israel Houghton:

Nearly Disposed - Israels' Testimony
My mother became pregnant at the age of 17 in Waterloo, Iowa. You can imagine how this is shaping up. She was given the choice of a back-alley abortion or being disowned by her family. Thank God she chose the latter. Ultimately, she was disowned, abandoned by my biological father, and ended up in San Diego, California. Picture this. It was 1971 and my mother was 8 months pregnant, all alone, thousands of miles from home, and forced to enter reality unprepared. Pretty bleak. One day while walking down the street, a lady pulled up in her Volkswagen Bug, got out, and respectfully yet boldly, began to share the Gospel with her. Words of life and hope began to overtake the words of rejection and abandonment she had grown accustomed to. There on a street corner, she ended up on her knees and cried out to God-committing her life to Jesus Christ. The lady gave her a bible and that's how I got my name. My mother started reading at page one and well, you know-you have a bible, my name's on every page!
I'm often asked by skeptics or the stoic, why I'm as passionate about worshiping God as I am. The answer is simple for me. In this age of disposable relationships, I could have easily become a statistic and at best, a distant memory of a youthful mistake. Instead, a Sovereign God rescued my mother and me and gave us hope, a future, and a testimony of the providence of God. The very least I can do is enter into His gates with fresh thanksgiving, His courts with a passionate praise, and eventually bow before His throne in intimate worship. As far as leading worship goes (which is my passion and calling), I now realize that there have been demands put on me from every part of my experience since day one - culturally, emotionally, musically, and more. So things tend to sound cross-cultural, cross- denominational, and cross-generational. I like to call it, "The Sound of New Breed Worship." I tend to lead from an internal platform founded in Psalm 124:2, "If it had not been for the Lord who was on my side"....where in the world would I be? In an age of disposable relationships, maybe we should be asking ourselves that question a lot more often. I am confident that we would worship with far more conviction, intensity, and overwhelmed gratitude if we did. It is my delight to encourage you today.

Click here to hear about the story behind the song:
www.youtube.com/watchv=5TI9yRDbdZE

Click here to learn more about Israel:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel_Houghton

Click here to worship along with the Lakewood Church:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0W0oCGcu8k&feature=related

Click here to listen online:
www.imeem.com/pickurnose/music/fEmluTVP/everywhere_that_i_go/


Tetelestai will be singing "Forever Always" by Martha Munizzi.

In an interview about the album "Change the World" that produced this song, she writes:

"This record has songs that we wrote and songs that were brought to me. We went back to the beginning. Songs talk about how we’re created for a purpose, to be loved by God, to love and be loved. When we walk in that understanding, it releases us to love other people. When we’re working so hard, thinking we have to earn His love, then it’s hard to love others.
When we receive His love for ourselves, then we can open our hearts and see people the way God see’s them, on another level and another plateau. That’s how the world is transformed by God’s love and not by our religion or our ideas but by our kinship with God, and that’s how we change the world."

For the full interview, click here: http://blackgospel.com/martha-munizzi-interview-2008/

To listen to this song on Youtube, click here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzdZT3LRinQ&feature=PlayList&p=05093B054F498DC8&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=61

Announcements

Crossroads will meet this Sunday evening at 5:15. Tetelestai will not rehearse this Sunday but will rehearse the following Wednesday at 8:30. Crossroads will be singing in both morning worship services the following Sunday, November 22nd. Please arrive at 8:45am. The colors are shades of blue.

Mission Trip 2010

The dates for this year's mission trip will be July 11th-July 19th, 2010. The cost is $280. Any monies earned from the youth fundraisers provided through the student ministry this year can be applied to this trip. Please begin making small payments now so that you will not have to make larger payments in the late spring/early summer. All scholarships should be applied for as soon as possible.

Solo Auditions

This Sunday, November 1st, we will be hosting solo auditions during the Crossroads Rehearsals. Available solos are in the following songs:

• God So Loved
• My Shepherd
• Great is the Lord

Please prepare to sing a portion of any and all solos you are auditioning for.

October 18th Performances

Check out this youtube link to see Crossroads perform "Back II Eden" and Tetelestai "Glorify Your Name."

www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6ZyopWNRyc

Back II Eden & Glorify Your Name

Back II Eden

This Sunday Crossroads will be singing Back II Eden by gospel singer/songwriter Donald Lawrence. Lawrence spoke about the message of this song saying “This is pushing people to get back to our original design. God deemed for us a life of family, good health, wealth, spirituality and love. . I’m reminding us of this principle and saying what are you waiting for? Let's get back to our original purposes.”

Click here to listen to Back II Eden:
http://new.music.yahoo.com/donald-lawrence/tracks/back-ii-eden--206110805

Click here to watch Donald Lawrence lead this song live in Chicago:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJEWQMrkBKw

Click here to purchase this song on itunes:


Glorify Your Name

Tetelestai will be singing Glorify Your Name written by Kevin Singleton. Singleton is a former pro basketball player who uses his sports and musical abilities to perform for over 200,000 people a year. He seeks to inspire students to make a difference on their campuses and in their communities.

To read more about Kevin Singleton, visit his website here:
http://www.kevinsingleton.com/

To watch Cindy Cruse Ratcliffe and Jaci Velasquez lead this song at Lakewood Church click here:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfS7yxT4JbQ

Click here to purchase this song on itunes:

Tetelestai Results

Hey Guys- Here is the list of those that made Tetelestai. Again, thanks to all those that tried out. We were blessed to have nearly 30 audition this year. If your name is not on the list, please know how much I appreciate you and your leadership in the Crossroads Choir. Your participation is invaluable. Please continue to work on your skills and talents that God gave you- Auditions will be same time again next year!

Blessings, John

These are in alphabetical order:

Kami Cayce
Kaylee Dean
Austin DeGuire
Cameron Ford
Jordan Garner
Molly Gramling
Joey Gregory
Kelci Harnist
Kevin Hiles
Kyle Howerton
Chris Hurt
Megan Kent
Briana Loera
Mariah Lopez
Hannah Raymond
Troy Sonefeld
Rhyanna Thomsen

Congrats to all! We'll begin rehearsals this coming Sunday, September 27th at 4:00pm.

Tetelestai Auditions

Tetelestai Audition Results will be posted at the end of rehearsal this Sunday, September 20th. Thanks to all who tried out. We are blessed to have so many talented students!

Sunday, September 13th

Crossroads rehearsals will begin this Sunday. We'll meet from 5:15-6:45. We'll hit the ground running as we'll be learning new music for the Fall.

Tetelestai (the smaller, auditioned ensemble) will hold open auditions for 9th-12th graders this Sunday afternoon at 3:45 in the choir room. Those auditioning will need to be prepared to sing a song of your choice and some brief vocalization exercises.

Kick Off

Yesterday we had a great group of students at the choir kick off. I'm excited about this year. There were several new faces that I hope will find a place in the group. We won't rehearse next week due to the Labor Day Holiday, but we will start back up on the 13th.

Sunday

This Sunday we'll be kicking off the new year at 5:15pm in the Youth Center. There will be food, get to know you activities, and we'll also be listening to new music for the Fall.

I can't remember a time that I've been this excited about introducing new music to the students. The songs are challenging but will definitely be rewarding if they stick with it. It's open for 7th-12th grades, so if you're student isn't a part, tell them to come check it out- no strings attached.

Ministry Help Positions

Hi! Welcome to the new Crossroads Blog. As we begin this new year, we would like to encourage you to become involved in the Crossroads Student Choir Ministry. We've listed the remaining available positions below. Please prayerfully consider how you might be a part.

If, once you've read the list of available positions below, you are interested in helping, please click the link to the "Volunteer Interest Form." When the document appears, look towards the top left corner of the web page and click download. If you choose Microsoft Word, you can save the document, type in your information, attach to an email, and submit to John@firsthurst.com, or print and mail to the church address: 1801 N. Norwood Dr., Hurst, 76054.

Volunteer Interest Form
On Line Communicator- Use of email, Twitter, and Facebook to deliver general communication to students and/or parents. Facebook and Twitter accounts will need to be created for Crossroads. This person will need to be knowledgeable in setting up Twitter and Facebook accounts. The On Line Communicator will be given information to send out to students and/or parents. Using one of the options listed above, the On Line Communicator will contact necessary persons to convey information. If desired, a group of volunteers can divide up this task as necessary.

Mission Trip Preparation Crew- The trip coordinator for the 2010 Mission Trip will be Kellie Kellner. In preparation for the trip there is much research and phone/email communication that is required with possible ministry/concert locations, restaurants, transportation companies, lodging sites, and free time/entertainment venues. Members of the Preparation Crew will be responsible to Kellie Kellner for carrying out the preparation for the trip as deemed necessary by Kellie.

True Love Concert Help

• Dessert Coordinator
• Drinks Coordinator (Coffee, Tea, and Water)
• Ticket Sales
• Publications (Flyers, Tickets, etc)
• Decorations

Event Photographer (Experience Preferred but not required)

Event Videographer (Experience Required)

Some of you may not want to lead a position, but might be interested in helping in the following areas should opportunities arise!

• Volunteers needed for “groups” in below mentioned positions
• Drivers for local projects and events
• Hospitality for special events (food coordination and set up for fundraising concert, kickoffs, & special meetings)