to Crossroad. My rela-

tionship with God started

to grow as I listened to

Pastor Rick’s sermons. I

continued to struggle

with letting go of “my

way” but God patiently

waited for me. Each time

I walked away and came

back to God, I did that

because I did not know

who I really was in

Christ…so it never lasted.

Finally, I surrendered to

the Lord and have found

my identity in Him.

It is wonderful to be

known as “Pastor Ron

and Mary Ann’s daugh-

ter”, going to the same

church and seeing how

God uses them. I love

being known as “Eli’s

wife” and having two

great kids who call me

“Mama”, but I realize now

that my identity can only

be found in Jesus Christ.

The Lord even blessed me

with one of the greatest

gifts a mother could ever

have by allowing me to

lead Micah and Ellie to

Christ. Do I believe I will

never have struggles

again? No, but now I

know I can trust in God’s

word. I don’t need to lean

on my own understand-

ing. I can simply find

rest believing in Him.

II Corinthians 5:17a says

“Therefore if anyone is in

Simpson’s Scorecard

by Craig Simpson 2

Children’s Ministry

by Gail Betts 2

And The Beat Goes On

by Ken Harper 2

Marvin’s Corner

Small Groups

Servant of the Month

By Pastor Marv

3

3

Stop, Look, and Listen

Live the Life 4

State of the Church—Insert

by Jack Riddle

Youth Group articles-Insert

by Andrew Betts

by Sarah Vanaman

On the Road

with Pastor Ron 3

Roadmap

Coming Events

Youth Group—Mondays 6:30 p.m.

Wednesday Night Services 7 p.m.

• Children—Pioneer Club

• Breaking Free

• Discipleship

• Bible Study

• Financial Freedom

March 29—Celebration Service at 6 p.m.

April 10—Good Friday Service at 7 p.m.

April 11 & 12—Easter Services

May 2 & 3—Anniversary Services with John Hobbs

May 9 & 10 Mother’s Day Services

Finding God’s Way to the Crossroad by Rhonda Gonzales

March 2009 Volume 3, Issue 3

Christ, he is a new

creation.” I am that

new creation. Ephe-

sians 1:4a tells me that

“just as He chose us in

Him before the founda-

tion of the world”, I can

know that He chose

me. II Corinthians

6:18 “I will be a Father

to you and you shall be

My sons and daugh-

ters, says the Lord Al-

mighty.”

God has brought me to

this “crossroad” in this

season of my life so

that I can know my

true identity — a new

creation chosen by God

to be His daughter.

While I have not fin-

ished learning about

my identity and the

plan He has for me, I

do believe that God has

me on the right path, a

path I plan to stay on

with the help of the

Holy Spirit and to en-

joy the journey while

walking in Him.

Rhonda & Eli

Micah, Ellie Gonzales

I was raised in a Christian

home and accepted the

Lord at an early age. Dur-

ing my junior and high

school years, my father

pastored a church. I was

known to everyone as

“Pastor Ron and Mary

Ann’s daughter.” Living

up to the expectations that

I “thought” were placed on

me seemed impossible, so

I rebelled and stopped

walking with the Lord but

He never let go of me. Af-

ter high school gradua-

tion, I made a decision to

attend Bible College be-

lieving that I would find

God again. It was easy to

make good decisions and

the right choices while in

a Bible College. However,

after graduating, I chose

to walk “my way” again

rather than walk the path

God had for me.

After Micah was born and

I met Eli, I began working

on my relationship with

God again. In 2001, I

married Eli and thought

life would be perfect, but I

was young and ignorant

and made poor choices as

his wife. I was struggling

to find my way but it was

my way, not God’s way. In

2002, our daughter Ellie

was born and my identity

struggles continued.

In late 2002, Eli, the chil-

dren, and I started going THE ISSUE IS ALWAYS

THE HEART . . . . . .

View Newsletter Mission

Statement

“ To Celebrate the people

and activities at Crossroad

Community Church”

View from the Youth by Craig Simpson Simpson’s Scorecard The playoffs for the volleyball season

begin on Thursday, March 26, at the

Atlanta Road Alliance Church. The

Crossroad team will probably go into

the playoffs as the #6 seed in the dou-

ble elimination championship tourna-

ment. Even though the Crossroad

volleyball team struggled during the

regular season, they do have the potential to go far in the

tournament. So let's not count them out.

Just a reminder that the Orioles-Phillies baseball trip is

planned for Friday, June 19. Seats are going fast so sign

up today (especially if you are an O's fan).

Here is more information on the upcoming softball season.

The games will be played at Brown's Branch Park east of

Harrington. The season will start at the end of May and

go to the beginning of August. Games start at 6:30. All

games are double-headers and will be played one night a

week, either Monday, Tuesday, or Thursday.

I want to encourage all those interested in playing softball

to sign up. We have lots of fun ands it’s a good way to get

to know people within the church. If you have questions

or concerns, you can talk to me at church or call me at

302-245-9992.

Page 2 View from the Crossroad

Editors of this issue: Charlie Moreland, Elaine Moreland, Sandy Brown, Gwen Hines, Louise King, Sue Stamat

Children’s Ministry by Gail Betts Paulette Pongratz and her team have the

Pioneer Clubs up and running on

Wednesday nights. Helping Paulette in

the third through fifth grade is her

daughter Melissa and Tammy Dukes.

Sharing duties for the first and second

grades are Tracey and Paul Ranalli and

Tonya Zitvogel, along with helper Dale Goodwin. Miss

Sharon (Jones) and Amy Schlabach are the teachers for the

younger children and they are always doing something

seasonal and fun! The teachers and helpers are as excited

as the children about our new programs. Be sure to thank

your child’s teacher for all their loving, hard work.

Coming on Saturday April 4th from 9:30 to 11:00 will be the

next Super Saturday. This will be Palm Sunday weekend

and the activities for the morning will be related to Palm

Sunday and Easter. Please dress your children appropri-

ately for some outside activities. Volunteers are welcome.

For more information, contact Miss Sharon at 875-5535.

Donations of plastic Easter eggs filled with wrapped can-

dies would be greatly appreciated. Please bring the eggs

by Saturday March 28th or Sunday March 29th.

As always, please keep the children’s teachers and helpers

in your prayers as they faithfully minister Christ to your

family.

And The Beat Goes On with Ken Harper As I write this month’s article, I am sitting in my home waiting for the water heater to be fixed. Tak-

ing a cold shower when the temperature outside is 32 degrees is not pretty. However, it has inspired

me to write about things you may not be aware of that happen each week to the praise team.

All through history musicians have always been on the front lines during wartime. Many times they

were the first ones killed in action. In the bible there was a trumpet player at the Battle of Jericho

who blew the trumpet just before the walls fell. The Calvary in the old west had a musician that

rode on a horse, playing the bugle to sound the charge alarm for all to hear. My favorite has always been the Revolutionary

War pictures of the piper, flag carrier, and drummer marching in the front. In this picture, you see the three marching in

determination as they have been shot, wounded, and bandaged. I always felt a kinship with the drummer because in my

earlier days as a drummer, I always thought some one might want to shoot me. I was either too loud or the drums were not

quite accepted as an approved instrument and quoting the Book of Psalms about clanging cymbals did not win me a lot of

brownie points.

Why am I mentioning these things? In a similar way, the praise team is on the front lines from week to week. Behind the

pretty smiles, lovely medley lines, and different arrangements in music, we are in a spiritual battle as we prepare hearts

for worship. For example, it is amazing how good you feel vocally throughout the week, but come an hour before you are to

minister in song, you are distracted by a sore throat, headache, or a sinus infection. How about equipment failure? Guitar

strings breaking, drumsticks cracking, new batteries in microphones suddenly dead, and the power shutting down are

some of the mishaps. My all time favorite distraction is feedback from the sound system that occurs when you sing the

name of Jesus, or when a particular line in the song is supposed to reach out to someone.

When singing a powerful song, it’s amazing how you can practice the song, get it right over and over, then during the per-

formance do what I do, forget the words and start making words up. While playing our instruments, we may play the

wrong chords or notes. There have been times on stage when half the band and vocals are in one key and the other side is

playing another key at the same time. Now I’m not saying that this is always an attack, sometimes we just blow it. What I

am saying is, we need your prayers of protection from week to week as we continue to minister through song. The enemy is

not excited about our ministry at CCC, and your prayers will place a hedge of protection around us. I’ll let you in on one

more secret before I close. The Holy Spirit has never let us down. The Lord has used us each and every time, no matter

how good or bad we may think it turned out. As the beat goes on, His grace is sufficient.

Servant of the Month By Pastor Marv

Prayer Opportunities

N

E W

S

Volume 3, Issue 3 Page 3

Marvin’s Corner By Pastor Marv

“We have to pray with our eyes on God, not on the difficulties” Oswald Chambers

† † † † Carol Gardner † † † † Julianna Hodgson † † † † Jackie Betts

† † † † Carolyn Craig † † † † Fred Aschmeyer † † † † Jeremy Wink

† † † † Jonathan Magee † † † † Marie Melvin † † † † Holly Wallace

Pray for our Missionaries:

† † † † Lee & Carol Short

† † † † Matt & Angela Atlas

† † † † John & Coleen Schleh

† † † † Jason and Heather Dexter

Prayer Chain Jackie Betts 684-4575

Wendy Daudt 629-8260

Prayer Chain Email: martietay@verizon.net

Presentation Kay Dukes 684-1210

Serving Our Savior

(S.O.S.) Frank Bolles 349-5112

Small Groups Marvin Jones 875-5535

Ushers Jim White 542.5670

View Charlie Moreland 349-5197

View Email: crossroadview@yahoo.com

Visitation Ellen Bollinger 337-8303

WEB Master Amy Schlabach 349-5176

Women’s Lauren Vanaman 856-7591

Youth Andrew Betts 856-3811

To assist with any of

these ministries con-

tact the leader listed

for more details.

Providing Direction in Ministries: Senior Pastor Rick Betts 856-3811

Assoc Pastor Marvin Jones 875-5535

Visitation Pastor Ron Wyatt 875-4184

Admin. Denise Harper 684-2856

Altar Marvin Jones 875-5535

Children’s Gail Betts 856-3811

Sharon Jones 875-5535

Cleaning Louise King 422-3582

Staci Marvel 422-3796

Men’s Bob Young 856-3235

Nursery Amy Schlabach 349-5176

Praise Team Ken Harper 684-2856

A CCC small group ministry is a great way to

get to know people and gain a strong support

system. There are many small groups that

focus on various interests and meet at differ-

ent times throughout the month. Consider

joining or starting a small group today. For

more details, call me at (302) 875-5535.

Our "College & Careers" small group for ages 18 to 26

meets at the home of Dan and Diane Twisselmann. Their

daughter, Jenna Twisselmann, and Danny Tribbits are the

facilitators. The group has been focusing primarily on lead-

ership skills and are using the "Purpose Driven Life" by

Pastor Rick Warren as one of their study sources.

The group is made up of young adults that will start meet-

ing on a weekly basis with more emphasis being placed on

Christian fellowship through activities such as bowling.

They also plan to begin a one-year devotional. In addition,

they will be giving support and encouragement while hold-

ing each other accountable. To become a part of this small

group, please call Danny at 381-4844 or Jenna at 841-4754.

On the Road with Pastor Ron

Bob Young has been meeting with Social Services on be-

half of one of our church members. He has spent a lot of

time thinking through the needs of this person and consid-

erable time in meetings. It is easy to see why Bob has

been appointed Chaplain in the Civil Air Patrol, but he

does not give of his time and energy because he

is Chaplain, he is Chaplain because he readily gives of his

time and energy to such matters in service to our Lord.

At the last meeting, the case worker stated she could not

believe that Bob was doing this gratis and on behalf of

CCC. Bob assured the social worker that helping people in

our community, whether or not they are a part of our con-

gregation, was not unusual at all. In her years as social

worker, she stated that she has never known

any church to take such active interest in or

show such concern for the welfare of one of

her cases. She couldn't say enough good

about our assistance in such matters and

assured Bob that if anyone asked her about

CCC she would confer a good report. After

all, the issue is always the heart.

As your visitation pastor, I really am

privileged to visit with people who are

standing in need of prayer. So many of

them are sick or have been in a serious

auto accident or something of that na-

ture, and I get the honor of praying for

them. I have seen people recover and

live normal lives again. Praise the Lord!

Recently I was asked to visit a man who was dying from

bone cancer. After a short visit, I asked him about his rela-

tionship with the Lord. His response was that he knew who

Jesus was but had never accepted his salvation. After shar-

ing the word of God with him, he accepted Christ as his per-

sonal savior. Praise the Lord! Can you see why I count it

such a privilege to be your visitation pastor? Glory to God

and peace on earth to all men!

20684 State Forest Road

Georgetown, De 19947

Phone: (302) 629-0111

www.crossroadcommunitychurch.net

heart and live for Him. That is

exactly what happened to me in

January 1972.

My dedication to Jesus was now

established, my love for Him was

increasing, and I was approach-

ing my first Easter with a new

heart and eyes to view Jesus.

Easter had changed.

This time I saw the suffering.

This time I felt the agony. This

time I heard the cries. It was no

longer Jesus dying for the world;

it was Jesus dying for me. I real-

ized so much in my life had

changed. The Bible was now a

living book. Hymns had changed

because the words meant so

much more to me now. Prayer

When I was a child, Easter

meant chocolate bunnies, col-

ored eggs, Easter baskets, new

church suits, Easter bonnets

and Easter egg hunts. It was

an enjoyable time for a kid and

I have fond memories of Easter

Sundays in my early years.

Now imagine me as a thirteen-

year-old who only prayed to

God, not to Father God or Je-

sus. I did not understand the

Father’s love or the Son’s sacri-

fice.

Suddenly I realize that Jesus is

Lord and I need to turn from

my sins, ask Jesus into my

was now relational, not reli-

gious.

I hope you have surrendered

your life to the Lord and have

begun to see how God has

changed your perspectives. If

not, why not make Him Lord

today.

His name is Jesus!

Saturday Night 7 p.m.

Sunday Morning 8:30 and 10:30 a.m.

STOP LOOK LISTEN

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Goes hereGoes hereGoes hereGoes here

By Pastor Rick Betts

Jesus said to His disciples,

“ If anyone desires to come after Me,

let him deny himself, and take up his

cross, and follow Me.”

Matthew 16:24

…journey with us on the Cross road! Worship †††† Fellowship †††† Witness

Nonprofit

Organization

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When Easter Changed.