IMPACT Crossover Community Impact Magazine
2017 Winter Edition
Crossover Preparatory Academy:
I am My Brother’s Keeper
2017 Year In Review!
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Crossover Community Impact
I M PA C T
Volume 1, Number 1 Winter Edition
EDITOR Rondalyn Abode, Director of Development
ART/DESIGN Janice Connolly, Director of Marketing & Design
BOARD OF DIRECTORS PHILIP ABODE DR. JOHN ABRAHAM MICHELLE BARNETT JEAN BARRETT DR. KENT FARISH TOMIKA GRAY CHAS HIGGINS JOHN HOLLIDAY, JR JUSTIN PICKARD SAM RADER O.C. WALKER RODNEY WATKINS
ABOUT US CROSSOVER is published two times a year: Winter and Summer. Crossover Community Impact 940 East 36th Street North Tulsa, OK 74106 (918) 856-5377 www.crossoverimpact.org info@crossoverimpact.org
FOLLOW US FACEBOOK facebook.com/crossoverimpact INSTAGRAM instagram.com/crossover communityimpact TWITTER twitter.com/crossoverimpact
I recently had the privilege of speaking with Anne who has led the neighborhood association for the Hawthorne Neighborhood for years. As I was thinking about how we are thankful for having the opportunity to share in this magazine the extraordinary things that God has recently been doing in our community, I was reminded that (of course) God has been at work here for a long time. Listening to this passionate older woman talk about the different things her block has advocated and worked for through the years made me proud that Crossover is committed to restoring our community through reconciliation, love, and justice. I hope you see evidence of restoration in the following articles. Also, I hope you will pray for us that God brings reconciliation in a larger way across our city for His glory. From the start, our work here in north Tulsa has been made possible by the support of the larger church in Tulsa. And we hope that God continues to establish partnerships, so that one day there will be Christian community development organizations working for restoration in and around each elementary school in north Tulsa. Regardless of whether or not it is God’s will for us to see transformation of all the neighborhoods across north Tulsa in our life time, we know that He calls us to be faithful. I am so thankful for folks like Anne who have been holding it down, and I hope that we all will, in the words of Hosea 12:6, continue to “hold fast to love and justice.” Will you help us reach our goal of $300,000 to help us as we seek to restore our community? Grateful for you,
Justin Pickard Executive Director Crossover Community Impact Crossoverimpact.org
Thank You 2017 Corporate/Foundation Sponsors
What’s Inside Features 4. 2017 Restoring our Community Banquet 6. Crossover Preparatory Academy 8. IMPACT Kids Program
Associated Mortgage Corporation Butterfield Memorial Foundation Coldwell Banker Select Thermal Windows 1st Capital Mortgage LLC ELG Division CursiveLogic, LLC Executives Title & Escrow, LLC First Baptist Church Tulsa First Evangelical Free Church of Franklin County Jackie Cooper Imports of Tulsa Joey D. Dills, Inc. Marino Family Trust Praise Ministry Inc. Pinkston’s Turf Services Inc. The Elpis Foundation 3D Construction AT&T Auto-Turn MFG., Inc. Big Poppy’s Okie Crossfit Bratton Family Dentistry Hapa Japenese Cuisine 9-1-8 Riderz Industrial Piping Specialists, Inc. Tulsa Runner Village 9 Inc.
Also, a special thank you to all those who personally made an IMPACT through your donations, time and resources!
10. StreetLeader Program 12. Crossover Sports Association
We couldn’t do this without you!
14. Crossover Bible Church 16. Crossover Development Company 18. Crossover Health Services 20. End of Year Giving
Blue Sky Bank Cyntergy AEC, LLC Gable Gotwels Growing Together Helmerich Family Trust Higgins Homes National Christian Foundation New York Life Oklahoma Center for Education Policy Oklahoma Science & Engineering Foundation RBR Partnerships Robinson Foundation Taylor Family Foundation Tulsa Development Authority Tulsa Metropolitan Habitat for Humanity Young Life Asbury United Methodist Church Christian Chapel Ethos Presbyterian Church First Baptist Church Tulsa First Presbyterian Church First United Methodist Church River Oaks Presbyterian Church The Church at Battle Creek Trinity Presbyterian Church Tulsa Bible Church
Happy New Year!
Dr. John Perkins, Co-Founder of the CCDA and Philip Abode, Pastor of CBC
2017 Restoring our Community Banquet ‘The most stupendous part of the evening was that the greatness of our God was on display.” -Rondalyn Abode by Rondalyn Abode
“R
econciliation is the work of the ministry.” Those words stuck with me and truly transformed my perspective on September 15th, when I had the opportunity to hear from one of my heroes, Dr. John Perkins. Those words have reverberated through the chambers of my heart ever since. We were blessed to have Dr. Perkins join us as the keynote speaker for this year’s “Restoring Our Community Banquet”. Dr. Perkins is a giant among men when it comes to racial reconciliation. He has enough honorary doctorates to share, but more than that, He lives out the ministry of reconciliation that God has given us (2 Corinthians 5:21). He has been working to develop under-resourced communities through the gospel for decades, decades longer than I’ve been alive. He’s so much to so many, and for Crossover in particular, he inspired the work that we are currently doing. He inspired us to live incarnationally or amongst the people we’re serving (relocation), to use whatever resources we have to build up our community, including relationships (redistribution), and to em-
phasize and expect reconciliation. Not only reconciliation between God and man, but also between people. This hero chose to come to Tulsa to share with us what He’s learned during his time working to develop people and to love them with Christ’s love. The banquet was a humbling and yet remarkable experience. Not only because we were able to secure Dr. Perkins as our speaker this year, but also because of how people came out to support Crossover. First, The Church at Battle Creek partnered with us, to make the banquet a dream come true. There was a team of ladies who approached us about creating floral arrangements and praying for the banquet that did so much more than that. They made the banquet exquisite- the sight of the centerpieces literally brought tears to my eyes. I don’t know how to describe how grateful we are to our sponsors- we’re overwhelmed because we know that we don’t deserve such grace. But that’s what grace is - unmerited favor! Last year we had 210 people attend, this year we had over 32 tables sponsored. Our banquet attendance grew by 300 people in one year! People
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kept asking how our attendance grew the way that it did. God did that! We have previously never been this successful obtaining sponsors. We had two partners that loved us so much that they gave $5,000, and we had an organization give us $2,500, and we had two organizations give us $1,000! I don’t know about you, but I’m having a hard time wrapping my mind around these numbers, and I have to mention the 32 bronze table sponsors that gave us $500 each. At Crossover Bible Church, we talk about how “God does the heavy lifting.” This is what I thought about often during the course of the Banquet. We had families from Crossover Bible Church, Crossover Prep, Crossover Sports Association, and employees from every organization of Crossover at the banquet. Did I mention that the Praise Team from Crossover Bible Church was magnificent?! The most stupendous part of the evening was that the greatness of our God was on display. You could hear the whispers of His goodness and grace through each and every moment. Dr. Perkins joining us this year was the icing on the cake of an incredible year of seeing God work in and through us. Who else can put a small organization on the cover page of the local newspaper or provide 27 young men to be a part of the inaugural class of an all-boys school, or enable us to make statistical changes in our community. Only God can do that, and He is the reason we were able to bring Dr. Perkins to Tulsa in his 87th year to challenge us to live every bit of our lives as unto our Lord. 2017 has been a year of epic proportions and the 2017 Restoring Our Community Banquet
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was an indication of the greatness of our God! Please plan to join us next year! I can’t wait to see what God does! Thank you for being a part of what God is doing so mightily. It’s humbling to know that our great God is doing a work that only He could do right here in Tulsa, and the 5th Annual Restoring Our Community Banquet was truly a reflection of the truth that He alone can do exceedingly and abundantly more than we could ever hope or imagine. He alone makes all things beautiful in His time. He alone is God who is in control of all things and worthy of praise. May God give you strength and bless you with peace. Psalm 29:11
Rondalyn Abode is passionate about bringing God the most glory. She has been married to her “Honey,” Philip Abode, for almost 16 years, and she has the sheer joy of watching God transform him daily. She is inspired by her two children, Temple and Priest, and she often despises the “baby dog,” Rocky. She is an Oklahoma LEND Intern, and she is convinced that God’s grace is sufficient. If you would like to learn more Crossover Impact, please go to http://crossoverimpact. org .
CrossoverPREP
‘The more I learned, the more potential I saw for an education that would go beyond academics treating students not just as test scores, but holistically reaching their minds, bodies, and spirits.” -Dr. john Lepine
by John Lepine, Sr.
TJ*
was in trouble a lot during my first year as a teacher at McLain Jr. High. His size and speed made him indispensable to the school football team, but his reading level was years behind where he should have been, and when he wasn’t asleep in my class, he was talking out of turn or texting under the table. There was one time that I could always count on TJ to be respectful and hard-working though: game day afternoon. He would come to my room pleading to high heaven for work to bring up his grade. But when the football season ended, my one trick for motivating TJ—eligibility—vanished. For TJ and for many other students who weren’t internally driven to get good grades, I struggled to explain why they need to pay attention to a lesson about grammar. My usual approach was to say: you need to learn this so you’ll get a good grade in my class, so you’ll be ready for high school, so you can get good grades in high school, so you can be ready for college, so you can get good grades in college, so you can get a good job after college, so you can make a lot of money. Unfortunately, that long chain of events ending ultimately in the distant promise of the American dream failed to convince many stu-
dents that they should be interested in the difference between a subject and predicate. TJ, who was almost 15 with no permanent home, needed a lot more than just the incentive of a better life through education to change his life. TJ needed strong male role models at school; he needed counselling and mentoring; he needed peers who encouraged him toward excellence; most of all, he needed the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I was less than a year into my work as a Ph.D. student when my wife and I heard about the work being done at Crossover Community Impact. The soccer coaches at McLain, who were young white guys like me, both attended Crossover Bible and had both moved their families to north Tulsa. They convinced me to meet Pastor Philip and learn more about the plan to start a school for boys in north Tulsa. The more I learned, the more potential I saw for an education that would go beyond academics— treating students not just as test scores, but holistically reaching their minds, bodies, and spirits. And by living in the same community as my students, not only would my commute time be
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Prepar atory A
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Crossover Scholarship Fund
These students are our future health professionals, social workers, teachers, policy makers, and military men—they are the future of our nation. We must do more. And with your help we can. If you would like to learn more about the Crossover Scholarship Fund, please go to http://crossoverscholarshipfund.org.
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drastically reduced, but it would move me from being a “missionary” to a member. Instead of parachuting in from south Tulsa each day to try to help north Tulsa, I would be working with my community to restore it. I would be sharing the same sidewalks, the same stray dogs, the same parks and playgrounds and potholes with the families of my students. Best of all, instead of spreading the gospel of the American dream—study hard, follow the rules, and one day you too can make a lot of money—, I would be sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ—that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, so love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself. God has graciously given us 27 young men to pour into this year at Crossover Prep. Each day, I thank God for the privilege of partnering with them to fulfill their God-given potential in mind, body, and spirit, and to raise them up to be Christ-like leaders in our community.
Crossover Community Impact
*not his real name
Dr. John Lepine, Sr. joined Crossover Prep as Principal after completing his Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Oklahoma. He lives in north Tulsa with his wife, Katie, and their two children, Jack and June. If you would like to learn more about Crossover Prep Academy, please go to http://crossoverprep.org.
IMPACT Kids We provide an after school program for K-6th grade students at Hawthorne Elementary School.
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After School & Summer Programs “We are living proof God hears our prayers for the manpower, resources and love we need to serve our families in a way that is a blessing to them and brings glory to God!� -Leah Pickard by Leah Pickard
A
na is a 5th grader who is intensely passionate about robotics! I saw this the first time I met Ana at Hawthorne’s “Meet the Teacher Night.� I approached Ana’s mother with my clip-board in hand and my spiel about our program and then asked if she would like me to add her to our email-list of families interested in the after-school program. Her mom listened with a kind, patient expression, and when I finished she looked down at Ana, who feverishly translated into Spanish what was just said. Then Ana stopped and looked up to me with a spunky expression and said, “Wait, what do you actually do in the program?� I explained that one of the things we are excited to incorporate into the IMPACT Kids After-School Program this year is participation in the First Lego League (FLL) where students design, build and program a robot out of Legos. One thing you have to love about Ana is her energy, and when I said this, her entire body responded with excitement. After Ana translated everything, her mother nodded and gave me her contact information. Ana and her brother were enrolled and within a few weeks, Ana was in the Robotics Club. I have to pause to explain God’s provision in the creation of this Lego Robotics Club this year. I have marveled several times this year at all God has blessed us with in the program and was reminded of the passage in John, “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.� (John 14:13). In the summer, I applied for the 2017 Oklahoma Science & Engineering Foundation – Dell grant and the Tulsa Regional STEM Alliance grant with the plan to launch the First Lego League and First Lego League Jr. programs for our after-school students. We prayed over these grants, and God was so utterly good to bless us with both grants which
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enabled us to buy all the necessary kits and computers to participate in the FLL and FLL Jr. programs! At the same time, I was praying for more volunteers to facilitate the FLL program, and again, God brought us a wonderful college student, Braeden Williams, who took on the laborious job of leading the club. In addition, I received a random email from Kim and Alan Duncan who were moving back to Tulsa from the San Francisco Bay area and were interested in volunteering in our after-school program. I was elated to learn Kim was a 3rd grade teacher, and Alan was a physics and Senior Fellow at Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center. God was so good to not only bring people to help, but also to bring people with the training and experience needed to help run a quality robotics program! So, back to Ana! After many, many, many weeks of the faithfulness of Braeden, Kim, Alan and the StreetLeaders, we reached the First Lego League competition for our team!!! I left my home at 7:20am to pick up everyone to head off to the competition at TU. I picked up Ana first; she was sitting on her porch waiting for me. Once she saw me she jumped up and ran to the car ‌.she was a few ticks above her typical energetic, happy self. As we drove to pick up the other team members Ana chatted away about how excited she
Crossover Community Impact
was to make it all the way to competition. I must have been responding in a lackluster manner because she stopped suddenly and said, “Look, you don’t understand, this is like a dream come true for me!â€? I thought that is quite a statement, even for Ana. So I said, “Yeah?â€? Ana resounded, “Yeah!!! I was in a Lego robotics club, but my parents had to pull me out of it because they could not keep taking time off work for it. They had to pick my brother and me up from school, then take me to the club, then take him to a sitter, then finally come back for me when Lego club was over. So, I never got to go to competition.â€? Ana’s mom works at McDonald’s and her Dad works in construction, and it was jeopardizing her mom’s employment to leave work to run the kids around. At that moment, amidst my running around picking kids up, hoping to make it to TU in time to meet the others, I was overwhelmed by God’s provision again and couldn’t do anything other than stop to thank him out loud. All I could say to Ana at that moment was, “Wow, praise God!â€? We are living proof God hears our prayers for the manpower, resources and love we need to serve our families in a way that is a blessing to them and brings glory to God! Leah Pickard is the director of the IMPACT Kids and StreetLeader programs. She is an avid lover of people and gifted at building others up! She has been married to Justin Pickard for 16 years, and they have 4 adorable children. When she is not working, she enjoys spending with her family, camping, and a hot beverage by the fireplaceđ&#x;˜Š. If you would like to learn more about the IMPACT Kids program, please go to http:// crossoverimpact.org/impact-kids/.
Why College Tours?
This is a training Program committed to prepare men and women for meaningful work through honest relationships, mentoring, work force development training, and ongoing community support.
by Jeremy Williams
I
kept trying to make sense of a phenomenon I saw but didn’t understand--a StreetLeader’s decision in choosing a local two-year college without even considering a four-year college or university. Was it purely financial? Was it the convenience of “school” being less than 15 minutes away from home as opposed to across the country? Could it be the dreaded idea of losing touch with friends, family, or a “sweetheart” back home while away? I have wrestled with these and other questions during my time as the StreetLeader Coordinator since 2014. I researched answers to these questions when I was trying to discern why students were choosing to attend Tulsa Community College in such high numbers (if they did decide to attend college at all). Though all these concerns were valid, they weren’t the determining factor when making this important decision. The biggest reason they did not pursue a four-year college or university turned out to be a lack of exposure to the many ways colleges make themselves accessible, and the lack of understanding the advantages a four-year university education can create. Although for some, college readiness, maturity, G.PA. and/ or SAT/ACT scores were significant concerns, most simply believed college was not an option. Such an education was seen as totally out of reach. This finding is what led to the conclusion that exposure might help change this perception. So, we started to schedule college tours! We scheduled a total of 9 tours in our first year, and required all StreetLeaders (despite his or her age) to attend a minimum of five of the tours. The immediate response after the first tour was fascinating! Shortly after being exposed to what is possible
through a college education, the students started to see themselves in college. To hear our StreetLeaders imagine out loud attending a particular school and rooming together in dorms was stunning! They went from never considering college, to looking forward to its unique benefits. College starts to mature students the moment one sets foot on campus. One must adapt to adult living, such as the expectation to maintain a home, food, laundry, etc. One must keep a schedule, set achievable goals and study, while managing a social life, healthy personal habits and the expansion of one’s mind. College establishes in them the ability to learn how to learn, work hard at learning,
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StreetLeaders StreetLeader’s College Prep Training grow their bodies and minds, while learning to find something to be good at that serves others well. In short, college can serve them well given the chance. I am simply stating that it’s imperative our StreetLeaders understand that they are not limited to trade school or community college; they have other options. Because we want to set our StreetLeaders up to pursue their career goals and develop them as leaders, we are constantly performing grade and attendance checks, providing one-on-one tutoring, making SAT and ACT prep available (in some cases signing them up for the test), attending college seminars, helping complete FAFSA applications, assisting with scholarship research, instituting study hall, and occasionally visiting with their high school counselors. We want to ensure that we have crossed every “T”, and dotted every “I” before they graduate from high school and the StreetLeader program. We use the Jobs for Life training resource for equipping our StreetLeaders for the future. This is how the program has been described, “This is a training committed to prepare men and women for meaningful work through honest
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relationships, mentoring, work force development training, and ongoing community support.” Through this curriculum, I have witnessed some of our StreetLeaders recognize their roadblocks, create road maps to success, narrow career choices, master their strengths and values, grow professionally and develop their faith in God. To ensure that our students are financially literate, they go through the Faith and Finance course to learn about savings, mortgages, assets and liabilities, investments, credit scores etc. We have also added a College Prep seminar where we talk about how to get prepared for college in its entirety. Honestly, as the StreetLeader Coordinator, I have learned a lot about leadership and the needs of our young adults in the community. Nothing that I’ve learned could have happened had it not been for the opportunity to build positive relationships or to “do life” with our StreetLeaders. The joy that I get from seeing their smiles during college visits, or the fun and excitement during “Jobs for Life” training, nor the sealed graduation invitations mailed to my address could override
Crossover Community Impact
the comfort and satisfaction I get from leading these young men and women into their purpose. Jeremiah 29:11 states that “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” It is my hope that God leads our StreetLeaders into greatness in love, grace, and spiritual maturity as they continue on the path of righteousness and crossing over from death to life for His glory and their good. Jeremy Williams is the StreetLeader Coordinator and CBC Student Ministries Coordinator for Crossover Community Impact & Crossover Bible Church. He was born and raised in north Tulsa Oklahoma where resides with his awesome wife Brittany and their four children. Their passion and ministry is to continue Gods work in building and encouraging youth in Christ Jesus, and restoring our community through reconciliation, love and justice. If you would like to learn more about the StreetLeader Program, please go to http:// crossoverimpact.org/youth-jobs.
CROSSOVER
LIONS
Our commitment is to producing athletes that excel both on and off the field.
We are Lions “The God First, others second, and me third attitude is what I love most about Crossover.� -Isaac Bennett
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SPORTS by Isaac Bennett
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remember it distinctly, it was during a 6 AM workout at the YMCA in February of 2016, that I met Philip Abode. Because it was so early, I don’t quite remember all the minor details of our conversation, but I do remember being impressed by his vision. He wanted to start an all-boys Christian school in the heart of urban Tulsa! “That’s exactly what this city needs” was my initial thought, so I responded in kind. Of course, I was interested, and we ended up meeting shortly afterwards to talk about Crossover a little more. So, my first introduction was to Crossover Prep Academy, but during our meeting, he asked me about being involved in Crossover Sports Association (CSA) as well. Philip offered me dual positions within the Crossover organization, I would serve as both the Director of Sports for CSA and the Athletic Director, PE Teacher, and Strength and Conditioning Coach for Crossover Prep, a school that had not yet existed. At the time, I was a P.E. Assistant at Carver and definitely comfortable. It was my first position after completing college, but I felt like God was calling me to do something else. I accepted the position(s) and now we’re going on 2 years. Honestly, as I’m writing this, I’m still as excited as I was on my first day with
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Crossover! It’s funny how God works because I feel like I’ve been a part of Crossover most of my life. I look at Crossover’s mission and the different staff members, volunteers, and parents and I definitely feel at home. What Crossover has taught me is to serve even when you don’t feel like serving. The “I’m third” attitude is what makes Crossover so special. I think I see this most prominently in the Crossover Lions Youth Sports Program. From parents offering to wash jerseys and make homecoming gift-bags for other people’s kids, to coaches going out of their way to pack their cars with sweaty boys, to people offering up their house to strangers to hold prayer. I could go on but my point is this, I think this organization has a strong foundation because of the many people willing to go out of their way to show God’s Love. As a product of the same north Tulsa environment, I understand clearly the need for positive influences and opportunities for the kids that come through the Crossover Lions program. I believe that kids need to be exposed to more than just sports, but sports are the perfect tool to
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help teach kids about the many uncertainties in life. It’s also a great way to teach life skills like responsibility, grit, communication, teamwork, ownership, and work ethic through practice every day. The God first, others second, and me third attitude is what I love most about Crossover. What I know about God is that He tends to place people in different places for different seasons, I’m just trying to do my best to better serve the people around me while I’m here.
Isaac Bennet has a heart for youth and a passion for health and wellness. He is rightly named “Laughter”, and he coaches and mentors kids in a way that causes them to be better when they walk away from him than when they came. If you would like to learn more about Crossover Sports Association, please go to http://www.crossoverlions.org.
Crossover Lion Teams: Football, Baseball, Basketball, Track & Field and Cheer
Restoring our community by making disciples while loving and serving our neighbors.
Crossover Bible Church by Philip Abode
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hen we returned from seminary in 2005, I was determined to be a part of a church that made a tangible difference in our community. Twelve years later, I still have to pinch myself when I think about everything that we have seen God do over the years. One of the things that we say a lot at Crossover is that “God does the heavy lifting”. He has done some pretty heavy lifting when it comes to everything from enabling us to swap land that we paid $110,000 to purchase in exchange for property that cost almost $1 million to Him bringing the right people at the right time to join our team (our non-profit’s executive director has a Masters from Harvard and our school’s principal has a PhD…see what I mean). And even though we have seen God do a lot, I cannot help but feel that He is just getting started with Crossover! As a church family, we truly believe that God wants us to focus on restoring our community by making disciples while loving and serving our neighbors. And just so you know what I mean when I say, “Restoring our Community,” we believe that God wants to see north Tulsa become a place with a reputation for having Healthy People: people who are healthy spiritually, emotionally, and physically; Faithful Families: husbands and wives who are faithful to their marriage vows, who are faithfully raising their kids to love God; Peaceful Neighborhoods:
neighborhoods where community happens and where people love their neighbors as they love themselves; and Thriving Institutions: schools that work, opportunities for jobs and home ownership, and where there is a great relationship between the community and the public sector. Unfortunately, Healthy People, Faithful Families, Peaceful Neighborhoods, and Thriving Institutions are not the first things that come to mind when most people think of north Tulsa. By God’s grace, we hope to see that change some day. And believe it or not, we have developed a simple strategy for our church to see that happen. Our strategy includes four components: Gather, Go, Grow, and Gospel Works. As far as I am concerned, seeing restoration in our community is as simple as that. Keep in mind that I said “simple”, not easy. As a church family, we Gather weekly to worship God and celebrate God for who He is and what He has done. It warms my heart to see a diverse church family singing with one voice to God, letting Him know that we offer ourselves as A Living Sacrifice (one of my favorite songs) in light of His mercy.
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Our church strategy includes four components: Gather, Go, Grow, and Gospel Works. And we Go together on mission to help folks get connected to God and His people, through what we call Missional Teams. I like to think of a Missional Team as an outward focused family. That might sound like something fancy, but we mainly enjoy some great food once a week together, see how everyone is doing (celebrating the highlights and praying for the lowlights), and encourage each other as we try to reach others. And we use Huddles as a safe place for 3-5 men or 3-5 women to be open and honest about their struggles and to help each other Grow toward spiritual maturity. We regularly meditate on the passage from the previous week’s sermons. I will be honest with you, I do not always look forward to meeting with my Huddle on Saturday mornings (sometimes as early as 7am), but I cannot think of a time that I have regretted going. The accountability and support that I get from the guys in my Huddle and that they get from me has made all of us better men. And the last part of our strategy is engaging in Gospel Works (gospel motivated good works). Everything we do through Crossover Community Impact (CCI) gives us a tremendous opportunity to tangibly love and serve our community. Believe it or not, over 50% of Crossover’s members either work or volunteer for a CCI program or is married to someone who does. That is a lot of love and service coming from a church of under 200 people! I am convinced that as more and more of the Crossover family engages in our strategy: Gather, Go, Grow, Gospel Works, we will see more and more restoration in our community. Please pray for us as we seek to faithfully journey down the path that God has placed us on.
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Crossover Community Impact
I believe that God wants to see North Tulsa become A place with a reputation for having healthy people... -Philip Abode
Philip Abode has been married to his wife, Rondalyn, for 15 years, and they have two children that look just like him. Philip wears many hats in the Crossover Family, but the one for which he is most esteemed is Pastor of Crossover Bible Church. If you would like to learn more about Crossover Bible Church, please go to: http://crossoverbible.org,
What do you must update today ? by Levi Hutton
M
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y name is Levi Hutton, and I want to take this opportunity to not only introduce myself but to also give you an update on some of the things I have been a part of as an employee of Crossover Development Company. I spent the majority of my life living in the great state of Montana. I attended college in Joplin, Missouri and graduated with a degree in Intercultural Studies. While in college, and the years following, I worked in a couple of churches as a Youth Minister and Associate Minister. A few years after graduation, I moved to New York City to work with a church plant in Brooklyn. It was there that I met my wife, Chutney. After getting married, we decided to move back to her home town of Tulsa, Oklahoma to be closer to her family. While living in New York, I decided to take my life-long passion for woodworking and carpentry, and turn it into a career. As you can imagine, I did not anticipate God
taking my past experience working with and mentoring kids and pairing it with my life-long passion for carpentry. But He did just that; He matched my experience with my passion because God often does what only He can do, the unimaginable. I began working with Crossover Development Company almost two years ago as the Construction Superintendent. It has been a challenging but equally rewarding experience. Since starting with CDC, we have completely gutted and re-built 4 houses in the Hawthorne neighborhood, worked on countless smaller remodel projects in north Tulsa, and are in the middle of one gut renovation and one remodel simultaneously… now. What I have enjoyed most has been the community that has formed around each and every CDC jobsite. Jerry Seinfeld has a joke about construction sites that I have referenced often as an employee for Crossover Development Company. He jokes that the reason
they put up those plywood fences around the sites is to keep herds of men from wandering onto the site and giving their twocents. We opted not to put up any sort of fence and as a result have folks stopping by and hanging out at the jobsite everyday – kids, neighbors, even friends we have made on a different job will drive over to the new one just to see what we’re up to, to say “hi”, or to drop off something for us to eat. The work we do from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM– providing jobs, beautifying the neighborhood, building homes – is very important. But all of that pales in comparison to the relationships we have built through it, not only as a staff but also the various relationships we have built in the community. I pray that God will continue to use CDC to do the impossible, the work that only He can do. I pray that He will continue His work of transforming us North-Tulsans in order to transform north Tulsa.
Levi Hutton has been married to his stunning wife Chutney for 2.5 years, and they are the proud parents of Ms. Isley Ruth. Levi’s passion for woodworking and people has developed in him a patience that reflects God’s grace and a work ethic that reveals that he is indeed working as unto the Lord. To learn more about Crossover Development Company or to join Levi and his team on a construction site, go to http://crossoverimpact.org/ housing-development/.
Our hardwork pales in comparison to the community relationships we have built through building homes -Levi Hutton
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Crossover Community Impact
We are committed to living out Christ’s compassion, dignity and healing in our community through Healthcare.
Helping Hearts by Kelly Holliday
L
osing my 21-year-old son in Iraq while I was undergoing chemo for breast cancer completely interrupted my plans. I guess it’s important to describe my plans. God blessed my husband and me with the “Holliday Tribe,” seven sons and one daughter; I was a homeschooling mom who was not interested in working outside the home. Homeschooling was my vocation, and I had planned to do it until the last Holliday left the nest. God had other plans. I now have the distinct honor of serving as the Director of Spiritual Care at Crossover Health Services (CHS). Honestly, I do not particularly like the title “Director” and seldom use it. I see myself more as a spiritual caregiver and
counselor; God is the Director. CHS is a division of Crossover Bible Church (CBC) where my family and I have worshiped for the past 11+ years. After the two major events that literally changed the trajectory of our family’s lives, I returned to school completing an undergraduate degree in Family Studies and Gerontology, then continued on to complete a master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy (completion set for Fall 2018)! Being at CHS seemed to always be God’s plan for me; when it was only on paper as a “vision,” God was very clear that I would be serving there. The pull was so profound that I remember telling Pastor Philip
to “make sure there’s an office for me in the building design.” Before I could work for Crossover, God needed to prepare and equip me. So, after completing my bachelors, I began working for Family and Children’s Services (FC&S) as a Family Support Representative; and wouldn’t you know it, God put me right in north Tulsa where I longed to be, so that I could develop relationships with the families in the area. Not even a year into this new role, I was encouraged to apply for an interim school counselor position at Hawthorne Elementary School. This was yet another step in God’s plan, because CBC partnered with Hawthorne and again I was able to develop relationships with
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families in the community, while attaining a great wealth of knowledge and experience. Close to the end of the school year, I contacted Justin Pickard, Executive Director of Crossover Community Impact (CCI) and asked if there was something I could do during the summer for the IMPACT Kids program. His response showed me that God was ready to place me where He wanted me all along; “We were just talking about contacting you about working at CHS to pray with our patients, but we want to hire you to do that”. Only God can place you in a job where you get to do what you love and get paid to do it! That is better than a “win-win”, that’s a “God Thang”. Not only do I have an opportunity to do something that I love, but I am able to fulfill a profound role in the community. The Spiritual Care Director adds a mental health specialty to a family medical practice in the heart of the community! CHS was originally the “last” phase of the Crossover Bible Church vision; but due to the blessing of the “land swap” it was propelled to one of the first businesses Crossover started. Dr. Kent Farish, who was on CCI’s board, was also in the process of retiring from his 30-year-long practice with Warren Clinic. He was very interested in getting CHS up and running and seeing it become viable its first few years. In its lifespan of three years, CHS grew each year thanks to his leadership and commitment which means that
healthcare access for our community is also doing better and better each year! We believe God is pleased with what is happening at CHS for His glory. Praying with the patients is just one aspect of what I do at CHS, but it is the most important part! I try to maintain an awareness of the resources in our community so that if someone is in need of housing, clothing, food, financial help for utilities, I can direct them to those resources. I learned to be incredibly resourceful through my job at FC&S. Even though I have yet to complete my counseling credentials, I find myself doing a lot of “counseling” with the patients that desire it. I have met with several on a weekly basis for a period of time; some of whom still return for “refreshers” a few times a year. Starting January 2018, I will begin an internship at CREOKS Behavioral Health Services where I will put into practice all that I have been learning as a Marriage and Family Therapist. My hope is to continue with CREOKS as I accumulate supervision hours so I am eligible to sit for the Oklahoma State licensure. Until that occurs, I will still be able to serve in the capacity of therapist/counselor under supervision and serve the north Tulsa community where the pull is greatest for me. To God be the Glory, great things He has done!
Not only do I have an opportunity to do something that I love, but I am able to fulFill a profound role in the community -Kelly Holliday
Kelly Holliday has been married to John Holliday, Jr for 27 years. She is the proud mom to eight blessings (seven sons and one daughter); and she considers it an honor to serve as the director of spiritual care at Crossover Health Services (CHS) . If you would like to learn more about Crossover Health Services, please go to http://www.crossoverhealthservices. org.
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Crossover Community Impact
End of FACES OF CROSSOVER Crossover Scholarship Fund
Crossover Prep Academy IMPACT Kids
Crossover Bible Church
STREET Leaders
Crossover Health Services Crossover Sports Association
Crossover Development Company
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Year Campaign Our Vision is to see the north Tulsa Community restored.
Restored by Rondalyn Abode
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ne of my favorite sounds in the world is hearing my kids sing (or scream) worship songs. One of them has the voice of an angel, and the other makes a joyful noise, but because of their influence, I often find myself singing things like, “How Great is our God!” I’m pretty emphatic as I make a joyful noise myself, but there is nothing that causes me to praise our God more than seeing the work He has done in and through Crossover Community Impact. I am amazed as I reflect on the things that He has done on our behalf, and I get excited about the things we pray He will do in the future! Our hope is to one day see our community restored with healthy people (physically, emotionally, and spiritually), faithful families (husbands and wives faithful to their marriage vows and faithfully raising their children to love God), peaceful neighborhoods (a community where people love their neighbors as they love themselves), and thriving institutions (effective schools and businesses that become a place where people are able to create opportunities for themselves and others). In order to see healthy people, we have Crossover Health Services and we hope to have the Crossover Community Center soon. To see Faithful Families, we utilize the strength of Crossover Sports Association and Crossover Bible Church to create lasting relationships for mentoring and life change. Developing peaceful neighborhoods is seen most easily through the efforts of Crossover Development Company. Finally, in our pursuit of Thriving Institutions, we have developed the StreetLeader and IMPACT Kids Programs and Crossover Preparatory Academy. We have strategically initiated these programs to fulfill CCI’s vision of restoring our community through reconciliation, love, and justice. Can you see it; can you envision what I just described? What does it look like to you? When I look to the future, I see physical transformation, I see hope, and I see God’s grace overwhelming our community. I pray that you can see it too. This is what we strive for, and we hope you will join us in our efforts of relocation, reconciliation, and redistribution.
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Crossover Community Impact
Will you partner with us to continue the programs that we currently have that are creating jobs, providing training, and deepening relationships for the sake of community change? I sure hope you will! And I can’t wait to see how God will choose to use us in the coming year! If you would like to tour any of our programs or to learn more about Crossover, please contact me via email at Rondalyn@Crossoverimpact.org or call me at 918.856.5377 x106. Blessings! Rondalyn Abode Director of Development Crossoverimpact.org
Our Vision for 36th S. North
Our Dream for the Future... When you invest in the vision, you do more than touch individual lives... every contribution ripples outward to create “social return” —the positive impact on the entire north Tulsa and Tulsa community. For more information: (918) 856-5377 x106 www.crossoverimpact.org
