July 2010July 2010

Pastor Mark:

Team Impact:

Until the whole world hears:

In the Family Room:

Team Outreach

Just around the corner:

This month;

Desert Cross is

“Reaching out, Touching lives and Changing this World”

What’s on your list?

Desert Cross Community Church

Pastor Mark:

Until the whole world hears:

Team Outreach:

3 weeks for Jesus:

Team Impact:

Just around the corner:

Desert Cross Community Church

August 2010

Desert Cross is

“Reaching out, T

ouching lives

and Changing th

is World

”

Are you ready for the test?

The Bridge keeper

Why short term missions?

My English Camp life lesson

The ABC’s of helping families

Page 2

Our beginning. . .

Desert Cross has a rich heritage and long standing tradition. What is today Desert Cross was once known as Phoenix Japanese Free Methodist Church. This all began in 1929 when Mr. Kiichi Sagawa

came to a life changing faith in Jesus Christ and began a Sunday School in his home in Tolleson. That Sunday School was later relocated to the Japanese Language School on the corner of 43rd Avenue and

Indian School Road.

In 1932 the church was officially organized and dedicated on May 8, with Rev. J. A. Kashitani who served as our first pastor. Our present sanctuary was built in 1964 on land that was donated by Mr. Kiichi

Sagawa. The original buildings were moved from their original locations and placed on our current church property.

As time moved forward the world around the church was changing and now Phoenix Japanese Free

Methodist Church was changing too. In 2007 the name of the church was changed from Phoenix Japa-nese Free Methodist Church to Desert Cross Community Church. This new name is more reflective of

the wonderful diversity of the family we know and enjoy at Desert Cross.

Today we are a multi-generational, multi-ethnic church family. We are a church family with a wonderful past, and a promising future. Come join us as we work together to advance the Kingdom of God into the

lives of many people.

Welcome Home!

Come join us this Sunday @ 10AM for exciting worship, great bible teaching

in a warm family atmosphere.

Bring the kids—there’s something for everyone!

Desert Cross Community Church 4143 N 43rd Ave, Phoenix, AZ 85301

602-278-0917 www.dc3fmc.org

It„s that time of year. Summer is ending and students everywhere are

preparing to return to the classroom. Teachers have already been at it for a

week, in anticipation of the day. One could say that anticipation is in the air.

A lot of unknown for some, uncertainty for others as the day approaches.

Some look forward to it with excitement, while others feel a mounting

stress as they think to the days ahead.

School will do that to you. So will life. As we move forward into uncertain days, the stress

of the unknown can drive our spirits down. The “what ifs” of life can drain away any hope,

any energy for facing tomorrow‟s uncertainties. So what are we to do, to face tomorrow with

our heads held high and our hearts ready? Be ready for the test.

So how do we prepare for the test? We do it by knowing the one who orders the test, rather

than focusing on the test itself. When we know the heart of God for us, the tests of life be-

come less threatening. So then, the obvious quest becomes to know His heart.

Last night we watched the new movie, “The Book of Eli". I would caution you that the

language is rough in this movie, but the film made a great point. The main character, Eli, has

one of the last remaining copies of the bible, which he is diligent to read every day. His goal

in life is to get the book to a place where it can be safe and get it reprinted. But as the movie

progresses, he makes the decision to trade the only remaining copy of the bible to save a

young girl's life. When asked why he did it, he responds that he realized he has focused so

much on protecting the book that he forgot to live out what the book taught.

In the end, he makes it to the place to reprint the bible, but he has given away the last re-

maining copy to save a life. That‟s when we all discover he has memorized the entire bible,

which he dictates word for word. The bible has become the “Book of Eli”.

As I sat watching this well crafted movie I saw a life principle come through. As I learn

the word, and grow in the word, it becomes a part of me that will keep my heart on track

when the trials and tests of life come. That‟s how we pass the test. Become the book. As we

learn the Word and it sinks deep within us, we become the book. But more than that; the book

becomes us.

As we give ourselves to the Word, it transforms our lives. And we begin to live out the

book in our everyday life. We really become the book. Will you join me? Will you take the

quest to drink deep from the Word, so that our lives becomes the “Book of Eli”. Then we will

pass the test, no matter what….

Pastor Mark

Are you ready for the test?

Page 3

Team Impact — Children & Youth Ministry

The Bridge Keeper

There was once a bridge which spanned a large river. During most of the day the bridge sat

with its length running up and down the river paralleled with the banks, allowing ships to pass

through freely on both sides of the bridge. But at certain times each day, a train would come

along and the bridge would be turned sideways across the river, allowing a train to cross it.

A switchman sat in a small shack on one side of the river where he operated the controls to turn the bridge and lock it

into place as the train crossed. One evening as the switchman was waiting for the last train of the day to come, he

looked off into the distance through the dimming twilight and caught sight of the trainlights. He stepped to the control

and waited until the train was within a prescribed distance when he was to turn the bridge. He turned the bridge into

position, but, to his horror, he found the locking control did not work. If the bridge was not securely in position it

would wobble back and forth at the ends when the train came onto it, causing the train to jump the track and go

crashing into the river. This would be a passenger train with many people aboard. He left the bridge turned across the

river, and hurried across the bridge to the other side of the river where there was a lever switch he could hold to operate

the lock manually. He would have to hold the lever back firmly as the train crossed. He could hear the rumble of the

train now, and he took hold of the lever and leaned backward to apply his weight to it, locking the bridge. He kept

applying the pressure to keep the mechanism locked. Many lives depended on this man's strength.

Then, coming across the bridge from the direction of his control shack, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold.

"Daddy, where are you?" His four-year-old son was crossing the bridge to look for him. His first impulse was to cry

out to the child, "Run! Run!" But the train was too close; the tiny legs would never make it across the bridge in time.

The man almost left his lever to run and snatch up his son and carry him to safety. But he realized that he could not get

back to the lever. Either the people on the train or his little son must die. He took a moment to make his decision.

The train sped safely and swiftly on its way, and no one aboard was even aware of the tiny broken body thrown

mercilessly into the river by the onrushing train. Nor were they aware of the pitiful figure of the sobbing man, still

clinging tightly to the locking lever long after the train had passed. They did not see him walking home more slowly

than he had ever walked: to tell his wife how their son had brutally died.

Now if you comprehend the emotions which went through this man's heart, you can begin to understand the feelings of

our Father in Heaven when He sacrificed His Son to bridge the gap between us and eternal life. Can there be any

wonder that He caused the earth to tremble and the skies to darken when His Son died? How does He feel when we

speed along through life without giving a thought to what was done for us through Jesus Christ?

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I found this story and it really got me thinking… how often, even today, do we take advantage of the sacrifice Christ

made on the cross? The ultimate expression of such a perfect love, and we treat it as a passing thought. What if we

lived our lives with just a fraction of that same love? What if we could learn to treat others with that kind of selfless

love that God showed us – that Christ demonstrated on the cross?

In Team IMPACT, we‟ve been spending a lot of time learning about love: the love of God and sharing that love with

others. We hope to continue on that path as we quickly approach the new school year. But it‟s not just for the kids or

the teens – this is something all of us need to be doing. Living in a way that reflects that love so that others will see

Christ in us. In John 13:34-35 Jesus says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so

you must love one another. By this all men will know you are my disciples if you love one another.” God has called us

to make a difference in this world, so let‟s do just that by loving others as He does!

Serving Him,

Stephanie Cartwright

Team IMPACT Leader

Page 4

Where is y

our m

ission f

ield?

Where is y

our m

ission f

ield?

Until the Whole World Hears

Desert Cross — A local, global outreach

So what exactly are short term mission trips and why are they so important? Many

churches in America think that it is solely about going into another country to provide

humanitarian aid or service. Churches send teams to Mexico to help build orphanages,

distribute clothing and food all in the name of missions. Is this really all there is to missions?

Don‟t get me wrong, striving to meet the needs of struggling human beings is an important

part of our faith and is who we are as the hands and feet of Christ. For this reason we helped

send a team to go with Heavenly Treasures to Kenya to help dig a well, but while there the

team did so much more than just build a well. They held Bible school for the children; they

helped preach at their reunions. This helped not only to strengthen the faith of the believers

there, but to also share the gospel with those who have not yet heard. This is what missions

is really all about; bringing the light of the Gospel into a dark world.

While short term missions are meant to spread the gospel to the unreached people groups

of the world, they do more than just that. They expose us to the reality and importance of

missions. Before I had gone on my first mission trip to Culiacan, Mexico I had never really

grasped the significance of it. However, when I returned from that first missions trip God

had changed me. He had shown me just how blessed I was. He revealed to me just how

much my heart still needed to be aligned with His heart for a lost world. This is the most

important function of short term missions; to align our hearts to become more aligned with

the heart of God.

So, here at Desert Cross we have been blessed to support youth that are willing to serve

the Lord on short term missions. Giving of their time and talents; following Him to places

that are far from their home and family. On June 28, Francesca Germinario traveled to the

Czech Republic with a group from Scottsdale Bible Church. They were there to help teach

English. The text they used for teaching them English was the Bible. Because of this the

door was opened for many opportunities to share the gospel. You can read her story on page

6. While only God knows if Francesca will ever be a missionary, she has forever been

changed by this experience.

Lincoln SolisLincoln Solis

Worship LeaderWorship Leader

Page 5

Stay tuned for more ways you can get involved….

Contact Lincoln at missions@dc3fmc.org

This summer, I went on my first missionary trip

ever: I spent three weeks with a team of twelve other high

school students and young adults in Zlín, Czech Republic

teaching English at a summer camp sponsored by one of the few

churches in Zlín and an organization called Josiah Ventures

which sponsors over 24 of these camps in the Czech Republic

alone. The Czech Republic is actually one of the most atheistic/

agnostic countries in the world right now, so Josiah Ventures began as

a movement to spread the Gospel across the younger generations in

hopes of encouraging Christian leadership in the future of the country.

The camp was advertised to Czech students earlier in the year by the Zlín

youth group as a camp where they would be able to practice speaking English

as well as learn about Christianity. For this reason, many of the students were

prepared to hear about God and “religion”, concepts some students had been

raised to see as inventive delusions, or remedies for the immoral. At the beginning

of camp, so many students I talked with about where they stood on the issue of God

told me that they lived good lives and had no need for redemption or God. On the op-

posite end of the spectrum, students who almost identified with Christianity felt that they

weren’t ready to change their lifestyles and make the commitment to being a Christian.

These are things that are hard to hear from people you may only have the opportunity to see

for a few weeks.

In the period of training we underwent before camp began, we were assured that though we

may not personally see a non-believer actually come to Christ, we still had the tremendous respon-

sibility to plant that seed of Christ’s love or continue watering a seed someone else has planted. In-

deed, some students in my English class had been attending camp for over five years out of contin-

ued curiosity about Christianity. This made sharing God’s love and the experience and meaning of

being a Christian priority number one for my team; we met early every morning to pray that the stu-

dents would see a glimpse of His love through us.

Towards the end of the camp, several of the students told us that they had never felt more loved and

accepted then they had during camp. Forging strong relationships with the Czechs also played a huge

role in our time there as we were encouraged to continue contacting them even when we returned to see

how they were doing and support them in further exploration of Christianity.

Francesca Germinario

Team Outreach Team Outreach -- Be the hands and feet of Jesus to the worldBe the hands and feet of Jesus to the world Page 7

As families and children are getting ready to start another school year, so is the

Phoenix Rescue Mission, they have started their Back to School campaign "Helping is

as easy as A,B,C......"

Phoenix Rescue Mission (PRM) has started a donation drive to gather school supplies and

clothing to hand out to needy children to get them ready to go back to school. Its simple you can;

A. Sponsor a Child: $80.00 will outfit a child with a filled backpack, uniform and shoes.

PRM does the shopping for you! To make a donation: send a check or money order

payable to Phoenix Rescue Mission, P.O. Box 6708, Phoenix, AZ 85005-6708. Be sure to

write ―Back-To-School‖ on the memo line. They will use your donation to shop for any

un-sponsored children.

B. Stuff a Backpack: Backpack (plain styles, no characters), Markers, Crayons , 1‖, 3-Ring

Binders, #2 Pencils , Colored Pencils, Pencil Boxes or Pencil Pouches , Wide-Ruled Filler Paper,

Glue (sticks or bottles) Wide-Ruled Notebooks, Scissors (safety or pointed top) , Composition

Books, Pens, $15 Payless Shoe Source.

C. Donate school supplies; purchase a Payless Shoes gift card or organize a drive.

Needed items include backpacks, crayons, pencils, pens, erasers, markers, highlighters,

pencil boxes/pouches, glue, folders, pencil sharpeners, rulers, blunt and sharp scissors, 1‖

3-ring binders, colored pencils, wide ruled filler paper, wide ruled spiral notebooks, and

composition books. We are also collecting new uniforms (white polo shirts and navy

bottoms) as well as Payless Shoes gift cards.

" Pack a Sack " food drive starts Aug 1st and ends Sept 26th

We are in need of non-perishable lunch box items such as; apple sauce (individually packed ),

crackers, peanut butter and jelly, granola, snack or cereal bars, trail mix or pretzels, fruit cups,

juice boxes, beef jerky, one serving meals that do not have to be frozen or refrigerated, breakfast

cereal, powdered milk, etc ..... You can place donations in the black collection bin located in the

Fellowship Hall.

Coming soon to Desert Cross;

Donation and Resource Center,

Desert Cross is in the process of setting up a donation and resource center, this will be an

area located at the church for which people can drop off donated items as well as

find helpful Christian based resources along with a calendar of events and volunteer opportuni-

ties. We are in need of some help to set this up as well as any recommendations for resources.

If you are interested please contact Melissa at 623-204-2787

Have a blessed day in the Lord

Melissa Melissa

Contact Melissa at outreach@dc3fmc.org for more details.

You know you can watch a video re-cast of all Pastor Mark’s weekly teaching, right?

Go to this weeks message to view it.

Keep your eyes on www.dc3fmc.org

Page 8 Building Iron Men

Hey guys - hungry? Who isn't. We're men. That means we're always hungry.

The real question is are you hungry for more than just food? What about strong friendships with other men who share your values?

Men who will love you enough to hold you accountable? Men who want to see you become what God destined you for?

Then you need to be at the Golden Corral @ 56th Ave and Northern on the 2nd Saturday of each month @ 7:30 AM.

Bring a big appetite for good food, great male companionship and grow together with us

as we grow together into godly men.

We'll save you a seat!

Visit us on the web @ www.dc3fmc.org

Desert Cross Community

Church

4143 N. 43rd Avenue

Phoenix, AZ 85031

Phone: (602) 278-0917

E-mail: Pastor@dc3fmc.org

“Reaching out, Touching lives, and Changing this world.”

Tuesdays: Life Journey Groups at Pastor Mark’s at 7:00PM

Fridays: Genesis Bible Study at Church, 7:00PM. Bible teacher Lincoln

Solis.

August 14 : Iron Men’s Breakfast @ 7:30AM

August 21: Saturday morning Prayer 8:30– 9:30AM

August 21: Pastor’s Cabinet Meeting 9:30-10:30AM

Just around the corner .. coming Soon to Desert Cross

Page 9