Meet Tim and Susan Heinrich in CA

John 14:1-3 says, “Let not your heart be troubled…In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.”

This Christmas, Crossroads Baptist Church in Tracy, CA, had a special program where each family brought a presentation of part of the Christmas story. There were readings, drama, music and multimedia presentations. As the program drew to a close, we began to see that God had orchestrated it all, moving in each family’s heart, so that all of the presentations emphasized that Jesus is coming again. We as a church need to be proclaiming that good news and preparing ourselves to meet Him. What a wonderful excitement this brings to the mundane daily chores!

There is definitely excitement in the air at Crossroads right now. Bible studies and outreach events are drawing new people. On January 8^th we are moving our Sunday Worship time from Sunday evening to Sunday morning. Many people have expressed that they would choose Crossroads as their church home if we had a Sunday morning service. Crossroads families have been very generous in their commitments to pay the additional cost for the service time change and for new banners and advertisements, and we are thankful for additional help from supporters to afford this change.

The Christmas Program/Cookie Exchange, Christmas at the Pastor’s and Christmas Eve services were packed houses. Several people had family members attend that we have been praying about for a long time. We are learning how many we can cram into that tiny auditorium! On Christmas Eve, Tim did a dramatic presentation of Joseph’s journey from Nazareth to Bethlehem. It seemed real as there were several babies making noise during the service!

Due to the packed auditorium and other concerns, we are definitely keeping our eyes open for a larger more permanent facility for the future. We are thankful for how God has provided our current building but hope to outgrow it very soon! The building fund is growing, and we are looking forward to what God will do in 2017. Our prayer is that God will continue to grow the congregation and lead us to property or a larger building.

Please pray for a smooth transition to morning services, an upcoming membership class, salvation of friends and family that are visiting the church, and growth in JOY Club. Most of our families with school-age children have moved away, leaving only four families with children consistently coming. Please pray that we will be able to reach new families through JOY Club and have the opportunity to once again disciple a larger group of children. We have lots of workers and a great curriculum, and now we are waiting for God to send more kids.

On a personal note: Jesse, a young man that Tim is mentoring to go into the ministry, proposed to our daughter Samantha on Christmas Day. We are excited to see how God moves in their lives! The rest of the family are doing well. Susan’s parents have adjusted to living with us. Janae will graduate in May and is looking for a teaching job, and Alyssa and Talitha are active in music, drama and sports in their school. We praise God for family that are committed to ministry.