Ministry update – Tim and Susan Heinrich, Tracy, CA

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths. ‘

Proverbs 3:5-6

The past several months have been filled with much James 1 prayer and ask-ing for God’s wisdom. As we sat in our once-packed auditorium, what was left of our congregation was tempted to feel quite discouraged. But instead, we have begged God to draw us closer to him and show us if the ministry in Tracy was still viable.
Here is what we have learned:

Wise counselors have encouraged us to continue replanting by preaching the gospel and discipling the saints, even if the numbers are small.

God is working in the hearts of Muslims in our community. Let us share a couple of stories.

Victoria is a young lady who was raised in Ukraine. She was trained at a Bible Institute there and is well grounded in the word. She moved here with a group of Ukrainian friends who attend a Ukrainian-speaking church in the bay area. But, she desires to worship in an English Speaking church, where she can invite her English-speaking friends. She is quite the evangelist.

Marzi is Victoria’s housemate. She is Iranian Muslim, a researcher at UC Berkeley. Marzi is hungry for community, so she attends church with Victoria. We are her only friends, and she is soaking up the teaching of the Bible.

Nour is an Egyptian Muslim who has been in the US for four months. He scheduled a meeting with Tim to learn about the gospel. After the first meeting, he texted, asking permission to start attending services. After being assured that he was welcome to attend, even though he was not yet saved, he has been there almost every time the doors are open. God is working in his heart.

A Happy Tree can bring people to church. During COVID lockdowns, we placed Crossroads Yard signs in the yards of all Crossroads families. One family attached the sign to a tree in their front yard decorated with animal statues and bird feeders. Victoria and Marzi live in that neighborhood. When asked how they found out about Crossroads, they answered, “The Happy Tree.”

People who live in other states are still inviting their friends to Crossroads. For example, a local family had been in a homeschool coop with Crossroads families who had moved away. They became convicted that they needed to stop commuting to the bay area for church and get plugged into a local church. Their friends, who used to attend Crossroads, convinced them to visit. They commented that this was the first church they visited that immediately felt like home. They are already inviting other families to visit.

There are Deaf in our community looking for a place to belong. Tim recently had a man dart in front of him on a side street. The man signed, “sorry.” So, Tim stopped and asked him if he was deaf. It turns out that DaMonte’s fourteen-year-old daughter Destiny is Deaf.. Pray that this family will visit Crossroads soon.

Justen and Joyce have been connecting on social media with several Deaf in our area. They are passionate about reaching their community for Christ. They are also in the process of fostering a 14-year-old young man whose parents were Deaf. We are excited to see how God works through his testimony.

We have often shared about the diversity of our community. There is no majority culture here. And we have prayed that God would allow us to be a Great Commission Church that reaches the world by reaching our neighbors. Sometimes on Wednesday Nights in Bible Study, Tim is the only native English speaker in the room. Sometimes interpretation happens in multiple languages. It takes extra care to communicate the Word of God to this diverse crowd. Walking around the building, you will hear a plurality of languages. There are 13 distinct culture groups represented in our little group. This is so amazing because those groups of people would not gather together, even in this community, outside of the bond in Christ. God has brought together a group of people doing life together who would never have crossed paths if it wasn’t for the power of the gospel.