Largest Cross In America
EXPLORE THE STORY BEHIND THE GROOM CROSS
Crossview Camp CHANGING LIVES OF AT-RISK KIDS
Amazing Kids LEARNING THROUGH THE EYES OF CHILDREN
Batter Up THE GAME OF LIFE
welcome
Have you ever turned on the TV in hopes of finding something that would inspire you? Especially after a hard day of work, being a taxi driver for your kids, taking them to various after school activitiessoccer, ballet, piano lessons, and the list goes on. Let’s not forget that we need to get dinner on the table and do homework! You are done, turn on the TV and now you are faced with the latest news of the day, which usually comes in the form of the latest robbery, wreck, and then we have the national news. Is there any good news in this amazing country we call home? Beyond The Cross Magazine will feature inspiring stories that will give you hope, highlight kids doing amazing things, and announce local events that will energize your life. Get Inspired and Share the Inspiring news with those around you!
Live, Laugh, Love.
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A VISION OF HOPE FROM THE PANHANDLE SKY LINE RAGTOWN GOSPEL THEATER AMAZING KIDS EVENTS CALENDAR LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE BATTER UP BEYOND THE CROSS-ROADS HOPE FOR CAMPERS
Publisher
Beyond the Cross Ministries Kai & Jim Hill
Beyond the Cross Magazine PO Box 65551 Lubbock, Texas 79464 www.beyondthecross.org
advisory board
Kerri Schoonvelt, Family Life Radio Melody Dawes, Lubbock’s Home and Family Magazine Terry Taylor, D&D Construction
Contributors Kai Hill Melissa Roberts Jim Gerlt Anthony Leanna Donna Balko
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Matt Roemisch
by Melissa Roberts
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t was 19 years ago when we made the choice to live for God. Joey and I had been Christians for many years, yet like so many, you could classify us as “Sunday Christians”, says Pastor Brenda Dorman, co-pastor with her husband Joey Dorman of Fountain of Hope Church. Says Joey, “I’ll always remember the day the Lord asked me if I was happy. I said, ‘No, I’m not.’ He then said, ‘If you will follow me and do as I say, I will take care of the situation you are in and you will never be the same.’ ” Since that time, the Lord continues to bless us in everything we do. From 7 years of prison ministry and bible studies in our home to a home church and then to a full gospel church located in Lubbock, TX, the Lord has directed our every step. With God as our Creator, Christ as our Savior and the Holy Spirit as our partner on earth, we minister to everyone, because everyone is in need. Karyn Bush of Lubbock will never forget the first time she visited. “I hadn’t been able to walk in a year. I was in horrible pain due to a back injury from lifting my disabled son, Jarret. If I rode in a car the pain would become unbearable. If I sat down for very long, I couldn’t get up. Two surgeons told me that they could do nothing for me, my future looked bleak. I had visited several churches, but I was so embarrassed because, though I could walk into the church, after sitting, I couldn’t get up. The people just stared at me and avoided me. I felt so uncomfortable. The Lord had been showing me Fountain of Hope Church for 3 years every time we drove by. Finally I went. I prayed to the Lord, “I will know this is where I am supposed to be if I walk out.” The anointing was so strong that I was healed just sitting in my chair. That was October 2005 and I have been walking ever since. What the medical profession couldn’t do, God did.”
article Sponsored by: Fountain of Hope Church
“We knew we were going to make it, because God was there through it all, as well as our church family. The love, prayers and support from our church helped us through such deep pain. I feel for those that don’t know the Lord and the love of a church family.” “Our vision for Fountain of Hope is one of greatness.” Says Pastor Joey, “Our vision is to bring hope to the hurting and healing to the sick. We believe with all our hearts that our church is a lighthouse to those who are in darkness; a place where healing waters flow; a place where people in bondage are delivered and where miracles occur. We have a big vision because we have a big God! ” “We want people to know that we are a warm, safe place.” Says Pastor Brenda, “You don’t have to be alone, afraid or anxious anymore. Come as you are and know that we welcome you into our family. Hope, love, peace and joy can be yours.”
Brenda and Joey Dorman SENIOR PASTORS
Dwight and Deniese Glassco ASSOCIATE PASTORS
Rick and Teresa Hart of Lubbock share, “Our granddaughter, Jaeden was accidentally burned and went to be with the Lord at the young age of 2 1/2 years old. This has been the hardest thing we have ever had to go through. Neither one of us would have made it through without our personal relationship with the Lord.” “You see, Mondays were our days to spend with Jaeden. She loved the outdoors. Every time we were outside a white butterfly would flutter by, as if to say “hello”. We talked about how pretty the butterfly was and how it was created by God, just like her.” “After she died, Rick and I sat outside a lot. It was as if God was pulling us outside to be with Him and His creation. For several weeks every time we sat outside we would see the white butterfly. We believe that God sent it to us to comfort us in our grief and to let us know that He was right there with us. Though we were hurting so much, it seemed like we received a little more healing every time the butterfly came around.”
WHERE THERE IS HOPE FOR THE HURTING
AND HEALING FOR THE SICK.
4806 Englewood Ave • Lubbock, TX 79414 • 806-793-5231 SUNDAY 10:30am & 6:30pm - WEDNESDAY 7:00pm
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From the Panhandle Sky Line
THE LARGEST CROSS IN AMERICA IS RIGHT HERE IN TEXAS
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by Kai Hill
f you are driving down East Interstate 40 just outside of Amarillo, Texas you can not miss the Groom Cross standing 19 stories tall. This amazing site is located in Groom, Texas with a population of only 588 people (based off of 2006 population census). Many have driven by the cross. In fact 10 million people drive by each year and 30,000 to 50,000 daily depending on the time of year. It is a wonder how a cross of such magnitude, the largest free standing cross in America, was erected in Groom. It is no ordinary work to design and build a structure weighing more than 2.5 million pounds. The chosen builder of this project was Steven Thomas. Steven was prepared at a very early age to build the cross. At the young age of 5, while other children were throwing the ball around, Steve was digging a hole for a sign. When his junior high teachers asked Steve what he wanted to do when he grew up, Steve replied “a structural engineer.”This may not seem like a strange answer, but coming from a young boy with no family history in engineering or any adult figures around him in this field, you might say that God was planting seeds very early in his life.
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Steve did become a structural engineer. In fact he built the largest drilling rig-tubular frame very similar to the cross prior to designing and building the Groom Cross. Groom was not the original destination for the cross. In fact 3 other locations were attempted before deciding on the Groom location. Although Groom is small in size, the Texas Panhandle has proven to be the perfect location based on the land. There are no trees or structures to obstruct the view of the Groom Cross. He later was given words to explain why Groom, Texas “The bride of Christ is the church what does that make Jesus, Jesus is the groom and when he comes back the second time he is going to marry the church.” The cross when illuminated can be seen between 1020 miles away. Even a non-believer driving by knows what the cross is and even if they want to ignore it at 190 feet tall and 11 stories wide it can’t be ignored unless they turn around. This cross has even influenced Atheists causing them to think of Jesus as they drive by. Steve and his wife Bobby had one mission when building the cross and that was to “Spread the good News” by giving God worship and praise and salvation of souls with the millions of travelers driving by the cross. Where did the idea of the cross come from? Steve recalls seeing billboards and advertising everywhere he looked and wondered
why with the wealth of believers could there not be a message that was just as loud informing people of the truth. Steve explains that we do not realize the gradual changes that have taken place with explicit advertising and even the advertising of alcohol and cigarette sales. “We do not realize we are in boiling water, put a frog in boiling water and he will get out, put him in luke warm water and gradually turn up the heat and he will cook himself and not jump out because of the gradual change.” He had designed a large billboard and prayed for 6 months for a scripture to go on it and never received a scripture. His wife walked in to show him a picture of a cross in Ballinger and immediately he new he was supposed to build a cross that could be seen from miles away. When he started designing the cross he envisioned an even larger structure than the 19 story cross before me today, but with FFA restrictions at 200 feet he did not want for the project to be put on hold. The cross was originally designed to be put together in 5 parts, but the ‘Holy number 3 (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) worked perfectly.” There are 7” pins at the base of the foundation the amount of force to sheer 1 pin is equivalent to the force to lift the space shuttle at Cape Kennedy. The foundation that holds the cross is 25 feet by 32 feet and is 20 feet deep. The reinforcement of rebar for this structure is like a 2 story office building. Steve used 80,000 pounds of rebar and 70 trucks of cement from 3 different cities that had to be hauled in, in one day. The funding of the cross was done initially by Steve and his wife using almost their entire savings. Cross Ministries is a non-profit organization and donations are carefully used to minister to travelers, ongoing construction, and upkeep of the cross and grounds. They have been blessed with many donations. An 80-year-old man was so touched by the cross that he donated the funds for the life size bronze statues depicting the life of Jesus in a circular fashion at the base of the cross. Steve has turned a life of suffering from verbal abuse, poverty, parents with alcoholism, and a father who committed suicide
from his childhood into an opportunity to praise God. A friend once told Steve that “a tree that does not suffer does not produce good fruit” and he has applied that to his life. He hopes to inspire others to live their life to the fullest and not allow past circumstances effect what you do in life. He has a goal to help individuals or groups erect crosses and start changing lives on every Interstate around the world.
The Groom Cross stands 19 stories high and is the largest freestanding cross in America. Beyond the Cross
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“Your children become what you are, so be what you want them to be.” - david bly
Seventeen year-old
Anthony D. Leanna started the Heavenly Hats Foundation in 2001 when he was just 10 years old. TM
“My program was started to provide brand-new hats for cancer patients and other medical patients who lose their hair due to a disease or the treatment of a disease. Heavenly Hats wants to be able to provide hats to individuals and hospitals in order to help the patients feel better about themselves and to give them the extra courage and hope to win their fight. Hair loss during the battle of a disease can be uncomfortable, depressing and at times even a little humiliating. The hat is just a small symbol of hope and love, but my wish is that it will have the power to brighten the patient’s day so that they can look to the future with a smile.” Anthony’s goal was to provide hats to a couple hundred people in local hospitals. “I could have never dreamed that it would have become this big.” Over 350,000 hats TM
have been distributed across the US and even some in other countries. The future goal of Heavenly Hats would be to have chapters in several states to help meet the needs of cancer patients. Anthony has not only inspired many people around the US, but he too continues to be inspired from the many stories from the patients who request hats or who have received hats from the foundation. “ The stories of how much the hats are needed and how much they are appreciated by the patients really motivates me to keep going.” TM
Thank you Anthony for blessing the lives of so many, to find out more visit www.heavenlyhats.com
My daughter Sage was watching the mail man deliver mail and told me that he was a really good mail man, not thinking much about it I agreed. She turned and headed for the door, I assumed to watch him deliver our mail. It was not until the next day getting the mail that I realized that we can learn so much through the heart of a child. Folded on a torn off piece of paper was a note to the mail man that read ‘‘Thank you for being a good mail man”! Who have you thanked in your life today? -Kai Hill
Do you know an Amazing Kid?
Email Us: info@beyondthecross.org
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Ragtown Gospel Theater Presents
Joseph the Carpenter October 31st-December 21st Judas the Lost Apostle January 9th-March 8th Mary Magdalene April 3rd-June 13th - Special Guest Ivan Parker April 5th For more details visit: www.ragtown.com
Marketplace Community Network Lunch God has a divine purpose for you and your business, you can influence your business as a place of ministry. Meets at the Texas Tech Merket Allumni Center Please RSVP by calling 806.771.2700 November 12th - 11:45-1:00 December 10th - 11:45-1:00 January 14th - 11:45-1:00 February 11th - 11:45-1:00 March 11th - 11:45-1:00
Annual Parenting Conference “Building Strong Families”
November 6-13th Tools For Success” Topics include education, family issues, relationships, and spirituality. Cost is $10 (includes all sessions, lunch and materials). For more info visit www.esc17.net
Trinity Church Presents
The Christmas Shoes December 11th-14th Please call for details: 806.792.3363
If you would like your events included, please email: info@beyondthecross.org for more information.
A Sunday school teacher began her lesson with a question. “Boys and girls, what do we know about God?” A hand shot up in the air. “He is an artist!” said the kindergarten boy. “Really?! How do you know?” asked the teacher. “You know – Our Father, who does art in Heaven.”
“Everyone smiles in the same language.” - Author Unknown 8
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ave you ever wanted to quit the game of life? Sometimes life throws us curve balls we don’t feel that we can hit. Most often they come in the form of finances, marriage, jobs, and our children. Whenever we are thrown a curve ball, statistics show we seek addictions in every form to finish the game of life - work, alcohol, drugs, pornography, and the list just keeps going. How did our lives become so far off-base that we don’t know what direction to run? My story is no different than yours or a friend. I grew up in a single parent home. My dad remarried when I was in junior high, and I went from being the youngest of two kids, to the middle of six. A curve ball was pitched. At the age of 15, I started dating, and by my senior year another curve ball was thrown. I was 18 and pregnant. My high-school boyfriend became my husband. After two years of mental and physical abuse, at 3:00 am in the morning, I made the decision to get out of the inning (a divorce). I moved back to Texas and made a series of wrong choices, strike outs. I found myself as a single mother raising a son, with no college education and scared about playing in this game of life. A new season began when I meet Jim, and the love I felt seemed like the perfect play. After dating for only a few months we, too, were thrown a curve ball. We had made the decision to live together unmarried and now a baby on the way! We joined in the game of life together hand-in-hand. What seemed to be a choice of good plays including a bigger house and a new car became another curve ball with debt and an overwhelming fear of failure.
Fortunately, we had made several good plays along the way. We had a church home that loved us regardless of the pitches we had been thrown. We continued to be thrown curve balls as financial stress led to marriage problems. And it seemed as if every pitch was either a curve ball or a fast ball, and we didn’t know how to play the game. We were trying to make good plays. We stayed active in our church, tithed regularly, and prayed as a family daily, but we continued to feel overwhelmed by the game. It seemed for several years that we were on the losing team. Do we walk off the field and hope that by starting a new game it will lead to different results, or do we train and improve our skills in the game we are playing? There is no question that we have both felt a desire to quit. We were reminded that we entered the game with a clear understanding of the rules “for better or worse, through richer or poorer”. Hoping and planning for more of the good plays than the bad, we had not prepared with proper training to win the game. We did decide to stay in the game and have seen abundant blessings in our lives. We began to put some good runs on the score board. We hit some singles, some doubles, some triples, and even home runs! We began winning the Game of Life and having fun while playing the Game. We are still thrown curve balls, but we have learned when to swing and when to stand and continue to improve our skills. Instead of seeking addictions for answers on how to play the game of life we seek the one who gave his life for our bad plays. Continue to seek him and stay in the game of life. Championship games are won with dedication and training and we have discovered how to WIN!
“Forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future.” - Christian D. Larsen Beyond the Cross
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BEYOND THE CROSS ROADS
by Jim Gerlt
It’s our calling, our challenge, our opportunity.
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ave you ever had the feeling that you needed to “Go” do something, but yet you found it easier to wait for it to “Come” to you? Doesn’t it happen faster and better when you just drop everything and get to work? Most of us are believers following Christ. His Great Commission says for us to GO! Besides, Jesus calls us to take the message of the cross to the cross-roads. That is what He did. Bacon Heights Baptist Church of Lubbock has developed several cross-roads ministries.
Wester Elementary School
Wester is located in a lower socio-economic level community. A high percentage of their students receive free meals, reflecting the needs of the area. Many of the students come from single-parent homes. Try as hard as they might, these parents need help. Bacon Heights provides mentors and reading coaches for struggling students. We’ve provided books for students who don’t have access to libraries during the summer months and gave away school supplies. The youth helped with their Fall Festival and our staff takes in lunch for their staff a few times a year, just to offer encouragement. We’re adopting some of the families who won’t have much of a Christmas without outside help. Taking presents to their children, grocery store gift certificates for the parents and having a birthday party for Jesus in their homes. We have a dream that one day every elementary and middle school in Lubbock will be adopted by a church.
International Student Welcome
Hundreds of international students come to Lubbock to advance their education. Most arrive with only the clothes they 10
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can carry. Many join together and rent unfurnished apartments. They sleep and eat on the floor. Bacon Heights Baptist Church is partnering with the Baptist Student Ministry to collect and distribute furniture for the students. We recently purchased 100 twin-sized electric blankets to distribute. (A majority of these students have come from the tropics and have no clue what “cold” is. ) Our families will deliver the blankets to the students’ homes learning about their countries and culture. So many of these students come from countries that are not favorable to Christianity. We have a tremendous opportunity, here in our back yard, to establish relationships with these students who will return to their countries of origin and become leaders. Imagine the impact this outreach eventually will have in changing the attitudes of nations toward Americans in general and Christians in particular.
were finished. While looking at the land they ran into an employee. Greg gave his vision of a camp and asked what the land owner might think? The employee thought his boss might consider it. They exchanged phone numbers and months went by without hearing anything.
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f you have ever driven past Dickens, Texas you have most likely passed this 40 foot tall cross. The cross, in its rustic surroundings of barbed fences and pasture, can be easily unnoticed by passers by. The land in previous years was used as a hunting lodge, Duck Creek Cabin, and had seen many different faces including President Bush. The cabin once graced by the president has been transformed into a camp for at-risk kids. Crossview Camp, which sits on 235 acres on the edge of the caprock, was a vision that started in Scottsdale, Arizona where the McCowen family was residing at the time. The McCowen family had moved to Arizona for ministry and everything seemed to be in place; a good job with a nice corner office overlooking Arizona in its full beauty, nice home, and friends. However, this couple who had previously lived in West Texas felt as if something were missing. They had both been raised with a family who loved Christ, but they knew that there were many kids that were not getting the opportunity to experience this same love. They packed up and headed back to West Texas with no land for a camp, no money, not even a plan, but with the vision of providing atrisk kids the same opportunity that they both shared growing up with “Christ’s Love”. As the family began to look for land for a camp, they bought a packaging company in hopes to get the family through the transition of Arizona to West Texas. As the days of traveling grew long and tiresome (sometimes 300 miles a day) it was clear to the family that God had not brought them to Lubbock to be a “Delivery Boy”. They sold their new business only to find more frustration struggling to make ends meet and waiting for a direction. After countless months searching for land and nothing that looked promising, Greg sat down with a friend over dinner. He began to explain how he had searched everywhere and the friend responded “everywhere”? The friend said,”What about Duck Creek Cabins?” Greg, a little frustrated, answered, “No”, and they made plans to drive to Dickens the next day. When they arrived at the Cabins they were dilapidated and everything was overgrown, but Greg saw the camp as if it
Greg’s wife had researched the land owner Jim Barron and found that he lived in Angel Fire, New Mexico. Together they wrote a letter about wanting to reach kids for Christ. While waiting Greg did odd jobs just to keep the bills paid. He tried everything from substitute teaching, painting, to even driving a tractor. Weeks went by and they had not heard from Mr. Barron, and now Greg was starting to get offers to look at other churches for a possible position. One morning very early Greg began to pray for direction about possibly taking a job and what to do with the vision of the camp. He kept hearing “Trust Me” as he prayed. As he finished his prayer the phone rang. “Hello. Is this Greg McCowen? My name is Jim Barron and my wife and I received your letter, we would like to meet and hear what you want to do in person.” God’s timing is perfect! In what has now been more than a year since they moved back to West Texas they met with Jim and his wife Cisco. The McCowens shared their vision of the camp and Mr. Barron explained how they had been praying to use the land to reach kids for Christ. “Their prayers were answered, our prayers were answered, and God was glorified”. The Barron family donated the land in early 2000 and now a legacy has been left to enrich the lives of children after Jim’s passing. The camp was built through the love of people. Greg remembers watching people leaving the camp blessed to be a part of it. “Everyone had something to give.” Greg, who had typically not asked for help, became very humbled seeking help from everyone including church, family, friends, and even the help of homeless. People gave financially, emotionally, and physically including the Betenbough Foundation which was instrumental in getting the camp off the ground. “We have God’s bank account, but don’t have the pin yet!”, Greg joked. He spent his time “applying for grants, cleaning toilets, and running camps when possible.” The camp was reaching kids from across the region but something was missing. The Crossview Camp needed a cross to remind the campers what had been laid down for them. Jim VanOsterand a volunteer welder told Greg, “You have everything you need, you even have me.” They decided to put the cross on the highest point overlooking the camp. Jim got to work on the cross using i-beams that were lying in a scrap pile, and with the help of the community, large machinery, and donated concrete the cross was put in place March 2001. The cross not only brings “Hope” to campers, but to the many travelers who see its rustic beauty while driving by.
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PO Box 65551 Lubbock, Texas 79464