IMPACT Magazine Summer Edition '19

2019 Spring/Summer Edition

IMPACT Crossover Community Impact Magazine

Restoring Our Community

2019 Spring/Summer Edition

2011

I M PA C T

Volume 3, Number 4 Spring/Summer Edition

EDITOR Rondalyn Abode, Director of Development

ART/DESIGN Janice Connolly, MBA Director of Marketing & Design

BOARD OF DIRECTORS PHILIP ABODE DR. JOHN ABRAHAM K. MICHELLE BARNETT JEAN BARRETT DR. KENT FARISH CHAS HIGGINS JOHN HOLLIDAY, JR SAM RADER CHRIS THRUTCHLEY 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

It is hard to believe that Crossover Bible Church just celebrated its 13th anniversary this past Easter Sunday. When Ronnie and I moved to north Tulsa in 2005, it was with the hope of being a part of a church that was going to make a tangible difference in its community. In 2012, that hope began to become a reality when we started Crossover Community Impact. What started as a 2nd grade tackle football team has now grown into a multi-faceted Christian Community Development organization that offers championship caliber yearround youth sports, an award winning after-school and summer day camp program run by high schoolers, an award-winning family medical clinic, a housing and economic development company, and an award winning tuition-free all-boy private school!

One of the things that these past seven years has taught us is that God does the heavy lifting! Getting to see Him do things that only He can do has kept us even more committed today than we were when we began back in 2006.

The amazing people that I have gotten to know both inside and outside of north Tulsa serve as a constant reminder that I get to be a part of something so much bigger than me. I cannot think of anything else that I would rather do with my life than what I am doing now!

My hope is that as you read this current edition of our magazine, that you will share my excitement for the amazing work that God is accomplishing in our community. When I look at everything He has done, there is no way that any of us can take credit for it. I am so thankful for the great team of folks we have who truly believe that God is up to something special in our community.

I want to thank you for partnering with us in this most important work. Your prayers, financial support, and volunteer hours have played a key role in the life of Crossover. The stories in this magazine are your stories too. Please be encouraged as we seek to restore our community through reconciliation, love and justice.

Grace and Peace,

FOLLOW US FACEBOOK facebook.com/crossoverimpact INSTAGRAM instagram.com/crossover communityimpact TWITTER twitter.com/crossoverimpact

Philip Abode President Crossover Community Impact

Save the Date for our 7th Annual Restoring Our Community Banquet

What’s Inside Features 4. Crossover Community Impact 6. Crossover Preparatory Academy 8. IMPACT Kids Program 10. StreetLeader Program 12. Crossover Sports Association 14. Crossover Bible Church 16. Crossover Development Company 18. Crossover Health Services

Michael Gurian

20. Crossover Community Center 22. Crossover Community Impact -Summer Campaign Cover Photo: CDC Employee, Reko Johnson

an evening with New York Times Best Selling Author of Saving Our Sons and The Mind of Girls

September 20, 2019 6:30 p.m.

The 2018 Tulsa Automobile Dealers Association fundraising event raised $34,361 for CCI!

TADA Fundraising Event

by Rondalyn Abode

The weeks leading up to April 12th were equally exciting and

terrifying for me. This is typically the way I feel before all fundraising events, but this one was particularly stressful for me. It should not have been as exacting because I was not responsible for all of the details like I typically am for Crossover fundraising events, but the Tulsa Auto Show put on by the TADA (Tulsa Auto Dealers Association) was still something that made me feel like a ball of nerves until my husband, Philip, sent me a picture of the featured car! It was a thing of beauty! I needed to see it in person. I could not believe that he had not crawled into it to take some pictures because that is exactly what I planned to do as soon as time allowed.

This event combined two things that I love dearly: exotic cars and the opportunity to tell people about Crossover with the hopes they will partner with us! I was an avid model car enthusiast as a child and teenager, so I spent hours building them with my dad.

Now, I am as equally (actually even more) passionate about Crossover and the things it is doing to build up the north Tulsa community! We have been floored this year and last year by being chosen by the TADA to be the featured non-profit for the event and the Mini golf exhibition. People have heard about Crossover who would never know that we existed because of advocates that have partnered with us in the hopes of seeing tangible transformation in the Tulsa community.

It is an incredible feeling when people believe in what you’re doing to the extent that they begin to fundraise on your behalf in order to see the vision for change come to fruition. I wear a bracelet that says, “with God nothing is impossible.” I need this daily reminder of the greatness of God’s grace towards us, and I will say; this event reminded me of this truth. Truly nothing is impossible with God! God continues to bring the resources (relationships included) we need to do the work He has called us to for our good and His glory! He is truly worthy of all our praise. He deserves it!

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People have heard about Crossover who would never know that we existed because of advocates that have partnered with us in the hopes of seeing tangible transformation in the Tulsa community.

-<Rondalyn ABode

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Pictures above: 2018 and 2019 Tulsa Auto Show and Gift Presentations to CCI

Rondalyn Abode is passionate about bringing God the most glory, and she believes that her role as the Director of Development for CCI, is instrumental in her doing just that! She has been married to “Pastor P,” Philip Abode, for 17 years, and she has the sheer joy of watching God transform him daily. She is most inspired by her two little people, Temple and Priest, and she is learning to love the “baby dog,” Rocky.

If you would like to learn more Crossover Community Impact, please go to http://crossoverimpact.org .

CrossoverPREP

We are committed to developing educated, godly young men who love north Tulsa.

Crossing miles for Crossover Prep

by Matthew Whiteford

F

inding Crossover Prep was a serendipitous discovery. My wife and I were living and working overseas when we both privately felt that God was releasing us from our current place, so I casually began looking at international job postings. On a lark, I eventually checked the Latin Teacher Association website, checking for a chance position in, say, Nairobi or New Zealand. What I saw instead was a school in Tulsa, my wife’s hometown, with an incredibly unique set of job requirements.

Willing to teach Latin?

Check. Teach middle school boys? Check. Live in north Tulsa? Check.

Work in a Christian environment? Check. Immediately, I felt called to do this job.

Thousands of miles later, I can’t imagine life apart from our Crossover family. With every bedtime prayer, my children thank God for Crossover and for at least five of their “big brothers” by name. Moreover, students’ hearts softening to the Gospel has made an impact on me far beyond their academic progress. I am humbled by how much the kids can accomplish when they decide to struggle well and fight through everything.

I would describe Crossover as an organization that “did its homework and has its ducks in a row.” I have never been around such a spiritually mature body of men and women committed to serving our students, blessed with the good fortune to be operating within such a well thought-out paradigm. Furthermore, it’s an honor to be part of Crossover because I’ve never been part of an organization in which God so obviously is at work in everything: in the life of the school, the students, the teachers, and the leadership.

The students are genuinely growing: the standardized test scores are improving across the board, not only that, but even more so the students are developing in their spiritual lives.

I have taught at two other second year, private schools and experienced all of their growing pains. CPA is light years ahead in schedule in becoming the productive and God-honoring school it is supposed to be, in terms of academic achievement and organization effectiveness. In less than a year of work, we’ve had multiple students increase their reading levels 3 or 4 grade levels, averaging about 1.5-2 levels for all 58 7th and 8th grade students!

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My current role as Latin teacher envelopes all things grammatical whether it be standardized test prep or reading comprehension. If it has phrases, clauses, gender, number, case, tense, mood, or aspect—it’s in my wheelhouse. Just this month, a student confided in me that he had done more reading this year than he had previously in his entire life. He then remarked that it is now just easier for him to read the directions and do his work himself. It sounds mundane, but it’s a tremendous accomplishment for a student to turn the corner in both his confidence in his reading ability and his comprehension, and I’m grateful to have been a part of this achievement.

...the Standardized Test scores are Improving across the Board, but even more so, the students are developing in their spiritual lives.

-<Matthew Whiteford Picture above: Matthew Whiteford with CPA Student

Picture above: Matthew & Dr. Ruth Whiteford Matthew Whiteford is the CPA Latin teacher. He is in his 11th year of teaching, five of which were overseas. He and his wife of ten years, Ruth, have two children. He is passionate about education, growth, and development, and he is always more than willing to help, especially if it has to do with standardized tests!

If you would like to learn more about Crossover Prep Academy, please go to http://crossoverprep.org.

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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.

IMPACT Kids

Our After-School and Summer Enrichment STEM-based Program at Hawthorne Elementary School.

Pictures above: Kendrea’s son, Derrole “Choppy” Greene, in the CSA and IMPACT Kids programs

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I would most want People to know that we are truly a “village” at Crossover.

-Kendrea G.

Picture above: Kendrea (Back left) with CSA Cheerleaders

We are Family!

by Kendrea Greene

H

ello! My name is Kendrea Greene, and I am a proud CrossoverMom and Cheer Coach. I am happily married to Crossover Football Coach Derrole Greene II. I am also the Mother to 10 year old Derrole “Choppy” Greene, a Crossover Kid, and 1 year- old D’Kilynn Greene, a future Crossover Kid! As you can see our “Crossover” roots go deep!

We were first introduced to Crossover 6 years ago. My sister, Karesha Solomon, was the first STEM Teacher for Crossover’s IMPACT Kids Program. She simply called me one day and said, “I got a part time job for this program that I think you would love!” I read about the program and immediately enrolled my son who was a Kindergartener at Hawthorne at the time, and he’s been enrolled every summer and fall since!

When asked what impact has Crossover had in my life? All I can say is, “Crossover has been a BLESSING!” The IMPACT Kids program has provided resources outside of what Crossover alone has to offer.

They have also connected our kids to Camp Loughridge and the Tulsa Dream Center. The IMPACT Kids have participated in Vacation Bible Schools led by various churches and interacted with various college students from schools all over the Tulsa metroplex.

If I had to describe Crossover to someone that has never heard about Crossover, I would start by saying, “It’s the FULL Package.”

It consists of Faith, Family, Friends, resources, etc. I can literally talk about Crossover for days. My family often refers to me as “the Crossover Recruiter” because of my great love for Crossover and the things it is doing in our community.

When describing my current role to help Crossover make an impact in north Tulsa, I have to say, I see myself as a Mentor and an Advocate for change. We plant seeds of greatness daily in our community! More than anything, I want people to know that we are truly a “VILLAGE” at Crossover.

For instance, when I first became a part of the Crossover Sports Association, I was ONLY signing up for my son to play SPORTS. Well during a football practice one day I saw the cheerleaders practicing, so I went over and started a conversation with one of the coaches.

The coach mentioned that the Crossover Lions might not have cheer that year because there were not enough coaches. So, I replied, “Well I can help. I haven’t cheered in a “while” (read 20 years), but I’ll help.”

I have now been a Crossover Cheer Coach for 3 years. I chose this story as an example of how the Crossover being a “Village” concept is contagious, and we are truly a Family. And to think I would have never known about the Crossover Lions if my son had not been an IMPACT Kid!

Kendrea Greene has been happily married to her husband and fellow Crossover Sports Association coach Derrole Greene II for 12 years. They have two children, Derrole and D’Kilynn Greene, and they have used their opportunity to coach to mentor young people in north Tulsa! Kendrea often advocates for Crossover and the young ladies she has coached in cheer for the last 3 years! If it were not for Coach Kendrea, the girls would not have the “Mother-Daughter Pom Night,” and without her sister, Karesha Solomon, the IMPACT Kids Program would not have been able to have a STEM emphasis!

To learn more about our STEM-based After-School and Summer Day Camp at Hawthorne Elementary School, please go to http://crossoverimpact.org/impact-kids/.

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StreetLeaders StreetLeaders work as counselors, tutors and mentors for our elementary age studens within the IMPACT Kids program.

Pictures above: (top) Kylia with an IMPACT Kid, (below) 2019 StreetLeader training

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Picture above: Kylia with IMPACT Kids Staff volunteering at the 2019 TTCU Rooster Run; (top right) Kylia

Life Development

by Kylia Clark

I

cannot believe that I am currently a Crossover IMPACT Kids College Intern and have been for a year now! My journey with Crossover began when I was a sophomore in high school; my mom worked at Hawthorne Elementary School as a custodian.

She and Leah Pickard, the IMPACT Kids and StreetLeader Director, would often have conversations about me having a “future job” at the program, and since I was being recruited, I applied and eventually ended up getting the job!

Being at Crossover has had a huge impact on my life, especially spiritually. Being a StreetLeader has helped me strengthen my faith in Christ by having the debrief or “wrap up” meetings with Jeremy Williams, the StreetLeader Coordinator, as well as the bible studies with Elizabeth Holman,

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the Crossover Kids and StreetLeader Director. Literally, being a part of the program has helped me realize what God has called me to do, which is to work with children in my future profession. I gained a wonderful mentor in Faye Finley, who works with the younger kids in the program. Mrs. Faye always gives me guidance to handle situations whether its personal or work related, so she has become a bit of a “life coach” for me.

I’ve been blessed to travel to different states to not only learn more about Christ but to also meet other people with the same mindset. We have gone to the Christian Community Development Association Conference in Tennessee, the Youth Leadership Development Conference with the Evangelical Free Church of America in Kentucky, and

Crossover Community Impact

more recently to Kids Across America (KAA YOU KNOW!) in Missouri to name a few of the trips! If I were asked to describe Crossover to someone that had never heard of Crossover, I would say, “Crossover is an organization who is in love with Christ, loves people from every age group, and uses the resources given to them to serve their or the north Tulsa community.”

I want people to know that Crossover is always willing to help with anything. The people within the organization are so amazing and want to see people succeed- they work at developing people and empowering them daily. My current role as a StreetLeader College Intern has helped Crossover make an impact in north Tulsa as I am mentoring the high school StreetLeaders to become leaders just like I was mentored while in High School!

Kylia Clark has been an exemplary StreetLeader that has developed into a College Intern. She has been greatly impacted by the program, and she in turn is greatly impacting the current StreetLeaders! Her sweet heart for others has developed into a passion for teaching!

If you would like to learn more about the StreetLeader program, please go to http:// crossoverimpact.org/youth-jobs/.

CROSSOVER

LIONS

We are committed to producing athletes that excel both on and off the field.

From Roommate to Resident

by Chas Higgins

“D

o you need a roommate?” That is how my first full conversation with Philip Abode started. This was especially weird, because we had only met once before. A mutual friend mentioned that Philip was also going to the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in Chicago, and I hoped we could share a room. Little did I know what God had in store for me through that trip.

Philip mentioned a family from Crossover was driving with their 4 kids to the conference as

well. I thought to myself, “who in the world would drive their little kids all the way to Chicago?” Justin and Leah Pickard would of course!

During this trip, God allowed me to get to know Philip and the Pickard family.

Once I returned home I told my wife, Robin, about the people I had met and the CCDA, and I “informed” her that we were going to be moving from Bixby to north Tulsa. Her

reply was “hahaa, of course not!” until the Pickards invited us over for dinner at their house which was missing a few walls and windows because they were “working” on it. After talking with them and seeing their heart for not simply repairing homes but for repairing broken lives, two months later we moved into Brady Heights.

We have lived in north Tulsa for 8 years and every day has been a blessing from

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SPORTS Pictures above: Chas and his baseball team through the years God. God has had his hand in everything we have experienced here, and the idea of moving back to Bixby has never entered our minds.

Once we moved, I believed that I had little to offer the Crossover community. The only thing I feel I am fairly good at is being a dad, so we started a baseball team.

God has brought such joy into our family through the relationships he has created through the baseball team. Unfortunately, due to age restrictions, last year was our final season as a baseball team, so we decided to have a pool party to celebrate what God had created! We also felt God’s prompting to start a Bible study.

With the help of a fellow church member and his two boys we started a weekly all boys study. One of the boys in our group lost his mother last year and his dad passed away in February. Because of God’s direction, my family and I are here to love him during this difficult time.

Our boys would consider all their friends to be from this baseball team. Baseball and Bible studies with the kids in our community lets us share all of our lives with them, and it allows us to be a part of their lives as well. Most importantly, we see the great qualities

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they bring into our boys’ lives, and we have seen things we have lacked, as a result of having been isolated out south our first 30 years! Kids here actually play and walk outside! It’s great! Life out north has been nothing but amazing in every aspect. As far as I’m concerned… “South Tulsa be boring!”

Chas Higgins has been married to his wife, Robin, for 17 years, and they have 3 children: Solomon (13), Gabe (11), and Rorie (9). As a family, they are known for loving people well especially through hospitality. He is the owner of Higgins Homes and is responsible for the first home renovated and the first home built

by Crossover Development Company. He has served at Crossover Bible Church since he began attending and his love for youth lead him to coach the baseball team from start to finish.

Crossover Sports Association has an array of sports offerings such as Football, Basketball, Baseball, Track and Field and Cheer.

To learn more about Crossover Sports Association, please go to http://www.crossoverlions.org.

Restoring our community by making disciples while loving and serving our neighbors.

Crossover Bible Church

by Chasten Hendricks

I

t’s amazing how one simple thought can change the entire trajectory of your life. For me, that happened in 2010 when I casually thought, “I want to find a church in north Tulsa.”

At the time, I was working as a 6th grade teacher at Gilcrease Middle School and my wife, Janet, was an intern at the North Mabee Boys & Girls Club. Both of us were working in north Tulsa but the rest of our lives, including where we attended church, was outside of the community. Though I didn’t have words for it at the time, burning within my heart was a desire to integrate our lives with the community that we were serving.

Well, that desire became a reality with one simple online search.

With a few clicks, we came across Crossover Bible Church, and after listening to a few of Pastor Philip’s messages, we were intrigued enough to visit. One visit led to another and since that point, our lives have never been the same.

Though so many exciting moments have taken place in recent years, our first few years at Crossover vividly stand out to me most. That time resonates with me because during those years, I experienced several “firsts” in my walk with the Lord. In those years, I saw for the first time

what it looked like to be faithful in the midst of suffering (Shout out to Pastor P & Rondalyn Abode). I also experienced for the first time what one-on-one discipleship looked like in action (Shout out to Demarco Taylor). And of course, I became a part of a church, for the first time, that dreamed of reaching its community in a wholistic fashion (Shout out to the Crossover family).

As one can imagine, it’s been particularly exciting to see how Crossover has evolved since 2010. I literally remember when all of the current entities of Crossover were just a vision on a slideshow presentation. Now, many of those slideshow dreams are tangible realities.

Since those small vision meetings in 2010, God has orchestrated the creation of an after-school program lead by high schoolers, a clinic, development company, school and much more.

At the heart of all of those endeavors is a deep belief that “God does the heavy lifting.” It’s a core value that I know flows through the veins of all that we do at Crossover. From budget goals to the placement of the right people on our team, we deeply believe that God is able to do what we can’t do. This glorious Gospel truth informs all that we put our hands to.

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Pictures above: Chasten with his wife, Janet, and daughter, Janai

From Budget goals to the placement of the right people on our team, we deeply believe that God is able to do what we can’t do.

-chasten Hendricks

In my current role as the Student Ministry Director (Crossover Bible Church) and the Director of Student Leadership (Crossover Preparatory Academy), I get to see this truth in action daily. Each day, I observe new ways that He’s working in our staff, our students, our families, and our community. God is truly doing the heavy lifting and that reality makes me even more excited about what’s to come.

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Picture above: Chasten serving in ministry in Georgia Chasten Hendricks serves as the Student Ministry Director at Crossover Bible Church and the Director of Student Leadership at Crossover Preparatory Academy. Chasten and his wonderful wife, Janet, have been married for almost 8 years, and they are the proud parents of Janai Victoria, their beautiful daughter. Their sole desire is to glorify God and to spread His fame wherever He leads, in every season of life.

There are very few people in the world that can match their competency and passion, and it is clear that God is and will do big things in and through them because of their great love for Him. To learn more about Crossover Bible Church, please go to the church’s website: http://crossoverbible.org.

Revitalizing our community through economic and housing development.

by Justin Pickard

D

id you know that only 3.9% of construction workers in the City of Tulsa are African-American? What about the fact that the percentage of carpenters is even less at 3.5% even though 14.9% of the City of Tulsa’s population is African American?* Over the years I’ve had a hunch that African American men were not successfully getting construction jobs. I often wonder, “Why is this a problem?” especially since construction jobs are good paying jobs that help men provide for their families.

I know this personally since all six of my Dad’s brothers worked in construction related fields. Actually, anyone who knew my Dad, knew that although he was an attorney, he was really a construction worker at heart. My Grandfather was a construction superintendent, so my Dad grew up working on his jobs. I’ve often joked that my brothers and I wished he would take up golf instead of constantly tackling construction jobs at home! My friends in high school would say, “Justin, what’s the matter, you can’t come on Saturday? Are you sheet rocking again?” and start laughing at me. But this points to another advantage of construction jobs – you learn skills and confidence to help you build equity in your own properties. My wife, Leah, and I bought and remodeled our first house while I was in undergrad at TU,

four carpenters, as well as great electrical, plumbing and HVAC subcontractors benefit from this development work!

Moreover, in addition to on-the-job training, CDC is utilizing the NCCER carpentry educational curriculum to train CDC’s construction employees. NCCER carpentry certification is a nationally recognized certification that employees can take with them to obtain a livable wage wherever they might be in the future.

and we have remodeled two other houses and a commercial building since.

When you fast forward to the way Crossover Development Company (CDC) has been tackling the need for quality housing in north Tulsa by both remodeling and building new construction homes, you begin to see what an opportunity construction jobs, specifically carpentry jobs can be in our community. If we spend $60,000 remodeling a house, $40,000 of that goes to labor, and we do our best to see those dollars create jobs for men in north Tulsa. Charles Wilkes, CDC’s Operations Manager, and I are happy to see our current crew of

Dr. John Perkins and Dr. Wayne Gordon write, “Many charity programs, though well-intended, strip people of their dignity by doing for them instead of empowering them to do for themselves.” The unemployment rate in our neighborhood is 16.9% (several times higher than the rest of Tulsa). If men and women have jobs with livable wages, then they don’t need continued charity.

Please pray and support us in our efforts to address this need in our community. We long to see our construction job training program grow and expand to include additional crews as the size and number of our development projects grow. Lord willing, many families will be blessed by construction just like mine has been.

Justin Pickard has been married to his wife, Leah, for 17 years, and they have 4 children. They were both greatly impacted by short-term missions trips to inner city St. Louis and the philosophy of Christian Community Development and its thought leaders. God used those trips to prepare them for the work He had called them to in north Tulsa, called Crossover Community Impact. They have shepherds’ hearts that always means both their home and their hearts are full.

To learn more about Justin’s labor of love as the Executive Director of Crossover Community Impact, Crossover Health Services, and Crossover Development Company, please go to http://crossoverimpact.org.

Before

Pictures above: The CDC Team revitalizing homes in the Hawthorne neighborhood

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I have lived in north tulsa for 22 years, so I always want to be a part of something benefIcial in my community.

-Angelia Barnett

We are committed to living out Christ’s compassion, dignity and healing in our community through Healthcare.

Crossover Health Services

by Angelia Barnett

M

y name is Angelia Barnett, and I am the Office Manager for Crossover Health Services. I have been married to my husband, Alvin, for 26 years, and in total we have 10 children. Yup, you read that right 10 children and 3 grandchildren. My youngest son, Aaqib (which means “the last,” See Proverbs 22:1), is the reason I became a part of the Crossover Family. He was my second-grader at Hawthorne Elementary School that begged me to let him play football like his older brothers when he heard about the Lions’ team from Coach Philip Abode.

Having been the PTA President at Hawthorne Elementary School, I came to Crossover Sports Association as a ‘self-appointed’ Team Mom for the football team in 2012. After a couple of years of forming teams of Team Moms, I was offered a position at “the clinic,” or Crossover Health Services, since I had a background in the medical field. This is where I currently work today, almost 5 years later- seven years after my initial introduction to Crossover.

Picture above: CHS Family Fun Day participants I have lived in north Tulsa for 22 years, so I always want to be a part of something beneficial in my community. I didn’t want some “pill pushing, not listening to the real needs of our community, messing us up further” doctors though. That’s the whole truth- no jokes, no sug-

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Pictures above: Crossover Health Services in action ar coating! I wanted to know who these other Crossover people were, and I wanted to know their real motives. I wanted to ensure that the efforts to build up the community that I saw through the Crossover Sports Association would be continued through Crossover Health Services.

I live in a community plagued with poor health, poor spirits, and poor finances and little access to healthy living; it can be downright depressing. But it’s also a strong resilient community with a rich history. North Tulsa is the remnant of Black Wall Street, and it’s that level of thriving, success, and momentum for change that we would love to see once again.

excellence that impacts the work I do each day at Crossover Health Services. Just as I taught my children these things, I choose to live them out in my passion to see health disparities eradicated.

I have also seen a sincere- hearted effort from all of the doctors and medical professionals who come in the spirit of Christianity and community to at least try and help. That’s what we need: real people, with sincere motives to live and work to make north Tulsa better.

We are just trying to be the change we want to see- working at Crossover, doing what we can to help our community be well!

As a family, we never let living in north Tulsa have a negative impact on us or the children around us. It’s been very hard, but we try to see living here as a benefit, and not a death sentence.

Your past doesn’t dictate your future; your future is determined through prayer and clear goals. It’s this mindset and pursuit of

Angelia Barnett has been married to her husband Alvin for 26 years, and she is the mother of 10 children, but she is like a mother to many more. She sets the tone for Crossover Health Services much like she did for the Crossover Lions years ago. She and her husband have created and become a family of advocates for health and community and it impacts anyone they come in contact with!

To learn more about Crossover Health Services, go to http://www.crossoverhealthservices.org.

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Picture above: Crossover Health Services patrons

COMMUNITY CENTER

by Philip Abode

“T

he main thing on my mind right now is my dream to build a brand new communty center here in north Tulsa. I would love to see a state of the art facility that becomes the hub of the community.” I wrote these words in my journal on February 20, 2006. Thirteen years later, my dream has not changed. What has changed is how close this dream is to becoming a reality. As I write this article, we have raised more than half of the money we need to build the Crossover Community Center. Lord-willing, we will break ground later this year and begin the construction of a facility that will have a catalytic impact on seeing restoration in north Tulsa.

“Why a community center?” you might ask. From the onset, I wanted to see Crossover make an impact in our community that goes beyond how many people show up for a Sunday morning worship service. I firmly believe in the power of the gospel to transform people’s lives, but I also believe that same power can impact an entire community. When you want to see an entire community experience transformation, you have to think differently about everything, including the type of building necessary to see this dream fulfilled.

“Form follows function” is a well-known principle in architectural circles. It basically means that a building’s design (its form) should be determined by its purpose (function). Considering that north Tulsa faces a web of interconnected issues, it’s clear that interconnected solutions are necessary. We say that “we take a comprehensive approach to a targeted geographic area.” Our team sees this as the best way to address the various issues that families in our community face. Each of the previous articles in this magazine gave you a snapshot of each of the elements of our comprehensive approach. Now think of the impact that all of these elements could have on one family.

J’Ron attends Crossover Prep and played on Crossover Sports Association’s first football team of second graders. He participated in our IMPACT Kids Program, and it would not surprise me if he applies to become a StreetLeader next year. Honestly, if he becomes one of our college graduates that returns to live in north Tulsa, he will be a part of the community transformation that is possible for north Tulsa.

Since we’ve talked about the function, now we must consider the form necessary to see transformation occur. In my opinion, a community center with plenty of classrooms handles this perfectly! Most community centers are empty during the day because all the kids are in school. School buildings are empty after 3pm or when all of the extracurricular activities are done. Church buildings are empty all week. To build a facility that can bring all of the elements of our comprehensive approach to one centralized location will make it that much easier to have more J’Rons who get plugged into everything that Crossover does to see transformation in north Tulsa.

Philip Abode has been married to his wife, Rondalyn, for 17 years, and they have two children that look just like him. Philip wears many hats in the Crossover Family, including co-founder of Crossover Community Impact.

Go to http://crossoverimpact.org, to learn more about the Crossover Community Center and Crossover’s vision for community Crossover Community Impact transformation.

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Crossover Community Center

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Crossover Community Impact

Summer Campaign

I

often joke that my job as the Director of Development for Crossover Community Impact is to “trust God for all of us.” God promises to provide for our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19), and I am floored by the way He has provided and continues to provide faithfully for the Crossover Family!

The song, “Great is Thy Faithfulness” still brings me to tears 17 years later because I remember being newly married to my honey of a month and moving to Dallas with an apartment and not one single job between the two of us. We watched God miraculously provide for our little family of two through a scholarship Philip had received 5 years ago but was unable to take advantage of in 1997 because of His football scholarship to the University of Tulsa. We were there from June to October before I was gainfully employed, and every one of our needs was provided for.

I have seen God do a similar work for Crossover, and it often comes through donations, but I’ve also seen it in people partnering with us in other ways to do this great work! I could name a number of examples from each of our entities, but I will just list a few to show you what I am talking about! I’m reminded of Dr. Kent Farish shutting down his practice in south Tulsa of 30 years to come and be the founding physician for Crossover Health Services. I saw David and Janice Connolly uproot their family from Texas after 16 years to join the Crossover Prep and Crossover Community Impact staffs respectively. I heard for the first time recently that Janet Hendricks had finally gotten the promotion she had hoped for at her job in Georgia when God called her family back to north Tulsa, so that she could run the Crossover Community Center. I won’t even list the number of jobs Philip had offered her husband, Chasten, over the years! Isaac Bennett was enjoying the fruits of graduating from college when he chose to join our team as the Crossover Sports Association Director. Truly, I am sure that people are tired of hearing me say that our Executive Director has a masters from Harvard that would allow him to write his own ticket to anywhere, and yet he chose to commit his life to this work in north Tulsa.

Has God started writing your story of commitment to the welfare of others, especially those in north Tulsa? I sure hope so! There are so many ways that you could partner with us in this great work, so that our story becomes a part of yours. Every bit of your financial support moves this work forward! Literally $10 per month allows us to provide supplies for students in our IMPACT Kids Program for example which makes a huge IMPACT. Our goal is $75,000. Will you join us to help others write their stories of experiencing God’s grace through the partnership and support of people like you? We would be so grateful if you did!

Grateful for you,

Rondalyn Abode Director of Development www.crossoverimpact.org

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Crossover Community Impact

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 north Tulsa and the entire Tulsa community.

For more information: (918) 856-5377 x106 www.crossoverimpact.org