The Cross Current

Open Air Time Travel!

Cory McKenna — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:55:33 +0000

At the top of this month, I had the privilege of serving on a team of ten seed sowers at the 2012 Super Bowl Outreach in Indianapolis, Indiana.

Left: Evangelist Chris Landrum pleads with a passerby at Super Bowl 2012

If you ever wanted to step back in time to hear a classic open air preacher like Charles Spurgeon, George Whitefield, or Jonathan Edwards…then look no further!

In this raw, unedited footage from this year’s Super Bowl Outreach, Chris Landrum of Manning, South Carolina heralds the Gospel in 2012 with the faithfulness and fervor of a preacher from 1612!

This precious brother in Christ has an amazing Gospel testimonial and I truly thank God that He brought us together to fight on the frontline together at the biggest sporting event of the year!

Watch Chris Landrum in action preaching the Gospel open air at Super Bowl Outreach 2012!-

CLICK HERE for the full story of SBO 2012

CLICK HERE to see witnessing pics from this event on our Flickr photostream!

~ Cory

Lego My Birthday Cake!

Cory McKenna — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 16:37:35 +0000

Ever wondered what a street preacher’s birthday cake looks like? Well, look no further!

Special thanks to my lovely wife, Dawn, and our two boys, Joshua and Caleb, for their hard work and creativity in putting this cake together for my birthday last week.

Pictured is a Lego open air preacher complete with box, bullhorn, Bible, and a “tract pack”!

This little “open air extraordinaire” has even drawn a comfortable crowd of us four and no more! (Any guesses as who is going to be the heckler?:)

I especially appreciated how they were so considerate of my safety that they strategically positioned me across the street from that cowboy and his dog!

In closing, I am truly humbled by how the Lord is even causing my children to prioritize preaching the Gospel in cute and creative ways.

Perhaps leading by example brings more practical blessings than we all realize?

In Christ,

~ Cory

TCC goes “On the Box” with Living Waters!

Cory McKenna — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:48:31 +0000

If you haven’t seen the “On the Box” Internet TV show from Living Waters…you need to! It’s a powerful program designed to equip and motivate Christ-followers to preach the Gospel open air in the public square.

In today’s broadcast, our very own Cory McKenna was a featured preacher as Ray Comfort and Tony Miano provided coverage of the Super Bowl Outreach event that took place in Indianapolis at the top of the month.

Click on the picture below to watch today’s episode of “On the Box”!

Super Bowl Outreach | Preaching & Pics!

Cory McKenna — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 23:24:19 +0000

Just in case you missed it, our last blog posting brought a detailed field report about our Gospel outreach mission to Super Bowl XLVI, as 110 seed sowers invaded the streets of Indianapolis, Indiana (CLICK HERE to read all about it!).

As part of TCC’s mission with the Body of Christ is producing outreach broadcasts and podcasts, you can probably imagine the overwhelming volume of audio and video that was captured onsite at this event!

As we now take on the intense and immense task of preparing the raw media content for sharing here online, I will do my best to post fresh footage from Super Bowl Outreach 2012 over the coming weeks and months – so keep checking back!

Pastor Dustin Segers of Greensboro, North Carolina preaches the Gospel open air at SBO 2012!

This pictorial collage will give you a glimpse of the great things that God did for His glory in and through our street witnessing team at this event!

We trust that these latest and greatest encounters in evangelism will encourage and equip you to be a more faithful and fruitful witness for Jesus Christ!

~ Cory

Super Bowl Outreach 2012!

Cory McKenna — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:09:15 +0000

What do you get when you cross: the Gospel, 110 street evangelists, and the largest sporting event in North America? The 2012 Super Bowl Outreach!

This past weekend, yours truly and our friendly neighborhood presuppositional apologist, Sye Ten Bruggencate, hit the road bound for 3 grueling and God-glorying days of street witnessing in Indianapolis, Indiana. Not only was it a joy to step onto the mission field with an army of like-minded Christian soldiers, but suffice to say that it was a huge blessing to squeeze Sye’s brain for 14 hours down and back as well!:)

Right: Sye Ten Bruggencate talks truth with a couple football fans

The event was hosted by Bill Adams of Sports Fan Outreach, an organization dedicated to taking the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the fans attending major sporting events across the U.S.A. and the world.

Left: Yours truly stoplight preaching at SuperBowl XLVI

As I contemplated the most effective way of sharing a field report that would even come close to communicating the overall impact of this event, I have resolved to share a sort of “captains log summary” of the mission so you can relate to the pace and intensity of the days as they unfolded. So, here it goes…

SUPER BOWL OUTREACH 2012 | ITINERARY

Thursday, February 2nd

8:00am – Sye and I depart London bound for Indianapolis. Sye’s Garmin (GPS) was flawless until we encountered an outback country cross-roads that caused us to arrive at the camp at around 5:30pm- about an hour later than expected. (Didn’t I say that Tom Tom’s are better?:)

7:00pm – Several speakers deliver introductions, instructions, and two fantastic sessions on the dangers of “nomadic” evangelism and the need to abide in Christ unto perseverance.

Friday, February 3rd

7:00am – Prayer followed by a fellowship breakfast

9:00am – 10:30am – Teaching on knowing the joy of sharing Christ and the role of the evangelist in the local church.

11:00am – 9:30pm – Travel to the downtown core of Indianapolis for open air preaching, one-to-ones, and tracting

11:00pm – Late night “secret church” (Just kidding! But there was great “night owl” iron sharpening together)

Saturday, February 4th

7:00am – Prayer followed by a fellowship breakfast

9:00am – 10:30am – Teaching on living and preaching in light of Christ’s grace and humility

11:00am – 9:30pm – Again travel to the downtown core of Indianapolis for open air preaching, one-to-ones, and tracting

11:00pm – More late-night conversation, this time surrounding the subject of church-wide Gospel proclamation

Sunday, February 5th

7:00am – Prayer followed by a fellowship breakfast

9:00am – 10:30am – Teaching on persevering through trials for the glory of God

11:00am – 6:30pm – Last day of traveling to the downtown core of Indianapolis for open air preaching, one-to-ones, and tracting

11:00pm – The final few evangelists staying overnight discussed presuppositional apologetics with Sye

Testimonials

As you can hopefully imagine, there were countless testimonies of God’s sovereign grace experienced throughout these 4 days of sharing Christ together. Budding evangelists preaching the Gospel open air for the very first time…people being powerfully drawn out of the crowd by the Spirit of God to talk about His Son while their drunk friends waited impatiently for them to finish the conversation…tears of repentance and faith as convicted passerby’s responded to the public preaching of Christ crucified. All just exciting new reminders that our God truly is mighty to save!

Left: Pastor Dustin Segers reasoning with a Cincinnati Bengals fan

Perhaps the most inspiring “glory story” from the streets of Indianapolis involved a 75 year-old street evangelist named Frank Robertson. Frank shared how he has been faithfully praying for over 20 years that God would raise up some young evangelists to take his place. His eyes filled with tears when one of our team leaders told him: “We’re the answer to your prayers!” To God be the glory!

Thank-You’s!

First, I need to thank Bill Adams of Sports Fan Outreach and the following Christ-followers from our team:

Justin Edwards (Leader) – Charlotte, NC
Dustin Segers (Leader) – High Point, NC
Aaron Beane – Charlotte, NC
Brian Ottinger – Huntersville, NC
Buck Hamilton – Concorde, NC
Kent Blalock – Concorde, NC
Shawn & Lisa Pander – Mt. Holly, NC
Chris Landrum – Manning, SC
Ed Leese – Easley, SC

In closing, I also need to thank all the beloved saints who were upholding me and our team in prayer for the during of this mission. I know that I speak on behalf of all the other evangelists involved when I say that the Lord strengthened us for the task through your faithful prayers!

Right: Forget game tickets of $2700 – $5700 per seat…check out the price for parking!

Please feel free to browse the various links from the SuperBowl Outreach 2012 below…and stay tuned for more media memoirs to follow!

VIDEO

Super Bowl Outreach 2012 | Stoplight Open Air!

AUDIO

Pastor Dustin Segers and I talking with Nick and Jake (1 hour, 15 minutes)

SBO2012_Dustin_Nick&Jake.mp3

Warning: this audio footage has not been edited and may contain profanity. Listener discretion is advised.

PICTURES

CLICK HERE to see more pictures from Super Bowl Outreach 2012 on our Flickr page!

E-Tools Newsletter | January 2012

Cory McKenna — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:48:12 +0000

Welcome to our very first E-Tools Newsletter of 2012! This monthly TCC field report also includes helpful outreach resources to encourage and equip you to more faithfully share the Gospel with all the loved ones in your life as we witness for Christ in Canada together.

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“GO” AND GROW!

The very first time I hit the streets with a Gospel outreach team was in Hollywood, California…open air preaching! Talk about scary! But what I personally experienced witnessing with fifty men and women of God wholeheartedly sold-out for the Lord and His Gospel was much more than I bargained for!

When my wife picked me up at our local airport, I broke down in tears and all I could mumble was something like: “That was the closest I’ve ever been to being part of the true church…and it was the most beautiful ministry experience of my entire Christian life.”

Here is how one of the newest TCC preaching protégés, Nathan Korten, describes how his commitment to be a more faithful witness has impacted his walk with Christ:

I started going out on the streets of London with The Cross Current team just this past October, and wow! What an experience it has been!

We’ve gone out just about every Friday night, braving the cold and the snow and the angry verbal assaults of consciences pricked by the Spirit, and I must say that God has been doing something amazing in my life through it all.

Not that I’ve suddenly been transformed into some super-evangelist who has a winning word for everyone I meet; I still feel like I have more “bad” conversations than “good” conversations. And yet, through this He is making me feel my need for Him all the more deeply. He is making me depend on Him, literally for every word. He is forcing me to really step out in faith and take hold of His promises.

Left: Nathan Korten “breaks the sound barrier” by preaching open air for the very first time!

And so things are changing: I’ve passed out more tracts in the past three months than ever before in my life. I’ve told more people about Jesus in the past three months than ever before in my life. I’ve even been given the courage to stand up in public and do some street preaching! God is good!

Like I said, I still have a long way to go as far as evangelism goes, but Philippians 1:6 is still true, “And I am sure of this, that He who began a good work in you will bring it completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” I can’t wait to see what further changes He will bring about in me as that day gets closer!

Click here or the pic to the right to see Nathan Korten preaching in the ice cold open air!

Evangelism “takes the cake”

To help Christ-followers better understand how eessential evangelism is for healthy growth in Christ, I encourage them to think of the church like a beautiful cake and God has given us His recipe for how His cake should look, smell, taste, and grow.

So we begin mixing in His ingredients: the eggs of prayer to bind everything together, the sweet sugar of worship, the frosting of fellowship, the – well – you get the point!:) But how would the cake turn out with no flour? Though I am told that you can bake one, cakes with no flour turn out flat and lifeless.

The flour in a cake is a lot like evangelism in the church. It’s not just a stand-alone ingredient in the cake, it’s the base ingredient that adds the substance and texture to all the other ingredients. Evangelism holds everything together and gives the church life and lift in Christ!

That’s a very accurate picture as to how my Christian life looked before I was actively preaching the Gospel: flat and lifeless! Why? Because I was mixing in all the other ingredients without actually being obedient to add the base ingredient: evangelism! But as soon as I started regularly sharing my faith, all the other ingredients beautifully blended together to form the abundant and adventurous life that Christ promised!

So let’s “go” FOR Christ to grow IN Christ…together…for His glory!

~ Cory

Click here to get better equipped for life and witness with The Cross Current

Click here to access field-tested evangelism training tools on our online Store

TCC EQUIPS ACF
This month The Cross Current had the privilege of equipping students of the Asian Christian Fellowship (ACF) at their annual winter retreat. With record-breaking numbers in attendance, the Lord showed up in power through the worship and the Word over the course of this three-day event!

Above: The graduating class of the 2012 Asian Christian Fellowship Winter Retreat

Here are a few words from Wesley Lai, President of the Asian Christian Fellowship, about TCC’s involvement in the retreat:

We were privileged to have pastor Cory McKenna as our preacher during this weekend. He challenged our campus fellowship to live the mission we have been summoned for. Cory is a dynamic preacher, enthusiastic about his message, and very clear in speech.

Our retreat theme was a study on evangelism and Cory did very well, being led by the Spirit to minister to us accordingly. Repeatedly he reminded us to fix our gaze on the cross and the supremacy of Jesus Christ.

Beyond his preaching, however, I think we were most edified by our fellowship time with him. Cory was always available, not complaining; but rather doing everything he could to lift us up. Cory has been a huge blessing to us from the Lord.

When I asked my brothers and sisters for their thoughts on the preaching I sensed a welling urgency to share the gospel. Those who had one-on-one time with Cory also told me that they were really blessed.

Despite all the hard work invested in programming and sermons, the glory belongs to our God alone. Cory would agree with me that even if we did everything, but omitted God, our retreat would have been unsuccessful. What is success? To know God; and this happened for many. Therefore, we give God all the glory and honour he deserves.

If I can provide the highlights of my retreat experience, it would be the privilege of sitting under Pastor Cory’s teaching, singing while engaging in kitchen duties with our small group, participating in musical worship, and the observation of the Holy Spirit moving mightily within our company. I witnessed many lives healed during this weekend, many refreshed by the Lord, and many renewed in their faith. There is liberty with picking up the cross of Christ. As we serve our Almighty Master, our prayer is that we would all the more decrease while God increases.

On behalf of Western’s ACF leadership and fellowship, we would like to give our warm thanks to Cory, The Cross Current ministry, and Harvest Bible Chapel for supporting us. We pray for the Lord’s blessing not only upon your organization, but also each brother and sister involved. We love you all very much.

Therefore, now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen (Eph. 3:20-21)

On behalf of the entire TCC evangelism team, we pray that our contribution added eternal value to your vision for the retreat and we trust that you will all continue growing into more faithful and fruitful witnesses for Christ!

Click here for more on hosting TCC seminars and special events-

“PROVING GOD”

Back by popular demand, throughout the month of February TCC Radio will be rebroadcasting “Proving God” with special guest, Sye TenBruggencate.

Here is the synopsis for this series:

You have likely heard that it is impossible to prove that God exists. You have heard wrong. Not only can the existence of God be proven, denying the proof undermines rational thought.

God does not need anyone to prove His existence. The Bible teaches that the existence of God is so obvious that we are without excuse for denying Him.

In this shocking series of TCC Radio, we will be working with Sye TenBruggencate of Sinner Ministries both in the studio and on the street to air and share irrefutable proof that God exists in addition to what you already know (and may be suppressing).

Sye TenBruggencate of Sinner Ministries is author and editor of www.proofthatgodexists.org and an expert in presuppositional apologetics. Sye offers powerful training to equip the average, everyday believer to defend their faith with anyone and everyone in our culture. He has been a guest on the Living Waters “On the Box” internet TV program, he has been featured in numerous debates with top “Atheists”, and he is also currently writing a book on this subject.

Looking for more in-depth training on defending your faith biblically?

Watch Sye’s exclusive 3-part pressupositional apologetics training sessions on our TCC TV Vimeo channel

Visit TCC Radio online

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YOUR PRAYER PULSE FOR FEBRUARY

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Let’s continue partnering together to keep our prayer pulse for TCC and the Church in Canada strong!

We humbly ask you, your family, and your church to remember to pray for the following TCC ministry needs in February:

Super Bowl Outreach | February 2nd to 5th – Please pray for Cory McKenna as he joins the outreach effort for this year’s SuperBowl festivities in Indianapolis, Indiana. This annual event offers the opportunity to preach the Gospel to tens of thousands of people plus training with many of the most experienced evangelists in North America. For more detailed information, visit: www.superbowloutreach.org.

Local Missions Conference – London, ON | February 26th – Please pray for Cory McKenna as he gives a keynote sermon at a local missions conference in London, Ontario. Click here to visit the host church for this event.

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Continue keeping a pulse on our prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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We again thank God for you and your partnership in preaching the Gospel.

For His Glory Alone,

The Cross Current Team

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Preaching Christ in Canada, Eh?

Cory McKenna — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 18:08:36 +0000

Preaching Christ in Canada, eh? Then you’d better pack your parka!

This brief video footage features the newest young open air preacher to break the sound barrier under the evangelism leadership of The Cross Current.

TCC salutes all of you sub-zero seed sowers who step out in faith each week to preach Christ on those cold winter nights in Canada!

Sound Barrier Broken…AGAIN!

Cory McKenna — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:41:18 +0000

I am an equipping evangelist. What does this mean? It basically means that my life and ministry rises and falls on the actualization of Ephesians 4:11-12.

So not only is equipping the saints for the work of evangelistic ministry my God-given responsibility within the Body of Christ, but hearing budding preachers herald the Gospel in the public square (under my leadership) is what really floats my boat!:)

This past Friday night young evangelist, Nathan Korten, broke the sound barrier by preaching open air for the very first time!

Left: Young evangelist, Nathan Korten, preaches the Gospel open air for the very first time!

As I thought about what I might say to “evangelistically encourage” all Christ-followers reading this posting right now, I realized (again) that God has already said it!

Paul encourages and exhorts young Timothy in the Lord as follows:

Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. Practice these things, immerse yourself in them,so that all may see your progress. Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers. (1 Tim. 4:12-16)

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I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure soundteaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths. As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. (2 Tim. 4:1-5)

So, on this momentous occasion, TCC salutes Nathan Korten…and all the other young preachers who are faithfully doing the work of an evangelist.

We thank God for you, good soldiers (2 Tim. 2:3)!

~ Cory

It happened…AGAIN!

Cory McKenna — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 15:51:29 +0000

This past Friday it happened…AGAIN No, not JUST that we hit the streets to preach the Gospel – hopefully that’s obvious!:) But it’s what happened when we were witnessing that’s worth blogging about!

I was walking through the park with 6 members of our evangelism team of 14 (praise God!) when I used one of our million dollar bill gospel tracts to break the ice with a group of 4 young adults. “Did you guys get one of these?” I asked. As often is the case, they responded with: “No. What is it?”

“You’ve never seen one of those before?”, I responded in amazement (it never ceases to amaze men that we literally distribute hundreds of these every week yet there are always people who have never even seen them before!). “Well, can I ask you the million dollar question? It’s the most important question you’ll ever be asked!”, I said. “Sure!” their spokesperson responded. “OK, here it is…when your life ends here, where do you believe you will spend eternity?” And with that, it began…

Initially, the first young man seemed to be identifying himself as a sort of panentheist (CLICK HERE for expert info on this false belief system). I followed up this confession of “faith” with the question, “So, are you looking for something to believe in, or are you looking for the truth?” As we put his belief system to the test in light of what we know to be truth, he quickly surrendered his false faith claims.

As the conversation unfolded, it turned out that the other young man claimed to be a born again Christian. “Great!” I responded. “A scenario that I love to play out with Christians is called “3 minutes to live”. Can we talk about that?” He agreed.

Evangelistic “Quick Tip”! When someone confesses themselves as a Christ-follower, we will often fast-track the conversation and initiate a very simple “3 Minutes to Live” scenario to ensure that they truly understand the biblical gospel, along with all those in their group.

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Basically, the scenario goes like this: “If I had 3 minutes to live and I wasn’t right with God, what message would you share with me?” Often the “Christian” will begin to share a gospel message much different than that revealed in Scripture. After they share their understanding of the “gospel”, we turn the tables and then with them the biblical gospel.

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This is a VERY effective way of witnessing to all those in your life who claim to be followers of Christ. It is also a great way to “ricochet” the biblical Gospel with a group of people. By preaching Christ strongly with one of the people in the group, the Word of God will ricochet to the ears of the others.;)

After the entire group clearly heard the Gospel, I then turned my attention again to the first young man I had initially spoken with. “Is it my imagination, or does this seem somewhat familiar to you?” I asked. “Yes”, he replied. “That’s because I was briefly attending a church here in the city with a couple friends of mine.” “If you don’t mind me asking, which church?”, I said. “Harvest Bible Chapel London.”

As you can imagine, when I dropped the bomb that I was a pastor at Harvest Bible Chapel London, his face lit up with “all-too-familiar” look of shock and awe! “Do you figure that God is trying to get your attention, my friend?” I believe that he will return to church soon. And if that wasn’t enough of a “coincidence”, take a wild guess as to who I just happened to run into just ten minutes after talking to this group? One of the friends from my church who knew this young man! God is so good…and so mighty to save!

This is not the first time this has happened. In fact, it has happened several times over the past few months. As such, I am posting this testimony as an encouragement to all seed sowers to continue being faithful to preach the Word in season and out of season, and to persist in doing the work of an evangelist.

After many years of sowing and watering the seed of God’s Word in the city of London – week after week after week of faithful witnessing with very little visible “evidence” of harvest – it’s only fairly recently that the Lord has begun bringing the increase right to our church! After all, the call is not just to make converts, but to make disciples!

So make a pact with your pastors, church, and evangelism team. To pray…to preach…and to make more Gospel-preaching disciples who will do the same for the glory and fame of Christ’s Name!

~ Cory

Cory McKenna is founder of The Cross Current, host of TCC Radio and TV, and Pastor of Local Missions at Harvest Bible Chapel London. He has street witnessed and open air preached in many major cities across North America. He is an experienced church and conference speaker who specializes in equipping evangelists and their churches to more faithfully preach the Gospel.

E-Tools Newsletter | December 2011

Cory McKenna — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 04:03:56 +0000

CLICK HERE to register to receive this free e-tools newsletter every month in your email inbox

Welcome to our final E-Tools Newsletter of 2011! This monthly TCC field report also includes outreach resources to encourage, equip, and empower you to more effectively share the Gospel in all your personal relationships and beyond as we faithfully serve Christ in Canada together.

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2011: A YEAR OF “MORE FOR THE LORD”!

By God’s grace and for His glory, 2011 has been largely a year of “more for the Lord” in The Cross Current! More saints equipped for the work of evangelism, more believers faithfully witnessing with family and friends, more Gospel messages preached, more salvation stories shared – the Lord is doing more for His glory with TCC!

Though our team could write an entire book of testimonies of God’s faithfulness demonstrated in and through TCC this year, this opening segment will share just a few of our ministry highlights from 2011. Please note that our prayer requests related to 2012 are listed at the end of the newsletter.

Our value refined

This year brought a couple new board members to add to the existing experience and skillset necessary to take TCC to the next level of ministry. We also enjoyed our very first board retreat together!

The highlight of the retreat was the finalization of a very clear statement of the specific value that The Cross Current has been called to bring to the Body of Christ: We equip by example by providing onsite and offsite training that will help your leaders train and sustain your entire church to normalize sharing the Gospel in all your personal and community relationships.

As a next step towards fulfilling this vision, in 2012 TCC will provide very specialized “Church Champion Training” to a small group of evangelists from several local churches in Canada. More detailed information on this groundbreaking event is available in our 2012 prayer requests below.

Persecuted for preaching Christ

By God’s grace, He has allowed several members of our team to preach Christ in many major cities across North America. However, this year for the very first time, the Lord saw fit to lift our ministry leader to a new level of persecution when he was sucker punched for preaching the Gospel open air – right in our hometown of London, Ontario!

After the shock of the experience wore off (and his face felt better), TCC president and program host Cory McKenna says: “God gently reminded me again that the battle for souls is very real and very dangerous. Further, we know that the persecution of the faithful only escalates from here. So let’s pray for the boldness necessary to preach the word in season and out of season, and for the willingness to pay the ultimate price for preaching the Gospel, because to live is Christ but to die is gain!”

Click here for the full story from our June 2011 Newsletter

Creation Super Conference

This past August, Cory McKenna had the privilege of speaking at the very first Creation Super Conference in partnership with Creation Ministries International (CMI). Not only were there hundreds of Christ-followers in attendance onsite at Muskoka Bible Conference grounds, but over 20,000 more believers were watching the conference live online as well!

Here are just a couple comments from the CMI leadership about Cory’s session called: “Bringing Truth to Life and Witness”:

“Cory’s presentation on evangelism toward the end of our Super Conference was one of the most appreciated sessions in the entire Conference. Many people connected with Cory’s Bible-based, practical teaching on how to effectively evangelize, highlighted by his abundant experience “in the fields” talking with people about their need for Christ.”~ Richard Fangrad, CEO of CMI Canada

“One session I heard cited by numerous attendees was Cory McKenna’s session on evangelism. A recurring theme mentioned was how much they valued being shown how to use the information they were being taught throughout the week in witnessing and that they appreciated CMI including sessions the emphasizing sharing our faith.”~ Calvin Smith, CMI Speaker & Co-host of Creation Magazine LIVE!

Cory is also scheduled to speak again at another groundbreaking CMI conference in Red Deer, Alberta in October 2012.

Click here for the full story from our August 2011 Newsletter

180 movie outreach

By now you’ve likely seen the controversial “180″ movie from Ray Comfort and Living Waters (LW). “180″ is a documentary comparing the holocaust of World War II with a much larger modern-day holocaust, namely, abortion.

In conjunction with the official public release of the video, the LW leadership team requested the deployment of local evangelism teams to invade campuses in as many major cities as possible all on the same day – Tuesday, October 25th, 2011.

In gracious support of this effort, LW donated 3000 videos to our ministry for the sole purpose of having our team distribute them and share the Gospel at the University of Western Ontario (UWO). However, due to the fact that the continent-wide project had to be a “sneak attack” to avoid enemy opposition or shut-down, the outreach date was not allowed to be shared with anyone outside of the immediate evangelism teams involved.

By His grace and for His glory, the mission was accomplished – and not just here in London but around the world as well!

Click here for the full story from our October 2011 Newsletter

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WE WISH YOU A MERRY…WHAT?

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Ever experienced the Christ of Christmas causing offense in our “happy holiday” culture? If you intentionally interrupt the holiday hustle and bustle with a touch of very targeted open air preaching you sure will!

Throughout the entire month of December, our extreme street team made the most of every opportunity God gave us to glorify His Son as the real reason for the Christmas season.

Click on the Vimeo pic above to watch the funny way that this holiday heckler wishes us a “Merry Christmas”. On a side note, if this is what he has to say “in love” (his words, not ours), I’d really like to hear what he has to say “in hate”!

Click here to watch another heckler who almost packed a mean “holiday punch”!

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MAKING A PLEDGE FOR PERSONAL WITNESSING

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Ask any evangelist and they’ll tell you that they’d rather witness to any stranger on the street than a lost loved one. Why? Because not only do we stand to lose something huge, but the fact that they’ve seen all the dramatic changes in our lives makes them the scariest people of all to share Christ with! Yet, the fact remains that there are no other people in the world with whom we want to experience Eternal Life with more.

The Witnessing Workshop Local Church Training System is a DVD-based curriculum that has been customized to help you leverage the local missions experience of The Cross Current to “normalize” sharing your faith in all of your personal relationships and beyond.

The fifth video session of the Witnessing Workshop suggests seven simple keys for being a bold and faithful witness with those who matter most in your world – your loved ones. This training will help you become more comfortable sharing Christ with your family and friends through the use of your Gospel Testimonial – your story of how the Lord has led you towards the Cross and beyond. Click on the Vimeo pic to the left to watch “Session 5: Witnessing Field” for yourself!

Click here to order your own Witnessing Workshop Training System

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MAKING EVERY DAY COUNT IN 2012!

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The passing of time can be very positive for believers, as each closing year draws us one step closer to eternal glory with Christ! And while there are many aspects of the Christian life that will continue on into the next life in heaven (worship, discipleship, fellowship – just to name a few), the fact remains that the day our lives end on earth will be the day that our opportunities to share the Gospel also end – forever.

One principle we have personally learned at TCC for bringing more biblical balance to life and ministry is the concept of what has been called “living in day-tight compartments”. In Matthew 6:34, Jesus warns: “…do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”

It’s been appropriately said that “yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift – that’s why it’s called the present.” If you are in the habit of making New Years resolutions, there are 3 simple ways that we challenge you to make every day count in your life and witness for 2012:

1) Live every day in light of eternity

In Colossians 3:1-2, Paul writes: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.”

Contrary to cultural cliches, to be “heavenly minded” IS of “earthly good”! Not only does living every day in light of eternity give us the unshakable hope of glory, but it will also move us out of small, selfish thinking into the biggest picture possible when we have fears of sharing our faith!

So, as strangers of this world striving toward our heavenly home, let’s purpose in our hearts and minds to set our affections not on this life but on the life to come…every day!

2) Pray and read the Word every day

As He commissioned Joshua as successor of Moses, the Lord commanded: “This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9)

Though the cultural-historical context of this passage is Israel finally entering their new Land of Promise, at least one biblical principle here is clear for all believers: consistently get the Word of God “in you” and obey it to overcome all fear!

God has commanded us to boldly, truthfully, and graciously preach His Gospel to every creature. So let’s commit to praying and reading His Word every day as we “go” every day!

Click here for a list of more structured Bible-reading programs for the New Year

3) Be an everyday evangelist

Have you read about D.L. Moody’s inspiring commitment to live a life of everyday evangelism? Here is a quote from Moody’s best friend, R.A. Torrey, about the of commitment of the famous preacher:

“…God used D.L. Moody…because of his consuming passion for the salvation of the lost. Mr. Moody made the resolution, shortly after he himself was saved, that he would never let twenty-four hours pass over his head without speaking to at least one person about his soul. His was a very busy life, and sometimes he would forget his resolution until the last hour, and sometims he woud get out of bed, dress, and go out and talk to someone about his sul in order that he might not let one day pass without having definitely told at least one of his fellow-mortals about his need and the Savior who could meet it.”

While very few Christ-followers will ever reach the preaching prominence of D.L. Moody, every follower of Christ can make a commitment to evangelize for the Lord every day.

Some will verbally share Christ every day. Some will pass a tract every day. Some will send an evangelistic email every day. Regardless, we challenge you to commit to living a life of everyday evangelism as the Lord leads within your own personal life and witness!

Click here to read a TCC testimony about the power of everyday evangelism!

YOUR PRAYER PULSE FOR 2012

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As one Christian leader appropriately said: “Prayer must be our first priority, not our last resort!”

As such, there are three very specific petitions that we humbly request that you present before the Lord on our behalf related to where we believe He is leading us in 2012:

Church Champions Training Retreat

Equipping evangelists within local churches is the heartbeat of The Cross Current. As mentioned before, the next step towards fulfilling this vision is providing very specialized “Church Champion Training” to a small group of evangelists from several local churches. Please pray for the Lord to help us with all logistics related to this retreat and for the overall fruitfulness of our training time together.

Radio Exposure

Outreach radio has always been part of the discipleship DNA of The Cross Current. Not only does TCC Radio connect Christians in conversation with non-Christians, but it has also proven to be a powerful resource for unifying local churches in the Gospel. We continue to broadcast in London and podcast online, however, effective immediately, we will be featured in a regular monthly segment on UCB Canada called “Reaching Out with Cory McKenna”. Please pray for the fruitfulness of this new relationship with UCB, and for the Lord to open doors for further radio exposure in other cities across Canada.

Financial Support

With less than 2% of Canadians under the age of 29 attending church, it’s no wonder that more and more churches across Canada are closing. We all know that the only hope for our country is the Gospel of Jesus Christ! Please pray that God will speak to the hearts of more and more supporters who will give generously and cheerfully to our work of equipping pastors and their churches in Canada to more faithfully and more urgently share the Gospel. Should you or anyone else you know personally choose to give, please visit the Donate page of our website here.

Continue keeping a pulse on our prayer needs

Bookmark our ministry calendar to continue praying for our local missions

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On behalf of our family and ministry team, we thank God for you and your partnership in the Gospel and it is our prayer that you and your church enjoy the blessings of the Lord for your faithfulness throughout the New Year!

For His Glory,

The Cross Current Team

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