Notice of Possible Coronavirus Exposure at Crossroads Church

After a thorough investigation, it has been brought to our attention that those attending Crossroads-First Assembly of God Church in  Grant City, Missouri for either Sunday worship on June 6, 2021 or Bible Study on June 9, 2021 have a high probability of COVID-19 exposure. Read on for instructions and what to do next if you have been affected. 

Those that are not fully vaccinated (at least two weeks from last vaccine dose in regimen) who attended either of these events should quarantine for 10 days from exposure to watch  for symptoms. Those who are fully vaccinated and experiencing symptoms should also quarantine and seek testing. Those attending worship services should continue to quarantine until June 17, 2021. Those attending Bible Study should continue to quarantine until June 20, 2021. Anyone who has had potential exposure can contact our offices if they have any questions. Those who feel sick should seek testing, and quarantine while awaiting results. 

People with COVID-19 may have a wide range of symptoms that can result in mild to severe illness. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure to the virus. It is possible to spread the virus to others even if symptoms are very mild. COVID-19 and its variants are still circulating in our communities and at this time, it is important that we all take the following precautions. Those who feel sick should stay home and seek testing. Those who remain unvaccinated should wear masks and practice social distancing until they receive a vaccine. All should continue to wear face coverings within healthcare systems. All should continue to practice good hygiene. 

Teresa McDonald, RN, BSN

Administrator

Tri County Health Department

Youth Rally Wraps Up After Cody Green’s Team Gets Threepeat in Redneck Dodgeball

The Back to School Youth Rally held at Crossroads concluded after its second day Saturday, with groups from Moberly, Platte City, and Marceline coming to Worth County. But not before nearly a day’s worth of fun. There were plenty of video games, snacks, and fun activities, and the third annual Redneck Dodgeball Tournament was held.

Redneck Dodgeball’s rules are the same as Dodgeball, except teams of five shoot arrows at each other with foam at the end, so that contestants and bystanders are not hurt. There were some veteran teams and players there who had done this before, including Wyatt Frese, who was one of the most elusive players to hit; Josh and Keegan Warner; and Paul Tracy, who was still willing to mix it up with the youngsters.

But it was Cody Green’s team which got the win, although it had to go the long way to get there. They were ousted by Paul Tracy’s team, fell behind 1-0 to Josh Warner’s team, but then recovered to beat them and win a rematch with Tracy’s team before winning the whole tournament. They got to keep the traveling trophy.

Zach Westin, who is with the regional FCA and is an area umpire, spoke to the youth about FCA. Worth County will be starting a Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter this year. They are student-led groups which are designed to bring youth to Christ; you do not have to be an athlete to join.
For the second night, Ryan Christopher spoke to the youth, and this time, read out of Second Corinthians 10, asking, “Who are you?” He said that not a lot of people could answer that question for themselves, and that the currency of the world, which is the likes and follows of Social Media, was not helpful.

He said that since students have more access to information than anyone, they have an artificial maturity, which is exposed when they think they know everything, but are totally immature online.
Christopher said that the problem is that Christians have an identity crisis. “We need to make sure we know that we have an enemy in the Devil,” he said. The Devil, he said, sets out to make people feel like they are not good enough. For instance, he questioned if Jesus was really the Son of God while tempting him. Satan also questioned whether God really told Adam and Eve what He did in the Garden of Eden. He implied that God did not have their best interests at heart. The whole purpose was to steal away our joy, said Christopher. “People without joy cannot dream,” he said.

Turning to Second Corinthians 10, he pointed out that we war not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers. Speaking of himself, Christopher said he struggled with insecurity all the time. “Some of us believe lies we have been told for decades, including from family members,” he said. He said he was called to be a preacher at 16 despite having a speaking problem. But he got the hang of it. “Learn what God says about you,” said Christopher. He pointed to First Peter 2:9, where God told the church they were His chosen people. Another passage, in Ephesians 1:3-8, declares we are blessed with every spiritual blessing. “You’re a champion, because you’re forgiven,” he said.
He said that we can’t see the Bible as a recommendation, but as a final authority, and that we had to embrace all of it or none of it. “You’ll walk differently if you actually believe,” said Christopher. “Live it out.” Turning to Philippians, he talked about running the race and pressing ahead, not living in the past. “Stop being lazy and live it out,” he said. “Volunteer. Start giving back. Get in the Bible more.

Christopher challenged the youth to set up guardrails in their heart, so they won’t cross lines and wind up knee-deep in sin. For instance, don’t show up at a party where alcohol is present. He said the goal to avoid trouble was to avoid situations that trigger bad choices in the first place.

Four Youth Groups Attend Youth Rally at Crossroads Church

Four youth groups attended the Crossroads Back to School Youth Rally Friday and Saturday. In addition to the Worth County Youth Group, groups from Platte City, Moberly, and Marceline came. The purpose was to raise money to fight human trafficking, to reach out to victims and rescue them.
There were some informal games of Redneck Dodgeball, Glow in the Dark Volleyball, and Cornhole played Friday night. But first, they listened to Ryan Christopher speak to them about keeping their faith strong.

Christopher talked about Josh Harris, whose book, “I Kissed Dating Goodbye,” influenced the lives of many young Christians during the turn of the millennium. He was Pastor of Covenant Life Church from 2004 to 2015. He encouraged young Christians to forego dating and consider courtship instead. However, in 2018, he disavowed the teachings contained in the book, and in 2019, he divorced his wife and announced that he no longer considered himself a Christian, something Ryan said was a major topic of conversation in Christian circles.

Another minister who had been influential in Christian circles in the 1990’s, Marty Sampson, also announced he was struggling with his faith. He talked on his Instagram about how he was genuinely losing his faith, citing what he called the contradictions of the Bible along with science. “How can God be love, yet send 4 billion people to a place, all because they don’t believe,” he asked. “No one talks about it.” He wrote many popular worship songs in the 1990’s.

Ryan Christopher said that the problem stemmed from people who had grown up in church all their life, but still didn’t know what it meant to follow Jesus. “I’ve been there,” he said. For instance, he said that when his wife’s mom died from a fast-acting cancer, it challenged his faith. “Churches don’t always get it right,” he said. He said the problem comes when we put our faith in humans and not Jesus alone.

He compared leaving the faith to kids constantly asking about Santa Claus, about the logistics of getting down a chimney, or how he operates if there is no chimney at all. But he said that if we try to understand everything, we will never understand anything. “We have everything at our fingertips,” he said. But Christopher said that too often, people fall into the trap of going beyond the simple faith that is at the heart of Christianity. “We can’t change minds, only the Holy Spirit can do that,” he said. “All we can do is show the love of Christ.”

Talking about Mark 7, where it talks about how it doesn’t matter what goes into your body, but what comes out, Christopher said that too often, people focus too often on words about the Bible rather than the Bible itself. He said that at the present time, he didn’t want to read another book until God released him, because he wanted to stay focused on the simplicity of the Gospel.

“At some point, we all struggle,” said Christopher. It started, he said, with telling lies to parents when little to things like fudging time cards, cheating on taxes, and gossip, especially on social media.
Going to his main text, Christopher turned to Matthew 13, about the Parable of the Sower. He said the people who were snatched up by the birds were like the people who either have no relationship or who just play church. “You know you should live for God, but you don’t,” said Christopher. “I’ve buried a lot of people your age who thought like that. A lot get incarcerated, homeless, or buried.”

Christopher said a lot of people had shallow roots, in which they have a relationship, but it is shallow, meaning they will flee at the first sign of adversity or persecution. Or their relationship was based on pure emotion. “I love worship songs, but you still have to have a relationship,” he said. “Fire purges you. When you go through hard times, that’s how we can know who is bearing fruit and who is not.”
The people who were choked out, said Christopher, were the ones who got too caught up in things that were, in and of themselves, not bad things. But they choked out the focus on the Gospel. Examples were such things as video games, social media, and sports. “If you think of all the things you pursue, you can’t take it with you when you go,” he said. “I struggle with this stuff too. Most of you will not go pro in sports?”

Christopher talked about his own experience, where he was getting progressively better, being pegged to start varsity football by the time he was a sophomore. He said that he chose football over God, but that changed when he got a career-ending injury during practice when his opponent fell on one side of his leg and the quarterback he was trying to protect fell on another. “God chose for me,” he said. But then he found a good youth group and a good mentor. “If that’s what it takes, weed these things out,” he said.

Weeding out distractions, said Christopher, was key towards becoming the fourth seed, which grew healthy. “I’m not perfect, I know who I am, but we’re supposed to make disciples of people.” In closing, Christopher challenged the youths, saying that it was not for him to know, but, “What seed are you?”

Len Green Celebrates 30 Years as Crossroads/Assembly of God Pastor

On Saturday, Len Green marked his 30th anniversary as serving as Crossroads Assembly of God Pastor in Grant City. He grew up in Oklahoma and Texas and went to Bible School in Denver. He met his wife Rita in Sharen (IA), as he was working his first job as a youth pastor. He then got married in Sioux Falls (SD), where he married Rita and later went to Flagstaff (AZ). There, he met Frank and Marsha Lonetti, who moved back and forth from Arizona to Redding every year; they recruited Mr. Green to be pastor at Assembly of God along with the previous pastor, Spencer Weddle. Mr. Green preached a sermon there and was voted in as pastor in 1986. He said that the way to stay a long time in one place was to outlove people and outlove God. “There are a lot of good people here,” he said. Len and Rita have two grown children, Micah and Cody Green.