7 PRACTICAL STEPS

This past Sunday, Pastor Kyle shared 7 ways we can grow in being neighbors to our neighbors. Where do you have room to grow? Grab ahold of one or two of the points below and make them your aim, your prayer, and priority as you live on mission and love your neighbors.

1.     Keep the Main Thing the Main Thing - Love God and love your neighbors. Don’t let those moral imperatives drift from the center of your Christian life.

“I have come to believe that, as followers of Jesus, one of the worthiest endeavors we can undertake is to take the Great Commandment seriously and learn to be in relationship with our literal neighbors.” – Jay Pathak

2.     Resist Hurry - It’s hard to love your neighbor when you’re too busy for your neighbors.

“Love and hurry are fundamentally incompatible. Love always takes time, and time is the one thing hurried people don’t have.” – Jay Pathak

“Can I live at a pace that allows me to be available to those around me? And if not, are all of the things I’m doing more important than the neighbors God has placed me in the midst of?” – Jay Pathak

3.     Occasionally Say No to Inward Activities – Sometimes, you have to say no to neighbors in the church to say yes to neighbors outside the church.

Have you ever heard of an ingrown church? An ingrown church is like an ingrown toenail. God designed our toenails to grow outward. But sometimes, a toenail curves and grows inward. The result? An unhealthy, painful toe. God designed a church to move outward toward its neighbors. But when a local church neglects or forsakes that outward movement, it begins to become ingrown. And an ingrown church is an unhealthy church.

" But as we get more and more involved in the ministry of our church, it’s easy to get so wrapped up in what God is doing in our congregation that we lose sight of the big picture—God’s kingdom.” – Dave Runyon

We are giving you permission to prioritize your unbelieving neighbors. Even if it occasionally comes at the cost of time spent with one another.

4.     Draw Boundaries - If you aim for everybody, you hit nobody. Who are your neighbors? Focus on the neighbors who live directly around you and the neighbors nearest to our church. And maybe move closer to Santa Ana.

5.     Embrace the Mess - Loving your neighbor WILL BE messy.

This neighboring stuff is messy. Part of the reason churches become ingrown is because neighboring is really messy. If your neighbors aren’t Christians, then they probably don’t act like Christians. Or talk like Christians. Or parent like Christians. And you know what Jesus says to you and to me about them? Love them as yourself.

And if you find yourself shying away from the mess, remember Christ. Who stood condemned before the people He came to love as they yelled “crucify Him!” And though they did. And though our sins were the reason He went to the cross, He went to the cross anyway. Nobody entered into the mess like Jesus did for us. And it resulted in our salvation. And our joy.

It WILL BE messy. But it. Will. Be. Worth. It.

6.     Commit to Every Member Neighborhoodism - (the pastoral team can't and shouldn’t do it all)

It has to start with pastors. The moment that the leaders of a church put loving the neighbors outside our walls in the backseat, the church becomes ingrown. But it has to extend beyond the pastors. The moment that outreach becomes the sole job of the pastors, a church becomes ingrown.

7.     Tell neighbors the Gospel - We are called to proclaim. To preach. To proselytize. To evangelize. To persuade.

If there’s anything we hope our neighbors love about being our neighbors, it’s that they have come to know Jesus and His love through us.

ALL GUYS 15 AND OLDER ARE ENCOURAGED TO ATTEND

Every month, the men of our church gather together to sit under God’s word and spur on each other’s walk with Christ. All guys, 15 years and older, are invited to participate in a conversation where "men talk like men" about God.

TONIGHT AT 7PM AT HOPPER & BURR (202 W 4TH ST, SANTA ANA)

MAY 6 - MAY 12

Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

THURSDAY, MAY 9: FRENCH PARK RUN CLUB

• 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

THURSDAY, MAY 9: MEN’S MEETING

• 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr (202 W 4th St, Santa Ana, CA 92701)

SUNDAY, MAY 12: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

A WAY TO BE A GOOD NEIGHBOR

Spend a few minutes filling out the SA 2024-2025 Budget Survey to promote God’s priorities for our city. Find the survey here.

This survey is designed to gather feedback on key budget priorities most important to the community. There is also an opportunity for you to address a topic not seen in this survey. Take the time to engage with the needs of our neighbors and promote our city’s investment in the things that matter most.

THAT HE SENT THEM HIS SON - AND US

God has placed us in a neighborhood and called us to be good neighbors. While Jesus commands us to be a neighbor to all, there is a particular way in which the members of Cross of Grace Church, the people of Santa Ana, and especially the neighbors of French Park are THE neighbors we're called to prioritize. If we try to reach all 3.1 million Orange Countians, or even all 350,000 Santa Anans, we might not reach anyone. But, if we aim at the community the Lord has called us to, we can expect to see men and women saved, neighbors being blessed, and our neighborhood being changed as the gospel goes forth from us. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

COME AND BE ENCOURAGED

Every first & third Friday at 7pm, three different groups meet throughout our city to share in the joy of Jesus, care for one another, and apply the gospel to each other’s lives. Outside of Sunday mornings, small groups are the most important moments in the life of our church. Make it a priority to attend one this Friday.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMALL GROUPS, CLICK HERE

APRIL 29 - MAY 5

Every Tuesday we publish a blog post to lay out in one place what’s going in the life of the church for the upcoming week. See below for a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

THURSDAY, MAY 2: FRENCH PARK RUN CLUB

• 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

THURSDAY, MAY 2: NATIONAL DAY OF PRAYER

• 7:00pm - Calle Cuatro Plaza, Santa Ana (Details here)

FRIDAY, MAY 3: SMALL GROUPS

• 7:00pm - Houlton, Roenicke & Erkelens Home

SUNDAY, MAY 5: SUNDAY GATHERING AT THE EBELL CLUB

• 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

JOIN US FOR PRAYER IN OUR CITY

Prayer is central to our mission of spreading the joy of Jesus in our city. This Thursday, we have the privilege of partnering with pastors and community leaders in Santa Ana to seek God’s glory and our neighbor’s good through prayer. Mark your calendars, stop by on your lunch break, and join us downtown at Calle Cuatro Plaza, Santa Ana as we gather together with the church in our city for the good of our city.

WE ARE ONE BODY, MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER

Paul says in Ephesians 4:25 that we are one body, yet “members one of another”. So, think of church membership not so much as “membership in a club” and more as an expression of commitment to the people around you. The Bible is full of “one anothers” - commands toward believers to act in godliness toward other people. What Scripture makes clear is that these “others” refer to a specific group of people and not all people generally. These others are the men and women identified in a particular local church. As members of Cross of Grace Santa Ana, we have the privilege of living out the Christian life with one another. We celebrate and grieve with one another. We build deep relationship with one another. We join arms to advance the joy of Jesus in a particular neighborhood with one another. We help one another pursue holiness. We remind one another of the sweetness of the gospel.

In light of this, we praise God for the new members, Justin Hernandez, Elikai Madrigal and Luke Augustin, we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. Be encouraged by what new member, Luke, had to share with us during their new member testimony:

I grew up in a Lutheran church in Yorba Linda where I regularly attended Sunday school and eventually went to services with my family until I was 14 years old. It was then, in 2016, that we moved to the new non-denominational church just down the street from our home in Anaheim Hills. Upon moving to this church, my attendance rapidly decreased until I only attended holiday services every few months, if that. I was hardly in the Word, I was not praying often, and I was serving two masters throughout highschool and for a majority of my time in college. 

But, three months ago, to this day, it was by God’s grace and divine providence that I found Cross of Grace through a simple Google search. From day one, I knew this was exactly where the Lord wanted me because I truly met Him here that day. I met him through brothers and sisters like yourselves who exemplified what it looks like to follow Christ, to be conformed to His image, and to be sanctified by the truth of His Word. The Lord also met me here through the blessing of the fine preaching of our three pastors. Your words serve as a guide for me to a deeper understanding of the Scripture, and they teach me how to properly apply God’s knowledge to my life. That’s something that must be appreciated because it’s truly a gift from the Holy Spirit. Also, small groups at the Erkelens’ home and men’s meetings at Hopper & Burr can’t be discounted. They’ve both had a profound impact in fighting the spiritual battles that often seem to ramp up midway through the week. If you haven’t been to one of these meetings before, I encourage you to do so.

As I take this next step into membership here, a primary goal of mine is to serve the
church and community of Santa Ana as often as the opportunities present themselves. In
Philippians 2, the Lord commands us to count others more significant than ourselves with all
humility, not looking only at our interests but also at the interests of others. Thank you.

We look forward to joining our new members in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!

AT THE CENTER OF OUR ORDINARY LIVES, IS THE GLORIOUS CHRIST

We are an ordinary church. We do the same things ordinary Christians have done since the very beginning. Yet, at the center of all this stands a glorious Savior. While we might be ordinary, we have extraordinary expectations of what he'll do among us. 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE