COMMISSIONING DEAR FRIENDS - SANTA ANA STYLE

Sunday was a big day. We sent the Houlton family off to Sovereign Grace Church of Orange for the next chapter of life and ministry. We said a heartfelt “goodbye” believing it would lead to many more gospel “hellos.” We honored dear friends. We thanked God for his great grace. We entrusted him with the future of their family and our church.

There were smiles, laughs, sweet memories, and many tears. And in everything that happened, Christ was glorified. Because doing hard things like this demonstrates our Savior is worth the sacrifice. That there’s nothing better than living and giving our lives away for him. Even when it means sending a pastor and his family to enter into a new section of the Lord’s harvest.

Enjoy a few snapshots of this significant moment in the life of our church. Take a moment to thank God for all the grace he’s given us through the Houltons. Then look to the future expectant that he’s got even more grace to give.

THE VINEDRESSER & THE VINE

This Sunday, we had the privilege of hearing Pastor Kyle preach the gospel to us before sending him off to our sister church in Orange. He left us with a word that we need to hear in a time like this - along with any other time. That we must embrace the pruning work of the Father and abide like our lives depend on it in Christ the Son. Believing that as we do hard things - like sending away dear friends - experience suffering, or encounter dark days in the Christian life, God is at work to make us more fruitful. Being freshly convinced that if there’s any fruit on our branches it’s because life is flowing to them through Christ the Vine. What we need most now is what we’ve always needed and will continue to need forever, to keep Christ at the very center of who we are and all we do.

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE

THURSDAY AND FRIDAY AT 7PM

This week, 4 groups will meet throughout our city to share in the joy of Jesus and apply his 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 week as we finish the Proclaim Course: a 4-part series of talks and discussions designed to encourage and equip believers to share the gospel of Jesus Christ.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT SMALL GROUPS, CLICK HERE

AT THE WARM’S HOME AT 9AM

This Saturday, from 9am-12pm, Cordell & Marina Warm are graciously opening their home to host another monthly prayer meeting. All are welcome to join as we pray for the needs of our church, the good of our neighbors, and ask God to bring revival in our city.

• Cafe y pan at 9am

• Prayer from 9:30am - 12pm

• Feel free to leave early if needed

“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine upon us, that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!” (Psalm 67:1-3)

CONTACT US HERE FOR LOCATION DETAILS

SUNDAY, 10/5

This Sunday, we’re setting dear friends apart for the next chapter of life and ministry. During our service, we’ll commission the Houlton family to the work that awaits them at Sovereign Grace Church of Orange. We’ll say a heartfelt “goodbye” with the faith it will lead to many more gospel “hellos” as our sister church is strengthened and more and more Californians are saved.

And then, in the afternoon, we’ll send them off Santa Ana style!

We’re throwing it back with a good old-fashioned kickball classic. Complete with tacos, a piñata, and all the cilantro Pastor Kyle can eat!

Here are the details:

• Date: 10/5/25

• Time: 4pm

• Location: Cabrillo Park in Santa Ana

• What to bring: Bring your own lawn chair or picnic blanket, tennis shoes for kickball, along with whatever else you need to be comfortable at the park.

Make it a point to be there as we honor these dear friends and celebrate that God is sending more laborers into the harvest.

Our 1st kickball classic at our 1 year church anniversary!

WE’VE ONLY JUST BEGUN ASKING GOD TO WORK

As a church, we’ve spent the last month learning about & longing for revival. We journeyed through the pages of scripture and chapters of church history to explore what revival is, how it comes, and why we should expect it today.

But the journey isn’t over. Our pursuit doesn't stop now that the sermon series has come to an end! We’ve only just begun asking God to work. To keep the fire burning and fuel your faith for what he’ll do, check out the resources linked below. You’ll find all the sermons from the series, key takeaways and quotes, along with books and articles that’ll enlarge your vision for how revival might come to Santa Ana.

FIND IT ALL HERE

SEPTEMBER 30 - OCTOBER 6

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. Below we’ve got a snapshot of what’s on the calendar this week:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

• Basketball in the Park

  • 6:30pm - El Camino Park

    • Reach out to Manny for more info

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 1 - SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

• Sovereign Grace Music CA Worship Conference

  • Grace Baptist Church - Santa Clarita, CA

    • Learn more about the conference here

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 2

• French Park Run Club

  • 6:30am - French Park Grass Area

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Lee & Roenicke Homes

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 3

• Small Groups

  • 7:00pm - Houlton & Erkelens Homes

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4

• Prayer Meeting

  • 9am-12pm - Warm residence

    • Learn more here & RSVP with Cordell

SUNDAY, OCTOBER 5

• Sunday Gathering at Ebell Club & Houlton Send-off Service

  • 10:00am - Meeting Room: Ballroom

• Houlton Send-off Celebration

  • 4pm-7pm- Cabrillo Park in Santa Ana

    • Watch the Newsletter this week for more details

MONDAY, OCTOBER 6

• The Bridge Course

  • 7:00pm - Hopper & Burr in DTSA

    • Invite your friends to join us for Bridge!

SOVEREIGN GRACE MUSIC CALIFORNIA CONFERENCE

Sovereign Grace Music is returning to California for the first time in ten years! From Oct 1-4, the Your Gathering and the Gospel conference will be taking place in Santa Clarita, CA. 7 members and 4 youth from CGSA will come together with believers all across our state and all throughout the West in order to be reminded why we do what we do every Sunday morning. And not only this! But to be encouraged in the part they play leading songs, playing music, running AV, and helping the gathered church to engage with God and celebrate his gospel.

Pray for our Cross of Grace team and all as they volunteer, serve, and learn from our friends at Sovereign Grace Music. Pray the Lord would bless all those in attendance, build relationships between churches, and spur on gospel mission in California and beyond!

WE ARE ONE BODY, MEMBERS ONE OF ANOTHER

Church membership is not “membership in a club,” it’s “membership in a body.” As Paul says in Ephesians 4:25, we are one body, yet “members one of another” - vitally connected and working together for the good of the whole. Becoming a church member is an expression of commitment to the people around you. A grace-empowered pledge to fulfill the “one anothers” of Scripture with a specific group. 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 5 new members - Curtis Dobbins, Brad & Liz Hodgin, Josh Gamez, and Brianna Rivera - we had the joy of introducing this last Sunday. Be encouraged by what Brad had to share with us during his new member testimony:

We moved here in earlier this year in May for Liz’s job at CHOC. We are both from North Carolina which is where we moved from and have no direct ties to California.

We knew even before we moved here we wanted to quickly get connected with a healthy local church as we believe this is a fundamental part of the Christian life. We honestly were looking online for a reformed church and this was the first place we visited the first week we were here.

From the first time we visited Cross of Grace, we felt how genuine and welcoming the members here are. The first week we came so many folks introduced themselves to us and genuinely wanted to get to know us. We were quickly encouraged by the faithful, biblical preaching here as well. As we have spent more time here, we have enjoyed continuing to get to know everyone and see how this church is serving the city of Santa Ana.

We are excited to continue building relationships with you all! To serve the church and this community. And to invite friends and coworkers to join us at church here too.

We thank God for adding new laborers to the harvest that’s before us. We’re excited for these new members to join us in spreading the joy of Jesus in Downtown Santa Ana!

IF IT HAPPENED THERE, IT CAN HAPPEN HERE

We come to the final sermon in our mini-series. Up until this point, we've learned HOW revival comes - by the Spirit working through the ordinary means of grace. We've learned WHEN revival comes - whenever God wants to bring it. And now, we're left with one final question, "Do you believe it'll get here?" We know revival came in biblical times. We've heard the stories from church history. But do we actually believe revival will come to Santa Ana? Acts 19:8-27 speaks into our doubts and tells the story of the Ephesian Revival of AD 53-56. It paints a picture of the extraordinary fervor for Christ which results when the Spirit is freshly poured out upon the ordinary means. The point is not that everything that happened there will happen here. But instead, that IF it happened there, it can happen here as well. We respond to this story by envisioning, imagining, and asking "What would it look like for Santa Ana to become Ephesus?" 

LISTEN TO THE SERMON HERE