We’ll be having our annual Thanksgiving Dinner Tuesday, November 25th.  The location is Aaron and Bonnie Wells’ house.  Arrive at 6:30.  Bring a side dish or dessert–we’ll be passing around sign up sheets in small group and on Sunday morning.  This is always a great event:  Invite a friend and let’s fill the house!

Our Scavenger Hunt is Friday, November 7th, at 7pm.

We’ll be meeting at Rick and Tammy Walters’ home in Chester.  E-mail me for directions - crossroads616@gmail.com.

• Scavenger hunt starts at 7:00 sharp!  You need to be there at least by 7:15 if you want to participate and you WON’T WANT TO MISS THIS!
• We need to find out who has a video camera that we can use.  Each team will videotape as they go get the items off of the list.  Contact me by replying to this email if you can bring a video camera.
• Parents will need to find childcare!
• We need a good turn out if we want this to work!
• Please bring a snack to share
• BRING A FRIEND!  This a great and fun outreach event.
• Dress warm because we will be outside some of the night

Rick and Tammy are planning the items on the list.  The examples they gave were:

1. “Get a bag of marshmallows”
2. “Go through a drive-thru window and order in pig-latin”

…you get the idea.  When we reconvene at Rick and Tammy’s, we’ll watch the videotapes of each team’s conquest.  SEE YOU THERE!  Any questions, please let me know.

Ironbridge is hosting a “lock-in” this New Year’s Eve for the Youth. The organizers are in need of volunteers willing to chaperone shifts during the night. Jennifer Moore is our contact. Here’s more details:

I wanted to give you all some details of the lock-in. It will start at 8pm on Dec. 31 and go to 8am on Jan. 1. We have a band coming to ring in the New Year which is a guy out of Virginia Beach whose name is Trey Rigdon. You can listen to some of his songs on myspace.com/treyrigdon. We also have Dustin Rolfe(Kristen Darden’s husband) coming to speak. We are still working on the main game/fun activity for the night. We also will have pizza that evening and snacks throughout the evening. Paul May is going to cook a breakfast that morning before we leave.

We can use any help we can get. It would be nice to have a few young couples to commit to chaperone for shifts throughout the night. We have to secure the building and walk outside the perimeter of the building throughout the evening for security and to make sure no youth tries to leave. The rule will be if they drive to the church their keys will be turned over to us until the next morning. If they are outside the building unsupervised they will have to go home. We are really excited about this event but it is going to take a lot of people to pull it off.

I would appreciate it if you could talk it up amongst your group and let me know of anyone who is interested in serving for this event. They can call me at 778-7402 or email me at Jenmoore98@aol.com to let me know they want to serve or if they have any questions. Once again thanks so much for your help.

Blake and Ryan have started a Small Group that meets on Saturday mornings.  If Tuesday evenings are not convenient for you, this may be an option.  Here’s the description from Ryan:

Bible study Small Group
Young Adult Men or Women, Single and Married
When: Saturday, 8:00 - 10:00 am
Where: Ryan and Sherilyn Evans’ House
Contact: Ryan Evans at revans05@gmail.com
What to bring: Bring Your Bible and a Journal that you have been taking notes in.

We will be going through Romans-Jude at a fast pace and this group will be for people who want to understand who Christ is and how to live in accordance with Him. We expect a lot in terms of commitment and desire to dig in deep into how deep and how wide and how great His love is for us.

Blake and I were going to stay home with the kids on Tuesday’s and do a study throughout the week and then talk about it on Tuesday. Apparently, Tuesday doesn’t work for some people so John asked Blake and I to lead a study on some different day. After talking it over, we decided that Saturday morning would be the best and we were going to really get into the bible. We will be going from Romans-Jude in 10 weeks, so you can imagine there will be work involved. Many people have never read all the way through the bible, or even the New Testament for that matter. We think that should change. The plan is to follow the outline below and keep a journal where you write down any “aha” moments or questions about things that might not make sense and then we will share, encourage, and exhort each other while holding each other accountable so we don’t have any “I didn’t have time to do the study this week” type excuses.

Please, if you are free Tuesdays, I encourage you to join one of the pre-existing groups which are led by people much smarter than Blake and I. If, for some crazy reason, you choose to do even more bible studying than what you’re doing for your Tuesday study, meet with us also. It is for anyone who is serious about making a committment to God and the group to sharpen your sword and understand the mysteries of God.

Week 1: Romans
Week 2: 1 Corinthians
Week 3: 2 Corinthians
Week 4: Galatians/Ephesians
Week 5: Phillipians/Colossians
Week 6: 1,2 Thessalonians
Week 7: 1,2 Timothy/Titus/Philemon
Week 8: Hebrews
Week 9: James/ 1 Peter
Week 10: 2 Peter/1,2,3 John/

Tomorrow night (Tuesday, 10/7), is our Young Adult Small Groups Kickoff night!  Come out to the 2nd Floor Youth Room at Ironbridge Church at 7pm.  Each small group leader will be sharing more information and talking about the goals of his or her small group.  We will also have a time of worship!  Childcare will be provided.

Please check out our new discussion forum for more details about Small Groups forming this fall.  If you feel called lead a small group, I would encourage you to join a small group forming this Fall and share your desire with the group leader.  He or she will support and equip you in starting your own small group in the Spring.

Blake has set up a discussion forum for CrossRoads where you can read/post information with other young adults in our group!  The link is www.crossroads616.freeforums.org.  You can view many of the forums as a guest, but to post, you must sign up for an account.  The various forums include:

• General Chit-Chat
• Prayer Requests
• Detailed Information on Upcoming Events
• Stories and Testimonies
• Questions about God/Christianity/Bible
• Fun Stuff

And more.  I’m working on getting a permanent link on the top row of this web page.  Please check the forum often and contribute!  It is a great communication tool.

Kickoff night:  Tuesday, October 7th, Ironbridge Church 2nd Floor Youth Room, at 7pm.
Come for a time of worship and discover the small groups for young adults forming this fall.  Meet the small group leaders and get more information about the groups that are forming.  Childcare will be provided for parents at the kickoff meeting.
 
Here is a list of some of the groups already forming:
 
Coed Bible Study
Young Adult Men and Women, Singles and Couples
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Where: Aaron and Bonnie Wells’ House
Contact: Aaron Wells
 
Coed Bible Study on 1st Corinthians.
 
 
Women’s Small Group
Young Adult Women, Single and Married
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Where: To Be Announced
What to Bring: Captivating by Staci Eldredge, Bible, and notebook
Contact: Carissa Calhoun
 
You are beautiful in a way God so intricately planned for this world: to inspire and to live out His legacy in His image with a feminine heart. You are part of the greatest love story of all time; take your position of the sought after bride, not just of any man, but Christ himself. Life Abundant awaits with this invitation. Each week, prepare your heart to dig deep into your life and reveal the woman you already are- Captivating. Come join us as we embark on this grand adventure together.
 
 
Girls’ Bible Study
Young Adult Women, Single and Married
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Where: Amy Talley’s House
Contact: Amy Talley
 
We will be going through a book entitled Authentic Woman by Jena Forehand.  Through this study, you will peel back lies to discover who you really are and who God made you to be.  My prayer for this study is simply, “God, I just want to be all that you created me to be.”  It is time you discovered the truths that will transform your life into an authentic woman for the glory of God!  Come join us for the investigation that will change your life forever!
 
 
Guys’ Small Group
Young Adult Men, Single or Married
When: Tuesdays, 7:00 - 8:30 pm
Where: Panera Bread, Chester
What to Bring: Yourself, a Bible or Devotional Book, an Appetite
Contact: Mike Talley
 
We’ll be gathering together over coffee to share what we’ve been reading in our devotion time.  We will motivate and encourage each other to spend time in the Bible regularly and share what God is teaching us.  Whether you’re new to reading the Bible, haven’t read in a while, or you devote time daily, crack open the spine and join us.

 We are going to carpool/caravan up to Carter Mountain Orchard in beautiful Charlottesville THIS SATURDAY 9/20.  If you want to ride or follow us, meet in the rear parking lot of Ironbridge Church at 10:00 a.m.  We will head up to C’Ville and find some lunch, then go and pick apples.  There is also a cider stand, gift shop, cafe, and activities for the kids.  Kids are welcome at this event!
 
THANKS to Rick Walters for getting us TWO MINIVANS we can take to carpool up there.
 
AFTERWARDS, John and Rebecca are inviting everyone back to their house to make carmel apples, site around a bonfire and just hang out.  Word on the street is that Peter might even bake some apple pies!  We can also chip in and order pizzas as well.  We’ll provide the carmel and sticks, you bring a favorite carmel apple topping.
 
Right now weather looks clear, sunny 75 degrees for Saturday.  If for some weird reason it looks like it might rain, feel free to call me at 804-652-9937 to see if we are still going.

The events calendar looks rather bare right now.  Our summer small groups came to a close this week, and our August CrossRoads events at Cesares and Virginia Beach came and went early in the month.

The CrossRoads leadership team will be meeting tonight to brainstorm some activities for the fall and ideas for our fall small groups, as well as to pray for you.  If you have an idea or suggestion for an activity, we would love to hear from you!  Drop a comment below.  How did your small group go this summer?  What would you be interested in studying in the fall?  Would you be interested in leading or forming a new small group?

 We should have some activities popping up on the calendar after this week.

It was a great time at Cesare’s last Friday night.  Matt Hirt is back from his mission trip to the Philippines, and Jason M. was also back from a recent job-related trip to China.  It was good to see them, and it was great catching up with everyone and having dinner together.  Matt got to share a little bit about his trip in our Sunday morning Bible Fellowship, and I know he has lots more to tell.

We are going to Virginia Beach for the day on Saturday, August 9th.  I will post specific details later but basically we will meet at Ironbridge Church on Saturday and head down to the beach for a few hours.  It was a great time last year and so I hope the weather is good for this Saturday.  Children are welcome!