"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Mark 10:45).

In outrageous love and grace, Jesus Christ gave his life for us by dying on the cross. He took the penalty for our sins and reconciles us with the Living God. It is this precious and wonderful gospel truth we proclaim and hope many in Naperville will come to know and love as we plant Cross of Christ Fellowship.


Thank you for taking the time to read our newsletter and for supporting Cross of Christ Fellowship! Below you will read about some of the highlights of the past month (Baby Schmidt, North Central College Ministry, Evangelism and Possible New Members, Worship and Preaching, Christmas Outreach).

CORAL SOPHIA SCHMIDT

On Thursday 11/20/2014 our daughter Coral Sophia Schmidt was born! She weighed in at 7 pounds and 8 ounces and was 20". By God's grace, the delivery went smooth and both Rach and Coral are healthy and well. We are praising God for Coral and are so thankful to have her in our family. We chose the name Coral after my (Tom's) mom, who passed away back in 2009. Now we're all adjusting to a having another member of the family and Rach's mum is here visiting to help out for a month.
 

Ministry at North Central College

This past month, Chris and I spent time each week at North Central College--a private college in Naperville. We've been able to connect with students and attend a weekly Christian student group called FOCUS. Through the process, we've met several individuals who are interested in possibly joining Cross of Christ Fellowship! Our hope is to share the gospel at North Central College, equip students for ministering to their peers, start a community group there that meets on campus, and be a local gospel-centered church that students can be a part of. Please pray more students there would hear and believe the gospel of grace.
 

Evangelism and Possible New Members

Thank you for praying for evangelistic opportunities! Please continue to pray for open doors. I was particularly encouraged by a conversation I had this month with my neighbor:  I asked him, “If you died today and Jesus asked you, ‘Why should I let you into heaven?’ what would say?” He replied, “I’ve been a good person.” Sadly, this view is quite common among non-believers—most think they are generally good and deserve to go heaven because their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds. Fortunately, I was able to explain the Bible’s teaching: there are none who are good—we’ve all turned away from God and chosen sin—and our hope is not found in ourselves, but only in Jesus, who died on the cross for our sins. Please continue to pray for my witness to our neighbor and for more opportunities to proclaim the gospel in Naperville.

Also, we have a few individuals who have indicated they want to become members of Cross of Christ Fellowship! To become a member involves becoming a member of our sending church, Redeemer Fellowship. Please pray that the process would go smoothly and quickly, and that these individuals would become full serving members soon.   
 

Preaching & Worship Leading

This past month John led worship and I preached at Bethel Baptist Church in St. Charles. We filled in for their pastor, Kipp Soncek. My text was Mark 7:14-23 (you can hear the sermon here). Overall, it was a great experience for John and I to lead together--this was John's first time leading worship in front of a congregation--and we hope to come back again in January. Pastor Kipp was very encouraging about our efforts to plant a church in Naperville.
 

Christmas Outreach Event

In December we are putting on an event called 'COFFE AND CAROLS' at a Starbucks in downtown Naperville. Along with bringing in musicians to play and lead others in singing, we'll be paying for 2 hours of drip coffee for anyone who comes. Our hope is that the gospel will proclaimed through the music and conversations before and after. Please keep this event in prayer.

THANK YOU for taking the time for read through our newsletter and for praying for us. Feel free to pass this onto others who may be interested. If you are able to help us with our fundraising goals (raising $6,000 per month), you can financially partner with us (all gifts are tax deductible) by giving online: http://www.msc.kintera.org/tomschmidt (you can even sign up for reoccurring gifts!). You can also give by making out a check to Redeemer Fellowship and send it to the following address: Redeemer Fellowship, 1125 Oak St., St. Charles, IL. 60174 (with a note indicating that you wish for the funds to go toward Cross of Christ Fellowship).