Together, We Can See, Belong, Grow & Sow!

By Dr. Sheila Schuller Coleman

This last year has been filled with challenges, but even more so, bountiful blessings and fresh, new beginnings. Our ministry not only survived 2009, but I've seen our congregation - and that includes YOU and me - rededicating ourselves to the call of Christ for our church and for our lives.

Here are some of the highlights of what we accomplished together in 2009: As the new Directing Leader of two lead teams (Crystal Cathedral Congregation and Crystal Cathedral Ministries), I am now providing leadership to the rebuilding of Robert Harold Schuller's vision for this ministry through a healthy, high-functioning network of teams. A team of staff and members of our congregation spent many hours in thoughtful discussion and prayer to articulate the Vision Statement for our work here:

"To inspire and motivate people through possibility thinking to grow in a loving relationship with Jesus Christ so that they can become the persons God desires, dreams and designed them to be."

We also identified our Focused Goal, which is to continue to be a ministry, through the saving grace of Jesus Christ, that is:

"Saving lives through a message of hope."

We have begun to accomplish this goal through a newly created Ministry Process that clarifies our priority to bring others to:

1. "Come and See" (invitational Ministries) 2. "Come and Belong" (Relational Ministries) 3. "Come and Grow" (Spiritual Formation Ministries) 4. "Go and Sow" (Transformational Ministries)

Supporting the new vision, goal, and ministry process is the burgeoning network of teams made up of staff and congregation members. We based our new Team Leadership Model (organism chart vs. organizational chart) on recent successes in ministries and businesses that have adopted it.

The next few pages will reflect these exciting changes, and help you to see where you can get involved - growing through possibility thinking, a message of hope, and a loving relationship with Jesus Christ - as we come and see, come and belong, come and grow, and go and sow together!

"You Saved My Life"

By Dr. Robert H. Schuller, Founding Pastor

What is a hero? A hero is someone who personally sacrifices his or her life to save the life of another. My brother Henry, a litter bearer with the Red Cross during WWII, was such a sacrificial hero. Not many of us have the opportunity to be that kind of hero - rushing into a scene of destruction, picking up a bleeding body to save it from dying. However, we do have the opportunity to help resituate and save persons' wounded souls. People from around the world have repeatedly told me, "You saved my life!" Although these words never fail to bring a tear to my eye, I know that I was not the one who did the saving.

First and foremost, the "you" in their statement is Jesus Christ. During church services on Sunday, or through the New Hope help line, or a Sunday morning fellowship group, these people have felt the life-saving power of renewed hope that only Christ can bring.

The "you" is also YOU! YOU are a true, God-ordained hero! The gifts of your tithes, your offerings, your talents and your time make it possible for us to offer our message of hope, love and encouragement, resulting in enthusiasm replacing depression, and hope replacing hopelessness. YOU make this ministry happen. Today, in the midst of a national and international recession, our message has never been needed more. Unfortunately, our church has likewise been affected by this year's economy, with our revenues down over 30% since January 1, 2009. As a result, we trimmed every single line in our budget to weather the current economic storm. Every one of our staff has taken a 10% pay cut this year.

But I know the Lord has a powerfully positive plan for our ministry. Indeed, our best days are yet to come! God still wants to save millions of lives through our message of hope. To do so, we need your heroic faith - personally sacrificing through an ongoing commitment to this congregation and the bright future of this ministry!

Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for believing in our ministry. Thank you for believing in God's life-saving message. YOU are my hero!