Latest Update

(we send updates through e-mail with more details and stories than we post here, if you don't get one and would like to please email me, rob@crosspointchurches.org)

Dear Friends & Family,

Summer is coming to a close and Rob and I hope that it has been a good one for you! We have had an exciting and encouraging beginning to what we hope will be a long and fruitful ministry in the Queen Anne neighborhood of Seattle.

Many of you are wondering, and have asked, how we spend our time and what it looks like to start a new church. Currently, our time is spent getting to know the neighborhood: its culture and its people. This has meant drinking a lot of coffee, eating plenty of food, and hearing many stories.

Aside from meetings and meals, we are beginning to lay the ground work for more formal ministry. In Sept., we are beginning a Community Group at our house. We are excited about who has expressed interest. Please pray that the presence of Jesus would be evident, that the Gospel would change hearts, and that relationships would be formed. Rob and I will also be teaching a Sunday school at CrossPoint Green Lake. We hope that we would continue to build relationships with this church that has so faithfully pursued and supported our desire to church plant. We also hope that God will call a few co-laborers to partner with us in Queen Anne. Please pray to that end.

Lastly, as some of you already know, in the midst of amazing opportunities for the Gospel, we have also been tempted to despair and be discouraged. Our house was broken into two Sundays ago during worship. Our laptops, my purse, Rob's wallet, and a spattering of other things were stolen. We have written several posts about it on our blog, below. We invite you to read through our process with God in the midst of fear and violation.

Furthermore, this last Sunday, our car wouldn't start, Nate swallowed a tooth, cracked open his head and received stitches in the fellowship hall. I tell you these things not to complain, but because I realize that life and ministry is hard and will be hard. We will suffer for the Gospel of the Kingdom of God, and in a real sense, there is a spiritual warfare that battles to thwart our work and the Truth.

However, I give thanks for you because I know you must be praying for us. I still want to be here, I still smile when I think of this city and this neighborhood, and our present sufferings have not assuaged our desire to see God build his church here.

Please continue to pray for us. Pray against the work of the evil one. Pray for continued peace and hope. This work cannot happen without you!

Grace and Peace to you and to your family,

Claudia (for the Woottons)