Greetings from the Church of the Cross missions team, which includes Emily McAfee, Jordan Johnson, Ellyn Steidl and Mike Greer!

During this season of Epiphany, we celebrate Christ’s first revelation of Himself to the Gentiles. God is making a holy people for Himself from every tongue, tribe, and nation, and we want to respond to God’s call to join Him on mission. We thought this would be an opportune time  to introduce ourselves and ask for your prayer and your input. The four of us (as well as Peter, who is also a member of the team) are currently discussing and praying through a time of discernment to determine where God might be taking Church of the Cross on mission.

The goal of this time of discernment is to intentionally and proactively identify mission foci for us  locally, regionally, and internationally, particularly via partnerships. The intention here is that there is a clear sense of what "being on mission" at COTC looks like, and at every level and among every generation there are opportunities to participate, including volunteering, awareness and prayer support, participating on a trip, and financial support.

We especially want to invite you, our COTC family, to join with us in this process of discernment. We want to know what being on mission means for you. What are some of the causes you care about? What are the efforts that would motivate you to give not just money but also your time? Where do you see mission in your life? What do you see going on?

The guiding values of COTC Missions were drafted a couple of years ago and are a framework upon which we have been considering various partnerships. Those values include advancing access for unreached and unchurched peoples to the whole Gospel, in local, regional and global contexts. We want any new partnerships to further that mission.

Please pray with us during this time of discernment and get in touch with us individually or by e-mailing missions@cotcaustin.org. We also invite you to respond to this Google form, which will send responses to the missions team. We would love to hear from you as we lean in to hear what God has for COTC on mission in the days, months and years ahead. 

Emily McAfee (emilyclairehawthorne@gmail.com)

Jordan Johnson (jordanrushjohnson@gmail.com)

Ellyn Steidl (ellynsteidl@gmail.com)

Mike Greer (greerm@gmail.com)