by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

As Crosshill completes its 25th anniversary, the school has a goal during the upcoming month of June to raise $200,000 for the current capital campaign. With this goal in mind, a generous donor has committed up to $100,000 in matching funds to this effort!  Every dollar given in June will be matched dollar for dollar up to $100,000.  

In the Old Testament, God instituted a 50 year jubilee to provide liberty, restitution, and rest. The jubilee was a reminder of God’s faithfulness and generous provision. In similar fashion, God has been generous to Crosshill Christian these past 25 years through daily discipleship in homes and Crosshill campuses. Due in large part to the investment of courageous families who have gone before us, God’s faithfulness is evident in the transformed lives and resources we benefit from today.  

A jubilee is the special anniversary of an event, especially one celebrating 25 or 50 years. Crosshill Christian will complete its 25th year of schooling this June, after it opened its doors on the South Campus in 1992. Originally named Willamette Christian School, the vision given to Church on the Hill has grown to include Preschool through High School classes, with campuses in both South Salem and Keizer. The history of the Keizer Campus stretches even farther back prior to merging with Crosshill, which is even more reason to celebrate.

A jubilee marks the end of a season, and the beginning of a new one. As we look ahead to the next 25 years, God continues to confirm the call to expand the South Campus, including additional classrooms primarily for high school students. The generosity from the Crosshill community has been overwhelming, with hundreds of thousands donated thus far. The Crosshill Development Team continues to prayerfully and diligently pursue multiple streams of funding so that construction can continue in the fall.  

We are asking each Crosshill family to consider a generous gift during June. Families who pay their tuition on an 11-month plan make no payments in June. Would you consider budgeting the same monthly tuition payment as a gift during the month of June? Any gift given will automatically double in size. If you have already given in the past, would you prayerfully consider if June is another opportunity to multiply your generosity? 

As a community, let’s come together for a June Jubilee that will impact the next 25 years. Please consider sharing this opportunity with friends and family to maximize the matching funds. During this current capital campaign, our goal is for 100% of Crosshill families to participate in some way. If you have not made a gift yet, consider giving this June to double the impact of your gift, and participate in our June Jubilee. 
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– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

Each spring the school celebrates God’s faithfulness during the previous 12 months, and looks ahead in faith to the plans He has for the school for the upcoming 12 months. There were many highlights shared at the recent Celebrate Crosshill event on Friday, April 13th.  Through the generous support of Crosshill families, dependable and quality school buses now transport students between campuses and to important events. Student access to technology on both campuses continues to increase preparing students to succeed in the 21st century. The Salem community and global community were blessed through school mission trips that built houses for those in need and shared the good news of Jesus Christ to countless others. 

We would all agree that God has been faithful far beyond the past 12 months. For example, the harvest we see in the lives of Crosshill Christian High School students began decades ago when faith collided with action at the school’s origin. This past decade,  God spoke into the hearts of Crosshill leaders and families about extending the school’s discipleship training beyond 8th grade with the creation of the high school. God also called the school to enlarge its capacity to train disciples by adding a Keizer campus. In fact, many current high school students and graduates began their discipleship training as elementary students on the Keizer campus.  

God continues to call the families of Crosshill to increase the school’s capacity so that additional families can join this community. The school is not driven by the ambition of growth, but by its clear mission of discipleship training. Many current classes are at capacity and God continues to confirm the need to provide discipleship training to more families. The school’s enrollment has just about doubled over the past six years and the demand from among the community remains strong.

The school is in the middle of capital improvements intended to meet this demand. This past year, the main entrance of the South Campus was updated and expanded (the Link) and important capital improvements were completed on both campuses. In preparation for additional classrooms on the South Campus for secondary grades, site work for more classrooms is being completed and will continue through the summer. All of these past and current improvements through September come at a cost of 2 million dollars and those financial commitments have all been met.  

The school’s desire is for the construction of the new Eagle Building, containing eight classrooms and two locker rooms to continue in the fall. We are currently in the process of raising the 1.5 million dollars needed for the project to continue in the fall. At the recent Celebrate Crosshill event, close to $50,000 was raised in one night! Our prayer is that the giver will be blessed, just as they are a blessing to so many others. Continue to pray in faith for the completion of God’s will over the next 12 months and consider how you might be a part of stepping out in faith as we continue to provide updates. 
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– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

by Molly Dillon / Keizer Campus Principal

On a recent family hike up at Silver Falls, our plan was to traverse the “Winter Trail Loop”, but we left home without the map and once there, had no cell service. It was a lovely day and became much more enjoyable when our trail passed by the visitor center with its blessing of a free map. The guidance of that map made all of the difference in our experience. Had we simply gone our own way, deciding to take trailheads that appeared to be good, we most likely would have veered off the intended path in the wrong direction, turning our refreshingly pleasant 5-mile hike into one we would not have been equipped for.  

Often in our search for direction, we fully acknowledge that God has a plan, path, and purpose for our lives, yet we look for guidance in our circumstances, our own thoughts and desires, our friends, and many times, cultural influences. Proverbs 3:5-6 states, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.” (NLT).  The Psalmist writes, “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.” Psalm 16:11 (NIV). Nothing surpasses the safety, divine resources, power and presence of God when we are on course and headed in God’s chosen direction.

Yet even when moving in the right direction we encounter the unexpected. Along the path of our hike that afternoon we were suddenly stopped in our tracks. It was not the breathtaking view of the falls we experienced, but that of a young man who decided to leave the path, enter the icy cold and swiftly moving waters to stand precariously near the edge of the falls. After a minute, he slowly made his way back to safety, avoiding the 65-foot descent. I will never know the circumstances by which the young man decided to risk his life, however, it highlights the fact that choosing to forge your own path, or follow one that seems more exciting or “appears to be right” takes us into the enemy’s territory, onto a slippery slope, or down a path to destruction (Prov. 14:12).  

Just as all eyes were intently on the young man at the falls, our children’s eyes are intently on our actions. By our example of seeking God and proclaiming his goodness and faithfulness in the midst of each trial and decision, they will place value on learning to trust and pursue God. In the everyday moments that display our lives joyfully surrendered to the Lordship of Christ, we sow seeds of wisdom and righteousness along their path into God great adventure!
 
– Molly Dillon / Keizer Campus Principal

by Adam Kronberger / Superintendent

Recently, two CCS freshman girls boldly and intentionally approached a woman on the streets of Portland. They attempted to share both the love of Jesus Christ and present the gift of eternal life. Though roughly rebuffed, the girls kindly persisted to pray for the requested needs provided by the stranger. Before entering into prayer, when the two girls asked the woman her name, she gruffly responded, “Nun-O’-Yur-Bisnis!” The girls retained their composure and continued to pray out loud for their friend, “None Of Your Business” that both her physical and spiritual needs would be met.

During the High School mission trips and other weekly outreaches, students engage with others in Salem, Portland, and Ensenada, in order to “go and make disciples of all nations.” Through apologetic training, acts of service, and evangelism, students shine their light brightly. In the process of presenting and defending their faith, students also develop ownership of their beliefs, forming a more authentic faith. While some interactions might feel disappointing to students as described above, other conversations are often very encouraging resulting in true conversations of faith in Jesus Christ.

When we share our faith, there are basically three potential outcomes:
1.  The person can accept the gospel completely.
2.  A seed can be planted for a potential future conversion.
3.  The gospel can be rejected (sometimes defiantly).

The outcomes would commonly be characterized as great, good, and bad when judged by human standards. But Scripture provides a different context. In I Peter 4:14 we read, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” And Jesus declared, “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven” (Luke 6:22-23).

Even when the gospel is shared (in gentleness and love) and rejected, the messengers are blessed as God’s spirit rests on them and future awards await them. One of the greatest hurdles for sharing our faith is fear of the outcome, which might include a rude (sometimes incoherent) response. But as we see, all possible outcomes are wins! One student recently remarked that sharing your faith is similar to jumping off the diving board. The first time you jump in takes a lot of courage. But once you get wet, the joy of taking the plunge soon takes over. We can all be thankful that somebody else made knowing our name and sharing the gospel with us part of their business! 
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– Adam Kronberger / Superintendent