“The training and support I received through CFCM (Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication–Church Movement’s residency fellowship for church-planters) has helped us build a church with a clear movement mindset,” says Drake. “We’re seeing that DNA already come to life as we reach neighbors, form discipleship communities, and equip leaders who carry the gospel wherever they go.” (Pastor James Drake, Christ Church Miami)

Multiplying the Gospel in Miami: How Cru Church Movements Is Powering a New Church Launch

When Christ Church Miami opened its doors, it wasn’t just another church plant—it was the beginning of a multiplying gospel movement in one of America’s most diverse and dynamic cities.

Cru Church Movements has been a vital partner, investing deeply in the vision, leadership, and DNA of this new congregation. Senior Pastor James Drake and his team have been equipped to launch with a clear, movement-minded focus—one that’s committed to winning people to Jesus, building them up in faith, and sending them out as everyday missionaries into Miami’s neighborhoods, workplaces, and schools.  Last year James Drake went through our Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication Training which was a yearlong national church  planting residency (Internship).  Joseph was a part of the design,  planning the residency and served on the speaking/training team for Pastor James and 38 other leaders around the nation.

The steps of faith that Christ Church’s team and community took led to 30 people indicating decisions to receive Christ on launch Sunday!

That movement mindset—to multiply disciples and leaders rather than simply gather attenders—is at the core of Cru Church Movements’ vision. By embedding this DNA from day one, Christ Church Miami is already living out a vibrant expression of the gospel in community, embodying the idea that every believer is a missionary in their everyday context.

“We are so thankful for Cru’s continued investment in our launch and in shaping the heart of our ministry. We instilled multiplication DNA from the very beginning. We truly believe the best is yet to come.” (Pastor Drake) 

Partnering with Every One Free as their case manager Michelle was a part of celebrating the graduation of their 100th survivor this past month! Survivors join a 2-hour class every week for 24 weeks called Pathways to Freedom. We also offer a weekly support group, and survivors meet with Michelle regularly to receive support and resources. 

Every ONE Free started as an outreach to women being exploited. Now, our Pathways to Freedom Program offers survivors a way to heal and rebuild lives outside of exploitation.  It is such a blessing to walk alongside these strong women as they find new hope and rebuild their lives. 

Here is a testimony of one of the women Michelle is working with—Praise God for her new life!

Family Update…
Michelle celebrated her 50th Birthday, Aleeya turned 14 years old, and we had a wonderful Christmas season with much needed family time together!  Aleeya has completed her second book “The Shattered Journey” and she is in the process of submitting to literary agents to hopefully have it published! We are trying to cherish each day…

Thank you for your continual prayers and support to us here as we minister withing Los Angeles and nationwide.  Helping to train and disciple leaders, plant churches and serve trafficked and exploited women through sharing the love of Jesus and providing resources and hope.  We are so thankful. 
 
 

“I’ve got new deepening relationships that encourage me.  CFCM has given me a way to communicate I did not have before- your approach has given me a roadmap.  I am getting my team together. CoJourners blew my people away ! They really enjoy it ! It is turning us around.  The Evangelism Planner has helped our team put plans into Cycles of Momentum.”  (Duane Grant, Lead Church Planting Pastor of The Body Dayton

Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication
 

This past month Joseph was part of the kick-off for our next Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication (CFCM class)!  We had our first in person gathering for the Fellowship in Southern California. CFCM is for church planters or mission team leaders who desire to plant churches that will begin other churches.  It is a 10-month church planting residency/internship for those who desire to plant churches, their core team, and any church planting networks or denominations that want to partner with us in evangelism, investing in others spiritually and developing new leaders.

Some of the topics covered are:

· Vision

· Mission

· Values

· Your Calling to Church Planting

· Decoding to Understand Your Ministry Context

· Missional Engagement Plan

Joseph was part of the team that developed the curriculum for CFCM. He created multiple CFCM sessions and training, as part of his experience in working with church planters locally and nationally.  He is also part of the teaching team that leads the in-person classes and the online sessions.  This year there are 16 participants nationally. 

One of the main foci for the September Summit was helping the participants in learning how to journey with someone in their spiritual journey using a training called CoJourners and the four roles within it: Explore, Guide, Builder, and Mentor.

During the training we also had a Day of Outreach into the community to practice the CoJourner evangelism process. We partnered with 3 churches in the area who would then follow-up with those we spoke to.

The group was able to initiate 104 spiritual conversations, shared the Gospel with 36 people and saw 2 people trust in Jesus for the first time!

This Saturday we are part of a fundraising Gala for Every One Free, whom Michelle partners with as a case manager serving sex trafficked and sexually exploited women.  Please pray for the event as they are working hard to secure additional funding to continue to serve women across the nation finding freedom and beginning new lives.  To help and/or learn more feel free to see here:

A Faith Family on Mission

A New Church Started!

“At Christ Church Miami, we exist to glorify God by helping people know, love, and serve Jesus.”

This September Christ Church Miami has begun! Pastor James from Florida is a part-time Cru staff with us and a part-time church planter of a new church that has recently begun!  Last year James went through our Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication Training which was a yearlong national church planting residency (Internship).  Joseph was a part of planning the residency and served on the speaking/training team for Pastor James and many others around the nation.

After graduating from the residency this past June, Pastor James and his wife launched their first church in Miami, Florida!  In some highly urbanized districts, like downtown Miami, church attendance can be as low as 2-3% among adults, especially in younger populations and secular neighborhoods. On their first Sunday 782 people packed the church, 115 + kids joined the children’s ministry and over 30 people gave their lives to Jesus for the first time!

National Leadership Team Planning Time Together

This September Joseph met with the National Leadership Planning Team of our ministry in Kansas City to pray and plan for the year ahead.  It was also a time to come together as a team and set goals for this coming year.

They reflected on all the Lord has done in the last 8 years.  We have been so encouraged to see 4,379 people around the nation come to know Jesus through partnerships with churches in evangelism!  We saw 12,496 small groups started in partnerships with churches in discipleship!  And 499 churches planted in partnerships with denominations and church planting networks! 

We are humbled to see the Lord move in this way as we serve churches nationwide and we are so thankful for the prayers and support from each of you through the years to be able to be a part of this!

Church Movements Progress Report 2017-2025

· # new relationships (since 2021) — 18,773
· # of gospel presentations— 93,092
· # of decisions for Christ—4,379
· # of people going through basic follow-up—16,050
· # of discipleship groups started—12,496
· # of churches planted—499
· # of training events hosted—3,896
· # of participants at those training events—48,051

Family Update!

A few family highlights!  Aleeya has begun 8th grade homeschool and classes. Jessica is now a junior in college and working as a Resident Advisor overseeing 18 freshmen on her floor! She is LOVING it! Daniel and Maya continue to thrive in their marriage and careers, and Luke has begun a new job at State Farm Insurance! We are thankful for the Lord’s provisions over our family and cherish every time we can all come together in their busy lives!
 

Cru 25 Conference

Thank you so very much for your prayers and financial support for us to attend the Cru25 Conference in Wisconsin this past month.  It was such an amazing time of refreshment, vision, training and encouragement as we continue into our 27th year of full-time ministry with Cru!  We cannot believe the blessing it has been to serve full-time all these years with Cru and are so humbled by all the Lord has done in and through us here in Los Angeles these past 27 years.  Thank you for your support and prayers that make it all possible. 

At our Cru Conference we heard great speakers, worshipped the Lord with over 4,000 others, had training days for our specific ministry with Cru Church Movements, attended a Heritage Night honoring those who have been on staff for so many years and connected with so many other staff around the nation and even world! Aleeya loved the kids camp and Jessica worked as a counselor this time for 5th graders! Some of our personal highlights are below!

Divine Opportunities…

*Maria was sitting on the ground next to the Milwaukee River Walk, alone and hungry with no phone or place to go.  She had been lured into a sex trafficked situation from her group home in Washington DC and taken to Wisconsin, where she was abandoned on the side of the road.  Cru co-workers of ours called Michelle and asked her to come to where they had come upon Maria at the Riverwalk and as Michelle sat and spoke to her God was moving.

Maria shared how came from an abusive foster home.  She had been living at a group home after turning 18 and  was recently trafficked by a man she thought loved her.  She shared that as she was sitting on the ground someone approached her and handed her a “How to Know God Personally” booklet.  She began to read it and when she came to the page in the booklet that explained how to ask Jesus into your heart she said she prayed the prayer and began to cry out to God for help.

Right at that moment our co-workers approached her and began to initiate a conversation with her and learned that she needed help.  Maria was in complete awe how the Lord had immediately answered her prayers and was so excited to meet Michelle and find resources and help.  She had no idea there were resources available to help her find hope and healing.  Michelle had brought a bracelet with her that had a hotline number engraved on it – feeling the Lord prompting her to bring it to Wisconsin “just in case she met someone who needed it.”  Maria was the answer to that prompting. 

Michelle and her co-workers were able to sit and talk with Maria, pray with her, encourage her in her new relationship with the Lord and pay for her to take a bus back to her group home to find safety.  Please pray for *Maria.  When she arrived in DC, she called the hotline number on the bracelet and began to find help—pray she would continue to heal and grow in her relationship with the Lord.

Thank you so very much for your continual prayers and support to us over all these years.

 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever!” Ephesians 3:20-21

Urban Church Planting

This past year Joseph has been partnering with a friend, Chad, a regional director from World Impact. They have been praying and meeting together to form a partnership to train church planters in the urban areas of Los Angeles and Las Vegas. They recently held a 2-day training event with church planters from throughout Los Angeles and Nevada. They are starting an LA/Urban Church Planting Network to reach out to the under resourced communities.  They are beginning in Los Angeles and then plan to begin more urban church planting networks in Las Vegas, Oakland, Houston, Portland and Seattle. These are metropolitan cities that have very little gospel initiatives in their neighborhoods.
 

After the 2 day training in May Pastor Chad and Joseph will lead a 12-month cohort beginning in June.  They had desired to have 2 cohorts—one in English and one in Spanish, but the lack of Spanish trainers means they will instead do a bilingual church planting cohort in English and translate it into Spanish. The   purpose of the cohorts is to coach the church planting teams as they create their mission, vision & values; how to engage the culture; plans for discipleship; plans for engaging their community missionally and their plans to develop leaders in their church plants.
 

Partnering with EveryOne Free as a case manager Michelle and her team recently graduated another set of survivors from their 24-week program. It was so encouraging to hear the words of the survivors as they shared how much they have grown and healed. “On the weeks that I needed something inspiring to work on, I received it. This class changed my life. It gave me more openness about learning. This journey is not linear. There are ups and downs. Some days we felt good and other days we felt bad. But this class changed my life. I came in with anger. A lot of my charges hindered my nursing licensing. Michelle was helping me through that process. She gave me a great resource to seal my record. I want to encourage everyone that no matter what is holding you back, you can get through it!” (recent graduate)

Please pray for the 2 new classes we have running for survivors—with over 50 new survivors enrolled in the program. Pray for Michelle as she connects with each woman and alumni to support, encourage and serve.

Thank you for your continual prayers, support and encouragement to us! We are so very thankful!
 

Healthy, Reproducing Churches

This past month Joseph took part of the Exponential Global Conference to join together with thousands of church planters and denominations. The vision is to see an expanding number of movements of healthy reproducing churches around the United States and the world!  Joseph was part of a panel during a networking/recruiting lunch for Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication    https://www.churchmovements.com/fellowship This lunch was to recruit new church planters into our national church planting residency/internship.  This residency prepares church planters to start churches across the US.  We had 42 participants this year and hope to see more take part in the church planting training next year.

African Church Planting

Globally, 281 million people live in a country other than their country of origin. In the US that amounts to 60M people – 18% of the population.

During the Exponential conference we were able to a workshop on reaching out to these people groups here in the Unted States by:

… consider ways to awaken the church to the mission field

… connect with church planting networks that focus on reaching different people groups

… explore partnerships to reach more people groups in the US

Thank you for your continual encouragement, prayers and support to us and the ministry here in Los Angeles and around the nation. We know all the blessings we see are because of the prayers of so many. Thank you!

Cru Fellowship

Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication is our national church planting residency that equips church planters and their core leadership team. It is a year-long commitment.  

Cru Fellowship is for apostolic leaders, missionary leaders, church planters or mission team leaders who are called to plant churches who will plant other churches.  Our desire is for sustainable, healthy, vital churches with ongoing care and   leadership development in church planting cohorts for years 2 and 3.  Joseph has been integral in the development and design of the residency.  He is also part of the teaching team and leads the design and development of the cohorts in years 2 and 3 for ongoing care, ministry development, soul care, and coaching.

Because we are a national church planting residency that mainly meets online we have planned 3 intentional in person gatherings: In Santa Ana, Ca, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and Kansas City, Missouri.  During these gatherings we equip in person and build our relational connections and networks.  This past month we held our second in person gathering in Fort Lauderdale.  We continued our equipping focus on evangelism and creating a strategic plan so church planters can have holistic and healthy steps towards accomplishing their church vision. 

One day of our time together in Ft. Lauderdale is going out into the community to share the gospel to others. By God’s grace we initiated conversations with 86 people in the community and had the opportunity to share the gospel with 32 of them.  A huge highlight was seeing 4 of these people accept Christ into their hearts and begin new lives!

 Thank you for your continual prayers and please pray for the 4 new believers in Ft. Lauderdale.  Please also pray for our next in person gathering together as Cru Fellowship in Kansas City this June.

Family Update:

At the end of February we celebrated our son’s wedding!  It was such a blessed day with no rain and full of the Lord’s presence.  It was very God honoring and fun!  Thank you for your prayers ! We are very thankful for our new daughter-in-law.  We are definitely in a new transition with our family and are thankful for each and every day that seems to fly by!
 

Thank you for your continual prayers and support to us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are so very thankful.
 

October 2024

A Dream Come True!

On Saturday, October 5, we hosted our first ever, in-person alumni gathering for 15 of our clients. There were many hugs, smiles, and (happy) tears as our clients met our staff and each other in person for the first time. There is a survivor sisterhood bond that is STRONG and cannot be broken. Our clients need each other, and this event provided a space for continued empowerment for each of them through sharing and encouragement.  The clients were provided goodie bags that contained donations from so many through our Amazon Wish List. We also provided coffee and pastries for breakfast and a lovely lunch of delicious Mexican food.

One client arrived and stated to our team,

“I was in hell for 22 years. I dreamed about a day like this and now my dream is coming true.”

As Michelle continues serving as a case manager, her heart is to not only see trafficked and sexually exploited women find the resources they need to begin new lives, but to also see them find new life in Jesus and healing and hope in the pain they have experienced. 

Thank you for all your prayers and support for this event!  Thank you for continuing to pray for these survivors to continue to find hope and healing in Christ as the begin their new lives of freedom.♥

Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication

This past month was the second gathering of our Cru Fellowship for pastors, denominational leaders, and church planters around the nation who are desiring to plant multiplying churches.  This fellowship equips them to:

1. Reach the lost in a wise, clear, authentic and relevant way.

2. Establish new believers in their walk with Jesus and develop them into faithful disciples.

3. Equip faithful disciples to become fruitful workers in the harvest.

4. Entrust fruitful church planters, their team and gospel workers to multiply vital churches for everyone, everywhere.

Joseph spoke on “Planting in Context.” How to help your church create a process to understand how to best reach your community with the gospel.  Looking into Explore, Love, Partner and Plant— a process to help churches engage their community with the love of Christ.

Participants are also a part of an ongoing peer-coaching learning community of leaders who are committed to see the church multiply.           

http://www.churchmovements.com/fellowship   

Please continue to pray for the 42 people taking part of the year-long Cru Fellowship Residency.  That they would be trained and encouraged as they begin to plant churches throughout the United States.

FAMILY UPDATE: October has been full!  Our oldest, Luke, had his ACL surgery and is in full recovery mode now—please pray for his complete healing, it is a long road. Daniel recently passed his final financial advisor certification exams (Series 6) and was welcomed in our local Chamber of Commerce! Jessica is thriving at CBU and Aleeya is about to turn 13! Teenage years are upon us!!  Thank you for loving and praying for our family.
 

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers and financial support for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.  We are truly grateful for each of you and are blessed. 
 

Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication

In the past year Joseph has been heavily involved in the planning and
designing of Cru Fellowship for Church Multiplication. This is a
yearlong national church planting residency (internship). We were
excited to launch is this September with 42 participants from
multiple churches, denominations and networks around the U.S!
The participants were either Cru staff that desired to work with
church planters or church planters who desired to plant within the
next year.

Joseph was on the speaking team and
spoke for 2 sessions on Encouraging
Believers to Share their Faith & The
Calling and Vision of a Church Planter.

We partnered with 3 Hispanic churches for two of the three churches were church plants. For the day we had 117 spiritual conversations, 69 gospel conversations and 21 people came to know Jesus!

Joseph and a participant, Jason, shared Christ with a young man named Jessy. Jessy was a 8 year high functioning heroine addict. He had a job that made $3k a month, but would use all his income for heroine. The turning point in his life came when he went to a drive through and begged for a bag of fries because he was hungry and had spent all his money on drugs. He then decided to enter a program and rehab for help. As Joseph and Jason shared the gospel with him, he had a much better understanding of the gospel and desired to follow Jesus who spared his life and gave him a second chance.
Please pray for Cross of Grace Church as they follow-up Jessy and help him to continue to follow Jesus.

Manny (3rd person from the
left) led these 5 teenage boys
to Christ on our day of
outreach!

Gratitude….
“Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, His love endures forever.” Psalm 107:1

Gratitude is our theme for our First ever in-person alumni event for trafficked & sexually exploited women! In a couple weeks Michelle is helping to host an event to bring these women together in person for encouragement and support!

The women are so excited (2 are flying in from other states) and we are praying it will be a time of blessing them with encouragement, support and love—that they would feel treasured and know their worth. These women have endured unspeakable evil in their lives, not lost hope, sought deep healing and persevered to begin new lives. We want to bless them and love on them deeply. If you are able to help with our wish list we would be SOOO thankful! The wish list has needs such as: Uber gift cards (Most of these ladies do not have transportation and we are in need of uber gift cards to transport them to our event), small gifts to bless them with, and Panera gift cards for coffee and pastries in the morning. Thank you so much for your generosity to love on these survivors!

Please pray for October 5th. Michelle is so excited to see the women she has been
working with for years virtually—give them big hugs and spend this time with them in
person. Pray they would feel cherished and drawn to the love of Jesus. Pray this time
would open up even more spiritual conversations as Michelle mentors and serves them
as a case manager.

Please pray for our oldest, Luke, as he undergoes
ACL surgery on October 1st. Pray for quick healing
and care for him. Thank you!

Thank you also so much for your continual prayers and
financial support for us and the ministry here in Los Angeles.
We are truly grateful for each of you and are blessed.