Recent News

Ready, Set, Clean-up!

Mark your calendars--Xenos will be cancelling Sunday Morning adult Central Teachings on Sunday, July 28th at Main Campus, the Warehouse, and 4th Street because of a major clean-up effort. Morning Central Teachings will still take place at East and West locations. Volunteers should gather at their usual CT location at 9 am and should be finished by noon. You can read more details here.

We will be serving the Ohio State campus neighborhood, which is burdened by trash, furniture and other items left behind by students who've moved out. Volunteers will be given supplies, instructions, and assigned to a specific area.

Teams will travel together to their area to clean up so be ready to carpool. City meters are free on Sundays, but look for signs to make sure you're not parking in a residents only area. 

There will be childcare for kids 3rd grade and younger at your usual CT location. You're encouraged to bring your older children to join in the clean up. 

We are NOT required to move bulky/heavy furniture. However, we will be outside in the elements. Come dressed appropriately and don't forget sunscreen and/or bug spray.

What if I can't pick up trash?

There's still a role for you! Other opportunities exist for a variety of roles:

Important Summer Institute Deadlines Approaching

Xenos Summer Institute (XSI) starts soon--July 10th. Be sure you're registered for the conference and for the breakout sessions you want to attend.

If you're already registered, Friday, June 28, is the deadline for registering for breakout sessions. By registering for these breakouts, you'll save your spot in popular sessions. You'll find directions for registering for breakouts in your registration email. If you miss the breakout deadline you can still attend the sessions you choose if there is seating available.

If you have not yet registered for Summer Institute, the deadline to do that online is Monday, July 8th at noon. You can register at xenos.org/xsi. If you miss that deadline you can still pay at the door. Walk-in registration starts at 5:30 pm, a few hours before the opening plenary session.

This year's XSI theme is "Christ Over All," and features guest speakers John Perkins, Dwight Smith, and Nancy Pearcey. XSI runs July 10th-12th.

Main Office Renovation to Bring Leaders' Offices Together

If you visit Xenos’ main office you’ll notice a lot of construction going on in the old office auditorium. The space is being renovated to house office space to bring together Xenos' pastoral senior leadership. 

With growth in the leadership staff of Xenos since the office first opened in November 1996, Senior Pastor Ryan Lowery says the current office arrangement could no longer accommodate all of our top leaders. Currently many of these full-time leaders don’t have office space, causing them to seek out work space wherever they can find it, mostly at other venues. This arrangement has made it difficult for leaders across different spheres and age groups to collaborate, and has made it hard for teachers to prepare on-site.

The new space will provide enough space to house current top-level leadership and allow for growth, following our ethic of housing 2-3 staff members per office space. There'll be a reception area for visitors after they check in at the main office reception desk. There will be a conference room for larger meetings and a place to meet with visitors, for which there is currently no designated space. There will also be a large common room furnished to provide collaboration space along with a small kitchen area.

Ryan says the value of the new arrangement goes beyond just desks and chairs. He says it will allow leaders to comprehensively care for all people who call Xenos home. “We're excited to have our student and adult sphere leaders sharing a common space,” Ryan says. “This will help foster unity and our overall vision for cooperation on pastoral care of families.”

Consider Serving in Oasis

As a new program year for Oasis gets started, there’s still a need for volunteers, particularly at the Main Campus morning Central Teaching. There are still some classroom openings in pre-school and some younger grades for that CT.

Oasis is Xenos’ kids program, operated during the adult Central Teachings. Kevin Doyle and his wife Whitney have been Oasis volunteers for many years and says it’s a great opportunity because in just one role you serve many--children, their parents, and God.

Whitney agrees—“As a parent, I’m so thankful that on Sundays I know my kids are safe and learning about the Lord, while I am sitting under great teachings in Central Teaching (when I’m not a volunteer myself).”

Whitney says volunteering in Oasis is very gratifying—that it’s allowed her to be involved in teaching her kids and their peers about the timeless truths in the Bible. “At this age, it's big picture ideas, but it's really fun to see the light bulb go off and understand grace, forgiveness, and what Jesus did for them. When I think about that it gives me butterflies...in 12 or 24 Sundays a year you can help build the kingdom!”

If you’re on the fence about volunteering, Kevin says you should just try it since the one year commitment isn’t overwhelming. You can choose to serve every week, every other week, or you can share the job with another volunteer to be less frequent.                                     

If the idea of volunteering to serve kids makes you uncomfortable, Kevin says to at least pray about it: “We sometimes grow the most in uncomfortable situations, just like a muscle being used beyond its point of comfort.”

The Doyles say it’s a role appropriate for many people. “For parents, it’s a sweet way to spend time with your kids, and potentially life-long friends of theirs,” Whitney says. “To college age kids or young adults without kids, I would say, you are way cooler than me! Kids will love you!”

Kevin also says if you’re able to serve now, take advantage of the opportunity. “There may be a time when you may be unable to serve this ministry due to health, age, or other factors, and these children will only be young once.”

Meet the Missionaries: Chris and Amy Gesler

One of the best gifts God offers us is the chance to find purpose in life. Chris and Amy Gesler say they’ve found that, and are sharing that gift with people of all ages in Kampong Cham, Cambodia.

The Geslers help lead the Friendship School, a Xenos Global Partner, which was founded in 2009 by a group of Cambodian teachers and a team from Xenos. Its goal is to address educational, physical, and spiritual needs not only of its students, but their families and the broader community as well.

Chris Gesler says he went to church as a kid and received Christ as a middle-schooler, but found church to be boring. He reluctantly said yes to an invitation to visit a Xenos high school group, and found it engaging. He connected there, and began a faithful walk with God.

Amy says she was a rebellious teen, but heard about God’s love and grace in college. She received Christ then and was captivated by the thought that God had a purpose for her life.

Both say they did not have a sense of a call to missions as young believers, or as a married couple, but that started to develop as they heard from people who were heading out to the missions field. They took a short term missions trip together to Cambodia in 2001, and developed a burden for the people of Cambodia.

This burden turned into practical conversations about the possibility of becoming full time missionaries. When Xenos missions leaders announced plans to expand the Cambodian team the Geslers applied, and worked their way through the steps to join the team in 2004.

Blowout Camp Starts Soon

The summer camp season begins in about a week, starting with over 250 middle-schoolers heading to Camp Chautauqua for Blowout Camp.

The camp is June 2-6, with an extra day at the end for students entering the 8th grade. Campers will enjoy a week of fun activities, friendship building, and Bible study and discussion.

Brad DuFault with the Junior High Ministry says they have three goals for camp. “First and foremost, we hope to see students make big decisions for God, such as deciding to start a relationship with God, reach out to friends, serve in their small group, or simply take ownership of their walk with God.”

Brad says secondly, they want to see the students build deep, strong friendships with each other through their time at camp. And “thirdly, we want them to have a lot of fun so they learn that following God is exciting and not boring in the least.”

You can help make it a great week for the students--camp organizers ask you to pray for the camp. Here are some specific things to pray for:

  • For God to give the teachers a burden for what they’re sharing at camp.
  • For students giving their testimonies to be filled with confidence and excitement to share how God changed their lives
  • For those who do know Christ--that they will decide to follow Him at this camp.
  • For the students’ daily morning time in the Bible and prayer.
  • For post-teaching discussion groups--that students will process what they heard in the teachings and open up about their thoughts.
  • For a smoothly-run camp and unity among the camp staff, counselors and students. And for lots of fun for the students!

Study Center Re-opens at New Location

The Xenos Study Center has re-opened at its new location (620 Oakland Park, 43214) north of the Warehouse meeting space. There are still some small projects to finish up, but it's now open to serve the community.

The new location offers a fully staffed lending library, with materials and resources to enhance your Bible study and equip you for ministry and service.

Another feature of the space is several smaller rooms off the main room. Xenos Operations Coordinator Steve Bauer says they will be great places for folks to meet to study together, and get guidance on ministry. They can be used for spiritual mentoring and counseling. Steve says several groups regularly gather for prayer before Central Teachings held at the Warehouse, and this will be an ideal spot for them to meet.

He says the main room will also be available for small teachings and events at certain times. And, as with other Xenos facilities, these rooms will also be available for community groups to use.

Come check out the new space next week. It's located just east of the large Warehouse meeting space, and just north of the gym and parking area. And you can learn more about resources available at the Study Center at StudyCenter.xenos.org. With the new location is also a new phone number: 614-423-4145.

Renegade Prepares for Summer Camp

The Xenos Renegade ministry is getting ready for its annual camp, giving local low-income kids the chance to enjoy some of the best of summer—games, the arts, and getting to hear about God’s loving plan for their lives.

In the last year Renegade has sharpened its focus, now serving kids from kindergarten to 5th grade. Older students—middle and high-schoolers—are now served by Xenos junior high and high school ministries. Renegade Director Bob Fisher says this allows people with expertise in a given age group to focus on the unique needs and challenges of that age. The hope is the students will successfully engage with God as they transition from middle school to high school to college.

Bob says the annual camp for elementary kids is July 15-19, and they expect to serve 40-60 kids. He says it’s a great way to introduce kids to the Renegade program—to connect them with the regular on-going meetings in 3 different Columbus neighborhoods. The camp offers great summer activities, letting kids play musical instruments, make art, dance, and play games, in addition to the spiritual activities.

Effectively Helping People who are Grieving

By John Montgomery

There's an upcoming Xenos class starting this month to help you be more helpful when a friend is grieving. “Offering Support to the Grieving” starts Wednesday, May 29th, and runs four weeks.

The word “grief” has come to be understood mainly as a reaction to a death. But such a narrow understanding fails to encompass the range of human experiences that create and trigger grief.

Grief is triggered by a loss of some sort – losing someone or something with which we had an attachment. Grief has different levels and intensities. We grieve a little when our favorite tee shirt is ruined and must be thrown away. We grieve a little more when our favorite team loses the championship game. More intense grief comes when a beloved pet dies, when a valued friendship ends, when dreams for our future evaporate, or when someone we love dies.

As followers of Jesus, we are charged to walk alongside each other in our grief. We are called to mourn with those who mourn (Rom. 12:14) and to bear one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2). We are to encourage the timid and faint-hearted (1Thess. 5:14) and to be compassionate, gentle, and patient with each other (Eph. 4:2; 1 Pet. 3:8).

Promise Group Offers Hope to Loved Ones of Those with Addictions

By Rachel Yensel

Promise is a Christ-based support group for people who have loved ones battling addiction.  Promise serves people who have (or have had) relationships with a loved one who is an addict/alcoholic, abusive, absent, or physically or mentally impaired. These relationships can create significant and unresolved hurt, anger, fear, or anxiety. We meet every Saturday (see details below).

Most people (including myself) develop unhealthy emotional and behavioral tendencies when they try to cope with loving an addict. These types of unhealthy tendencies are known as being “codependent.” Codependency is often a way to try and fulfill the love and security we desperately desire, and it can manifest in many different ways (e.g., trying to fix, control or rescue people, trying to help people who may not even want help, etc.).

At Promise, we believe that a growing relationship with Jesus is the one, true thing that will fulfill our desire for love and security. We look to Him to reshape our thoughts, feelings, and actions through the lens of the Bible in order to learn how to have healthy relationships with others and with God. We come together at Promise to pray, encourage one another, share accountability, and grieve alongside one another. It's really an incredible thing to be in a room where you feel known and understood. Addiction is so isolating and stigmatized--there is so much power and healing that comes from living transparently.

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