May 2007

Dear Friends and Family,

Well it has been quite an interesting last 12 months. As most of you know at the end of May last year I crashed my dirt-bike. I wish that I could blame someone else or say that I was involved in “an accident” but it was all my own doing. I spent 3 weeks in hospital and underwent 7 operations. I am now walking without a noticeable limp, though there is still a bit of pain. We expect that it will still be some time before I have all the strength back. Sadly, my riding days are most likely over.






















In the midst of all this we completed the adoption of Saiyeh. The day her new birth certificate arrived was a day of joy and there is this great peace that we all feel. Saiyeh was quick to make sure that her name change (we added Crosscombe to the end of her name) was made at school. She has always been our eldest daughter but having that piece of paper mean more than any of us imagined. We know that so many of you were petitioning the Lord on our behalf and we are eternally grateful for that. Being laid up for so long gives plenty of time for thinking, praying and seeking the Lord. Those who came and just sat with me meant so much and provided wisdom as Joyce and I began to feel God was calling us into something new. We began to sense that our time at Wyoming Church was coming to a conclusion. There are a few reasons for this, and we welcome any questions you may have, but at the end of the day it came down to believing that we have been called into a new work. We are finishing at Wyoming in the coming weeks and they put on a special lunch for us last month.

So, I guess you are wondering what comes next… Well there is a ministry in Philadelphia called CityNet (http://www.citynetphilly.org/) founded by Dr Bill Krispin, considered by most to be the leading expert on Urban Ministry in Philadelphia. Bill and I have been friends for a while and he has been discussing us joining them for the past year. CityNet is a group of about 15 churches in the Philadelphia Metro area who all have a heart to see ministry happening in the city. Along with those 15 there is a broader, less formal network of about 30 churches willing to work together. CityNet has so far focused on church planting and training, having been part of planting or replanting 5 churches. They also run a seminary and training program for church leadership. Bill is a master networker and has been successful at bringing different groups to the table.

CityNet has had a vision to see local neighbourhood churches doing community ministry, being networked together, and being resourced. This is where Joyce and I come in. It is taking the things we have been doing for many years and developing it on a larger scale. It has become apparent that I am better at working on a broader project scale, rather than trying to manage things within a single church. God has blessed me to be able to understand communities and systems very quickly and to develop strategies that will work in specific communities.


We have designated a section of Philadelphia where we will begin this project, it covers about 1/3 of the city. It is the area that we have been living and working in for the past 15 years and a place we know well. The early stages will involve research and getting to know the churches in the area on a deeper level, along with working with churches outside the target zone to develop resources that can be of value. Longer term it will include helping churches develop a ministry strategy, bringing groups in (something we have been so blessed to do for a long time now), working with interns and prayerfully seeing our communities change. We have a job description for Coz, and Joyce’s is being worked on, as well as some year one goals. Joyce is hoping to begin developing a support structure for women in ministry and the wives of some of the church leaders. If you would like a copy of the goals and job descriptions we would be more than happy to provide those to you.

Of course the positions are still support raising ones, another thing we feel God is still calling us to. This part is not possible without you, so we are asking you to please pray and ask God if this is something He is calling you to be part of with us. We are excited and truly believe that God has ordained this, but we know that He may not have called you to this new work. The CityNet board has set a goal of approximately $70,000, quite a jump from ever before. This includes something people call “benefits”, a new term for us (I am joking here. We know what it means; we just have never had it before in ministry). It also includes admin expenses etc. We know that God will always be faithful no matter what we do and so we are excited to see how these needs are met. We do really hope and pray that you will continue to support us in prayer, financially, in service projects and in kind gifts. If you have not supported us before, we think now would be a great time to start, but of course our opinion is a little biased. We will also be hoping to raise project funds on top of this.


We also think that this time of transition is a good time for us to do some things we have been thinking about for a while now. Firstly we would like to travel and visit many of you that we don’t get to see on a regular basis and do some support raising. We have always struggled in asking people to financially give, but the truth is that if you feel that God is calling us to CityNet, and you to partner, then we should be celebrating this event. Secondly, we would also like to spend some time in Australia. We have talked about this so often that I think people are getting a bit tired of hearing it. So, perhaps this is the part of the letter that you just switch off and skip to the end. For those who haven’t heard this enough, keep on reading. Obviously Australia holds a very special place in our hearts. To most of you it is just known as the most beautiful place on the planet and you hope to be blessed enough to have a holiday there (at least that is what you should be thinking). Others who have had the pleasure of coming to one of our Australia day parties should know a lot more about the country (yes, there will be another one coming very soon. For us, it is a place of joy and sorrow. It is my home where I grew up, where God called me to be His own and where almost all of my family lives. It is a place of great need for the Gospel to go forth. Although there has been a surge in people going to the mega-churches, the numbers seem to indicate that they are mostly people leaving one church for another. It is estimated that about 5% of the population is evangelical Christian. I read a report this week that in the last 5 years the Bible has fallen from 5th to 20th as “the most influential book”. It is in the top 5 of most urbanised countries, a strange thing for me as a country boy. In all of this there are many people living for the Lord. In particular is a group of Young Life staff and volunteers who have been sacrificing for the Gospel, working in the schools and in the communities to share the Hope we have in Christ. It is to this group that we feel a deep sense of responsibility.

These are the people that started me in ministry, and never let me forget that my “2 year stint in America” is about 13 years over its limit. In my home town of Armidale there has been a great work going on amongst the Koori (aboriginal) kids and about 30 are now attending church on a regular basis. These young leaders really need some training and resources. The Koori culture has an affinity to the urban American culture, good and bad, and the community statistics could be those of our own Philadelphian neighbourhood. We are praying about taking a
bit of time in this transition to spend in Armidale training and equipping the leaders in their work. As you have read this, you may ask why we are not just going there to live if there is this need, why we are committing to CityNet and Philadelphia. Well, it is because of God. For reasons that only He seems to know, it would appear that He wants us in Philadelphia. Trust me that I have tried very hard to talk Him into sending us back to Australia long term, but He just won’t seem to budge on this one. I do think though that in His Grace He is allowing us a short time there. There are still many details to be worked out, such as the girls missing some school, but we think the timing is perfect with us transitioning into CityNet. Of course all of this also will allow all of you to come down to Australia. It will be a time of testing for you, to see if all those who have said “I always wanted to go to Australia” will now actually do it. And who knows, perhaps some of you will stay there, feeling God’s call to a lost people. No matter what, we are excited.

So, for those of you who skipped through, let me now highlight…

· We are leaving Wyoming Church
· We are starting with CityNet
· Our hope is to see neighbourhood churches doing ministry in their communities
· We still need all of your support, and a bit more
· We will be travelling around a bit to visit and raise the additional support
· We hope to spend a few months in Australia, training and equipping leadership

Shortly you should be receiving a letter from CityNets’s Executive Director and Board, telling you what amazing people we are and why they want us (at least I hope that is what it says).
New Information

Financial support information for tax deductible gifts- Checks should be written out to CityNet, designated for the Crosscombes, and mailed to:

City Net Ministries
P.O. Box 35189
Philadelphia, PA 19128

This all seems a lot, so please call or email with your questions, requests for information or to get booking details for your trip to visit us (you can visit us in Philly too, which would be almost as exciting as in Australia and certainly a lot cheaper for you).

It is in His Grace that we write this to you,

Coz, (on behalf of Joyce, Saiyeh, Melanie and Emma,
and our good friend Shana who is now living with us)