The men of Jericho built the adjoining section,
and Zakkur son of Imri built next to them.
Nehemiah 3:2
The second group of people mentioned when Nehemiah wrote about those who helped rebuild the wall of Jerusalem are “the men of Jericho.” You may or may not realize this, but Jericho was a completely different city in Israel, some 15 miles from Jerusalem. Fifteen miles may not seem very far to us today because we have cars, but it was a long way back in Nehemiah’s day.
The men of Jericho could have said, “Why should we help with the wall of Jerusalem? Our own city has lots of needs. We should focus on Jericho, not Jerusalem!” But they didn’t! They unselfishly came to Jerusalem to help rebuild the walls knowing Jerusalem was an important city in Israel. And if Jerusalem was well protected, the whole land would be blessed by this!
Some at Crossroads might be tempted to say, “Why should I care about a 19,000 square foot multipurpose building that will be used mostly for teens and children? All of my children are grown. We should focus on what people our age need!” That would be a temptation. But I think we can all agree that the youth are the future of our church, of our country, and of Christianity! It is not a stretch to say that if the youth and children’s ministry grows well, then the whole church will be blessed! Plus, the new building will offer us overflow at Christmas and Easter, more classrooms during the week for Bible Studies, a second entrance and lobby on the north side of our building and more!
If you do not have children or youth who will be using the new facility, please pray and ask God if he wants you to sacrificially help so that Crossroads can have an ongoing, effective ministry in the future!
