Threshold

Moving from CONSUMING to CULTIVATING

learn about our 2025-26 ministry vision

Lent: Fasting Practices

Threshold: A Three Part Invitation

To cross a threshold is to move from one place to another. We speak of this when we pass through a doorway from one room to another. We use this language to describe when we enter into a new stage in life...be it in our vocation, or in a relationship, or in some other area of life we value. Thresholds are being crossed all the time. But the ultimate threshold is to move into deeper discipleship to Jesus.

Moving from "Christians" to Disciples

Moving from "Christians" to Disciples

Becoming disciples is the goal. This cannot and will not change year to year. Therefore, it’s imperative that we always start here, remembering the invitation of Jesus…Follow me.

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Moving from Consuming to Cultivating

Moving from Consuming to Cultivating

For the 2025-26 ministry year, we are focusing on the threshold of moving from consuming to cultivating. By God's grace we desire to be a gospel greenhouse where people are seen, welcome, and known.

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Moving from Trying to Training (spiritual practices)

Moving from Trying to Training (spiritual practices)

But how do we move from consuming to cultivating? That’s where we must embrace training, not simply trying. In other words we are invited to follow the very practices of Jesus. To that end, we are inviting you to recover the ancient practice of hospitality as well as fasting during Lent.

Lent 2026: Fasting

Helping you move from CONSUMING to CULTIVATING
At it’s core, fasting is to intentionally abstain from consumption, for a period of time, for spiritual purposes.

Fasting is intended to help direct our attention toward God, rather than on self. 

To fast is to abstain. It’s a practice we are moving toward as a church to help combat the rampant consumeristic tendencies we all battle.

We are praying that fasting becomes a means by which we experience more of God’s grace to become cultivators of relationships where people can be seen, welcome, and known. 

Now if you’ve been around CrossPointe the past few months, you know we spent the Fall of 2025 focused on the practices of feasting and hospitality. These are practices focused on partaking rather than abstaining. 

Both are needed. 

Though people fast at various times, we are choosing as a church family to fast during the season of Lent (February 18 - April 2)


Give time to thinking about the “proper place”

Technology is in its proper place when it starts great conversations. It’s out of its proper place when it prevents us from talking with and listening to one another. Technology is in its proper place when it helps us take care of the fragile bodies we inhabit. It’s out of its proper place when it promises to help us escape the limits and vulnerabilities of those bodies altogether. Technology is in its proper place when it helps us acquire skill and mastery of domains that are the glory of human culture (sports, music, the arts, cooking, writing, accounting; the list could go on and on). When we let technology replace the development of skill with passive consumption, something has gone wrong. Technology is in its proper place when it helps us cultivate awe for the created world we are part of and responsible for stewarding. It’s out of its proper place when it keeps us from engaging the wild and wonderful natural world with all our senses. Technology is in its proper place only when we use it with intention and care. If there’s one thing I’ve discovered about technology, it’s that it doesn’t stay in its proper place on its own; much like my children’s toys and stuffed creatures and minor treasures, it finds its way underfoot all over the house and all over our lives. If we aren’t intentional and careful, we’ll end up with a quite extraordinary mess. - Andy Crouch, The Tech-Wise Family

make your smartphone dumb
(move things off your phone that you can do on your computer)

keep utility apps, remove distraction apps - get brick.app
(social media, email, news apps, games, video apps, shopping apps, web browsers)

eliminate or limit consumption via screens
(TV, gaming, cable news)

no digital devices over dinner
(or any meal)

wake up before your device, and go to bed without  your device

one hour a day & one day a week turn off your devices
(worship, feast, play, rest)
Fast from "Want" Purchases 
(try and focus on essential needs)

Fast from Categories of Purchases 
(coffeeshops, fast-food, takeout, etc.)

Fast from using Credit/Debit cards 
(use a cash envelope system)

Fast from spending for Self & instead Give to others

Fast from Acquiring or Replacing 
(instead repair, reuse, borrow, or do without)

Fast from Advertising, Influencers, and Research of Products
(unsubscribe from texts/emails, delete shopping apps, etc.)

Fast from Impulse purchases
(commit to waiting at least 48 hours)

From from Entertainment spending
(enjoy nature, get a library book, etc. )

Ideas for Fasting from Food

Pick a day that works for you. Throughout church history, Wednesdays and Fridays have been prioritized as fasting days, but there is a ton of freedom here. So again, pick what works best for you. 

One of the most common, historical ways to fast is to abstain from breakfast and lunch, and then break your fast at dinner. So for example, if you decide to fast on Wednesday, you would conclude your eating with Dinner on Tuesday night, and then abstain from breakfast and lunch on Wednesday. 

Though some people choose to fast from food and liquid, we would recommend fasting from food but staying hydrated with water throughout the day. 
If you’re used to drinking coffee, feel the freedom to do so but consider drinking it black to stay in a fasting state. 

If a full day seems overwhelming, try abstaining from breakfast and then break your fast at lunch or mid-afternoon. 

If you’re looking to do more, consider picking two days per week to fast for a period of time. 

You can also do a partial fast, where you choose to fast from particular kinds of foods for a period of time (like Lent). 

Got Questions

Check out this helpful resource (used with permission from Citizens Church in Charlotte, NC)

Remember & Recount 
how you’ve been welcomed and received 

Linger
Resist the urge to rush out—stay a few extra minutes after church, group, or events. Give space for spontaneous connection and meaningful conversation.

Engage Someone New
Make it a habit to introduce yourself to someone you don’t know. Ask questions like, “How long have you been coming here?” or “What brought you today?”
Extend Invitations
Invite someone to coffee, lunch, a walk, or to join you for an activity you enjoy (sports, crafting, hiking, etc.). Be specific and follow through—“I’m free Thursday; want to grab coffee?”
Celebrate & Honor Life Moments
Recognize and celebrate milestones like birthdays, new babies, graduations, new jobs, retirements, moves, or even the “last first day of school.”
Host Something Casual
Cultivate low-pressure gatherings such as:
  • Game or Puzzle Night – Pull out a simple board game, card game, or community puzzle. People can join in or just chat on the side.
  • Soup & Bread Night – Make one pot of soup (or even buy it pre-made) and serve with bread. Super easy and comforting
  • Potluck Snack Night – Ask everyone to bring a snack or drink to share. That way the burden doesn’t fall on the host.
  • Fridge-Clean Out Potluck – Everyone brings a container of leftovers from their fridge (or pantry odds and ends). You lay it all out buffet style, and people try small bites of each.
  • Outdoor Firepit or Porch Hangout – If you have outdoor space, just gather with blankets, chairs, and maybe s’mores. Very casual.
Write Words that Build Up
Send a handwritten note, email, or text message to affirm someone—share what you see in them, how they’ve encouraged you, or just that you’re thankful for them.
Follow Up with Care
When someone shares about an upcoming appointment, test, or challenge—set a reminder to check in afterward. A simple “Been thinking of you—how did it go?” means a lot.
Take Someone a Meal
Sign up (or initiate) a meal train when someone is sick, had a baby, or is overwhelmed. Keep it simple—order takeout, drop off frozen meals, or make a double portion of your dinner.
Share Resources
Be willing to allow others to use/borrow what you have
Pray for Guests and New Opportunities 
Got plans with someone, pray for them before your meeting. Going to a gathering, pray for opportunities to extend welcome to others.
Grow as an Illuminator
Learn the art of question asking
Books on Spiritual Disciplines in General

Practicing the Way by John Mark Comer

Books on Hospitality & Community in Particular

The Life You're Looking For by Andy Crouch

Making Room by Christine D. Pohl

Reaching Out by Henri Nouwen

What people revere, they resemble, either for ruin or for restoration.

G.K. Beale, We Become What We Worship

The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who…are identified as “Christians” will become disciples—students, apprentices, practitioners—of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from him how to live the life of the Kingdom of the Heavens into every corner of human existence.

Dallas Willard, The Great Omission

Because we lack a divine Center our need for security has led us into an insane attachment to things. We really must understand that the lust for affluence in contemporary society is psychotic. It is psychotic because it has completely lost touch with reality. We crave things we neither need nor enjoy. “We buy things we do not want to impress people we do not like.” It is time we awaken to the fact that conformity to a sick society is to be sick.

Richard Foster, Celebration of Discipline

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Discipleship is not a solo endeavor. Get connected with others from CrossPointe to grow in your discipleship to Jesus.

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