There are a number of ministry areas and programs that have developed names and acronyms over the years. They are the “language” of Cross of Hope members but are not known to those new to the community. Below are some:

Alpha  First letter of the Greek alphabet; a course for those who want to explore the basics of Christian faith.

Connection Center  Near the entrance, the center contains information about Cross of Hope; ministry job descriptions; ministry opportunities. 

COH  Cross of Hope Church

COHLS  Cross of Hope Lutheran Elementary School. Cross of Hope’s developing elementary school. Kindergarten through 5^th grade.

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COHLPS  Cross of Hope Lutheran Preschool. A preschool for three and four year-olds, state certified, using a developmentally appropriate approach. Cross of Hope Preschool is an Accredited Member School of the Association of Christian Schools International.

Congregation Council  The elected leaders and planner of Cross of Hope. Consisting of twelve members, they meet monthly; they are also the board of trustees of the church.

DOFBO  Also known as DOFO; Director of Financial and Business Operations. Greg Morrison. Handles all accounting at Cross of Hope, directs development of budget; receives all requests for money and issues all checks.

ELCA  Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Formed in 1987 out of a number of smaller Lutheran bodies or groups, it is comprised of almost five million members, 15,000 congregations, and 20,000 clergy. It does foreign missions, seminary education, and pension administration.  

Executive Committee  Council officers; president, vice president, treasurer, secretary, and Pastor. They meet once-a-month on the Tuesday before council to set the agenda and deal with day-to-day matters of the congregation.

FPU  Financial Peace University

Koinonia  A Greek word meaning “fellowship;” it was adopted by the early church to characterize Christian fellowship; it is also the name of the small groups at Cross of Hope.

Las Posadas  A Mexican tradition of re-enacting Joseph and Mary’s search for a place for the birth of Jesus. At Cross of Hope we do Las Posadas the second Sunday of December each year, using donkey, costumed Mary and Joseph, and traditional singing by Mariachis.

Lutheran  A term for Christians who gathered around Martin Luther’s evangelical mandate. First used as a put-down.

MOPS  Mothers of Preschoolers. Twice-a-month meeting of preschool mothers to enhance skills, celebrate motherhood, and enrich the lives of their children.

Pastor  Title given to the leader of a congregation in the Lutheran tradition. It implies the relationship of a shepherd to a flock.  

RMS  Rocky Mountain Synod. A group of 175 churches in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, Utah, and El Paso, Texas, of which Cross of Hope is a part. The Synod does mission, guides candidates for ministry.

MHY  Mid High Youth. Cross of Hope’s youth group for young men and women in the sixth through eighth grade.

SHY  Senior High Youth. Cross of Hope’s youth group for young men and women in the ninth through twelfth grade.

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SMOREs  Stewardship, Mission OutReach, Evangelism, and a little “s” on the end because it includes all of us.

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Spiritual Gifts  Gifts given by the Holy Spirit for the building and strengthening of the church. These are mentioned and listed in many places: Romans 12; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 4. At Cross of Hope we use gifts to connect people to ministry.

W³  Walking In The Way Wednesdays. Cross of Hope’s midweek ministry for all ages. It includes play time (games), meal time, worship time (singing, drama), and Bible study including (confirmation for 6, 7, and 8^th graders).

VBS  Vacation Bible School. Cross of Hope has three: 1) Rainbow Trail Day Camp, for first through eighth graders; 2) Preschool, for three and four year-olds; 3) Special Needs, for developmentally challenged young people.

WOW  Women on Wednesday. Meets 1st and 3rd Wednesday of each month for Bible study at Cross of Hope, 9:30 am.