After four years serving Dobson Ranch Church—long before it carried the name Crossroads—Pastor Mark Fuller began to sense that something unseen was quietly taking shape. On the surface, everything looked familiar. The same buildings. The same three-acre property. The same rhythms of church life. But underneath it all, there was a growing awareness that God was stirring something far larger than the space the church occupied.

That awareness came into focus during a board retreat during the fall of 1988. It was a simple setting—folding chairs in a circle, notepads in hand, coffee cups growing cold. Around the room sat leaders who loved the church deeply and cared passionately about its future. They talked. They prayed. They listened carefully to one another. And somewhere in the middle of those conversations, something shifted.

What had felt like a discussion began to feel like a discovery.

There was no dramatic interruption. No booming voice. No moment anyone could point to and say, That’s when it happened. Instead, there was a quiet weight in the room—a shared sense that God Himself had drawn near. It settled gently but firmly, like a hand on the shoulder, whispering, Pay attention. I am doing something new.

“It wasn’t loud or dramatic,” Pastor Mark Fuller later reflected. “It was more like a settled weight in your chest that said, ‘Pay attention—God is at work.’”

By the end of the retreat, the board framed a bold motion: relocation. Not a renovation. Not an expansion for comfort’s sake. But a willingness to move—to let God stretch the reach and influence of the church beyond what was familiar or predictable. Yet Pastor Fuller knew that a decision on paper was only the beginning. Plans could be drafted. Budgets presented. Blueprints imagined. But buildings alone do not move churches. Hearts do.

For real change to come, the people of the church needed more than agreement—they needed vision. They needed to believe that God could do more than they had ever asked or imagined.

They needed space to wonder.

Looking back, that retreat marked a quiet threshold. Nothing visible changed that day. No land was purchased. No construction began. But something far more important took place.

God lifted the eyes of His leaders and planted a holy curiosity about what might be possible if the church trusted Him fully. It was a moment filled with anticipation rather than answers, faith rather than certainty. And it became the beginning of a journey that would reshape the future of the church in ways no one in that room could have fully predicted.

Sometimes God’s greatest work doesn’t begin with action, but with attention—with hearts willing to listen, to wonder, and to take the next step when the time comes. For Crossroads Nazarene Church, that moment of wonder was just the beginning.

The stories that follow revolve around the topic of “wonder.” They make for a great read. Not only the stories but the graphics, all contributed by Dr. Rich Jacobs. His astronomical hobby not only brings awe and wonder, but also peace.

Can a “wink” bring wonder? Flash Testimonies reveal what God is doing to transform lives.

Katie Fountain shares how God creates wonder even in the midst of hardship.

Yes, “wonder” comes in special moments, but Pastor Tara describes how, for the believer, wonder permeates all of life.

In Honey in the Rock, there are recipes for super-moist cakes that are sure to spark a sense of wonder.

Life that crosses borders and follows an ever-curving line is Lorna Rodgers' story. Even the times of heartbreak and loss couldn’t smother the awesome work of provisions of God for every need.

Questions? Our young adults have plenty as they grow in their faith.

Oh, the wonder of it all.

This is the North America Nebula (NGC 7000) 

It gets its name because the glowing red cloud closely resembles the shape of the continent of North America.

The curved bright edge at the lower left forms what looks like “Mexico,” while the broader bright region above resembles “the United States.” A dark lane cutting in from the right suggests the “Gulf of Mexico.”

Located in the constellation Cygnus, the North America Nebula lies about 2,000 light-years from Earth, glowing with the light of energized hydrogen gas.