New York City.
A black van is driving through the rural parts of the city. Two people are sitting in the back while another man drives them.
"Ooookay, we have less than 20 minutes until they start."
"I think I've got everything. Walter, any sign of the building?"
"Nothing yet, Mrs. Griffin."
"Okay....okay....."
Then as soon as they make a turn.
"Wait, stop. Stop! There it is! We're just a couple blocks away, we found it!"
The van pulls back out and drives forward past a few blocks. The van stops in front of a massive tall church, white mixed with gold patterns on the sides, decorated with multiple crosses, including a sculpture of a cross on top of the roof. The top structure of the building almost resembles the frontal view of a crown, and the parking lot on the opposite side of the road is completely packed.
The two people in the back of the van step out. A man and a woman.
The woman is African American and fairly short brown eyes, long black layered, curly hair, wearing a blue jacket and a green scarf, eagerly rushes out to the front of the steps, while a taller Caucasian man wearing a red beanie, and a tan jacket with black-white flannel underneath pulls out a tripod and a camera out of the backseat and the trunk.
The man driving the car, a slightly older man with grey hair, peeks his head out the window to the man in the back."I'm gonna turn Simon on the radio while I explore. You guys can call me when you're done here, Sidney."
"Kay. Thanks, dad."
The father begins to drive away, leaving the man and the woman alone. They both spend a couple minutes arranging their mics and setting up filming equipment as a small group of people begin walking up the steps right past them.
"Okay. That should be everything we need for the start."
"Alright, we've got 15 minutes! You ready?!"
"Have I ever not been ready?" The man turns on the camera. "And this episode will start in, three, two-!" Before he says one, he points to the woman while filming her.
The woman pulls a microphone out of her pocket. "Blessed is the DAY that the LORD has made!! Good morning everyone and welcome to FirstStar! I'm your host, Tamara Griffin. This is the first Sunday of May and I'm currently standing outside the front door of NYC's Church of the Rock. Ever since first opening its doors to the public little over a year and a half ago, this has immediately become one of the most popular and well-received churches in, not only the state of New York but all of the states in general. And today, the lead Senior Pastor, Simon H. Cosgrove, has invited us to join their service and we are so excited to step inside, meet all of the leaders who have given this church the status it currently has, and witness how God has been moving in this state through these people. Stay tuned for more as we enter the house of the Lord. As always, please be sure to follow us on all of the names on the screen, pause the footage to read them, you all know the drill! So let's sit back and MOVE IN!!"
"And cut!" The man turns off the camera and picks up the tripod. "I hope that enthusiasm wasn't just the coffee."
"Very funny. I've just read so many things about this place, and I'm ready to dive into everything." She picks you her bags and gestures to the man as she begins walking up the steps. "Well c'mon! Let's go, Richards!"
"Coming!"
They enter the church, and find possibly hundreds of people wandering the lobby and the hallways. The interior is already MUCH larger and wider than how it looks from the outside.
"My my, it really is bigger inside like they say. And wow.....whoever is in charge of the art here is top-notch. All of these paintings, and the wat-," Tamara gushed.
Right then a door opens beside them, and out comes a man in his late 50's, standing 6'3, with short spiky black hair, dressed in a suit and tie. He sees Tamara and beams with excitement and his eyes bug out with complete shock. "Oh my goodness, oh my goodness!! Uh, Mrs- Mrs. Griffin, oh good- good morning!"
Tamara just smiles brightly. "Oh, hello there! And, unless my eyes are deceiving me, you just be Pastor Cosgrove?" They shake hands.
"Ahh, yes yes! Guilty as charged. Oh my goodness, I didn't think you were actually going to come and step through our doors! Wow! This is- wow, this is amazing! I've been watching you guys for so long!"
The two reporters are beaming in response to the excitement from the older man.
"We're happy to hear that, Pastor."
"Oh and how could we say no to your lovely invitation?" Sidney boasted. "Pastor Cosgrove, we're so excited to see what you have in store for us."
"Are you kidding me? Everyone else today is probably gonna EXPLODE from the joy of the spirit when they find out who's here with us today!" Simon said before laughing.
"Well, how about we get a quick take with you?" Tamara asked.
"Oh, uh, yes YES! Of course!"
"Splendid! Sidney?" she asked turning around.
"I'm on it," Sidney said while positioning the camera tripod. He hits record. "We're not live streaming anything, we'll begin editing as soon as we get back to Texas. But, we're rolling!"
"Well look at who we just ran into! I am now standing with Pastor Simon Cosgrove himself, the lead senior pastor of this church. How are you doing today, Sir?"
"Why hello there, I am doing fantastic. A bit more excited than usual, but Sundays are always the fun days for me!"
"And why is that sir?"
"Well, I know this seems generic to say but, I'm always excited whenever I get to minister to my church and be a witness unto God's mighty power."
"Amen brother. Now we'll keep it short and sweet for right now since your service starts in 11 minutes, but real quick, would you mind telling us what inspired you to begin this church? Could you tell us, how exactly did God call you to your ministry?"
The entire time, Simon has been smiling like an excited little kid.
"Ahh, absolutely. So, my family and I are originally from Virginia and both of the Carolina's, that's where my wife and I grew up and where we raised our kids. But, then we came here to New York about a couple years ago for a new job offer, and, you know, after we had the unfortunate shutdown of Hillsong NYC, I just felt the Holy Spirit begin to speak unto me. Teiling me to- to keep an eye out for the right opportunity, that God was going to call me to bring a new ministry to the city, and He would let me witness an awakening.
"And so, my wife and I discovered this very building, abandoned and unowned, two years ago, and we believed that- we had everything coming together at the right time and before we knew it, we shaped this place up, we had the first members of our staff, and the doors were open practically within a fingersnap. And everything has only been....every single time I've ever said, there could be no other surprises you could throw at me God, I am ALWAYS proven to be wrong. God has, been more than faithful to us, and it is simply the greatest honor of my 59 years of life to be connected to all of this, to lead this place."
"And we've all heard about this staff of yours, we've all heard about the Disciples who follow your lead."
"Mm-hmm," Simon nodded. "And every single one of them will be present today, so I'm sure that-"
"Could you tell us why they're called that?" Sidney asked behind the camera.
"Huh?"
"Could you explain why the other leaders and staff members for this church, are referred to as the Disciples? There's a lot of people who ask the question- why do they have that name?" Sidney asked again.
"Oh yes yes. It's because, Jesus named his students as Disciples, and at the very beginning of Acts, Jesus ascends into Heaven after giving the instruction, 'go into the world, and make Disciples of all the nations.' And here we are in a new land, about 2,000 years later after our ancestors witnessed that same ministry. So here at this church, we take that instruction to heart, as anyone who serves the Lord beside us, no matter how long they've been here, no matter how old or young, they are all Disciples with us. And as such, you will find that, we have a great diversity of nations and races among our church, and we regularly train everyone who works for us with the same principals and teachings that Jesus taught unto his 12. We apply them into our work in the ministry, and into our daily lives, as we were always meant to practice the messages preached unto us."
"Interesting...."
"Hmm, well it sounds like the staff of this church is well trained, spiritually," Tamara commented.
"Absolutely, and to my ministry, preaching the Gospel accurately snd living my life as Christ would is always my first priority. And truly, I'm thankful that everyone loves my messages, and my commitment to preach from the Bible, but really without the help of every single person on my staff, including my kids Peter and Ashley, none of our work would be as truly anointed. I am grateful to be their mentor and to have their hand in this ministry. It's not just my hands that God is working through, its all of our hands, together."
"Spectacular, well we can't wait to speak to everyone and see the work all of you have put into this church and into the kingdom. We'll talk to you very soon but, I'm gonna let you hurry up and get ready to open up your service!" Tamara said.
"Yes, thank you so much." Cosgrove walks off. "I really hope you and the viewers enjoy it!!"
After filming that quick little discussion, they find the main Sanctuary and attend the service.
Two hours later, they reunite with Simon, and they give full interviews to him and to all of the Disciples for the church.
At 4:20 P.M., they finish up and reconnect with Cosgrove in his office after speaking to a tall red haired man. They are packing most of their equipment as Cosgrove shakes hands with the redhead. "Just so you know, I've got all of the screenshots ready, but I'm gonna need some help with the monitor's connection in a little bit."
"Thank you, Brian. Give me a little bit and I'll meet you there soon." Brian leaves and Cosgrove steps inside. "Listen, guys, I really REALLY appreciate everything you've done today, this is going to help us so much more than you know! I hope you've heard everything you were looking for."
"Very much so Mr. Cosgrove! I can safely assure you, sir, these people, and your work, you're all going to go somewhere incredible. Sidney and I are blown away by the people you have working here. They're all SO wonderful and wholesome!"
"Yes, the talks that we've had with them were amazing, you are so blessed to have them serving the kingdom with you."
"Thank you, Sidney. Every single one of them has been gifted with great talent and skill, I'm always learning new things with them. I, literally couldn't ask for anyone better to lead the church by my side," Cosgrove said. "Is there anything else I can do for you before you head back to San Antonio?"
"No, I think we have everything we need sir. Not unless there's another piece of the church's story that's missing, or if there's someone else we haven't gotten to yet."
"Here, take a look," Sidney said before passing over a journal to him. The page he's on is filled with names and the next one has notes. "This is the list of everyone we've spoken with today, along with specific notes that we'll remember to include later in editing,"
"Hmm. Well done."
"So what do you think? Do we need to add anyone?" Sidney asked.
Cosgrove reads through their names and sees that every single Disciple has already been seen. Then, he gets a text message from Brian for confirmation on edit choices for the upload of the sermon today. The text has 5 pictures, and.....he pays close attention to one of the photos, recognizing a girl in the crowd.
He has a look of......like he remembers something, and he turns his head to the side as if he heard something. He looks up to the ceiling, and whispers. "Really.....? Are- Are you sure.....?"
Tamara is humming one of the worship songs she heard during the service. However, Sidney hears Cosgrove's whisper and glances up at him.
Then Cosgrove takes a deep breath and nods. "Actually....."
"Hmm?"
"What is it?"
"Pardon me. There is still.........ONE last person that, I would like for you to meet...." he softly spoke.
"N- Now the thing is, this last person? She isn't officially a Disciple yet, she's still going through some training and we're figuring out some spots for her. But, when she's ready to join the team, the bar is gonna be set high. We have talent that can't be replaced among the Disciples here, commitment and loyalty that can't be beat among us. But, for this person......it will be nearly impossible, to find anyone else, with the same kind of faith as hers. Who sees and believes in God, the way that she does." He nods his head, sniffling with a smile. "And, the testimony that she carried, the story she has, you're not going to hear anything else like it. God has been anointing her, and I'm almost impatient, to see what she'll do with us."
Tamara purses her lips and pokes up her eyebrows. "Hmm. Well, she sounds quite ambitious. Is she in the building?"
He turns around to the door. "She.....I- I know she's still here. She usually does assists Victoria and the rest of the creative team. If you want, I can go get her and you can interview her last, if you still have enough time?"
The two of them look at each other and shrug and smile.
"Well, I don't see why not. Go ahead."
"Okay. Be right back." They both nod and he immediately walks out the door.
The two reporters look at each other for a moment and dicusss. "Hmm. I wonder what he was talking about by that. He's already got a number of remarkable people in his reach with amazing testimonies," Tamara said. "Like I NEVER thought I would see the day where Lu-"
"Is it just me?" Sidney asked, interrupting Tamara. "Or does it feel like, he was literally told to have us interview this last person right now? It....it sounded like he was praying about it just a moment ago. And he was almost hesitant...."
"Oh? Well, I didn't hear anything."
"It sounded like that to me. But....why would he be hesitant with, whoever this girl is, compared to like- half of the Disciples we've spoken to today?"
Tamara shrugs. "I guess we'll find out."
Four minutes later, Cosgrove returns and pokes his head through the door "Okay. I've got some business to attend to so, this is probably goodbye for us. It was a delight to meet you two, but, I'm gonna leave you all to it."
Tamara smiles. "You too sir. Have a good day."
"Thanks for everything today," Sidney said before waving.
He nods, then peeks out the door to the hall. "Ms. Mitchell? They're ready."
He opens the door and steps away, as a young woman steps into the room very nervously. She's shorter than Cosgrove but just about as tall as Sidney, so about 5'6. Upon first glance, she is stunningly beautiful, with bright baby blue eyes, a lovely, smooth complexion in her skin, and long wavy hair. Although, her hair is dyed with a very bright shade of pink, which is a surprise to both of them. Her choice of clothing is ALSO bizarre, given that it's the first Sunday of May. Despite how hot it was in the morning, she's wearing a gray fur scarf, a long-sleeved green sweater with a rose pattern, and black skinny jeans, along with small diamond earrings and a gemstone crucifix.
Cosgrove snickers. "Go easy on her," he said before closing the door behind her.
She nervously turns around when it closes and than looks back to the two. She sighs and smiles awkwardly. "Uh....uh- hi. N-Nice to meet you." She meekly approaches the two of them. "You're the people from FirstStar?"
Tamara shakes her hand tenderly. "Yes, sweetie. I'm Tamara Griffin, and this is my colleague Sidney Richards."
Sidney shakes her hand next. "I hope we're not intimidating to you Ms.-?"
"Oh it's, Cheyenne. Cheyenne Mitchell." She steps back. "Sorry, I- I remember seeing you both on TV before, and, really it's been a long, busy day. I just wasn't ready for this."
"I understand Cheyenne. Would you like to....?" Tamara points to a chair behind her.
"Oh, yes. Thank you." Cheyenne sits down in front of them. "So, what are we doing?"
"Well I'm sure you've already got the gist but, for the past couple hours, Sidney and I have been interviewing all of the Disciples here and your pastors, and, when we get back to Texas we're gonna edit it all for a video and an article for our sites. We were about to pack up everything until Pastor Cosgrove said there was one more person that we had to speak to."
Sidney waves his hand to present Cheyenne. "And here you are."
Cheyenne's eyes widen as she looks super surprised. "Oh? Okay. Well, I'm not a Disciple yet, but........almost," Cheyenne said, shrugging and chuckling nervously. "Sorry I just, wasn't expecting this today. I knew I should've dressed nicer for today."
"Aww no no no you look lovely Cheyenne." Cheyenne blushes. "And it's perfectly fine, we're just gonna ask you some simple questions, get to know you, learn what your goals are, and then you'll be free to go."
Sidney speaks up. "And please, don't be afraid to tell us if we ask something too sensitive. We want you to be comfortable, yeah?"
Cheyenne exhaled calmly. "Okay. Fire away."
Tamara helps attach a wire and a microphone to her sweater. "Alrighty then. So, Cosgrove mentioned that you're in training. Is there a specific position that you're hoping to obtain?"
"Yeah, uh, two things in particular. Mainly, I- I want to help start a ministry group separate for all of the women, because, I've led some book clubs in my high school years, and I always love planning out activities, so the pastors are helping me study on ministering and preaching. Which is good because I'm wanting to dive deeper into my faith anyway. But then also, I'm studying and practicing to, maybe become part of our worship team as I've been getting pulled more and more into praise and worship as of recently."
"Ahh, I see. So do you sing, or play anything?"
"I-I would like to learn how to play something but, tight personal schedule. And yeah I sing every once in a while, but it's been a while since I've- performed for anyone," she spoke with an unsure but giggly tone. "I'm not sure if I sound qualified or good enough, but I'm practicing a lot with one of our vocal coaches, so....we'll see what happens."
"Amen. Well, let me tell you, your guy's worship team, was ASTOUNDING this morning. So very talented, and they're incredibly authentic in their worship," Tamara complemented.
"Thank you. Yeah, their passion for Christ is something I really admire. And, we've got some of the BEST musicians I've ever known working with us."
Sidney sneezes. "Oof, sorry about that. Now, how old are you, Cheyenne, and how did you first get connected with The Rock?"
"Hmm. So I just turned 27 a few days ago, so I'm starting to get old." They both laugh playfully as Cheyenne giggles. "And, I've pretty much been here since the start. My- My best friend Albert, he made a connection with one of our leaders here a long while ago, and when the Cosgrove's were getting ready to open up the church, they invited him out here to join them. He got accepted and received the invitation and so, he dragged me along with him, hehehe. He's come a really long way since then, just like me."
"What does your friend do here?"
"Uh well, he's always been involved with the worship team ane he actually became one of our worship leaders about six months after we joined. But uh, his primary job in the church is being our youth pastor."
"Oh! Uh, Albert Johnson? Is that him?" Tamara asked.
"Yes ma'am," she said with a smile.
"Ahh, so YOU'RE the friend he was gushing so much about!" Tamara teased, causing Cheyenne to blush deeply. "He was such a delightful lad, and it sure sounds like you two are very close."
"Mm-hmm. Heh heh ha."
"You're in training now, so can you tell us what made you want to join the Disciples and become a leader for this church?" Sidney asked.
"Really, it's because of everyone else who works here," Cheyenne said. "In the time that I've spent here, I have made some amazing friends with all of the leaders. They're easily some of the most welcoming, wisest, and inspirational people I've ever met, and the ways that they've guided me and enlightened me on my Faith, it's something that I want to extend to others. The disciples have a specific image in my head, and I wanna be that image for someone else's life, help them with their struggles and beliefs."
"So do people notice you often?" Cheyenne's eyes briefly widen with a hint of confusion. "I mean....." Sidney points to her hair.
"Oh!" Cheyenne snorts and chuckles. "Yes, very often. I'm someone who likes to stand out in a crowd. You know, people like to point fingers at my fashion choices and appearance, but this is me so, deal with it! Haha."
"That's the spirit. Well, you seem very passionate and aspiring despite the appearance. It's all your choice sweetie, be yourself." Tamara said. "Are you seeing anybody?" she teased.
"Umm?! I- I haven't had anything like that in a while. At this time I'm just kind of, waiting for the right guy to show up."
"Fantastic. Now, before coming here you and Albert were living in Bakersfield?"
"Yeah. Quite a long ways but we lived there and we graduated from college in Fresno."
"Gotcha. So where were you living before then?"
"What?" Cheyenne's eyes widened even more while she asks in response.
"Well, this one's just out of curiosity. Whenever Albert mentioned you, he......he made it pretty clear that the two of you didn't grow up together as kids. It sounded like you randomly appeared in his life one day."
"Uh...?" Cheyenne starts to grow nervous. "Something like that. Um, before then I grew up in......a small Nevada city. You've- probably never heard of it."
"Okay. So, could you give us a quick summary of how you dedicated your life to God?" Tamara asked.
Right after that, Cheyenne goes silent and looks down to the floor. She looks like she's struggling to think about this, as if she's remembering something harsh. "I......I, I didn't, uh he...."
She suddenly looks really scared, and so they both look at her really concerned.
"Cheyenne? Are you alright?" he asked.
"What? Uh, yeah. Sorry. I, I just...." Cheyenne stops to close her eyes, and lowers her head. She begins to whisper to herself. "What is happening.....?"
Tamara and Sidney both notice this and raise an eyebrow.
After a moment, she takes a deep breath and opens her eyes to them. "Let me ask this. P-Pastor Cosgrove? He- He said that I had a- a 'story,' didn't he?" They nod. "Tch. Of course that's what's going on......."
"What do you mean?"
"Umm......well, he- he wasn't wrong about that. It's just that.......I haven't told that many people about it. And..... it's never been easy to talk about since it's not full of, fond memories......."
Sidney's eyes widen slightly as he grows concerned. "Ohh.....uh, sorry about that."
"This, is this a sensitive one?" Tamara asked.
Cheyenne begins to lift up her legs onto the chair, curling into a small little ball. "Sort of...." she spoke emotionally. "I.....I'm not the same......."
Cheyenne trails off before looking back down to the floor, tearing up briefly. She quickly lifts her head to the roof, opening up her watery eyes. Her cries are full of remorse and repentance.
"Is this really what you want.......?" she whispered softly.
"Cheyenne? Hey, Cheyenne. It- It's alright. You don't have to tell us about it if you don't want to. We understand, right Sidney?"
"Yeah absolutely," Sidney added. "Uh, in that case, then really we only have a few more-"
"No," Cheyenne interrupted. She looks back to them, taking a deep breath, wiping her eyes clean. "The truth is.....I've been running away from a...... specific part of my life for so long. It's.....it's almost too painful to look back and remember any of it now, but......I DO want to talk about it."
They squint at one another, looking unsure about her request. "How come?"
She looks up at them, straight into their eyes. "Because eventually.......I want the world to see who I am. Who I am now. You see? Right now, I'm not the same person who......almost everyone used to know me as. I've hurt a LOT of people, and I didn't mean to...... and when the time comes, I want them to see who I've become today." She looks back and often between them, then scratches her head. "But, there's one small problem."
"Problem?"
"Yeah. The story/testimony that I have is- it's kind of a long one. And for some of it, I just don't know how I could shorten it in any way," Cheyenne confessed. "So, do you think you might have enough time?" she softly asked.
Tamara and Sidney glance down for a moment in thought before briefly looking back at each other. Sidney turns to her. "Perhaps....I could make us a cup of tea real quick?"
"Sure."
So Sidney reaches into his bag and pulls out a brewing kit. Tamara steps up and hugs Cheyenne as Sidney quickly prepares three cups. She keeps apologizing saying I'm sorry but Tamara calms her down. As she steps away, Sidney passes the cup to her and she gently takes a sip while Tamara sits back down.
"Please, take as much time as you need. So, where is this going to take us?"
Cheyenne collects herself and sighs.
"I guess I......should start from the beginning. But, before I do this is all I have to ask: to whoever learns about this in the future, and to both of you, what I'm about to say, all I ask is that, none of you would look at me with judgment or exclusion. I'm not gonna sugarcoat anything, but, what I have to carry for the rest of my life, in not proud of any of it, and as much ss I wish I could go back and change everything, I believe that it was necessary for me to get to, this, incredible part of my life. And in the end, what I've learned is, what Jesus did for us, he did it all based on a choice. And, it's never too late to give him a chance. For everyone."
She looks back up to the two of them, and they lean forward in curiosity. Cheyenne smiles. "Yeah. I know that, my testimony is something that not everyone is going to accept or believe, but it feels like.....I've been pretending to be somebody that I'm not. Somebody who has always, 'known better,' for a long time. And......I'm tired of hiding. So, this is.......who I am, this is what I've done, and how, God showed me mercy even when I didn't deserve it at all." She sits up straight and takes another breath. "So.....are either of you familiar with the name- Cece Phoenix......?"
And Cheyenne Mitchell, our main character, begins to share her testimony with the FirstStar reporters.
Continue reading now, and let's take a look into WHAT this testimony IS.