[Through our] relationship with Noel, we have grown tremendously in our understanding of others living in the margins of our society. Noel helped us to move from a black/white association toward a more full expression of the American experience of Asian, Native American, Latinos and being more inclusive towards the great diversity we have in America. His voice has been a tremendous asset to CCDA, the body of Christ and God's kingdom. . . . We are sure that you will learn much and be encouraged to live out your faith in new and different ways by reading this book.
-From the Foreword by John Perkins and Wayne Gordon
Part memoir. Part Bible study (in the best sense). Part training guide in community development. Part invitation to revolution. Noel Castellanos is one of the most influential leaders in the country guiding one of the most beautiful movements in the world, CCDA. I am honored to call him a friend and teacher . . . and many of us have been waiting for this book a long time.
-Shane Claiborne,
author and activist
Where the Cross Meets the Street is a truly inspiring testimony to all that God can do in our lives, our barrios and our country. Noel Castellanos has provided us with a rich resource for ministry - particularly for those of us who motivate and guide young leaders, who seek to encourage and empower impoverished communities and who hope for a church that is faithful to the incarnate Lord by practicing mision integral (holistic mission). It's also a wonderfully fun and easy read. I couldn't put it down.
-Alexia Salvatierra,
pastor, consultant, author of Faith-Rooted Organizing
Noel Castellanos not only preaches and teaches on a holistic ministry of evangelism and community development, he embodies it. Noel's story, told through this timely and significant book, will encourage and challenge Christians everywhere to engage in the ministry of the hope of the cross lived out in the street. Through his life story, his ministry, his leadership of CCDA and now through this text, Noel Castellanos offers the possibility of a vibrant Christian faith not contained by the walls of a church building.
-Soong-Chan Rah,
author of The Next Evangelicalism
Noel is a leader of the times and a champion of the practitioner. This book takes twenty-five plus years of experience and gives us lessons and testimony to how CCDA brings the cross alive and makes it relevant today.
-Leroy Barber,
global executive director, Word Made Flesh
The book reads like a modern day gospel story - it is very personal, intimate, engaging, challenging and through real stories of life presents the affirming and transformative power of Christian witness. It reads like a good novel, but it is profound theology at its best!
-Virgilio Elizondo,
professor of pastoral and Hispanic theology, University of Notre Dame
If you're tired of a disengaged Christianity, Where the Cross Meets the Street is the book for you. More than a book, it's an invitation to a journey of transformation and maturity. Noel, in sharing his own journey with us, calls us to a gritty and incarnational faith that forces us to see Christ in unexpected places. I found myself saying, 'Amen!' out loud. Every generation of Christians needs genuine street prophets - in Noel we have one.
-Gabriel Salguero,
president, National Latino Evangelical Coalition
Where the Cross Meets the Street reads like a novel. I couldn't put it down. With candor, humility and humor, Noel invites his readers to accompany him on his personal journey from obscure poverty to national prominence. The book is both emotionally touching and prophetically convicting. Inspiring.
-Bob Lupton,
founder of FCS Urban Ministries
As someone who has ministered among the urban poor for the last fifteen years, this is the book I wish I had in my hands when I started. Noel Castellanos is an elite urban theologian, practitioner and dear friend to those on the margins. I have learned so much from Noel these past ten years and am thrilled he has accomplished the mighty task of putting his insight and experience into writing. My prayer is that this book will become incarnate in you as you incarnate the grace, truth and future of Jesus to those you serve.
-John Teter,
church planting team leader, Evangelical Covenant Church
