Crossroads Info-Pack
Experience
The
Excitement!
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Why you should consider making this your church! 1. You will be part of an exciting new work of God! · God will bring new levels of excitement
to your life and to the life of the church.
2. You will be part of a family of people that genuinely care for each other! · At Crossroads people link together in small
groups for the personal side of caring, serving, 3. You will be part of a church that exists to serve its community and its people! · Crossroads exists for the benefit
of its members and non-members. Our reason for serving 4. You will have opportunities to utilize your
strengths and talents to serve others in
· At Crossroads we recognize that
every person was created uniquely by God.
5. Your entire family will be encouraged to grow spiritually and to help others grow too! · You will experience a church with
a commitment to building strong families
6. You will experience God in powerful, life-changing
ways as we work together to share
· God will strengthen your faith
and help you to trust Him more.
7. You will experience the marvel of participating with God as He brings this new church into the world! · God will work through you to accomplish
things that only He can do.
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“Our Mission is to help people come to Christ
“A fully devoted follower of Christ is a person whose life changed when they became a follower of Jesus Christ. They willingly learn God’s Word and apply it to their life. They seek the encouragement and mentoring of other Christians. Out of their love for Jesus Christ, they naturally share the hope and love of Jesus with other people and then train them to serve God with their lives.” Our Vision: "Seeking ... Christ and
Community! Our vision is to build a church where people can learn about God
in a safe, non-traditional setting. No pews, no pressure, just Bible
teaching that relates to everyday life, exciting contemporary music and
multi-media — all in a casual, friendly atmosphere!
We are called to be a relevant, contemporary, culturally-sensitive, church by reaching our friends, neighbors and associates through authentic love and Bible teaching. Our vision is to build on our prayer foundation with planned, intentional outreach, discipleship, small groups. |
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Why Perry? 1. Most People Don’t Go To Church Anywhere. This weekend only 30% of the people in our area will attend church anywhere. This means that the vast majority of people are not interested in what traditional churches have to offer. There is an obvious need to build a church that is sensitive to the needs and concerns of non-attenders. We in the
church assemble to love and serve the Lord and one-another, but we exist
primarily for the sake of our non-members. “How can they hear, unless
someone tells them!”
2. New Churches Are The Most Effective Form Of Evangelism Under The Sun! More people are won to Christ through the start of a new church than any other method of evangelism used today. We know many people who need Christ. Church growth expert, Bob Logan, cites the
following statistic:
We have prayed about the needs of this area and have asked God what our response should be. We believe He has directed us to plant a church that addresses the needs and concerns of the unchurched people of this area. We are a contemporary church that won’t present barriers for unchurched people to overcome. We don’t hound people for money, the preaching applies to everyday life, people aren't pressured into making a commitment, and they won’t be uncomfortable with the style of music or dress. “No pews, no pressure, just Bible teaching
that relates to everyday life, exciting
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God has directed us to focus on the unchurched and de-churched people in the vicinity of Perry, Iowa . We share this burden for the entire region. Below is a brief profile of our target audience:
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1. Pray For People. We believe that prayer is the instrument that God uses to prepare
our hearts for His use and to prepare the hearts of other people to seek
Him. As we humble ourselves in prayer and cry out to God on behalf
of the people we love, we know that Jesus Himself “is not willing
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”
When we pray for the souls of people, we are praying according to God’s
will. Therefore, we can be assured that He hears our prayers and
will answer them in His time. (2 Peter 3:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:1;
Ephesians 6:19-20)
2. Make Connections With People. We believe that Christians should be developing authentically intentional
relationships with unchurched people. Jesus said that He came “to
seek and to save the lost.” These verbs are active. We encourage
all of our people to actively relate with their unchurched friends, neighbors and co-workers. These relationships provide the
opportunity to invite people to our church and to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
We will utilize mail, newspaper and even radio advertising, but our most
effective connections are in the form of personal relationships. (Matthew 11:19; Titus 2:10; 1 Corinthians 9:22-23)
3. Share God's Love With People. God demonstrates His love for us by sending His Son, Jesus, to our world. Sharing the difference Jesus Christ has made in our lives is one of our
top priorities. We are creating an environment where unchurched people can
be comfortable while they investigate the message of Christianity. We
present Biblical truth and develop our understanding of its relevance to
our lives today. We don’t water down the Bible at all. We present it with freshness
and without sounding judgmental. We encourage every member of our
church to effectively present their "story" to their friends,
neighbors and co-workers. (Matthew 28:19-20; Philemon 6)
4. Help People Become Fully Devoted Followers of Christ. We focus on growth, maturity and multiplication. We believe
it is natural for every believer to grow spiritually, to continue growing
even into spiritual maturity, and to multiply their spiritual life into other people. We emphasize participation
in discipleship, small groups, service and evangelism. These are the factors that lead to
life transformation. (Ephesians 4:11-13; Colossians 2:6-7; Luke 6:40; John 13:35)
5. Plant More Churches. No one church can handle the needs or concerns of a single town or
a region. Churches have personalities. Different churches reach
different people. We are committed to being a part of a church planting
movement.
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view ministry process below: |
Reproducing Disciples
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1:1 Discipleship
Unchurched
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Commitment to Christ
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(What We Value And What Motivates Us!) Naturally, because we are a collection of diverse individuals, we all have slightly different values with regard to how we go about serving Christ. Yet certain common values unify our efforts and define our distinctives. Value 1: We believe that the Bible, the Holy Spirit and Prayer are the catalysts for transformation in individuals’ lives and in the church. Romans 12:7, 2 Timothy 3:16-17, James 1:23-25. Value 2: We believe that life-change happens best in the context of small groups. Luke 6:12-13, Acts 2:44-47. Value 3: We believe that lost people matter to God, and therefore, ought to matter to the church. Luke 5:30-32, Luke 15, Matthew 18:14. Value 4: We believe that the church should be culturally relevant while remaining doctrinally pure. 1 Corinthians 9:19-23. Value 5: We believe that Christ-followers should serve according to their spiritual gifts, with a genuine and loving spirit. . Ephesians 4, Hebrews 12:1, Philippians 1:6, Romans 12, John 13:34-35 Value 6: We believe that Christ-followers should give their best to God in every area of life and ministry. Colossians 3:17-23, Malachi 1:6-14, Proverbs 27:17, Ephesians 6:7. Value 7: We believe that both healthy Christians and healthy churches reproduce themselves spiritually by helping other people and other churches develop and grow. Matthew 5:13-16, Mark 9:50. A full statement of our
beliefs is found at
www.cmalliance.org |
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1. There is one God,(1)who is infinitely perfect,(2)existing eternally in three persons : Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.((33) [1 ] Deuteronomy 6::4,[2 ] Matthew 5::48,[3 ] Matthew 28::19)2. Jesus Christ is the true God and the true man.(4)He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary.5 He died upon the cross, the Just for the unjust,(6)as a substitutionary sacrifice,(7)and all who believe in Him are justified on the ground of His shed blood.(8)He arose from the dead according to the Scriptures.(9)He is now at the right hand of Majesty on high as our great High Priest.(10)He will come again to establish His kingdom, righteousness and peace.(11)([4 ] Philippians 2::6-11,[5 ] Luke 1:36-38,[6 ] I Peter 3::18,[7 ] Hebrews 2::9,[8 ] Romans 5::9,[9 ] Acts 2::23 –24,[10 ] Hebrews 8::1,[11 ] Matthew 26::64)3. The Holy Spirit is a divine person,(12)sent to dwell, guide, teach, empower the believer,(13)and convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment.(14)([12 ] John 14::15 –18,[13 ] John 16::13,Acts 1:9,[14 ] John 16::7 –11)4. The Old and New Testaments, inerrant as originally given, were verbally inspired by God and are a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men. They constitute the divine and only rule of Christian faith and practice.(15)([15 ] 2 Peter 1::20 –21, 2 Timothy 3:15 –16)5. Man was originally created in the image and likeness of God:(16)he fell through disobedience, incurring thereby both physical and spiritual death. All men are born with a sinful nature,(17)are separated from the life of God, and can be saved only through the atoning work of the Lord Jesus Christ.(18)The portion of the unrepentant and unbelieving is existence forever in conscious torment;(19)and that of the believer, in everlasting joy and bliss.(20)([16 ] Genesis 1::27,[17 ] Romans 3::23,[18 ] 1 Corinthians15:: 20 –23,[19 ] Revelation 21::8,[20 ] Revelation 21::1 –4)6. Salvation has been provided through Jesus Christ for all men; and those who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God.(21)([21 ]Titus 3:4 –7)7. It is the will of God that each believer should be filled with the Holy Spirit and be sanctified wholly,(22)being separated from sin and the world and fully dedicated to the will of God, thereby receiving power for holy living and effective service.(23)This is both a crisis and a progressive experience wrought in the life of the believer subsequent to conversion.(24)([22 ] 1 Thessalonians 5:23,[23 ] Acts 1:8,[24 ] Romans 6:1 –14)8. Provision is made in the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ for the healing of the mortal body.(25)Prayer for the sick and anointing with oil are taught in the Scriptures and are privileges for the Church in this present age.(26)([25 ] Matthew 8:16 –17, [26 ] James 5:13 –16)9. The Church consists of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, are redeemed through His blood, and are born again of the Holy Spirit. Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, (27)which has been commissioned by Him to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations.(28)The local church is a body of believers in Christ who are joined together for the worship of God, for edification through the Word of God, for prayer, fellowship, the proclamation of the gospel, and observance of the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord ’s Supper.(29)([27 ] Ephesians 1:22 –23,[28 ] Matthew 28:19 –20,[29 ] Acts 2:41 –47)10. There shall be a bodily resurrection of the just and of the unjust; for the former, a resurrection unto life;(30)for the latter, a resurrection unto judgment.(31)([30 ] 1 Corinthians 15:20 –23,[31 ] John 5:28 –29)11. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent(32)and will be personal, visible, and premillennial. (33)This is the believer ’s blessed hope and is a vital truth which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.(34)([32 ] Hebrews 10:37, [33 ] Luke 21:27,[34 ] Titus 2:11 –14)
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What We’re Doing To Get This Church Started! 1. Hold Services That Relate to Every Day Life Each Sunday have exciting weekly worship and celebration services in addition to various midweek small group Bible studies. We use personal invitations, direct mail, newspaper, posters, brochures, word of mouth, acts of servant love and more. What ever it takes, we’re doing it! We’re pulling out all the stops because we’re excited about what God is doing and we want others to experience God's love too! We believe that a big part of the process is providing value-added meetings to which people will want to return and invite their friends to come with them!
Follow this link for info. regarding
when
and where we meet.
2. Vision Casting Aside from our Sunday morning services, we meet as a Small Groups at a different locations for worship, prayer, Bible study, vision casting and community building. These meetings are a great place to learn the Bible and to explore issues and questions that relate to every-day Christian living. We'd love for you to join us! Our
Sunday Morning
services give people a chance to catch the vision of Crossroads and see
if this is something that excites them. People will begin to buy
into the vision more readily once they have experienced it! It should
be illegal to have this much fun in church!!
3. Build & Equip Our goal is to build and equip teams of people who are mature in Christ
and built up in the Bible to be able to handle the trials of life and help lead
in our mission. There's a place at Crossroads for every person to fit in
and get involved! We provide opportunities for people to utilize their
God-given talents and gifts so they can make a vital contribution and discover
personal fulfillment in their service.
4. Multiply Our plan is to multiply ourselves. The first level of multiplication
is to reach others with the love of Christ and guide them into a meaningful
relationship with Jesus Christ. As we grow in our knowledge and
application of the Bible, we will share what we've discovered with still more
people. This process becomes self-perpetuating, and so the church grows.
We seek to invest our lives and energies into other people who will catch God's
vision for the church and reaching people with the love of Jesus Christ.
We desire to see people grow and mature in each area of their spiritual lives,
and we recognize that this can only happen in an environment where growth is
fostered and encouraged.
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What’s expected of people? 1. Protect The Unity Of Our Church.
2. Share The Responsibility Of Our Church.
3. Serve In The Ministry Of Our Church.
4. Support The Testimony Of Our Church.
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Who We Partner With In Ministry! 1. The Local Community It is vitally important to be involved in the communities in which we serve. The Rotary Club and the Chamber of Commerce have no direct control over who we are or how we minister, but if we mean business about serving our community, we need to have a finger on the pulse of the community. Being involved in service organizations is one way we communicate our intention to serve! It also provides us with insight into the make-up and needs of the community. 2. Our Association Of Churches We are a part of a group of evangelical Bible churches. "Evangelical" meaning that we share the good news of God's love with others. "Bible" identifies the only source of truth and authority which we follow. Our association grew out of a 130 year old Bible study and missions movement which eventually became known as the Christian and Missionary Alliance, of which we are members of the Mid-America District. 3. Life-Giving Churches We also associate and cooperate with other churches who believe in
the basic tenets of our faith such as the Biblical teaching of salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ alone. Life-giving churches do not
differ from each other in the essentials of Biblical Christianity.
A great motto is, “In the essentials -unity; in the non-essentials -liberty;
in all things -love!” Life-giving churches help others to experience life
in Christ. We gladly participate with life-giving churches to further
the expansion of the Kingdom of God. We pray for all life-giving churches to
grow in faith and in numbers, even those in our own community. One church
will not effectively reach its entire city for Christ.
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