With any new missional endeavor, perhaps the most important question that needs to be answered is the question of “Why are we doing this?” As we launch this exciting new venture, we want to take just a moment to succinctly answer this question from both biblical and practical perspectives in regard to our new gathering. As in all things, it is wise to begin speaking to the biblical reason first.
At Crossing, we care deeply about all of the Bible and especially Jesus’ “Great Commandment” (Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength…) and His Great Commission (Go, therefore, into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you…) from the New Testament. Quite simply, the goal of everything we do as a church (including starting an evening service in Crescent Hill/St. Matthews) should be closely aligned with these two key passages. As leaders, we wholeheartedly believe that it is. The spirit embodied within new missional endeavors like this one and providing a new opportunity to begin to fulfill the Great Commandment and Great Commission and invite a new group of people to do the same seems to be the very heartbeat of what our Missional God has been about since the dawn of time.
In addition to this driving biblical reasons, we see the following practical benefits as well. The new P.M. Gathering allows us to…
- Reach an unreached group in a part of our city that needs a church like Crossing that seeks to faithfully preach the Bible and intentionally engage the culture. Many of us already have friends who are not yet on a journey with God or “floating” without a church that are unable to attend Crossing’s A.M. Gathering because of our location and/or service time. Launching a PM gathering opens a brand new ministry environment for them to begin to connect/re-connect with the Body of Christ.
- To grow larger and smaller at the same time. It is our current thinking as Elders that one of the best ways to make disciples in larger gatherings is to work to help keep those gatherings a little smaller. This way, people always have room to bring their friends, there can be an increased sense of community, and we can know who is missing when they aren’t there. Two smaller gatherings allow us to do that more effectively in addition to all of the other additional benefits we are listing.
- Provide increased Leadership Development Opportunities. One of our core passions as a church is that we seek to embody an Equipping Culture. We believe every member of the body of Christ is called to minister in some way. Two gatherings create even more opportunities to serve in a variety of capacities in every one of our Sunday ministries. This also provides a unique opportunity for the numerous individuals interested in church planting and other forms of ministry to get real-life experience to help discern if God truly is calling them to this kind of ministry without the pressure of having to start something from scratch immediately.
- Offer our servants the opportunity to “Attend One and Serve One.” We are so excited that so many people step up and serve the children in our community during our AM Gathering. Now we have the opportunity to encourage all who are able to attend one gathering to serve and another gathering to worship together as a body. We have hoped for this day for some time. An AM and PM gathering now makes it a possibility. It also allows us to invite and sit with friends on Sundays when we are serving.
- Rapidly multiply congregations in our effort to partner with other like-minded churches to ‘church the city.’ Obviously, church planting is a key part of who we are as a community. In fact, we are already making plans to plant our next church (this time in Louisville) within the next year. In many ways, even before that happens, starting a new gathering will allow us to deploy many of the resources that were unavailable to us when we first got started as a church plant such as the ability to share staff, equipment, volunteers, name recognition, many of the legal aspects of being a church, etc. while still extending to us many of the same missional benefits of a church plant. Many churches like Crossing are employing a similar model of church extension to expand God’s mission in the world.
So, in a nutshell, we are so excited to be a part of the work of God starting a new gathering for both biblical and practical reasons. We can’t wait to hear how God works in each of our lives as we serve together to make this new dream a reality. As always we welcome your volunteerism, thoughts, ideas and questions.
