Rusty George was welcomed as the new lead pastor of Crossroads Christian Church, Grand Prairie, Texas, on Oct. 15.
“We are incredibly humbled and honored to be part of the incredibly rich legacy and history of this amazing church,” George said upon being introduced. George—lead pastor of Real Life Church in Valencia, Calif., for the past 20 years—had preached at CCC a few times since the retirement of Barry Cameron early last year. During that time, George said, “We have fallen in love with you and who you are.”
George said he and his wife, Lorrie, “just always thought that we would finish there [at Real Life] and we would die there.” But their two daughters and their parents now live in Missouri, he said, “and we just thought, maybe this is the time we need to think about moving closer to them.”
In his message, George encouraged the people of Crossroads to keep their focus on people outside the church.
“We want to be a place where you can bring your friend who says, ‘I am done with church.’ We want to be blessed to be a blessing.” He encouraged the people to pray, “God, give us your heart for this community.”
Ken Idleman was one of several speakers who introduced George. Idleman said he has known George since CCC’s new minister was a high schooler. George then attended Ozark Christian College, where Idleman was serving as president.
“You are getting one of the best,” Idleman told the church. George has a pastor’s heart and is a collaborative leader, Idleman said, and “he preaches in a way that reaches your head and your heart without offending our conscience.”
George is a “unique individual,” Doug Crozier of The Solomon Foundation told CCC. “He knows how to lead the church, knows how to grow the church, knows how to communicate with the church, [and he] has the passion and drive to find ways to expand the church.”
During the two decades George was at Real Life, the church grew from a few hundred people meeting in a movie theater to thousands of people meeting in multisites while the church simultaneously planted more than 20 churches.
Via video, Drew Sherman of nearby Compass Christian Church, called George a “great friend,” and then added, “I’m so excited to have him partner with us in Dallas-Fort Worth.”
Rusty George concluded his remarks that day by saying, “We are thrilled to be part of [Crossroad’s] legacy, but we’re even more excited about being part of your future.”
At Real Life Church in California, Mike Breaux is now serving as interim lead pastor.
I am beyond excited with this great news! I lived in Bakersfield Ca and we would make the drive on Sundays to Real Life and hear the Lord’s word from Pastor Rusty and now living here in north Fort Worth I cant wait to follow him in his new journey!
I visited family in November and made sure I went to church on Sunday right before their Revival week I came back happy i got to hear his message but sad I wouldn’t be part of their Revival week yet excited to hear he was coming to Texas and I would get the chance to continue my path with our Lord with his guidance. I would love to know when would his journey start, please. Thank you.