Articles for tag: Crossroads Christian Church

ICOM 2012: Radical . . . Again

By Dave Butts “Radical . . . Again.” The theme for the 2012 International Conference on Missions (ICOM) November 15-18, was more than a clever title pulled from a popular Christian book. It was an apt description of a conference committed to challenging Christians to meet the needs of an increasingly desperate world in every way possible. Preaching, workshops, worship, exhibits, and service projects combined to call those thousands who attended to deeper levels of global impacting discipleship. It was appropriate the inaugural meeting of ICOM, formerly the National Missionary Convention, was in Indianapolis. The Indianapolis Convention Center is always

Don”t Ignore Your Debt, Eliminate It!

By Barry L. Cameron In December 1999, my family decided to do something about our finances. We were fed up with money problems and bothered by endless bills and perennial payments on stuff that was falling apart, in need of repair, or already in a landfill. We didn”t go to a financial planner, nor did we mine the endless array of financial resources available. We went back to the Word of God. We figured the One who created everything and owns everything could give us the guidance we needed to clear up our financial mess. Early on, I found a

Church Outreach Extends to Self-Service Laundries

By Jennifer Taylor Once a month, volunteers from Crossroads Christian Church (Lexington, KY) serve others. But instead of washing feet, they”re washing clothes. Brent Barger, outward focus lead pastor at the church, started Crossroads” “Laundry Love” outreach after successfully implementing it at a church plant in northern Ohio. “It”s simple,” he says. “We visit a local self-service laundry on a Saturday morning and do people”s laundry for free.” Each volunteer has a specific assignment, from welcoming customers to keeping track of each person”s laundry to roaming the room with rolls of quarters. They don”t load laundry into the machines””most of

A Call for Passionate Commitment

By Kent E. Fillinger Crossroads Christian Church (Corona, California), has grown from 5,400 to more than 8,400 in average worship attendance during Chuck Booher”s first four years, with annual growth rates of 17 to 21 percent. Beyond that, Crossroads has had the best baptism ratio among megachurches for three consecutive years. Last year, Crossroads baptized people at twice the rate of the average megachurch, based on the number of baptisms per 100 people in attendance. Booher quickly identified the biggest contributor to this recent growth surge as the conscious shift from a “seeker sensitive” approach to a call for passionate

Megachurches: The 2011 List

Our annual megachurch chart is one of CHRISTIAN STANDARD”s most popular features. This year there are more than 100 churches listed as megachurches (those with 2,000 or more in weekly attendance) or emerging megachurches (those with average attendance of 1,000 to 1,999). Click here to look at the chart of the 2011 Megachurches and Emerging Megachuches.

Solomon Foundation Offering Church Loans

By Jennifer Taylor The Solomon Foundation, a new church extension fund for the Christian churches and churches of Christ, launched several months ago with headquarters in Englewood, CO. Doug Crozier, formerly president of Church Development Fund (Irvine, CA), serves as chief executive officer of the new organization. Crossroads Christian Church (Grand Prairie, TX) and Christ”s Church of the Valley (Peoria, AZ) worked with Crozier and his team to fund the development and launch of the foundation. Leaders from Mount Pleasant Christian Church (Greenwood, IN), Real Life Ministries (Post Falls, ID), The Crossing (Quincy, IL), and Churchill Meadows Christian Church (Toronto,

Operation Weatherization

By Jennifer Taylor Since February, Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, Indiana) has worked with Habitat for Humanity and local organizations to pilot an energy conservation project for urban housing. The “mission” included weatherizing dozens of homes to reduce energy costs for low-income families. Volunteers caulked and foamed cracks, replaced furnace filters, added attic insulation, and more. CCC coordinated serving days from February through May and provided training for all participants. www.crossroadschristian.com ________________ Jennifer Taylor, one of Christian Standard’s contributing editors, lives in Nashville, Tennessee. Read her blog at www.christianstandard.com. Do you know of a church breaking new ground or leading innovative

New Members Light Candles

This past Sunday, Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, IN) celebrated the year and encouraged new decisions for Christ. After covering the stage in the worship center with unlit candles, church leaders invited all those who had become a Christian or a CCC member over the last year to come forward and light one of the candles. At the end of his sermon, senior pastor Ken Idleman extended an invitation for anyone who wanted to make one of those decisions that morning to also come forward and light a candle.

Church on Tour

By Jennifer Taylor Crossroads Christian Church (Newburgh, Indiana) encourages its thousands of members to participate in churchwide outreach events, volunteer with ministry partners like Habitat for Humanity, and attend seminars on generational poverty, evangelism, and more. But Eric Cummings, community outreach pastor at Crossroads, says the church”s “inner-city van tours” are the most valuable educational tool they”ve developed. Each month, 10-12 adults participate in the two-hour experience, seeing the reality of crime, poverty, and homelessness while also stopping at many of the schools, government agencies, and ministries working to help the city”s residents. “We don”t get out of the van,

Christian churches

“Nondenominational” Wins the Day!

Christian Churches and the Growth of Nondenominational Congregations This article reflects on Marshall Leggett’s comments at the Congress of Elders about the strengths of independent Christian churches. It also notes the growing number of large and fast-growing churches identifying as nondenominational, including many congregations connected with the Christian churches. Marshall Leggett described Christian churches as “radically congregationally governed.” Outreach magazine’s lists showed many large and fast-growing churches identifying as nondenominational. The article argues that Christian churches may be well positioned for growth amid declining denominational loyalty. The north entrance of Savannah (Georgia) Christian Church By Mark A. Taylor “We in

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