Articles for tag: Quincy Illinois

July 1, 2023

Jerry Harris

Jerry Harris

It’s Not About How Much Faith You Have

By Jerry Harris When I came to The Crossing in Quincy, Illinois, 25 years ago, I fashioned a mission statement of helping people find “an intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ.” The thought that a real relationship with Jesus was even possible was a game changer for many in our church and community, and it shaped our impact on the world around us. If I understand that the “what” of my faith is defined in my relationship to Jesus, and if a relationship is what I want, then the next logical step is the “how.”  I think the “how” of

August 22, 2019

Jerry Harris

New Leases on Life in Rural Churches

By Jerry Harris I love rural churches and communities; I have devoted virtually my entire ministry life to them. The bulk of Restoration Movement churches have been rural over our more than 200-year history. The church I serve operates in 11 rural and micropolitan communities, but the stories of two of them—Lima and Mount Sterling, Illinois—can provide hope for many others across the country. The Federated Church of Lima, located in a town of 125 about a half hour north of Quincy, Illinois, was the beneficiary of a literal windfall. After a tornado struck the church on May 10, 2003,

September 21, 2017

Jerry Harris

A Church for Forgotten Places

By Jerry Harris Forgottonia . . . would you believe it”s a real place? The place is real but the name was more of a publicity stunt. It was adopted by 14 counties in west-central Illinois that were intentionally neglected by the state and federal government with regard to interstates and rail service in the early 1970s. Without interstate highway access, the region was denied decent transportation for commerce as other towns and cities benefitted from them. Businesses and not-for-profit entities dried up or left the area and calls for fair treatment with tax dollars for infrastructure fell on deaf

April 30, 2017

Jerry Harris

Securing a Future

By Jerry Harris What”s going on with the CHRISTIAN STANDARD and The Lookout? As a pastor of a church and a founding board member of The Solomon Foundation, I was interested in the answer to that question. Both magazines have been staples of the Restoration Movement from early on, and I, like many, had assumed they would always be there. When I heard in our board meeting the CHRISTIAN STANDARD and The Lookout could be shut down because their owners had found no buyers for them, I was deeply troubled. The chairman of the Publishing Committee had informed Doug Crozier,

March 13, 2017

Mark A. Taylor

Restoration Movement Media Announces Christian Standard Media Publisher Transition

PARKER, CO””The president of Restoration Movement Media, Doug Crozier, along with its board is very pleased to announce the next chapter of leadership for Christian Standard Media. Jerry Harris, senior pastor of The Crossing based in Quincy, Illinois, has been named the new publisher of CHRISTIAN STANDARD and The Lookout magazines. He will serve in this role while continuing his leadership at The Crossing. The transition coincides with the retirement of the current publisher, Mark A. Taylor, on June 30, 2017. “Mark Taylor has faithfully served in a variety of roles at Christian Standard Media, formerly Standard Publishing, for more

June 24, 2016

Christian Standard

The Menu

By Chuck Sackett The menu””dated 2 April 1912″”offered a choice of consommé mirrette, sweetbreads, spring lamb, and braised ham. When the menu went to auction in 2004 (92 years after the actual meal) it was expected to produce a record sale for Titanic memorabilia. It did, selling for 51,000 pounds. The original menu was sent from Ireland by Fifth Officer Harold Lowe to his future bride, Ellen Whitehouse. Lowe figured as one of the heroes the night of April 14, 1912. He was responsible for filling a number of life rafts with women and children, actually using his pistol to

June 3, 2016

Christian Standard

With Eyes Wide Open

By Chuck Sackett Immediately before worship was to begin, a leader in the congregation dumped a boatload of complaints on the preacher. As the preacher entered the worship area, his once light spirit””which had been anticipating worship and preaching””bottomed out in a wash of questions. Instead of worshipping, he fidgeted throughout the singing, trying to get his heart and mind back on track. He was agonizing over the complaints, frustrated by the timing, and momentarily incapable of preaching. Fortunately, Communion was served before the sermon that day. As he continued to try to settle his spirit, he felt a hand

May 5, 2013

Jerry Harris

A Church for People Who Don”t Go to Church

By Kent E. Fillinger The Crossing is a multisite megachurch. Its original campus is in Quincy, Illinois, a town of 40,000 people. Even though there are 85 churches in Quincy, 80 percent of the people there don”t attend any church, so Jerry Harris, senior pastor of The Crossing, decided to focus on being the church for people who don”t go to church. The Crossing was a small church of 230 people in 1998 when it decided to spend $2.5 million to buy a community college to serve as the church”s new home. As part of the deal, The Crossing shared

April 9, 2013

Christian Standard

You Are What You Choose

By Mark A. Taylor All of us who have heard, “You are what you eat” can agree to a corollary for the spirit and emotions: “You are what you choose.” Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos underscored the truth of this as he addressed Princeton University”s graduating class, May 30, 2010: When you are 80 years old, and in a quiet moment of reflection narrating for only yourself the most personal version of your life story, the telling that will be most compact and meaningful will be the series of choices you have made. In the end, we are our choices. Build

March 24, 2010

Christian Standard

Interview with Jerry Harris and Rodney Roberts

By Brad Dupray In his 11 years as senior pastor at The Crossing, a five-campus church with a home base in Quincy, Illinois, Jerry Harris has seen the church grow from 230 to more than 4,000. That growth did not come without challenges, but The Crossing is “clicking on all cylinders” and a year ago was listed as the fastest-growing megachurch in the United States among those in Christian Standard”s megachurch issue. A large part of The Crossing”s success can be attributed to the relationship Jerry has established with his elders. Jerry, along with Rodney Roberts, an elder at The

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