Crosspoint Church is still in its infancy stage of growth. Like most babies, we are marked by curiosity, first words, baby-steps and the promise of a bright future.  When parents raise their kids, they have hopes and dreams of who they will become.  They do their best to nurture and lead their children towards these aspirations.  Sometimes life comes along and helps, sometimes it gets in the way.

We too have dreams about who we will become in Crosspoint Church.  We’re trying to envision our future together.  But we know that our journey with God doesn’t always turn out exactly how we planned it.

In these pages you will discover our vision for who we will become.

Our primary vision is very simple: Crosspoint Church is the people of God coming together to fulfill God’s mission in the world. We are about helping people find their way back to God. We are forming a new church community who will journey together for this common purpose.

But we want give you a more detailed picture.  Here are our most important core values that will define who we will become:

Gospel-Centred

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. (1 Cor 15:1-2)

This community will be soaked with the gospel – squeeze us and see what comes out. The gospel is the good news that God makes all things right in us through Jesus. This gospel is for all people at all times – no matter who you are, where you come from, or what you have done. It is boundless, unstoppable. We participate in the gospel when we turn to Christ, trust in Him, and allow Him to work in us. Our community will reflect God’s limitless, unbridled love for people. It will be embodied in our teaching, how we do life together and how we love our city.

Transformational

Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

(Matthew 28:19)

God takes us just as we are, but doesn’t leave us there.  The gospel is transforming.  As we embrace God’s love for us, He changes us from the inside out.  We will be a people striving to be who God intended us to be – holy, good and victorious. This is a life-long journey of discipleship that we will pursue together.  We will be a church community that devours God’s word and follows the direction of God’s Spirit.

God-Dependent

The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

We will be a people who learn to pray. We believe that when we pray, God moves mountains too large for us to budge. We will seek God’s guidance in all things. Prayer will be the breath that gives life to all we do. We will participate together in prayer whenever we gather. There will be times when we will call our community to fast and pray if confronted with impossible or weighty challenges.

Externally Focused

The entire law is summed up in a single command:

“Love your neighbor as yourself.”  (Gal 5:14)

We want to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a world in need.  We believe that God is on a mission in the world and we are to join him in that mission. This colors how we understand the church. The church is not a building you go to. It is a community of people who join Jesus in the world in his redemptive mission. This mission is a way of life for us. So we will be a community of people who are being the hands and feet and voice of Jesus.  We will find ways for our community to do this together, whether locally or globally. And we will inspire our people to do this everywhere they go.

Culturally Oriented

I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings. (1 Cor 9:22b-23)

Our church community will be keeping an ear to the ground to uncover issues that matter in culture. We will help people make sense of these issues from a faith perspective. We believe the best way to stay culturally oriented is to dial in to what’s going on with our emerging generations.  We see this emerging culture as multi-ethnic, diverse, eclectic, postmodern, post-Christian, global and mobile.  We want to explain how our faith makes sense in this emerging, fluid culture.

Multi-Ethnic

Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Col 3:11)

Northeast Edmonton has a diverse, multi-ethnic community. We want our church community to reflect and celebrate this rich collection of people groups. We’re going to be intentional about developing a mosaic mindset.  We believe that God loves all people, regardless of race, gender, height, hockey team, or even coffee preference.  The church is to be a kaleidoscope of beautiful colors, sizes and shapes.

Reproducing

The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches. (Mt 13:31-32)

God’s kingdom is growing, expanding. It cannot be restrained. We are a people marked by our “sent-ness”. We will be a reproducing movement and a sending community. We know that one day we will plant a church community somewhere else in our city. We know that someday some of our people will feel compelled to follow God in His mission somewhere else in the world. We will send them out with joy.

How will we start?

There is a lot of work to be done in starting a new church.  There are many things that we could be doing.  We want to focus on the most important things.

There is a danger in doing too much too quickly.  We are going to build a sustainable kingdom community.  We are not going to overestimate what can be done in two years.  But we also don’t want to underestimate what can be done in ten years.  We are thinking big, but we’re also thinking long.

The following diagram provides a birds-eye view of what our key ministry programs will be in the first year:

Weekend Gatherings with Kids’ Ministry

When we launch, we will start with weekend gatherings and a great kids’ ministry.  These will take place on Sunday mornings.  Our weekend gatherings will be filled with worship, inspiration, creativity, innovation and participation.  We will communicate the gospel in a way that makes sense to our changing culture.  We will be hiring a full-time children’s pastor from the outset to ensure a quality children’s ministry.

Small Group Communities

We will have a strong emphasis on community, encouraging people to participate in group life – in a way that’s natural rather than artificial. Most groups will meet in homes in different parts of the city.

Leadership Development

Much of our emphasis will be on leadership development.  If this new church community is going to succeed, it will require leaders who love God and who are willing to sacrificially invest in others.

Outreach Ministries

Since we are an externally focused church, we will work hard at being the hands and feet of Jesus to the world, both locally and globally.  We will start small and work from there.  We will also develop group-based studies for those investigating the Christian faith.

Partnering Youth Ministries

In our first year, we will have a partnering youth ministry. All youth-aged people are welcome to participate in Beulah’s youth ministry on Wednesday nights.  By year’s end, we anticipate developing our own partnering “House Parties”.  Beyond that, when we are ready, we will build a vibrant Crosspoint youth ministry.

When will we launch?

Our official, public launch date is Sunday, October 17, 2010.  Our goal is to build a vibrant, functioning community prior to launch.  In order to get there, we need to build a community of Christ-followers who are enthused with and engaged in our mission.

Here is a timeline of events:

May

Discovery Gatherings – May 2^nd and May 5^th

Coffees with Rob

Connection BBQs – End of May

June

Coffees with Rob

Connection BBQs

Volunteer Team Leaders Meetings

Big Summer Event – June 20th

July

Coffees with Rob

Connection BBQs

Volunteer Recruitment

Big Summer Event – July 25th

August

Coffees with Rob

Volunteer Recruitment

Big Summer Event – August 22^nd (Rundle Park)

September and October

Pre-Launch Sundays: September 12, 19, 26 and October 3, 10

Public Launch: Sunday, October 17, 2010

Here is an explanation of these events:

Big Summer Events

These are our official “all-church” gatherings for the summer.  Each event will be a bit different.  We want our Crosspoint community to start gathering together before the fall. Come expecting to connect with God and others.  This is a chance for you to invite others who might want to experience a sampler of Crosspoint gatherings.

Coffees with Rob

You may still have some questions about Crosspoint.  Rob is willing to connect with you for coffee.  Send him an email: rob@beulah.ca.

Connection BBQs

These summer BBQs will be a more intimate setting with up to twenty people attending.  We want to help everyone get connected with the Chartrands and others who will be part of this new community.  If you want to make a contribution with Crosspoint and get connected in community, you need to join us!  To sign up, simply email Rob Chartrand: rob@beulah.ca.  He will pass on your information to his team.

Summer Studies

We know summers can be pretty busy.  If there is enough interest and leaders, we would like to put together some summer study groups for those who are interested.  These studies will focus specifically on topics related to our mission.  We might have book studies (some reading required), or we might go through a DVD series.  Studies will be held for six-weeks and will be hosted mid-week rather than on weekends.

Pre-Launch Sundays:

Before we open our doors to the public, it is important that we learn how to function together as a church and that we are moving in the same direction together.  We will have pre-launch gatherings in September and October.  These will be our church services, complete with children’s ministries.  What a great opportunity to bring out friends to discover who we are.

Public Launch

This will be the first official weekend service for our church.  We will be doing an enormous advertising campaign to the community.  It will also be the key weekend to invite everybody you know to be part of our community.  It is going to be an exciting weekend!

An Invitation to a Journey…

What does it take to plant a church?  It takes people.  People like you and me.  People that God can use.  People who are committed to sacrificially invest their lives for others.

We are looking for people who will join with us to start a vibrant new church in northeast Edmonton.  But more than that, we are looking for people who want to be part of a transforming community, engaging our world as the hands, feet and voice of Jesus, and helping them find their way back to God.

Will you join us on this journey?

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