Our story

       God planted The Crossing Church (TCC) in the hearts of a few men long before we became what we are today. With the vision of a church body made up of missionaries to Monroe, the desire to see God's people living gospel-centered, worship-filled lives, and a whole lot of grace things came together. In what seemed to be a series of coincidences, paths began to cross. God was at work bringing together the the people who would be TCC.

       God brought Jarrod, Scott, and Kendrick together along with Paul Whaley and other elders of Summit Crossing Community Church in Huntsville, AL.  With a shared desire to see the people of God live life as the church, and not just settle for being attenders of a Sunday morning event, they began planning out how to see it happen in Monroe.  Discovering together what they believe is clear in Scripture as the biblical model for the church, along with the resources and experience of many who've gone before them, the vision for TCC took shape and was officially cast in January of 2014. By April the first three missional communities were formed. Through a connection and on-going relationship with the local Southern Baptist Association (NELBA) God blessed TCC with the use of the Sandel Drive property, and the first worship gathering was held there the last Sunday of June 2014. 

       Since then it has been a challenging but refreshing process of growing a core group, working out kinks, and seeing the Spirit of God work in TCC and through us as a church on mission. Much help in this process came through resources and training from our partners in the Soma Family of Churches. There has been much to unlearn as we see what God has called us to be as the church. More than a shift in methodology there has been a refreshing and ever-growing understanding of who God is and what that means for us. TCC certainly doesn't have everything figured out, but we hold fast to Scripture as truth and seek to glorify God in everything along the way. By grace we've been saved, and by grace we obey. Simply put, we are the people of God on the mission of God. 

Our Vision

We desire all people to enjoy Christ always

Our Identity

FAMILY – God is our Father and we are His Family

We are children of God who care for each other as a family. 

We are God’s chosen people – His family – set apart to live in such a way that the world would know what he is like. Through faith in Jesus we believe we are Children of God and brothers and sisters with each other. As God’s family we see it as our obligation to personally care for the needs of one another – both physically and spiritually. We disciple, nurture and hold each other accountable to Gospel life together. (Genesis 12:1-3; John 1:12-13; Romans 12:10-16) 

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SERVANTS – Jesus is Lord and we are His servants

We are servants of Jesus who serve Him by serving others. Fully God & fully human, Jesus took on the posture of a servant. He gave his life, even unto death, so that others could experience salvation, peace and restoration. Jesus said, “I am among you as one who serves...” All those who follow Jesus are called to serve in the same humility. For us this means joyfully submitting to Jesus as Lord, to the leaders he has placed over us and to each other as we also serve whomever God brings into our lives. We do whatever He leads us to do. (Matthew 20:25-28; 25:31-46; John 13:1-17; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 Peter 2:16) 

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MISSIONARIES – the Holy Spirit is our Guide and Sender and we are His Missionaries

We are sent by the Spirit to restore all things to God through Jesus Christ. God sent Jesus to Earth to take on human form and live within the culture. He lived in such a way that those around him could see and experience what God was truly like. Jesus came so all people, places and things could be restored to a right relationship with God. In the same way, we believe we are missionaries sent by God’s Spirit into our culture to restore all things to God through Jesus. We live this out through involvement in a missional community. (John 1:14; 20:21; Colossians 1:19; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)

Our Core Values

Gospel - Centered Theology

There is nothing more irreligious than self-absorbed religion.” - J.I. Packer

God is the initiator of Salvation and Jesus is the Hero. God doesn’t respond to us – we respond to God’s initiative and calling. He saves and secures us for salvation and we respond only because of and by his grace. Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, ascension and sending of the Spirit are the center and fulfillment of our faith. It is through him, because of him and in him that we come to be God’s people, are transformed and have hope for final restoration. 

"Submission to the Scriptures is submission to God. Rebellion against the Scriptures is rebellion against God." - Kevin DeYoung

The Scriptures are inspired by God, and are infallible and without error in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. 

(Ephesians 2:1-10; 2 Timothy 3:16, Hebrews 4:12-14)


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Gospel - Centered Identity 

FAMILY | SERVANT | MISSIONARIES

“Whenever God does something to you, he also intends to do something through you. Our work in the world is an extension and expression of God’s very identity.” - Jeff Vanderstelt

Jesus commands us to go everywhere and make disciples, teaching them to obey everything He commanded. We demonstrate this through baptism – we are to baptize into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 28:19) Baptizing people into the name of Jesus is about establishing them into their new Trinitarian Identity in Jesus Christ. This means: God is our Father and we are His Family; Jesus is our Lord and we are His Servants; The Holy Spirit is our Guide and Sender and we are His Missionaries. These three identities are true of a disciple of Jesus. 

(Romans 12:10-16; Philippians 2:5-11; 2 Corinthians 5:16-21)


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Gospel - Centered Ecclesiology

Ecclesiology is the understanding of the nature and structure of the church. "There is a great need today to understand the essential nature of the church from what Scripture teaches and not firstly from the role some claim she ought to play in society." - Greg Herrick

(Exodus 18; 2 Samuel 12:1-15; Ecclesiastes 4:9-12; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 4:11-16)

 

Membership:

We believe all Christians are members of God's Family. We also believe it is important to commit to a local church body. Membership at The Crossing Church represents your commitment to collectively live on the mission of God together with our church body in our present context. Together, as a family of servant missionaries, we commit to love one another, build each other up into Christ, engage, equip and encourage one another with the truth in love, and lead others to do the same.


Leadership:

Jesus called out twelve men in whom He entrusted His church. This demonstrates a plurality in leadership. Of the eighteen times church leadership is mentioned after Christ’s ascension, fifteen of them denote plurality in church leadership (the other three references are actually viewed in light of a plural context). From the birth of the church in Acts throughout its growth, the church leadership is placed in the hands of a group of overseers or elders. The ministry and overall vision of the church will be overseen by elders. They are primarily responsible for the leadership and oversight of the church. As leaders they give direction and guidance to the church. As teachers they seek to preserve the church's faithfulness to the Word. 


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Gospel - Centered Community

“We need to shift our focus from putting on attractional events to creating attractional communities.” - Tim Chester

We believe the most irreducible and effective structure for making disciples as the church is a Missional Community (MC) seeking to see gospel saturation in all areas of life. This is a smaller group of people who gather regularly and engage in everyday life on mission throughout the week with a commitment to reaching a particular people and place together with the goal of making disciples and multiplying and sending out more MC's. We believe the church is the family of God sent by the Spirit to make disciples of Jesus to all nations throughout the world. We are saved by God’s power for God’s purposes to bring him glory in all things wherever we are. The church is always being sent by God to accomplish his mission. Disciples make disciples, missional communities send out missional communities, and churches plant churches for the glory of God. 


We take time to recognize the natural rhythms of our culture and live in them having experienced gospel change. For us they are our gospel rhythms: 

  • Story-Formed 
  • Listen 
  • Bless 
  • Recreate 
  • Eat 
  • Celebrate 

The mission is not an addition to an already busy life. The mission of the Gospel is the primary focus of our life. The Gospel has liberated us to live a life of mission in all things. With Gospel Fluency we look at the world and see every moment of every day as an opportunity to be on mission. We live as a family of servant missionaries in the normal rhythms of everyday life.

(John 17:14-18; Romans 12:9-21, 15:1-7; Hebrews 10:24-25)


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Gospel - Centered Belief 

What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” - A.W. Tozer

Through the person and work of Jesus we have access to God, yet we often fail to believe what is true about Him. This unbelief leads us into sin. Therefore, we must remember often to believe, for example, God is Great - so we need not be in control, Glorious - so we need not fear, Good - so we need not search elsewhere, and Gracious - so we need not prove ourselves. 

As we're on mission and reminded of our need to believe the gospel we discover the necessity for spiritual discipline (prayer, meditation on Scripture, fasting, fellowship with other believers, solitude, etc). Discipline is a means to being equipped for the mission of God to the glory of God. If the gospel is not the center of our belief we are sure to become bound in legalism or antinomianism. Neither of these categories is desirable, but without daily repentance and belief in the gospel our behavior drifts towards one of the two. Only gospel-centered belief frees us to obey God with joy and gratitude for His grace. 

(Mark 9:14-29; John 20:29; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 4:6-8)


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Gospel - Centered Worship

 "Corporate worship is a regular gracious reminder that it's not about you. You've been born into a life that is a celebration of another." - Paul David Tripp

When we gather as family to worship we are striving to make much of Jesus. Through theologically rich songs, prayers, Scripture readings, expository teaching/preaching of the Bible, and weekly communion our desire is to focus the hearts, minds, wills, and emotions of our people on the sufficiency of and satisfaction in Jesus Christ above all else. Together we see our brokenness and sinfulness and see the gospel as able to not only bring forgiveness, but also bring a sense of belonging in the presence of God. We worship with humility because our sins are great and God is Holy. We worship with confidence because our Savior and His gospel are sufficient and God is our Father. We lead our people to engage with God through their hearts, minds, will, and emotions with the desired outcome of repentance of sin and faith in Jesus that is manifested in obedience. Weekly communion keep the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for our sins vividly before our people. Expository preaching  through books of the Bible bring the whole counsel of God to bear on our people. Songs and prayers are selected for how accurately they portray God and His gospel as well as how they lead our people to sing. The worship gathering is best experienced as the result of a life of worship and not a once weekly encounter with God.

(1 Kings 8, Nehemiah 8:1-8, Isaiah 6:1-8, Matthew 5:23-25, John 4:21-24, Acts 2:42-47, 4:23-31 1 Corinthians 12-14)


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Gospel - Centered Mission 

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church. Worship is. Missions exists because worship doesn't.” - John Piper

The mission of God is to "go 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" in order to bring a rebellious people back into relationship with our Creator. Through disciple-making, multiplication, equipping, sending, and church planting we desire to saturate cultures with the gospel of Jesus. This gospel will eventually reach all nations, tribes, peoples and languages transforming individuals and cultures. A gospel transformed culture begins more and more to resemble the Kingdom of God Jesus came to initiate and will one day bring to full realization. We seek a kingdom flavored by the character, conduct and attitude of the life of Jesus lived out by His followers in all cultures. 

We recognize the grace of God in all cultures in food, arts, family, government, recreation, and we celebrate with them while trusting that the gospel is the solution for mankind's greatest need and the brokenness found in all cultures. The mission is our greatest mission in life which saturates our families and jobs while calling us to sacrifice whatever is necessary to see Jesus become more and more our greatest treasure. 

(Genesis 3:15, 4:20-22, 12:1-3; Isaiah 65:17-25, Matthew 5-7, 28:18-20; Luke 14:25-33; Acts 1:8; Revelation 7:9-12) 

our Core beliefs

For The Crossing, there are essential beliefs and non-essential beliefs

For those beliefs we hold essential, our Core Beliefs, we have unity together as a body. 

For all other beliefs, non-essential beliefs, we practice liberty.


GOD - | FATHER, SON, SPIRIT |

God is the author and creator of the entire Universe. He has always existed and always will. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are coequal; and are one God.



JESUS

Jesus Christ, the second person of the Trinity, took on flesh, was born of a virgin by miraculous conception, and lived a sinless life. He is the Son of God who came to earth as fully God and man. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. He paid a sin debt we could not pay. He arose from the grave after three days demonstrating His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory where He is the only Mediator between God and people, and He will return again to earth. He will reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.



ETERNITY

Every person is born with eternity set in their heart. God created His children to exist forever. We exist forever either in eternal separation from God under His wrath or in complete union with God through forgiveness of sin and salvation through Jesus Christ to enjoy God forever. The Bible calls the place of eternal separation Hell, and the eternal union with is God is heaven on the new earth.



HUMANITY

We are made in God’s image. We are his prized creation. God’s plan is for us to become like Him in character. This godly character only comes through the grace of Jesus Christ. We all have a rebellious spirit. Romans 3:23 says we all fall short of the glory of God. Sin separates people from God.



GOD’S GRACE AND ASSURANCE

Because we have become adopted heirs to God’s kingdom through Jesus Christ, salvation is received and maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace of God that gives believers the assurance of salvation. No power in the universe can separate God’s children from Him. To suggest other wise is to suggest that God’s power is limited, or that His grace is insufficient.



SALVATION

Salvation is a free gift from God to all people. Salvation is not something we earn or deserve. It is God’s way of spending eternity with His children. Salvation comes only through trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness and confessing with our mouths that He alone is Lord. God assures us through His Word that genuine salvation is eternally secure.


HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He dwells within the believer at the point of conversion. The Holy Spirit’s task is to draw men to Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. We are commanded to live in the Spirit and not our own flesh, so the Christian seeks to live under Holy Spirit’s control daily.


BIBLE

The entire Bible was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures are inspired by God, and are infallible and without error in the original manuscripts. They are the unique, full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice, and there are no other writings inspired by God in this way (e.g. The Apocrypha, The Book of Mormon, The New World Translation, etc.) 


FAITH AND PRACTICE

The faith of a believer is lived out through practice of God’s Word in one’s life. Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. The church stands on God’s Word and takes each step in obedience from His word. Our speech, actions, and life are measured in light of the Scriptures.