Crossing Church

A CROSSING is a JOURNEY.

The Bible is saturated with the image of JOURNEY.

In Genesis, we read of Abraham stepping out in faith to leave the land of his ancestors and go to a place chosen by God. In Exodus and Deuteronomy, the journey continues with the forty-year trek of the people of Israel from the harsh oppression under Pharaoh in Egypt to the promised land of Canaan. In the New Testament, we see the earliest Christians were refered to as those who belong to the way (Acts 9:2).

Our culture also understands this image of JOURNEY when it comes to spirituality.

Because of these factors, and others, we have chosen the name Crossing for our church.

The CROSSING image reminds us :

• We are going SOMEWHERE–by God’s grace, into a deeper relationship with God and His people and, someday, heaven.
• We are in a PROCESS–any journey does more than simply lead us to a goal. The spiritual journey that we are on is, within itself, a process a that God uses to grow us and develop us as we press on to our goal of becoming like Christ.
• Our journey is a journey of CHANGE

If we are IN CHRIST, our spiritual destiny is to be conformed to the image of Christ (Rom. 8:29)

We believe this is a ‘crossing’ worth making.

“Journeying Together to Become Like Christ and Invite Others into God’s Family.”

“Journeying Together…”

ONE WORD : COMMUNITY.

DEFINITION : “encouraging relationships that inspire us to become more like Jesus Christ.”

Though certainly no substitute for the Gospel, we believe that authentic spiritual community is the CONTEXT in which biblcal discipleship (sanctification—the process of becoming like Christ) best occurs. Our goal is to not simply be a group of people that attends church services together, but truly seeks to live our lives together.

“…to Become Like Christ…”

ONE WORD : DISCIPLESHIP.

DEFINITION : “becoming more like Jesus Christ.”

We believe that the ultimate spiritual adventure is to begin to invesitigate, evaluate, and implement the teachings of God revealed to us through the Holy Scriptures. We believe that becoming like Christ (spiritual growth) is the work of the Spirit of God AND that we have a responsibility to put ourselves in a place where God can change us through “spiritual disciplines” (prayer, Bible study, attending worship gatherings, getting into the lives of other Christians, etc.). We believe that though we will never become fully like Christ in this life, it is God’s design for us to allow Him to work in us more as more as Christ is ‘formed in us’ (Gal. 4:19).

“…and Invite Others into God’s Family.”

ONE WORD : MISSION.

DEFINITION : “telling other people about Jesus and inviting them into God’s family.”

We believe that Jesus’ Great Commission 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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you” (Matt. 28:19-20) should be close to the heart of any Church that seeks to follow the Bible. Our heart beats to connect as many people as we can (both in Louisville and around the world) to loving churches that share the message of Jesus, faithfully teach the Holy Scriptures, and provide authentic relationships where men, women, boys, and girls can grow in their faith.

This includes an intentional and serious commitment to church planting both here and abroad.

Our current church plants:

Sojourn New Orleans
James Welch, Planter
New Orleans, LA
www.whatissojourn.com

Red Point Church
Matt Jones, Planter
Cleveland, OH
www.redpointchurch.com

Because we are a collection of DIVERSE individuals, we all have slightly different values with regard to why we do what we do as a church. The following CORE passions unify our efforts, define our distinctives, and ultimately drive our church.

The Bible

We believe the Bible is the final authority rather than church tradition or human experience. We strive to have everything we believe and do in this community to come from, or be in agreement with, the Bible. It is the dominant voice in both our Sunday gathering and Group meetings.

The Gospel

We believe that Jesus Christ, the God-Man, has not only opened the path of God to us, but also shown us how to live. We believe that His message, the Gospel, is not just the ABC’s of Christianity but the A-Z of Christianity. We believe it has power to reach and change ANY area of our lives. We take the Lord’s Supper each week to remind us of the Gospel.

Bridge Building

We believe that an active relationship with Jesus Christ is the only true path to God and we seek to share His message with everyone we can. We do this by authentically investing in the lives of individuals who do not know Jesus Christ, church planting (both here and around the world), and through the support and sending of missionaries.

Equipping Culture

We believe that the work of ministry should be done by ALL of God’s people, not just the paid staff Our church’s vision is to connect all of its members in using their God-given gifts and talents both within the church and beyond. This includes a special emphasis in equipping families and their homes.

Authentic Community

We believe that our church always has more room for imperfect people and we seek to be a church where nobody stands alone. We will take practical steps to develop environments where personal growth, supportive faith-building relationships, and truly sharing our lives together are highly prized and pursued.

Practical Service

We believe that one of the marks of true communities of Jesus is serving the church, local community, and the world at-large in practical ways. This includes seeking to help those who are marginalized and in need by using the gifts and talents God gave us. This is a must if we call ourselves a community of Jesus.

God

We believe that God is the ultimate Creator, Sustainer, and Sovereign Ruler over all of Creation and its creatures. We believe that our greatest pursuit in life should be to live all of our lives for His glory and to make Him known in the world. (See the whole Bible).

The Bible

We believe that God wrote the Bible through men without error and that it is the ultimate authority in all of our lives as well as our journey together as Crossing Church. The Bible is the dominant voice in all of our groups and gatherings.

Jesus Christ

We believe Jesus Christ is the eternal God-Man who became a man, lived a perfect life died on a cross, was crucified, and physically rose from the dead to allow sinful humanity to be made right with God through His ’substitutionary atonement’ (His dying in our place and offering us His life) (Acts 4:10, Phil 2:7-11, Luke 23:26-24: 53). We believe that Jesus is returning to earth to judge all people and to rule and reign with His people forever (Rev 22:12, 2 Tim 4:1).

Humankind and Salvation

We believe that God has created all human beings in His image and that He has created them uniquely male and female (Gen. 1:26-27). We believe that all human beings are born separated from God and are in need of being made right with God (Rom. 3:23) We believe that ’salvation’ (being made right with God) comes to us by GRACE ALONE (God’s loving favor to us) through FAITH ALONE (not by works, baptism, or any other act, religious, or otherwise). For more information on our complete set of beliefs, please contact our church office.

The Church

We believe that the Church is a spiritual community made up of all Believers everywhere for all time (Eph 1:22-23, 5:25-27, 1 Cor 12:12-14, 2 Cor 11:2). We believe in the autonomy of local churches and recognize Believers’ Baptism (being baptized by immersion after placing conscious faith in Jesus Christ) and the Lord’s Supper (Communion) as its two ordinances (Acts 13:1-4, 15:19-31, Rom 16:14, 1 Cor 3:9, 1 Peter 5:1-4, Matt 28:19-20, Acts 2:41, 42, Acts 18:8, 1 Cor 11:23-36).

In ESSENTIAL beliefs, we have unity. In NONESSENTIAL beliefs, we have liberty. In ALL of our beliefs, we promote love.

Crossing is affiliated with the Acts 29 network and the S.B.C.

The story of Crossing begins in 2004. It is a story of both vision and providence. In January, a burden begins to develop for a new church in the East End that will preach solid Truth and have a radical heart for reaching disconnected people. Dustin Neeley (Teaching Pastor/Elder at sojourn community church) starts an in-home Bible study and begins reaching out to his neighbors in the Lyndon area. The group grew and became two groups. In September of that year, the decision is made to transition Dustin out of his position as the Administrative Pastor at sojourn into leading the planting team of Crossing Church in the East End. Strategic partnerships are established with sojourn and other mission agencies.

In January 2005, Dustin begins developing the Crossing’s initial core team and began meeting once a month for visioncasting, prayer and worship. In March, James Welch jumps on board to be the second pastor/elder and begins another home Bible study. On June 12, 2005, the Crossing community is sent out from sojourn, its mother church and Summer 2005 was filled with lots of hard work and ‘working out the bugs’ in several areas of our ministry to prepare for an early fall launch service on September 18, 2005.

In June 2006, Crossing sent out its first church planting team to New Orleans, LA. This is an amazing milestone for such a young church and confirmed God’s special work within this body. In August, Crossing saw a significant increase in attendance. One month later, after outgrowing its initial location, Crossing moved from St. Thomas Episcopal Church to Ballard High School and from Sunday evening to Sunday morning services. In December of 2006, Crossing sent out its 2nd Church Planting team to Cleveland, OH.

In 2007, Crossing began to establish itself in the East End and experienced a season of significant numerical and spiritual growth. She also celebrated her second brithday and moved to a more permanent home at the Kentucky Country Day School, which is her current location. Sundays continued to grow and improve and become an even greater source of life and light for many. In addition, small groups continued to multiply and families and individuals grew in their ability to understand and apply the Gospel.

2008 has proved to be an extremely exciting year for Crossing. Not only has she grown and begun new outreach ministries in the East End, Crossing also added a second location in Crescent Hill to expand its ministry. This additional service, which mirrors the morning gathering, just launched and is already allowing for more families and individuals to join the Crossing story. We have also begun the initial steps toward planting our 3rd church next year, this time in Louisville. Though God has done so much already through Crossing before her third birthday, we look forward in anticipation to even better days ahead.

Elders

Dustin Neeley
Lead Elder/Pastor
Dustin has been the Planter and Lead Pastor of Crossing Church since Crossing’s inception in 2005. Before planting Crossing, Dustin was a Teaching Pastor/Elder at Sojourn Community Church here in Louisville, KY. Dustin’s ministry history also includes extensive experience with youth and college students, several years of traveling speaking and leading worship around the United States as well as writing two independently published books and recording five music cds. Dustin loves Jesus, his wife and 4 kids (4, 3 ,1, and 1 on the way), preaching, mountain biking, techie gadgets, Brewster’s Ice Cream and blowing things up in video games He is also a 2007 graduate of S.B.T.S. here in Louisville.

Dan Gossett
Elder in Training, Administrator, Community Groups Director
Dan has been a part of Crossing since it was launched in 2005. In the summer of 2007, Dan started serving as the Administrator. In June of 2008, Community Group Director was added to his list of responsibilities. Dan loves Jesus, his wife, dog, almost any local coffee shop, backpacking, hiking, camping, mountain biking, gardening and just about anything else outdoors. He is currently working on a degree from S.B.T.S. here in Louisville.

Matt Peavyhouse
Elder, Kids Ministry Pastor

JD Payne
Elder

Jeromy Hofmeister
Elder in Training

Eddy Morris
Worship Arts Director