Archive for the 'School of Ministry' Category
A One Year Investment in Next Generation Leaders That Will Change the World
When the Lord gave me the vision of the Cross Church School of Ministry, I believed it would be an investment in next generation leaders that would not only change their lives, but their world. The Cross Church School of Ministry is a one-year residential ministry experience that prepares leaders for life, ministry, and gospel advancement globally.
This coming Sunday, we will graduate our first class. These ten resident ministers have served under our President, Dr. Jeff Crawford, who has invested in them personally, but also connected them continually with our ministers and ministries of Cross Church. He has done a splendid job, helping me shape this vision and leading the way.
Let Me Tell You the Story of Our First Ten Graduates
James Forbis is a Texas born graduate of the University of Arkansas. He is headed to finish his Master of Divinity degree at Southern Seminary, on his way to planting a church in Boston. While finishing his degree, he will serve as the Associate Director of the Baptist Campus Ministry at the University of Louisville.
Dave Kinney is a home-grown young man from Cross Church. A Baylor graduate, he left his track in medical school to answer a call to ministry. He is joining our Cross Church staff team as an associate college minister. His wife, Emily, also works in our Children’s ministry. Dave will also complete his Master of Divinity degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Eric Michalls hails from Texas and is a graduate of Ouachita Baptist University and New Orleans Seminary. Highly gifted intellectually, he is moving on to pursue a Ph.D. from Midwestern Seminary with plans to teach in the future.
Caleb Lynn is an incredibly gifted musician and the son of a pastor. He came to us from Corpus Christi, Texas. Caleb will be moving on to Liberty University to complete his degree, joining one of Liberty’s worship ministry teams and receiving a full-tuition scholarship. In fact, his brother will be in our next class that begins in a couple of weeks.
Brett Allen is from Texas and has excelled on our worship ministry track. He will be staying with us one more year, working with our worship team before finishing his undergraduate degree, hopefully from Liberty University.
John Mark Pantana is from Virginia and a graduate of Liberty University. He has answered God’s call to plant a church in the greater Colorado Springs area next year with another student from this coming year’s School of Ministry cohort.
Gareth Patterson is a native Arkansan and the only believer in his family. He has answered the call to church planting and will be joining the Cross Church Media and Communications team for one year while preparing to be married to his fiancé.
Richard Gunselman is from Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Arkansas Fort Smith. Richard has a call on his life to international missions and will be transitioning as he makes future plans to become a missionary.
A.J. Kirk is from the small town of Heavner, Oklahoma, and tracked with us in student ministry. He is also praying through a call to international missions. A.J. will be moving to Kansas City to finish his undergraduate degree at the College at Midwestern.
Adrian Jordan is from Oklahoma and a graduate of Oklahoma Baptist University. He has been called to plant a church in Portland, Oregon, one of the most lost cities in the United States. After leaving us, Adrian will spend a year in the Tulsa area raising funds, preparing to move to Portland, and adjusting to his blessed life as a newlywed.
Would you like to see a few testimonies from some of these students? Take a minute and watch them here.
The Future is Now
Our future is now, as we send these out and prepare to invest in our next class of the Cross Church School of Ministry. In the next three weeks, we will welcome nineteen new students and resident ministers to the Cross Church School of Ministry. Nineteen, and maybe more!
God may bring one, two, or three more to us in the next three weeks. The great news is that the next class will be bigger, become international, and contain three young women who believe God has called them to ministry.
If you have an interest in attending or have someone in your church that needs this school, watch this to learn more.
Finally, congratulations to our first class of graduates! Congratulations and thank you, Dr. Jeff Crawford, for doing a superb job investing in these and leading them to engage in ministry life. To God be the glory!
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Guest Post: Jeff Crawford: The Cross Church School of Ministry – Lessons Gleaned at the One-Year Mark
Today, RonnieFloyd.com welcomes guest writer, Dr. Jeff Crawford. Dr. Crawford is the President of Cross Church School of Ministry and a Teaching Pastor at Cross Church.
In just a few short weeks, we will graduate our first class of students from the Cross Church School of Ministry. Our one-year ministry residency is uniquely designed to prepare next generation leaders for life, ministry, and gospel advancement globally. As we approach the one-year mark, we are in evaluation mode, conducting exit interviews, and doing critical analysis, etc.
Part of this process has led me to some serious self-reflection on the program that just a short 18 months ago was only a vision on a piece of paper between Dr. Ronnie Floyd and me. I say “serious self-reflection” because this is serious business – the business of training up God-called men and women. Our current model of training, which relies solely on our colleges and seminaries, is in near crisis mode with 50% of those called to ministry QUITTING within the first five years. We can do better. We must do better.
While the jury is still out on ministry retention rates for our Cross Church School of Ministry, I have observed the following in our first year:
- The future is in excellent hands…with a generation of supremely engaged leaders who are called and ready to make a difference for the Kingdom. It has been my privilege to spend one year with ten of the finest men I have ever been around. They are passionate, humble, biblical, and godly. They are savvy to the culture and ready to go. In the coming weeks, you can meet them and hear a word about their experience with us on the Cross Church School of Ministry website.
- The need for the Cross Church School of Ministry is REAL. We definitely hit a chord with the idea of a one-year ministry residency. A whole year of learning HOW to actually DO ministry by being part of one of the most dynamic churches in the United States – Cross Church. Our first class has echoed this sentiment. I’ve entertained numerous phone calls and even site visits from other churches seeking to learn more about what we are doing and how it can be duplicated. We have shared freely with all those wanting to talk and dream. I’ve lost count of the number of people inquiring about coming to us, even from around the world. And next year, we will nearly double our numbers. Some will be bringing whole families to us. Women will join our program for the first time, and we will even have international students with us.
- Iron really does sharpen iron. Because the Cross Church School of Ministry utilizes the ministry residency approach, the caliber of our own ministries at Cross Church has gone up, even as we have taken this first class of students “up” in their calling and competency to ministry. I know that personally, I am a better minister of the Gospel for having these next gen leaders to rub shoulders with. They have encouraged, enlightened, and informed me. They have also accelerated the ministry of our church with their contribution. When they graduate next month, they will leave a massive hole. BUT…it’s a hole that will be filled just two weeks later by the next cohort coming in. They will be green and raw, but ready to go! And thus it will start all over again.
Our program was great in year one. And it’s going to be better in year two. If you know of a God-called man or woman who needs the unique experience of a ministry residency, send them to us. Let us pour the best of who we are into them for one year. Let them engage one of our many partnerships for academic credit toward a degree. Then, let us send them back to you to take you and your church “up”…all for the sake of the Kingdom!
Dr. Jeff Crawford
President, Cross Church School of Ministry
Teaching Pastor, Cross Church
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.