Archive for the 'This Week at Cross Church' Category
This Week at Cross Church: Doctrine, Leadership, Fellowship, Cooperation, and Trust
After taking a week for Study and Vision Planning, then moving directly into leading our Staff Advance, with great anticipation I look forward to Sunday as I share with you from the Word of God. On Sunday, August 4, I will be completing our miniseries called, “When Jesus Comes To Church”. As I share with you from the book of Acts, come prayed up and ready to hear the Lord speak to you.
What We Will See This Sunday
On Sunday, our text will speak to us about subjects of great importance for any Christ-follower and local church. We will hear God speak to us about the importance of:
- Doctrine
- Leadership
- Fellowship
- Cooperation
- Trust
I promise, if you join us, God will have a word for you personally. If you will bring a guest with you, someone on the search for Christ or a Christ-follower already, they will leave encountering our Lord personally. Pray for Sunday. Bring your Bible. Invite others. Expect God to meet with us.
You Will Meet Several of Our Church Planters on Sunday
Since 2010, Cross Church has invested in and planted sixty-six churches across the world. You are an amazing church! Eighteen of our planters and thirteen of their wives have joined us this week for our Annual Staff Advance. As we have invested in them and their leadership, a few of them will be observing the ministry of Cross Church this Sunday. If you meet one of them…bless them, love them, hug them, encourage them, and pray for them. Many of them are in major cities, while others in some of our underserved regions of our nation.
Why Church Planting is Important
There are many reasons why church planting is important. As we learned together last week, it is biblical to plant churches. Each gospel church, regardless of size, can invest something with others in order to help plant a church. Tim Keller, a prolific author and influential Pastor in New York City said on July 12 (via Twitter):
A vigorous and continuous approach to church planting is the only way to guarantee an increase in the number of believers.
This is another reason why we invest in planting churches globally. Cross Church believes in church planting and church planters. This is why we want you to join us on Sunday, August 11. Our fellowship will be commissioning Drew and Emily Griffin on this date, as they leave for New York City, downtown Manhattan, to plant Cross Church New York City.
Preparing for the Fall
God is good. Football is beginning! Fall will soon be in the air. As we look towards the launching of our new church year on Sunday, August 25, let’s get involved. How?
- Attend weekly, rather than weakly
- Engage in a small group consistently, not coincidentally
- Serve in a ministry, not meaninglessly
- Give generously, not greedily
Will you do it? Let’s get after it!
Cross Church School of Ministry
The Cross Church School of Ministry welcomes its first students this fall. Cross Church is committed to developing leaders for the future, and the Cross Church School of Ministry is a unique way in which we can do this. Over the next year, our students will have the benefits of academia as well as hands-on ministry experience. We are convinced this will change the next generation of church leadership, all to the glory of God.
Thankful For Our Staff Team
I love our Staff Team. I am thankful for each of them. God is doing some wonderful things in and through each of them. Please pray for them daily.
Support them consistently. Encourage them frequently. Honor them publicly and privately. Give to them generously.
I Will See You Sunday
Yes, I will see you on Sunday. Let’s get ready for what God has to say to us.
Let’s expect God to meet with us and speak to us.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
This Week at Cross Church: From Our Campus Pastors
Clint Smith, Springdale Campus
Cross Church Family,
What a phenomenal summer! Our children and student ministries have seen many come to know Christ and follow through with baptism. Our Sunday morning worship has been powerful, and we have seen God move in a mighty way among us. Praise God for what He is doing!
Getting Ready for Fall
In the next weeks, we will begin to ramp up for our annual fall Kick-Off Sunday. There are several events that will take place, and we need you here. In two weeks, August 11, at 5:30 pm, we are having our annual Leadership Launch. This is our biggest leadership meeting of the year. If you serve in any capacity in our church or would like to serve, please make plans to attend this time of training and vision casting! Dinner will be served and childcare is available, birth through 5th grade, by registering at www.crosschurch.com.
Then, Sunday, August 25, will be our fall Kick-Off Sunday. All children, birth through high school, will promote to their new classes. Make sure to wear your Razorback (or your favorite sports team) attire on this day. We will have the largest tailgate party in Springdale in the SEC gymnasium right after the 10:55 Small Group hour. It will be a great time to be together with the body of believers…to laugh, fellowship, and break bread together.
Kick Off the Fall in a Small Group
Our prayer is that each of you will also engage in worship and in a small group on this day. We have many small group options that you can choose from. These groups are designed so each of you can have a sense of community and connection to others. It gives an individual place for you to know and to be known, a place you can call home. There are new people each week, so it isn’t like you are going into a situation where everybody in the church has a long-standing relationship with each other. New small groups will begin on Kick-Off Sunday. Make plans now to try one out, and get plugged in with other believers. We look forward to you joining us as we kick off the new church year. We will see you there!
Thank You for Your Faithfulness
As we enter into August, please be mindful of our Summer Program of Giving. We praise God that we are on target to reach our goal. What you have given this summer, God has used in a tremendous way. Many have heard and responded to the gospel. Church, we still have much to do. Please make sure that you give your part in helping to reach our goal. Continue to be a part of Reaching Northwest Arkansas, America and the World for Jesus Christ.
We are here to help you and your family in any way that we can. Please contact our staff or church office if there is any way we can minister to you.
I love Cross Church and the people of Cross Church. And I love Northwest Arkansas. Let’s join together this fall to continue to make a difference in our community as we reach this region with the gospel of Christ.
Clint Smith
Buster Pray, Pinnacle Campus
Cross Church Family,
Volunteer Day, August 18
Cross Church Pinnacle Hills is ramping up for a great day of volunteerism on August 18. On this day, we are asking God for 100 new ministry volunteers. There are a myriad of available ministry opportunities in which you can serve. On this special day, our Gatheria will be transformed into an area with displays highlighting all of our ministry opportunities. We need volunteers for any length of service time. Some can only give a few hours while others can give much more. All are equally important. Don’t miss August 18. “Cross Church loves our city…and it all starts here!”
Discover Cross Church is August 4 and 11
Our next Discover Cross Church is scheduled for August 4 and 11, which gives us another level of momentum as we approach Cross Church Volunteer Day on August 18. This class allows all attendees an opportunity to discover their unique gifts and passions through the lens of the mission and vision of Cross Church. We clearly define the next steps by pointing people to connect in Small Groups and Volunteerism. These August classes will also offer the opportunity of being involved in our Volunteer Day on August 18 and Leadership Launch on August 25.
Summer Program of Giving
This summer has been a season of great ministry and many people confessing Jesus as Lord. Children’s activities, student camps and activities, Focus Team initiatives, Worship Services and special events…they are funded by our Ministry Budget, and our Summer Program of Giving is vitally important. Thank you for what you have done in giving for the cause of the gospel this summer, and I pray we keep our focus and remain faithful to finish strong. Together we can accomplish much for the Kingdom. I encourage many of you to join hundreds in our family of faith who give weekly via automated giving. You will not regret it, and God will honor your faithfulness.
Buster Pray
Nick Floyd, Fayetteville Campus
Cross Church Family,
I hope you have enjoyed your summer! We are quickly approaching the beginning of the fall semester together. Our construction of enlarging the worship center is almost finished. We look forward to opening up new space for you to bring your friends and neighbors to church with you this fall. On August 11, we will move back to our normal Sunday schedule of four services at 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:30am, and 5:30pm. We have three special ways to connect with your church family coming up in the month of August:
- August 7 – Family Cookout at Wilson Park
- August 14 – Naturals Game at Arvest (tickets available in the lobby on Sunday)
- August 21 – Leadership Launch (training for all leaders, volunteers, and new people who want to get involved)
We hope you’ll take advantage of these exciting opportunities to get to know others at Cross Church. I also want to thank you for your faithful giving this summer. God has continued moving in great ways throughout the summer and we are grateful for your support as we seek to reach our goal of Summer Program of Giving. As always, our pastoral staff is always here to minister to you and your family in any way possible. Have a great rest of your week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday!
Nick Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.