Archive for March, 2017
This Week at Cross Church | Don’t Miss Ken Ham This Sunday
Dr. Ken Ham will be Preaching at Springdale and Pinnacle Hills on Sunday
Jeana and I look forward to joining you in hearing Dr. Ken Ham this coming Sunday. Ken is the Founder and President of Answers in Genesis, the parent ministry to the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter. He leads 750 full and part-time employees of the largest Christian apologetics organization in the world. You can read about this world-renowned Christian leader and the innovative ministry he leads that addresses the real issues of faith and life. Bring a friend and encourage others to come. Ken is being used greatly by God all around the world, and you will not want to miss hearing him.
Dr. Andy Goode Called to be the Senior Pastor of Stave Creek Baptist Church in Jackson, Alabama
For over seven years, Andy and Patty Goode have served on our Ministry Team. Andy has been involved in many areas of ministry here, having come to us from serving as a Senior Pastor in Georgia. For the past two years, Andy and I have prayed together about his desire and passion to one day return to the pastorate. We knew this day would come, but never knew when and where. Andy is a wonderful man of God, committed to the right things and always willing to help people, a true pastor of people. I have great respect for Andy and Patty.
On Sunday morning at our Springdale campus, we will commission Andy and Patty from our church to serve Stave Creek Baptist Church in south Alabama. Andy’s last day on our team will be March 30, and March 26 will be his final day of worship with us. This gives them the ability to be in their new church for Easter and seize the opportunities in that region. Andy, Patty, and their children will be part of our Cross Church family forever. Pray for the Goodes and join us Sunday as we commission them to their new assignment. It is remarkable that since last May, we have sent out five men from our Ministry Team to serve in the role as a Senior Pastor. Cross Church, God has placed an anointing on us to SEND in this season!
Give Honor where Honor is Due
When I moved here thirty years ago, the Northwest Arkansas Baptist Association Director of Missions, Joe Atchison, befriended me. For these decades, we have eaten lunch together frequently and experienced a myriad of things in Southern Baptist life. He was a true friend to me. When he joined Cross Church, he began to teach a small group at our Pinnacle Hills campus and at one time, had our largest adult class. People loved to hear him teach the Word of God.
Two years ago, Joe moved to Nashville to be cared for by his children, but we kept in touch and regularly talked on the phone. On Monday morning, after a brief illness, my dear friend, Joe Atchison, entered heaven. It was men like Joe who led the turnaround in the Southern Baptist Convention in 1979 and in the 1980’s. When our denomination was leaning left and moving away from the Bible, men like Joe stood tall and paid a high price for all of us. Today, I have the privilege of conducting Joe’s memorial service. I will miss him and I strive to do what Scripture says: Give honor to those whom honor is due.
Plan Now for Passion Week and Easter Weekend
Beginning on Sunday morning, April 9, we will begin a special Passion Week series on 6 Lessons About Leadership We Learn from Jesus in the Last 6 Days of His Life. We’ll continue teaching these things through our luncheons on April 10-13, and our Friday evening service on April 14. You can find more details and purchase tickets to the luncheons at crosschurch.com/easter.
We will offer 15 Easter Weekend Worship Services on our five Cross Church campuses.
Saturday, April 15
- Springdale– 4:00 p.m.
- Pinnacle Hills– 5:30 p.m.
- Fayetteville– 5:30 p.m.
Sunday, April 16
- Springdale– 9:15 & 10:55 a.m.
- Pinnacle Hills– 9:15 & 10:55 a.m.
- Fayetteville– 7:30, 9:00, 10:30 a.m. & 12:00 p.m.
- Fayetteville East– 10:30 a.m.
- Neosho– 9:00, 10:45 a.m.
- Español (Springdale)– 10:55 a.m.
Easter in the Community will be taking place April 10-14. This is an opportunity to bring a brief Bible lesson that forwards the theme of Easter to your business, school, office, neighborhood, apartment complex, and other community venues. If you are interested in scheduling one of these, contact Becky Fletcher at 479-751-4523.
See You Sunday!
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Our Cross Church School of Ministry is Ready for You to Come Spend One Year With Us
The Cross Church School of Ministry is a one-year residential ministry experience that prepares leaders for life, ministry, and Gospel advancement globally. In August of this year, we will begin our fifth cohort of ministry residents. Whether you are looking to be equipped for ministry leadership or assisted in navigating your call to vocational ministry, the Cross Church School of Ministry is the place for you!
Not an Internship, but Ministry Residency
This is not an internship, but is a combination of hands-on ministry training and mentorship. Each cohort experiences two national mission trips and one international mission experience. Additionally, we have taken each cohort to learn from and experience the annual meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention.
We have sixteen partnerships with academic institutions that grant either undergraduate or graduate hours if the student so desires to earn them. For example, you could earn as much as twenty-one hours toward your Master of Divinity degree by attending the Cross Church School of Ministry for one year. This program is like no other. You can work with us in creating your ministry track of study and concentration.
We do not compete with academic institutions, but complement what they do. We do what they cannot do and they do what we choose not to do. We are a local church; they are an academic institution. Yet, any innovative academic institution that is based upon Christian principles and equips God-called persons for ministry wants and desires a close partnership with local churches. We cherish these partnerships.
You can be just out of high school, in the midst of your collegiate degree or post-bachelor’s degree, in the middle of your Master of Divinity degree or you may have completed your Master’s degree. Come here, spend one year with us, earn as much as twenty-one hours of academic credit, and if you graduate from our program, you will also have one year of experience on a large multi-campus church.
Look What God Has Done in Almost Four Years
When August 2017 comes, we will have completed our fourth year in the Cross Church School of Ministry. In this experience the past four years, we will have equipped and sent out 64 graduates into gospel ministry. Of these 64 graduates, 14 are now serving on our own Cross Church team. Additionally, these 64 graduates will have experienced international mission trips to places like Venezuela, Tanzania, Malawi, and Haiti, and domestic mission trips to places like Portland, Maine, New York City, Washington, DC, Seattle, Washington, Colorado Springs, Colorado, Columbus, Ohio, Spearfish, South Dakota, St. Louis, Missouri, and Detroit, Michigan. Additionally, these graduates will have attended the annual Southern Baptist Conventions either in Baltimore, Maryland, Columbus, Ohio, St. Louis, Missouri, or Phoenix, Arizona. We have also licensed 26 men to gospel ministry over these past four years.
Our graduates are now serving on church staff teams, as lead pastors, church planters, on the mission fields around the world, or continuing to pursue their post-graduate degrees. Yes, read carefully: We are serious about your one-year ministry residency that prepares you for life, leadership, and gospel advancement globally.
Now is the Time to Consider Coming Here
We are currently accepting applications for our upcoming 2017 class. Our next cohort will be joining us in August. Apply online today at CrossChurchSchool.com. If you are interested in learning more about the Cross Church School Of Ministry, please email Dave Kinney at Davek@crosschurch.com
Recently, our President for the past four years, Dr. Jeff Crawford, was called to serve as Senior Pastor of the Grace Baptist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. We have asked Dave Kinney to step in during our interim search to coordinate logistics for our school. He was in the first cohort of our Cross Church School of Ministry after changing his future plans from medical school to the ministry. After graduation from our school, he joined our team full-time, completed his Master of Divinity degree from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is leading one of our campuses. He is doing an outstanding job and we are thankful for him stepping up to lead the School of Ministry during this interim period.
Pray for Us and We are Praying for You to Join Us or Send Someone
We are in an active search for the next President of our Cross Church School of Ministry. Please pray for us to know who that next leader needs to be. This does not need to deter you in enrolling this fall, because our entire team invests in our cohort, including myself. You will be assigned to work with one of our Ministry Team members specifically to prepare you for your future ministry in the ministry track you choose. Again, reach out immediately to Dave Kinney at Davek@crosschurch.com to find out more about this outstanding ministry resident school that has now proven: We prepare leaders for life, ministry, and gospel advancement globally.
Now is the Time to Lead,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Senior Pastor, Cross Church
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Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the Senior Pastor of Cross Church, founder of the Cross Church School of Ministry, and host of the Ronnie Floyd on Life and Leadership Today podcast.
To request an interview with Dr. Ronnie Floyd
contact Gayla Oldham at (479) 751-4523 or email gaylao@crosschurch.com.
Visit our website at http://ronniefloyd.com
Follow Dr. Floyd on Twitter and Instagram @ronniefloyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.