This Week at Cross Church | Walking where Jesus walked, Resurrection Sunday & Spring Break
Cross Church family, I write to you today from His Land, the Holy Land in Israel. Jeana and I are pleased to be leading a tour group through this historic and precious country. Most of those here with us are members of our fellowship and all are brand new to the Holy Land—what a thrill! Additionally, some members of our Pastoral Team are here with me. It is a blessing to share this experience with these men, all of them seeing, for the first time the land where Jesus once walked and taught.
Today, we praised Him as we crossed the Sea of Galilee and visited the ancient fishing village of Capernaum where Jesus taught and performed a miracle. We have also witnessed the place of the Beatitudes, then the events of John 21 and Jesus’ pursuit of Peter’s love, and then ended up at the Jordan River administering baptism to some. I am thankful to return to the Holy Land, especially this close to Easter. As I remember the life of Christ from the other side of the world, I encourage you to start to prepare your heart for Easter.
Preparing yourself for Passion Week:
Resurrection Sunday, March 31, is fast approaching. I’ve told you already that the Cross Church Passion Week events will be unlike any week in the history of our church. Every member and element of our ministry teams’ work, at each campus, is focused on preparing these events in an effort to impact Northwest Arkansas through the sharing of the story of His death, His burial, and His resurrection.
Find a full schedule of Passion Week events here
Cross Church family, be at every Passion Week that your schedule allows for and invite those around you to join you. This will be a week not soon forgotten.
Honoring Christ during Spring Break:
Whether we are here or away on spring break, please do these things:
- Pray for your church and our worship services
- Give your financial offerings of the first-tenth and above BEFORE you leave or give online here
- Connect online in worship for our services here
In the coming days, many of our families will be participating in Cross Church missionary journeys as part of Spring Break. Our ministers will be leading Cross Church teams to reach the lost in Haiti, Malawi, New Orleans, and Los Angeles.
Pray that these groups, traveling near and far, will have a Gospel impact and continue our church mission of “Reaching Northwest Arkansas, America, and the world for Jesus Christ.”
To our families remaining in Arkansas during Spring Break, please be faithful with your Sunday morning attendance and support. I challenge you to think how the Lord might use you and your family this year during Spring Break – perhaps you’ll challenge yourself to bring a guest to Sunday service, take the opportunity to serve at the campus you attend or at our Compassion Center.
Sunday we continue through the book of Acts:
This Sunday, Dr. Jeff Crawford will be leading our Springdale and Pinnacle Hills campuses in my absence. Dr. Crawford, along with Dr. Nick Floyd, Dr. Andy Goode and Doug Sarver will be moving each of our campuses onward through the book of Acts. This weekend these men will be unpacking Act 2:41-47, a dynamic selection that we will study for the next two Sundays. What we learn will impact your life and future as a Christ-follower and a member of the Cross Church family.
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
Three Actions Each Pastor and Church Need To Take
Do you want to make a difference in your community but you’re not sure how to get started? Here are three actions each pastor and church needs to take in order to identify those around you who need Christ. If you and your church will take these actions, you will discover pockets of people who are more than ready to be reached with the Gospel message.
IDENTIFY PEOPLE GROUPS
Take the needed time to do some research in order to find out the various people groups represented in your city (the U.S. Census Bureau is a good place to start). In our own research, we discovered that even in our small Northwest Arkansas region of 400,000 plus people, we have 66 people groups, plus the largest group, which is what I call the big white cluster that comprises 75% of the Northwest Arkansas region. Additionally, we discovered that our region has the largest gathering of Marshallese people outside of their native Marshall Islands.
What God has done through this discovery is remarkable . . . a testimony to the power of God for the glory of God! We put that research to work and God is doing amazing things among the Marshallese people in our community. We were able to plant the first Marshallese Southern Baptist Church in North America. Additionally, the “Jesus Film” was recently redubbed here in Northwest Arkansas for release in the Marshall Islands and to our Marshallese community.
This story reminds me of one thing: God is committed to reaching the people groups of the world. This is why we must discover the people groups in the region we serve and are called by God to reach with the Gospel!
IDENTIFY CULTURAL CLUSTERS
Look for pockets of people who have come together because of the identifying culture they share. For instance, in Northwest Arkansas two of the largest cultural clusters are the (i) cowboy and (ii) business, sub-cultures. Knowing this, we have launched three cowboy churches in the region and 11 years ago we launched a business luncheon that reaches hundreds of people weekly. This luncheon is not a Bible study, but a place for people to be empowered to make the climb in the business community. We teach leadership, motivation, and so much more.
When we identify the unique cultural clusters of the regions we serve and are called to reach with the Gospel, we are able to advance and impact our regions. Every region has unique cultural clusters!
What kinds of cultural clusters can be found in your community? Begin looking around. Observe the people around you and the types of community events held in your area. I’m sure you will identify many clusters of people to share Jesus with.
IDENTIFY COMMUNITY DISTINCTIONS
Dig deeper within the subcultures around you to find what specifically makes them unique to your community. Here are a couple of examples from my community in Northwest Arkansas. Many of the business professionals who attend our business luncheon are vendors to Wal-mart, which is headquartered near our Pinnacle Hills campus. Another community distinctive for us is the University of Arkansas, located near our two Fayetteville campuses. We have more I could share about, but these are just examples of the unique distinctions that you will find in your community.
If we ignore the reality of Vendor-ville and the Razorback Nation, we will not understand our region and be able to reach it with the Gospel. You cannot disregard realities around you and effectively reach people. You must understand the audience you are trying to reach for Christ.
A Few Final Words
Pastor, lead the church you serve to take these three actions I have shared with you today. These actions will make you better and more effective! Additionally, do them annually. Yes, your community changes and it does continually. Through taking these three actions, you will learn who the people are in your region.
The more you learn about them, your probability of reaching them increases.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.