BECOMING A CROSSROADS PARTNER
What is God’s Mission?
This may sound like a strange question to start with, but if we don’t grasp God’s mission and how church fits in with it, then we’ll have little chance of getting it right when it comes to our involvement.

The Bible is the story of God’s great plans to forgive and transform people through the work of his own son. God wishes to see sinful, fallen people united to Jesus in repentance and faith so they might follow him and bring glory to Him. God’s mission then is to shape our own.

Where does church fit in? 
Church is central to God’s plans as his desire is to gather communities of people around his word to know and love and serve Jesus. The building up of local gatherings (churches) is key to God’s plans for our world. He longs to see people from every nation, tribe and language welcomed and united to Jesus.

But this was never meant to be done in isolation from others.

God has planned us to belong to a family. A family who expresses Christian love, service and devotion. Who grow in love and knowledge together. Who lay their lives down to see the gospel have it’s way in our world, and in our hearts. Church then is key as it is the very expression of God’s greatest desire and purpose; to bless and be with those he has redeemed for their good and for his glory.

The mission of Crossroads Christian Church
There are a lot of things that churches can be doing, but there are certain things that a family of believers must be doing. In Colossians 1:28 the Apostle Paul summarises his ministry.

He writes,
‘Him (Jesus) we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that we may present everyone mature in Christ.’ (ESV)

Crossroads has adopted this verse as our mission statement because it succinctly reflects God’s mission that his son be known by all.

So at Crossroads our aim is to:
1) Present Christ to everyone
2) Present everyone mature in Christ


This activity brings the church into existence and under God ensure it grows in number and maturity. All who belong to God’s family are called to play their part in this mission and as such we have adopted a shorthand version which has become the watermark of our church: Crossroads is on about growing followers of Jesus.

Crossroads Statement of Faith

God
There is only one God, who exists in three persons: Father, Son and Spirit, in perfect unity. He is the almighty and loving Creator, Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.

The Bible
The Bible, as originally given, is the God-breathed and infallible word of God. This precious, life-giving word is sufficient for our knowledge of God and the supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.

Humanity
All people, men and women, are created in God’s image and are called to love God with all their beings. However, since the fall, all people are guilty of rebellion against God and human nature is thoroughly corrupted by sin. This makes everyone subject to God’s righteous anger and condemnation.

Salvation
Salvation is entirely the gracious gift of God and cannot be earned or deserved. It is accomplished through the atoning death, once for all time, of our representative and substitute, Jesus Christ, the only mediator between God and sinners. By Christ’s death God’s anger is turned aside, we are redeemed from sin and death, and we are declared to be righteous in God’s sight. This salvation is offered in the gospel and received by turning to God from sin and trusting in Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ
God demonstrated his love towards us by sending his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is both fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He died on the cross, rose from the dead, and in his resurrected body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as ruler over all.

The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven by the Father and the Son. He enables people to turn to God, the Father, and to trust in Jesus Christ, the Lord. He makes the death of Christ effective to individual sinners, imparting spiritual life. God’s Spirit dwells in all those he has regenerated, producing in them likeness to Christ in attitudes, actions and speech.

The People Of God
The Lord Jesus Christ builds the church, his people, through the proclamation and teaching of his word. All who have been saved through the work of Christ are members of his church and united with one another. God has equipped his people with gifts to be used for mutual edification in the church and for the proclamation of the gospel to the world.

The Future
The Lord Jesus Christ will return from heaven. He will execute God’s condemnation on all who have not turned to God through Jesus Christ, and he will welcome his people in to a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. On that day all sin, suffering and death will be completely destroyed and God will be glorified forever.


So why become a Crossroads partner?

It is possible to be part of our church family without being a ‘formal’ partner. But there are very good reasons to be one. We want our church to be organised and run in a godly and honourable way. We want our church to continue to have recognised leaders who are set aside to lead, teach, train and shepherd God’s people. We want our church to be a family where we are godly stewards of the precious and saving Gospel message. Partners play a key role in all these areas. Formally committing to the goals of our church family is a healthy move for those who wish to see our church go forward.

In particular:
• It signals to others that you are on board with what the church is seeking to do.
• It strengthens our ability to get behind our mission and plan for the future as a church.
• It allows you to have formal involvement at partners’ meetings where key decisions for our church are made.

Becoming a partner is also an expression of your personal accountability to our church family. We expect partners to take seriously the mission of God amongst us. So those who partner with us are to be encouraged, but also challenged if their lives are not promoting the mission of Crossroads.

Further, in order for our church to function in our world we exist as a legally incorporated association. There are various standards we must comply with and being an association with a recognised constitution means we can pay staff and be covered by insurance. It also means we are held accountable for our actions, seeking to conduct our affairs in a way that is honourable before God and the world. Again,  we can’t do this without partners.

Am I eligible to be a partner?
Here are the qualifications for partnership at Crossroads Christian Church:
•  you must be over 18;
•   you must formally acknowledge faith and dependence in Jesus as saviour and Lord;
•   you agree with the mission of the church (as outlined) and promote that mission;
•   you have been in attendance for over 3 months;
•   you are not a member of another church.

What we expect of our partners?
A partner is someone who is seeking to lay their life down in trust of Jesus, longing for God’s mission to flourish amongst us and through us at Crossroads.…a growing follower of Jesus. Partnership is not about turning up at a couple of special meetings each year and placing a vote. Partnership is your way of saying you’re committed to the cause of the gospel at our church and that you will seek to connect, grow and serve with your church family in our mission. If that is you, we encourage you to apply.

CROSSROADS Partnership
If you would like to become a Crossroads Partner please complete the registration form: