In this posting, I wanted to share about our experience at Crossroads Community Church in Elkhart, IN. Crossroads is a great church very similar in size to VNC. It is a Nazarene church that took a risk many years ago to leave its location and style to do more to build the Kingdom. As with any major change, there are those who are against it and those who embrace it. What is neat is to see how this place is doing all it can to reach their community.
Now, we were there on a rather unique Sunday for this church. They were celebrating the Pastor's birthday so the service was probably not a typical Sunday morning. We went to the last service on Sunday morning and joined the others who had slept in or were involved in ministry already that morning.
Things I noticed: Great looking property, my kids loved the kids room they went to, an auditorium that was much smaller than what I thought it would be, very friendly greeters at the door who were a huge help, the lead electric guitar player also played the bass line by using the low E string (at least I thought his diversity at playing was pretty cool), and a definite connection between the pastor and the people of the congregation.
Things I learned: As different people were given the opportunity to share of how God had used the pastor in their lives I was reminded that God is at work even when we don't see it. In all my years of youth ministry we were constantly letting volunteers know that their love for the kids would have an impact down the road in ways they may never see. On that Sunday it was great to see some of those stories told of a person being obedient to God and loving others, and God using that relationship to bring someone else to Jesus.
Final Thoughts: As I looked at what this church was doing in Elkhart a couple things came to my mind. At VNC, we are blessed. The resources, the facilities, the staff that we have should not be taken for granted. Crossroads is located in the county that you see in the news an awful lot lately. Its unemployment rate is the highest in the United States. Our new auditorium is pro ably 5 times larger than theirs if not more. And yet, they are statistically averaging the same number of people. I have to believe this congregation is doing something right. With a genuine desire to build the Kingdom they are reaching their community at a hard time, and truly trusting God to meet the needs of this great church. After being there I can say I have great respect for what they are doing in Elkhart. You can visit their website at http://www.mycrossroadscommunity.com/
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