Kris Vos

Kevin, Great stuff man! Here is my "Missions Monday" story you asked for at the end of your article. Sorry, no ham bun for you. "...this is when you receive your first Holy Communion. The reason I know the date so well is that I received a bible from my grandmother. The date is printed on the cover. This bible is 44 years old and looks brand new, like it just came off of the book store shelf. God has been looking for me but I have not been seeking him." "I will never forget the first time I took communion at Crossroads. It was the first time in 30 years. We did not participate the first time we were exposed, though I yearned to. When we finally did I truly felt the touch of Jesus." Excerpts from one of our newest members at Crossroads. He and his wife are starting a community garden on our property this spring. Fun stuff!

George,

Here are our policies. The costs for members are generally half off on all costs except the premarital counseling arranged through the counseling center.  Generally when we tell non-Christians and non-members about the counseling requirements they don't follow through. 

Crossroads Wedding Policy

Beliefs about marriage:

• Whereas God’s love is characterized fundamentally by faithfulness; God has been faithful to his people and therefore we ought in our relationships to be faithful to one another;
• Marriage is a covenant ordained by God
• Marriage is a covenant between a man and a woman intended to last a lifetime
• Marriage is in crisis in this country with more marriages ending in divorce than death; children especially are harmed by broken marriages;
• Physical intimacy was designed by God to occur only in the lifelong commitment of marriage.  Without this commitment there is much pain and hurt associated with the beauty of physical intimacy.
• The church has a unique responsibility to prepare couples for lifelong marriage and to strengthen existing marriages and families.

Requirements:

• Couples need to talk with the pastor before finalizing a wedding date; we require a minimum of 4 months in order to allow time for scheduling counseling sessions.
• Attend premarital counseling at Chicago Christian Counseling Center.  You will be responsible for setting up and attending counseling (219-864-4363).

Recommendations:

• Recommend that couples meet with the counselor or  mentor couple once in the year following the wedding;
• In the case of a marriage following divorce or death of spouse, we recommend waiting at least one year.

Resources:

• We offer resources (tapes, CD’s, retreats, books) to encourage families to develop healthy communication skills and relationships.
• We are working to establish support groups for blended families we currently have couples we can connect you with to learn more.
• We cooperate with other congregations and organizations to share resources and create a positive climate in which marriages are helped to succeed.

Costs (1/2 price for all members):

Payment should be made to Crossroads Community Church prior to your wedding rehearsal

*Deposit of $100.00 is required to reserve your date

• Pastor:  $200.00
• Music (you must reserve wedding date with Music Director):  $200.00
• Custodian:  $100.00
• Sound:  $100.00
• Building Rental: $400

Please read attached building use information for more information on what your deposit covers.

Property and Facility Use

• Because we hold a Saturday night service, all weddings must be completed and party vacated by 3:00 p.m. (unless otherwise arranged).

• A $100 deposit is required to reserve your date.  This deposit will be returned to you within one week of the completion of the ceremony subject to review of any damage or extra cleaning warranted.

• If you bring in food, please use the café/kitchen area.   You are responsible for cleaning this area.

• If you are dressing at the church, please remove all articles brought in (i.e., hangers, curling irons, hairbrushes, etc.)

• All decorations used in the auditorium and atrium must be picked up and taken with you the day of the wedding.  Please put all furnishings back the way you found them.

• We are a smoke-free environment.  Ashtrays are located outside every entrance. 

• Absolutely no alcohol is permitted on the property or in the building.

• Throwing of rice, birdseed, confetti, etc. is prohibited in church buildings and grounds.

• The Green Room (located down the nursery hallway) is designated the Bride’s Room.  The Prayer Room is used for the Groom (if needed).

I agree with Gary's statements about thinking locally. We have for too long in the CRC thought of the "missio Dei" as something we do in other countries while neglecting our neighbors. We have somehow come to think that the local church can be "successful" apart from improving the community where the church is located. We need to begin to think about how we impact our communities and if our community isn't improving then the local church is not living it's mission. We can no longer think, "As long as we are doing missions somewhere..." We can't let this thinking give us permission to neglect the people closest to us. This disconnect from God's mission locally is evident even on this website. It is a site designed for the local church but has little connection to local mission. How do we effectively impact the communities where our churches are located. What does it mean to be "missional" at home? How do we listen to our communities in a way that we discover where God is moving and how we can be in step with Him in our communities.

What if, just maybe, we really are doing damage to God's creation due to our irresponsible use and misuse of the world God gave us responsibility for? If that is true, which is clearly a possibility, regardless of politics, shouldn't we take responsibility and do something. I'm not advocating making this a top priority or spending endless resources to change the trend. However, maybe there are modest and reasonable things we can do to be good stewards of creation. To dismiss it out of hand as a politically driven agenda is irresponsible and poor stewardship.

I second the motion and call for the question. Choking back the tears. Thank you Rod! :-)

Our elders are working on long range (5-year) plans. Any good resources/advice would be helpful.

Good stuff! Thanks.

We are launching the Chicagoland KEZ in our region.  We have a training program that Tim Hoekstra and Pedro Avilles lead to develop church planters for the city of Chicago.  We also have a cluster in NW Indiana that is working towards a multi-ethnic, urban church plant in the greater Gary Region.  We're all in!

Mark, I too am surprised Columbus, OH made it and not one Texas city. :-)

Tim Keller says it so well!  We have experienced the same kind of evangelistic growth in our church plant.  I wish the denomination would reprioritize and invest more in church planting but we can't wait as churches!  So, our church has made plans to invest $100,000 in a new urban church plant in the coming years.

Rod,

I always enjoy your unique perspective!  For someone who was not able to attend the summit I am grateful for a little window into the experience.  Thanks!