WHY DOES CHURCH MEMBERSHIP MATTER?
The Bible teaches that it’s only by belonging to a local church that we can live out our discipleship to Jesus—with a commitment to one another as members of the body and a commitment to submit to local church pastors (1 Cor. 12:12-31; Heb. 13:7). Therefore, at The Crossing Church we take church membership seriously.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A MEMBER OF THE CROSSING CHURCH?
To be a member of The Crossing Church means a commitment to Gather, Go, Grow, and Give; so that every man, woman, and child in Paragould will have a daily encounter with the Real Jesus in word and in deed.
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE MEMBERSHIP FORM?
As a church we begin every new year by taking some time to refocus on what it means to be a member of The Crossing and renew our commitment to Gather (Heb. 10:24-25), Go (Matt. 28:18-20), Grow (Eph. 4:15), and Give (2 Cor. 9:6-8), to help bring about our vision to see every man, woman, and child in Paragould and beyond have a daily encounter with the Real Jesus. The goal of membership renewal is to help us have a plan and be intentional in living out the lives that God has called us to live—nothing more, nothing less (1 Cor. 7:17). As the saying goes: If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Without a plan, we naturally drift away from Jesus. Therefore, membership renewal matters because it gives us a yearly plan to help us daily take up our cross and follow Jesus in his mission (Luke 9:23).
WHAT HAPPENS IF I FAIL TO FOLLOW THROUGH WITH MY COMMITMENT?
The Crossing Church is a culture of gospel + safety + time. The gospel reminds us that because of Christ we are fully accepted not because of our work, but because of Christ’s work. It also reminds us that by God’s grace through the Spirit and through community we have the power to change. Safety is emphasized at The Crossing Church because we all need a safe place to work out our doubts, fears, and questions. Time is important because no one changes over night. At The Crossing Church, we are asking no one to change on our timing, but God’s timing. In a nutshell, The Crossing Church is a place where it’s okay to not be okay. But it’s not okay to want to stay there. Our hope is that in 2019 we will struggle towards following Jesus together in the context of life on life, life in community, and life on mission.
That being said, we are not calling ourselves to anymore then Jesus calls us to, nor are we calling ourselves to any less. In the same way a loving parent meets their child’s shortcomings with grace and a desire to help them grow and mature into healthy adults, our goal as pastors is to love one another through all our imperfections and be gracious while at the same time exhorting one another to grow and mature into the men and women God created us to be.