Crossway at a Glance

Crossway is committed to the foundational truths of historical Orthodox Christianityas reflected in the Nicene and Apostle’s Creeds. In addition to our foundational Statement of Faith (see page 24), the family of churches in the Crossway Network are committed to the following biblical positions:

GOD’S WORD – OUR AUTHORITY FOR LIFE AND MINISTRY

The Bible, as God’s Word, is the ultimate authority over humanity and we embrace it as our final authority for life and ministry.  It is the only infallible, inspired without error, word of God.  It speaks to every issue of life for God’s people (1 Timothy 3:16-17, Hebrews 4:12).

SALVATION – GOD, THE AUTHOR FROM START TO FINISH

Salvation is a work of God, received by grace (unearned favor) through faith. Through believing and receiving Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection in our place, we are saved and sustained unto eternal life. Because of the sinful condition of man’s heart, God has to initiate, accomplish and sustain the salvation of individuals (Ephesians 2:1-10, John 6:44). We hold to a Reformed view of God’s sovereignty in salvation.

SANCTIFICATION – THE FRUIT OF TRANSFORMING GRACE

The life that is genuinely transformed by the gospel will show the growing fruit of obedience empowered by the Holy Spirit as he permanently indwells Jesus’ followers. Because God saves us apart from any works (Titus 3:5), and because of the promises in Scripture regarding God’s character, we believe once a person is truly born again, he is eternally secure (John 10:26-30, Romans 8:29-39). The reality of a person’s salvation will be shown through the progressive transformation of their lives into greater likeness to Jesus (Galatians 5:16-25,1 John 2:3-4).  

THE LOCAL CHURCH – A COMMUNITY ON MISSION

God’s design is for local communities of growing believers to be intimately involved in one another’s lives as they intentionally live out the mission of Christ.  The local church is the biblical context for the Great Commission of Matthew 28. The New Testament demonstrates God’s strategy for evangelizing the world is to empower individuals in the local church to live on mission and multiply churches.  The local church is the primary community through which God accomplishes His plan on earth (Matthew 9:37-38; 16:13-18; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-3; Acts 1:8; 2:41-43; 8:1-3; 11:22-26; 13:1-3; 14:21-28; 15:2-4, 22-36; 18:22; 20:17, 28, 32; 21:18-19; Philippians 1:27; 2:12-16).

THE LOCAL CHURCH – PLURALITY IN LEADERSHIP

God’s design for leadership in any local church is a plurality of biblically qualified (in character and competence), mutually accountable men who shepherd, equip, and oversee the spiritual health of the body (Acts 14:23; 20:17, 28; Ephesians 4:11-13; Titus 1:5)  These men understand they are simply under-shepherds of the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ (1 Peter 5:1-5).

SPIRITUAL GIFTS – SPIRIT EMPOWERED AND BIBLICALLY GROUNDED

The scriptures teach the Spirit gives every believer supernatural gifts for the purpose of building up his church and expanding his kingdom (1 Corinthians 12:27).   God demonstrates his supernatural power through imparting spiritual gifts for the purpose of putting his glory and grace on display in advancing and affirming the gospel message and messenger. (Matthew 19:23-26; James 5:13-18; Romans 8:28; 12:3-8). Spiritual gifts are not for self-edification or self-expression but for the edification of others (1 Corinthians 12:7; 14:3, 12, 17, 20-25, 26, 31) and much of the misuse and confusion surrounding “sign” oriented gifts is based upon a wrong view that spiritual gifts are for performance, when in reality they exist for service (1 Peter 4:10-11).  While we do not believe supernatural gifts have ceased, we do believe their prominence in the New Testament was due to the unique role they played in authenticating the gospel message being handed down by the apostles (2 Corinthians 12:12, Hebrews 2:3-4).

COMPLEMENTARY DESIGN OF MEN & WOMEN – EQUAL IN VALUE, DISTINCT IN ROLES

God has created men and women equal in value yet complementary in design. This complementary design is beautiful and should be celebrated.  However, because of the sinfulness of mankind, God’s design has been perverted and used to justify abuse throughout history. The church should be a place where the wonder of his design is rediscovered, enjoyed, and put on display to the watching world. God’s created design is articulated at the dawn of creation in the first two chapters of Genesis before the fall of mankind into sin.   

Complementary design of roles starts with God creating men and women equal (Genesis 1:27) but with different roles (Genesis 2:18). Men and women are equally, wonderfully, and uniquely gifted by God for His glory through the church, including areas of leadership and teaching.  We champion women’s ministry where mature, gifted, and qualified women are leading and teaching other women, children and in other areas of significant influence for the glory of God (1 Corinthians 12:4-7; Titus 2:3-5).

Our commitment to biblical complementary design recognizes that God has made men and women different and distinct for his glorious kingdom purposes. A man is called to intentionally embrace biblical headship in his home through sacrificial leadership that guides in God-glorifying direction (1 Corinthians 11:3, 8-12, 1 Corinthians 14:33-40; Ephesians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:18-19; 1 Peter 3:1-7).  In addition, leadership over the church family as a whole is to be led by men who are gifted, qualified, and called to be the church’s pastors (1 Timothy 2:18-25, 3:1-2, Titus 1:5-6).

CHURCH DISCIPLINE – PROTECTION AND RESTORATION

God has provided instructions for church restoration to lovingly keep individual believers from being ensnared by Satan and to maintain the purity of Jesus’ Church. The Bible teaches that church discipline is to be used as a process to carefully and lovingly shepherd individuals who are stuck in unrepentant sin (Matthew 18:15-18). The goal of church discipline is two-fold. First, it aims to restore the individual who persists in unrepentant sin. Second, it protects the church family (1 Corinthians 5:1-8, Galatians 6:1, Hebrews 3:12-13).

Crossway Network churches are free to have unique expressions of ministry as they seek to be faithful to the Great Commission in their communities. Along with the unique qualities of each local church, every church in the Network is also committed to the following values for mission and ministry:

GLORY TO GOD – DOING ALL FOR THE SAKE OF HIS NAME

God is supreme (Isaiah 46:9-10). He deserves our entire focus.  He alone is worthy of all praise and honor. He is the reason the church exists. We seek to lift up the greatness and glory of God in all that we do (Romans 11:33-36) without compromise (Genesis 1:1; Isaiah 40:6-8, 12-17, 21-26; 51:6-7; Psalm 8; 1 Corinthians 3:18-23; 10:31).

GOSPEL CENTRALITY – KEEPING THE GOSPEL FIRST

There is only one gospel (Galatians 1:8) and it is central to all of life and ministry. It is the matter of first importance (1 Corinthians 15:3).  The message of the gospel is timeless and unchanging. It is the focus of our daily lives and is the only message of hope for the world (Romans 1:16-17, 5:1-2, 6-11; 8:28-38; 1 Corinthians 1:18-30; 15:1-5; 2 Timothy 1:14).

INTENTIONAL DISCIPLESHIP – MAKING, MATURING, & MULTIPLYING DISCIPLES

We know the church is growing when we see people meeting Jesus Christ and growing in their discipleship. Reaching, leading, and helping people follow Jesus is the heart of the Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20). As a result, our focus is on reaching people with the good news of the gospel.  We desire church growth through people experiencing genuine conversion as new creations in Jesus Christ. Our churches do not seek the kind of growth that happens when people simply transfer from another church.  We realize that God, in his sovereignty, may call other Christians to leave their existing church and begin serving and growing in a Crossway Network church. We welcome these people as their hearts resonate with our vision and if they have sought to preserve the unity of the church they came from (Matthew 4:19; Luke 19:10; John 17:18; Acts 2:39-42; 1 Corinthians 9:19-22; 2 Corinthians 5:18-22; Colossians 1:3-6; 1 Thessalonians 1:8).

EVERYDAY MISSION – REACHING YOUR WORLD

The gospel message calls people to repent and be reconciled to God (Matthew 4:17, 2 Corinthians 5:17-21). As we seek to proclaim it through our lives and our words (1 Thessalonians 2:8) we need to be wise in our approach (Colossians 4:5). We long to bring it into the world around us with clarity and power.  This requires us to understand the cultures in which we live, and to seek to communicate the gospel in a way that connects with the people around us (1 Corinthians 9:19-22). We believe every follower of Jesus should be equipped to actively live out the mission to share the gospel and lead people to Christ.  This is often best accomplished when small groups of believers work together to pray and engage those in their spheres of influence (Matthew 4:19; 9:37-10:42; 28:18-20; Luke 10:1-24; Colossians 4:2-6; 1 Peter 1:13-16). 

BIBLICAL COMMUNITY – LIVING OUT THE “ONE ANOTHERS”

We were created for relationships with both God and one another (Matthew 22:36-40). We believe every Christian needs to experience genuine relationships with others in the body of Christ as a way of life (Acts 2:42-47). These relationships are the primary context in which the “one-anothers” of scripture are experienced.  Through these relationships, we learn to become more like Christ through serving others and being served in times of need. This is the true outworking of the New Commandment of Jesus in John 13:34-35. As we love one another, we show the world we are Jesus’ disciples, which allows us to effectively reach others for Christ. The world should be attracted to the love and joy that God’s people have amongst themselves. We are committed to foster these relationships through small group communities (John 13:34-35; 17:13-21; Acts 2:41-47; 1 Corinthians 5:5-6; 12:12-31; Ephesians 2:19; 4:25-32; James 5:16; Hebrews 3:13-14; 10:19-25).

TEAM LEADERSHIP – SERVING TOGETHER IN PLURALITY

We believe each church is to be led by a plurality of godly men who function as pastors (Acts 14:23; Titus 1:5-9). We believe the role of pastor to be one and the same with the biblical terms overseer, elder, and bishop (see interchanging use of these terms to refer to a single role in Acts 20:28, 29 and 1 Peter 5:1-4). Among the plurality of pastors, there is recognition of differing giftedness and abilities in leadership that may set some apart from others in function, but not in authority.  This may manifest itself, for example, in a “lead pastor” or some other specifically designated “leader among leaders” role (Acts 1:15; 15:13-22; Galatians 2:9; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13; 1 Timothy 3; 5:19; Titus 1:5-9; Hebrews 13:17). 

EXPOSITIONAL PREACHING – PROCLAIMING THE WORD OF GOD

We believe that God’s word is the best and greatest gift that we have to offer people. We are committed to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 3:15). For this reason, we are committed to primarily preach expository sermons through entire books of the Bible.  At the same time, the local pastors will take seasons to address the needs of their body through topical sermons from time to time. As we preach, we believe the Word of God is for our transformation, not simply our information, and as such we will strive for application and life-change (Ezra 7:9-10; 2 Timothy 4:1-6; 1 Peter 1:23-25; 2:1-2, Hebrews 4:12)

VIBRANT WORSHIP – STIRRING OUR AFFECTION FOR GOD

We were created to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23), which means worship is a way of life for the Christian and involves everything about us (Romans 12:1).  As a significant part of this life of worship, our churches are committed to providing gathered worship settings and congregational singing where God’s people praise Him in spirit and in truth.

IN SPIRIT: By cultivating a freedom of expression as God’s Spirit engages the hearts of His people and empowers them to use their gifts and voices to worship Him with excellence (John 4:23-24; 1 Corinthians 14:15; Ephesians 5:18-20).

IN TRUTH: By singing songs that celebrate and declare gospel truths and promote a high view of God and His glory (Psalm 9:2; 95:1; 100:1-2; 150:1-6; Romans 15:9, 1 Corinthians 15:1-5; Hebrews 2:12; Revelation 5:6-10)

The Crossway Network is dependent on the Lord Jesus to create a unique culture within its fellowship of leaders on every level.  As we trust and surrender to the empowering work of the Holy Spirit, we believe our abiding relationship with Jesus must make an obvious difference in the way we relate and function in leadership.  As a result, the family of churches in the Crossway Network are committed to creating a leadership culture that characteristically reflects the following values:

GLORY TO GOD – LEADING AND LIVING FOR AN AUDIENCE OF ONE

Worship fuels our leadership. We desire for our leaders and influencers to be motivated by an “Audience of One.”  Do they seek God’s glory alone?  Do they reflect John the Baptist’s heart when he said, “He (Jesus) must increase and I must decrease” (John 3:30)?  We want to avoid the hazards that come with self-importance and the need for personal recognition.  No individual is irreplaceable. The church should not be enamored by the personalities of its leaders, instead we are in awe of the person of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:1-9; 2 Corinthians 5:15). See also Galatians 1:10, 6:12, Colossians 3:23; Hebrews 1:2; Revelation 5:11-14.

GENUINE LOVE – ENCOURAGING ONE ANOTHER

We aim to demonstrate encouragement and love toward one another. We are committed to live out the New Commandment to love one another as we have been loved (John 13:34-35) so that all men will know we are his disciples. The greatest demonstration of true gospel faithfulness and obedience is to love our God with all our hearts, our souls, our minds, and all our strength; and to love our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40; Mark 12:30-31). This love is clearly seen and described by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1-7 and it is evident in every true believer’s life (1 John 3:11-18; 4:7-21).

HUMILITY IN LEADING – EXCELLING AS SERVANTS

We strive for selflessness. God has given us the life and ministry of Jesus Christ to prove to us that he does not want us to think more highly of ourselves than we ought.  He wants us to give preference to one another in honor (Romans 12:3, 10, 16). A couple of catch phrases that have emerged within the Crossway Network that illustrate this value are, “we are all in process”, and “we have the ability to speak into one another’s lives.”  The true essence of humility is not thinking less of yourself, but rather not thinking of yourself at all (Mark 10:41-45; John 3:30; 15:5; 1 Corinthians 3:1-7; 2 Corinthians 5:15; Philippians 2:1-4; 1 Peter 2:21-23; 3:9; 5:1-4).

UNITY – MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER

We are eager for harmony among leaders. Leaders within the Crossway Network understand and embrace principles of unity. They must honor one another in speech and be quick to forgive (Ephesians 4:29; 1 Timothy 5:19). With the scripture and its gospel message as the foundation, leaders and ministry teams must seek God’s wisdom in a spirit of love and deference when needed (Acts 15, Philippians 2:1-4; Acts 10; 13:1-4, 15; 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a; Ephesians 4:1-3, 29, 32; Romans 12:10).

PURPOSEFUL INVESTMENT – DEVELOPING LEADERS

We develop passionate leaders. Just as Jesus chose and trained leaders to carry on the work of the gospel after his life on earth (Matthew 4:18-22; 5:1-7:29; 10:1-42; 23:1-25:46; Mark 1:16-20; 2:14; 3:13-19; 6:6-13; 13:1-37; Luke 5:1-11; 6:17-49; John 1:35-51; 13:1-17; 14:1-17:26) so we seek to raise up passionate leaders who desire to follow hard after Jesus. Paul chose men to come alongside him (Silas, John Mark, Timothy, Luke, and Titus) and he taught them, trained them, and sent them out to serve and lead churches (1 Timothy 1:18-19; 2 Timothy 1:6-14; 2:1-2).

MUTUALLY EMPOWERING – HONORING EACH OTHER’S GIFTS

We seek to honor each other in the use of our spiritual gifts as we serve God, his people, and the lost.  Leaders are empowered and released for service with a dependent but “can-do mentality.”  We must strive to spur one another on as Crossway Network leaders are unleashed for service within their areas of giftedness and passion (1 Corinthians 12:7, 11; Ephesians 4:11-13). There is a never-ending commitment to develop more leaders to replace those who depart or are sent out (John 15:5, 16; Acts 8:1-4; 13:1-4; Romans 12:3-8; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Ephesians 2:10; 2 Timothy 2:2; 1 Peter 2:9-10).

MISSIONAL LIVING – LEADING BY EXAMPLE

We lead passionately as shepherds after God’s own heart. We are passionate about living our lives for the mission of God and about training others to that end. We want our leaders to live like they truly believe that God’s heart is for none toperish, but that all would come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). Jesus, Paul, and the twelve Apostles are our examples. As Crossway leaders, we will dependently seek to more faithfully follow their examples.  We long to live out and impart their passion and faithfulness as well as God’s heart to all those under our care.  We are committed to this value expecting that it will involve hardship and suffering (2 Timothy 2:10). We are also convinced of the urgency of the mission we are called to serve (Mark 13:32-37; John 4:34-36; 9:4; 17:4).  See also Matthew 9:37-10:42; Luke 9:1-6; 10:1-24; John 4:1-42; Acts 2:1-40; 10:23-48; 19:1-7.

MULTIPLICATION – CHURCH PLANTING CHURCHES

We are dedicated to starting new churches.  As leaders on Jesus’ mission to make disciples we believe the best way the church fulfills this mission is through intentionally sending teams and starting new churches.  Every individual church, and local region of churches, seeks to plant new churches through sending teams of diversely gifted and tested leaders who have a heart to see many come to faith and healthy churches established (Exodus 18:17-27; Joshua 1:1-9; Matthew 4:18-22; 28:18-20; Mark 3:14; Acts 15:36-41; 20:17-24)

We believe that the Bible (both Old and New Testaments) is the Word of God, fully inspired by Him and without error in the original manuscripts. The Scriptures contain the complete revelation of His will and plan for salvation. They are intended to teach, guide, correct, and nourish the believer, and are the final, divine authority for all matters of Christian faith and life.

2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 2:1-2; 2 Peter 1:20-21  

We believe in one living and true God, creator of all things, perfect in every way, without beginning or end, and eternally existing in three persons – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – and that these are equal in every divine attribute and perfection.  

Genesis 1:1, 26; Psalm 90:1-2; Isaiah 45:5-6, 21-22; Acts 17:24-28; 2 Corinthians 13:14

We believe that Jesus Christ is true God and true man, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary. We believe in His sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary and atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven where He is now exalted at the right hand of God and intercedes for His people as our High Priest, and His personal visible return to earth as promised in the Scriptures.

John 1:1-3, 14; Luke 1:26-37; Romans 3:21-25, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, 20-24; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 4:14-16

We believe that the Holy Spirit is a person who convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, regenerates the believer into new life in Christ at the moment of salvation, sanctifies the believer in Christlikeness, and seals the believer unto the day of redemption. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He guides, instructs and empowers them for godly living and service.

John 14:16, 26; Acts 1:8, Romans 8:16, 26-27; 1 Corinthians 2:4, 10-16; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 1 Corinthians 12; Ephesians 1:13-14, Titus 3:5-6

We believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God, but that through Adam’s sin man fell, and thereby incurred physical, spiritual, and eternal death. As a result, all human beings are born with a sin nature and are under the just condemnation of God. Because of sin man is alienated and separated from God and unable to remedy his lost condition.

Genesis 1:26; Genesis 3; Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:22; Ephesians 2:1-10

We believe that salvation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received through personal faith in Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. We believe that those who repent and forsake sin and trust Jesus Christ as Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit, become new creatures in Christ, are freed from condemnation, and receive eternal life as God’s children.

John 1:12-13, 3:3-6, 3:16, 14:6; Romans 10:9-13; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Ephesians 2:8-10

We believe that baptism and the Lord’s Supper are ordinances to be observed by the church. We believe that water baptism is an outward expression and a celebration of a person’s new life in Christ. We believe that the biblical pattern for baptism is by immersion in water in the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ for the remembrance of His death and for the proclamation of His death until He comes again.

Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:38-41, 8:12-13, 10:47; Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

We believe in the universal church, which is a living, spiritual body of Christ made up of all persons who have been regenerated and baptized by the Holy Spirit through saving faith in Jesus Christ, of which Christ is the head. We believe in the establishment of local churches as the pattern of the New Testament clearly defines. We believe in the autonomy of each local church under the headship of Christ to decide and govern its own affairs. We believe that God has given the local church the primary task of taking the good news of Jesus Christ to the world and helping believers grow and glorify the Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22, 4:14-16; Acts 1:8; 1 Peter 2:9-10; Matthew 28:18-20; Ephesians 4:15-16

We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body and in the final judgment: of the believer to everlasting blessedness and joy with the Lord, and of the unbeliever to everlasting conscious punishment and suffering.

Matthew 16:27, 24:4-31; John 14:3; 1 Corinthians 15:40-58; Philippians 1:23; 1 Thessalonians 1:10, 4:13-18, 5:1-11; Titus 2:13; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15

We believe that ‘marriage’ means only a legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word `spouse’ refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. We do not affirm, support or advocate two people of the same sex getting married and thus would not allow for a same sex marriage to be performed on our church premises and/or by one of our pastor’s.  We affirm that the Bible teaches that a person’s gender is determined by God through his grace and beautiful creative design in the womb before birth.

Genesis 1:27; 2:7, 18-25, Deuteronomy 22:5, Job 31:15, Psalm 119:73, 139:13-16, Isaiah 49:1, Jeremiah 1:5, Acts 17:25, Rom. 1:20-32, 1 Corinthians 7:1-4, 11:9, 1 Timothy 1:9-11

Each Servant Team member will commit to meet monthly including 2x per year in person for prayer, planning, and advancing the current initiatives for the Network. You can find details on the Network’s current Leadership web page. The Servant Team Director and the Executive Administrator will invest time in accordance with their staff responsibilities.  Each Regional Director will invest the time he is able within the scope of his pastoral ministry, gifting, and responsibilities as a Regional leader.  We recognize this will vary from Region to Region.

The Servant Team is made up of the Regional Directors (as stated above) plus two specific staff roles that we believe are necessary for moving things forward effectively.  The details of these two roles are somewhat fluid and will form more concretely as the Servant Team continues to function together. Both of these roles will include part time compensation as God provides the resources in the Crossway Network Centralized budget (funded by 1% church contributions).  The job scope for these positions will be accomplished with extra time invested above and beyond a pastor’s full-time role.

Oversight of Servant Team including but not limited to follow up, communication, planning, and facilitation of Servant Team initiatives.

Managing the ongoing Servant Team agenda and leading Servant Team Meetings.

Crossway Network budget oversight (planning, vision, and keeping on track).

Annual Huddle vision planning, and oversight.

Help foster and encourage the spiritual health of Regional Directors. This includes the goal of annual visits to each Regional Director to create meaningful connections with him and his wife.

Oversight of Church Adoption/Church Planting process.

Provide administrative leadership for the Servant Team.

Financial Administration (managing church contributions, budgeting, reporting).

Manage internal communication tools for Crossway for things like sharing resources, staying in touch, praying for one another, interacting on ministry topics across the Network, and managing Crossway wide events such as our annual Huddle.

Manage external communication through an updated website, social media presence, and other resources online and in print.

Update and maintain all of Crossway’s current documentation and church planting resources. and initiate additional projects as needed.

Function as administrative lead to serve other key Crossway Network teams (i.e. Licensing Team, Bootcamp Team, Church Planting Assessment Teams, Church Plant Coaching coordination).

Serve as the overall Network point of contact for all areas of administration, collaboration, and communication.

Every three years, these  two non-Regional Directors  roles on the Servant Team will be selected for the next season of ministry.  Before these two roles are affirmed for another three-year period, a survey will be sent to the Regions for input and direction:

• How has the Servant Team served the churches and the Network this past season?
• What do you view as the most significant needs of the Network for the next 3 years?
• Do you have any suggestions from the Region for who would serve best in these two paid roles (Servant Team Director and Executive Administrator)?

The Servant Team will prayerfully consider all the input and propose who they believe will best fill these two roles alongside the Regional Directors.  Each Regional Leadership Team will receive the proposal, discuss the recommendations, and provide the necessary affirmation (much like what happens at our local church level when installing a new pastor).  Once consensus is reached on these two roles, they will be installed for the next three years.

All of the above will be Crossway’s normal best practices.  However, if there are circumstances that lead to a pastor needing to step off the Servant Team in the middle of a three-year cycle we will always look to function with Spirit-filled wisdom and flexibility.

It is critical that existing pastors and planters feel the needed care and encouragement as those who are laboring and fighting the good fight. The key to this is in relationships and in time spent with other pastors in their region.  There will be a concerted effort to make sure every pastor is cared for by providing:

• Leadership learning communities – Churches in similar situations and ministry life stage can be gathered together in a learning community with others who are experiencing similar challenges (church plants, newer churches, recent sending churches, etc.)
• Opportunities for relationships – Through the Huddle, cross-pollinating, regional gatherings, and online communities.
• Specialized care during crisis situations – When a pastor is going through particular hard trials, others in the region will move strategically to support them.
• Coaching unique to the ministry life stage – Church planters are not the only ones who need coaching.  Established churches need help breaking through key barriers and specific ministry situations.


The desire is to share resources among all the churches so as to keep each church from having to spend time recreating what is already available. These pooled resources are packaged in such a way that they are transferable and may be used in any church context. Resources to be shared will include:

• Discipleship & basic follow up material – transferable material that anyone in the church can use to ground a new believer in the faith.
• Crossway DNA Materials (Three Modules:  Biblical Convictions, Ministry Philosophy, Leadership Culture)
• Small Group training materials
• Ministry Leader resourcing (deacons, ministry coordinators, etc.)
• Pastoral Process
• Deacon Process
• Pastor Leadership Institute Curriculum
• Missions philosophy and documents
• Sharing of mission’s opportunities
• Worship Arts Resources
• Student Ministry Resources
• Children’s Resources

It is rare that a church is randomly planted. Therefore, there needs to be special attention given to establishing a leadership farm system within a greater culture of reproduction and expansion. A leadership farm system is a proactive and purposeful mechanism to make sure that leaders are being developed at all levels. Once a person comes to faith, this would include a conscious process to be building them up in the faith, training in leadership development, exposure to church planting, introduction to pastoral training, and preparation in church planting.

Various assessments for church planters and church planting teams are wonderful tools to help ensure the success of a plant.  This process will bring to light strengths and expose weaknesses or deficiencies in the planter and/or planting team. Planters will be affirmed in strengths and encouraged to compensate for any obvious weaknesses. In some cases, it may even be recommended that the planter and his team wait upon the Lord for a season while He grows the planter and/or brings body parts to compensate for weaknesses or deficiencies. The ultimate decision for evaluating an assessment and moving forward with a planter and planting team is in the hands of the local church and region it operates in.  However, in order for the church to become a Crossway Network Church, the church will need to follow the guidelines for joining Crossway.  See “Joining Crossway” below.

Financial support will come primarily from the sending church and through regional funding.  The goal of each Regional Network pooling resources is to help bless and provide needed finances for a church plant. This is one of the biggest blessings possible for a new church plant. Each region is encouraged to put a funding strategy in place that helps determine how much funding is needed and when that funding would best serve the plant.  We highly encourage complete financial transparency and accountability by the church plant to the supporting churches and region. Therefore, financial disclosure of expenses, budget, and salaries are needed in order to properly evaluate the needs and bring a level of protection and accountability. All of this will be managed at the regional level as described in the Network Structure section above.

We trust that each local church will train and ordain their own pastors. However, for a church plant to become a Crossway Network plant, the lead pastor will need to go through Crossway’s licensing process which is detailed in Crossway’s Licensing Application.  In addition, any Crossway pastor ordained by their local church may be licensed as a “minister” through Crossway Network IRS 501(c)(3). This licensing gives extra credibility to a church planter as well as non-pastoral ministers and provides an extra layer of formality for the IRS.  Along with the licensing process, we can share resources on how to properly ordain a pastor to meet IRS requirements, etc.

Residencies can be a great way to expose future planters and pastors to ministry at the local level while assessing their strengths and seeking areas of needed improvement. In this way, the training and equipping of future planters and pastors may be accelerated. See details on Crossway’s Church Planting Residency Program here.

One of the best ways to learn about church planting is seeing the functioning of a church plant up close and personal. Future church planters are encouraged to spend time with and even serve in a church plant where they can learn by doing.

Crossway has a core value of holding our people and resources with an open hand. Once a church planting team is formed, there will be a strong commitment to do all we can as a Network of churches to raise up the key body parts and team members from our existing churches. This will allow the church plant to be launched with strength. Ministry areas where support is needed might include leading or participating in worship, children’s, youth, and college teams. These “people resources” can make a huge difference in the early successes of a church plant.

Once a church planting team is formed, a church planting “boot camp” can serve them well. These intense training weekends will help the team form their identity and think through key strategies and plans for when they launch the church plant.

Each church plant needs a consistent coach who will meet with the planting team, keep them on track, and give them valuable insight. It is ideal that this relationship will grow beyond coaching to a mentoring relationship where care for the planter and the team is most effectively realized.

Periodic meetings with Crossway pastors and potential church planters are an essential forum to expose many to church planting, prepare planters, and cross-pollinate ideas and strategies among those involved in church planting. The goal of The Catalyst is to foster excitement for church planting, provide practical training and connect key people with current teams and church plants.

To avoid having to recreate resources that are already available and to encourage the planter to focus time and energy on the mission, we should provide key resources that will assist in fostering a church plant. A detailed Administrative Guide will be provided to a church planting team that contains information about how to:

Develop a church budget, register with the IRS, apply for 501(c)(3) status, institute financial accountability and procedures, obtain the appropriate insurance, legally establish the church, set up banking for the church, EIN, market the new church, set up websites and information systems, develop checklists, etc. This documentation would serve as a policy and procedures manual for the church planter. A portion of this Guide will include a comprehensive list of best practices in key areas of ministry and administration. See Crossway’s Church Administrative Guide here.

We will provide the new church plant with the ability to leverage websites, brochures, and logos to add a level of credibility.