Asher, Lindsay and Aidan in the construction zone
Lindsay and I can sum up 2009 in one word: Construction.
About a year ago we began planting Crossroads Church with four people, no money, no home, no church location, and a dream to see a gospel community take root in post-Christian downtown Kansas City, MO.
In the past year, God slowly and steadily pulled together a team of about 15 people who love Jesus, love other people, and are willing to invest their lives downtown.
After numerous conversations with pastors and leaders, we formed partnerships with a handful of churches who committed enough money and support for our family and the baby church plant to make ends meet.
After months of home-searching, negotiating, and number crunching, God opened the door for us to move out of my in-laws’ basement and into an ideally located home by downtown. (We’ve been remodeling ever since; the current look is exposed-electrical-wiring-chic.)
And after several volunteer projects in the Arts Incubator, a landmark gallery and studio building downtown, the director invited us to hold informal church services there free of charge. We started weekly Sunday night services in November 2009.
At times, we felt like we were choking on clouds of construction dust. When we paused and got perspective, we realized that God’s been slowly hammering a foundation for Crossroads into place.
Moving into the first quarter of 2010, it’s hard to imagine that God will switch things up too much this year. Our immediate goals are to continue building our team, line up several more church partners, roll forward with our informal services at the Arts Incubator, and keep serving downtown.
And ultimately, as people who love Jesus and work to keep him at the center of our lives, the best thing we can envision for our friends downtown is that they experience the liberating goodness of the gospel as well. We invite you to keep praying with us for these goals.
God kindly got a lot done in a short time in 2009, and as we move into 2010, we have lots more work ahead of us.
We’re looking forward to more times of worship, more remodeling, more team players, more parties, and, most important, more transparency and generosity in our lives that will result in conversations, invitations, new friendships, and more serving. We trust that God will use all this to steadily move more people toward life-changing faith in Jesus.
Thanks for walking alongside us in this adventure. We covet your prayers, and we’re also always good for a coffee and catching up. If you or someone you know might be interested in what’s happening with Crossroads, get in touch. As we move ahead, we’ll do our best to keep you posted.