Crossway Chapel is a movement of relationally networked, likeminded, autonomous churches. We are connected to each other through:
Shared Commitments
Ministry Distinctives
Biblical Distinctives
Leadership Culture
How do I become a part of the Crossway Chapel movement?
While there is great diversity amongst the churches within the Crossway Chapel movement, there are elements of ministry philosophy shared by all of the churches. These shared elements create a common ministry culture among all the churches.
Commitment to God’s Glory – God is supreme (Isaiah 46:9)! He is 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).
Centrality of the Gospel – There is only one gospel (Galatians 1:8) and it is central to all that we are and do. The message of the gospel is timeless and unchanging. It is the focus of our daily lives and it is the only message of hope for the world (Romans 1:16-17).
Engagement of Culture – Without changing the message of the gospel, we seek to bring its power into the culture. This requires understanding the culture(s) we live in and seeking innovative ways to communicate the gospel (1 Corinthians 9:19-22).
Expository Preaching – We believe that God’s word is the best and highest that we have to offer people. We are committed to sound doctrine (1 Timothy 3:15). For this reason, we are committed to primarily preaching expository sermons through entire books of the Bible, although the local pastors will take seasons to address the needs of their body through topical sermons. In our preaching, 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 (Hebrews 4:12).
Conversion Growth – The church is only really growing when people are becoming Christians. Calling people to 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 “conversion” growth, not “transfer” growth. We realize that God, in His sovereignty, may move other Christians to serve in a Crossway Chapel church. We welcome these people if their hearts resonate with our vision and if they have sought to preserve the unity of the church they have come from.
Passionate & Biblical Worship – We were created to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23). We are committed to worship that is based on sound doctrine and a high view of God. We are also committed to freedom of expression through worship as God’s Spirit engages the hearts of His people.
Biblical Community – We were created for relationship, first for relationship with God, and then for relationship with each other (Matthew 22:36-40). We believe that every Christian is to be experiencing dynamic, intimate relationships with others in the body of Christ (Acts 2:42-47). These relationships are the arena where all of the “one-anothers” of scripture are experienced and where we are made more like Christ by learning to put others above ourselves. Crossway Chapel churches are committed to fostering biblical community through small groups and a biblical understanding of the body of Christ.
Church Government – We believe in the autonomy of the local church. We believe each church is to be led by a plurality of godly men who function as pastors (Acts 14:23, 1 Titus 1:5). 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 and 1 Peter 5:1-4). Among the plurality of pastors, there is a recognition of differing giftedness and abilities in leadership that may set some apart from others in function, but not in authority.
Leadership Development – We believe that it is the responsibility of each church to raise up its own leadership from within (2 Timothy 2:2, Acts 13:1-4). Each church in the Crossway Chapel movement is committed to developing leaders for its own needs as well as for planting new churches and supporting the other churches in the movement.
