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Churches unite in 'cause of Christ'

Crosspointe Baptist and Grace Gospel find strength in unity as they decide to work and worship together.

By ANNE LINDBERG
Published November 22, 2006

Sunday's service at Crosspointe Baptist Church did not have the expected pre-Thanksgiving theme of gratitude.

Instead, the service was about synergy, the idea of uniting and working together, a reflection of Sunday's union of Crosspointe Baptist with Grace Gospel Church.

"We decided that, together, we could do more for the cause of Christ than we could by ourselves," said the Rev. Tim Kelley, who was Grace Gospel's pastor.

The merger has been in the works for about 2½ months, spurred by Grace Gospel's discovery that it was going to lose its lease on the former Winn-Dixie store at the entrance to the Mainlands, just south of Crosspointe on U.S. 19 N. The storefront is slated to become a Hudson's furniture store.

Grace Gospel planned to merge with a different congregation, but it didn't work out. Kelley then called the Rev. Everett Farris of Crosspointe to discuss the matter.

The more they talked, the more they realized how much they had in common.

"We finish each other's sentences," Kelley said. "We think the same way."

"This was not a necessity. It was more of a preference," Kelley added.

The two brainstormed and came up with answers to the questions they felt their congregations would ask. The most frequent was concern about losing one of the ministers. Once they were assured that would not happen, the congregations - each with about 350 members - agreed to merge.

Now, said Farris, the task is to let the community know "we're not doing church the way everybody else is doing church. We're doing something different."

That includes multimedia presentations and music that includes guitars and drums. One goal is to appeal to younger people.

"Right out of the chute, we're getting their attention," Farris said.

Farris and Kelley also try to make the message relevant to modern life. In doing so, they say, they are following the example of Jesus who talked to his contemporaries in language they understood.

Farris said he understands the method the church is using is not universally popular.

"Methods are not sacred," Farris said. "The message is sacred. ... The word of God is absolute truth. It never changes."

It's a style that seems to be serving the newly formed Crosspointe.

[Last modified November 21, 2006, 20:26:59]