We want to help you get to know God better and enable you to become who He’s created you to be. No matter where you are in life, we’ll help you figure out some of the next steps in your journey with Him. We want to help you succeed, while creating an atmosphere where you feel safe enough to fail; to learn how to live common sense Christianity, without getting caught up in religious non-sense. C3 wants to make a lasting difference in your life, in our community, and our world. How do we go about that? By leading people to become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
And these people can be identified by their strange behavior. They can be seen doing odd things like sharing their money, meeting just to pray for each other, knowing each other’s kids, hanging out and having conversations about real stuff. We believe that the real church can still survive even in a culture that teaches us to “look out for number one”.
C3 MISSION
The mission seems simple, but Love is anything but. It started with the greatest commandment the Christ gave as the most important commandment (Matthew 22:36-40), but each to each of us with different gifts, passions and abilities, it will never play out the same. We want to enable you to discover your gifts, develop them, and then deploy you into your world a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. We are thankful that this doesn’t look the same for everyone because that means that together we are stronger than we are apart. When you come to Crossroads you will hear a lot about love, passion, gifts and serving and you will be challenged to be a part of your community personally as well as corporately. We have a lot of fun being a part of what God is doing. We love each other. We love our community. We have determined, however, that love doesn’t mean easy, it usually means sacrifice, and we embrace that heart with all that we are.
Our “Codes” here at C3 are what we hold true to follow & believe God is telling the Church (the whole world) to do.
WE BELIEVE
There is a God. Only one God, in fact, and He is the Creator of everything. We’re made in His image, which means we’re like Him in many ways, except that He’s God and we’re not. He’s loving and just and desires a relationship with us. As individuals with free will, we have the freedom to respond to the relationship God’s initiated with us, or not.
We’re free to choose to live outside the realm of the life God has for us as it’s explained in the Bible. Put another way, many choices we make either move us closer to God or further away from Him. Making even seemingly small decisions that separate us from God is called sin or selfishness. Even after we make those bone headed decisions, God loves us and passionately pursues us.
God loves us so much, in fact, that He sent His only son, Jesus, to die so the rest of us could live. The cost of sin was separation from God—spiritual death—until Jesus came and made a way for us to have a personal relationship with God even though we had sinned.That’s serious love. Because of that serious, perfect love, this gift from God is waiting for anyone who wants to receive it. He will not only give you salvation, but will empower you to overcome the selfish obstacles in your life. This is called Grace. God gives grace freely and abundantly.
As for us, we need only to decide whether or not to believe and receive this stuff. If we decide to believe it, we have available to us a new, full life that can start now and never stop. And it’s okay to have a lot of questions along the way. Although God reveals things to us (including what He’s revealed about Himself in the Bible), He remains mysterious and wonderful.
OUR BELIEFS
Scripture
We believe that the Bible, composed of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament, is the inspired Word of God and without error in the original writing. The Bible was given by God through chosen people and thus reflects the backgrounds, styles, and vocabulary of human writers. The Bible is the full and final authority on all matters of faith and practice; there are no other writings similarly inspired by God. The Bible’s truth is timeless and speaks to our everyday lives.
Luke 21:33, 24:44; Romans 15:4; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 1:19-21
God
We believe there is only one God, Creator and Lord of everything, infinitely perfect, all powerful, all knowing and eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit (The Trinity).
Isaiah 43:10-11; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; John 14:16-17, 16:23-27; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Galatians 4:4-6
God The Father
We believe that the Father is Creator and Ruler of all. He is compassionate, loving and just toward all people and is faithful to keep His promises. He hears and answers prayer. He calls all people to believe in Him and saves from sin and eternal death each person who comes to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Genesis 1; Matthew 7:7, 12:50; Ephesians 4:6; 2 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Timothy 2:4-5; Exodus 34:5-7
God The Son
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He came to earth fully God and fully man through a miraculous conception and virgin birth. He lived a sinless life and voluntarily died on the cross in our place as full payment for the sins of all people. He arose bodily from the dead on the third day to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended into heaven to the right hand of the Father where He is the only One who is able to provide access and reconciliation between God and people. He will return personally and visibly to earth and those who have believed in Him will be united with God eternally in Heaven. Those who have not believed in Him will be separated from God in Hell due to their sin.
Matthew 1:18-23; Luke 24:1-8; John 1:1-5, 1:14, 3:16, 3:18, 11:25, 14:6-7, 14:9-11, 14:16; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4, 5:8-11, 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3-6; 2 Corinthians 5:17-21; Hebrews 4:14-16, 7:24-25; Titus 2:13-14; Revelation 19:20, 20:15
God The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, Counselor and Helper sent for believers. We believe in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit who reveals God’s truth to the world and indwells believers to empower them for Godly life and service. We believe in the diversity of gifts given by the Spirit for the common good of the church and that they are operating today.
John 14:15-17, 14:25-26, 15:26, 16:5-15; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-31
Salvation
We believe every person is disobedient to God’s desires and plans in varying degrees. Any disobedience to God, regardless of how large or small, is characterized as “sin.” “Sin” literally separates each person from God, which is spiritual death. Spiritual death is not God’s desire. People can be united with God through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and Him alone. Jesus died for sinners. Anyone who accepts, and believes (entrusts their life) in Jesus’ death for their personal sins, and desires to have Him as King of their life, is forgiven for every sin. Upon this personal decision, God re-establishes a personal relationship with that person and promises eternal life.
Romans 3:23-24, 5:12, 5:16, 6:23; Psalms 51:4-5; John 3:16, 14:6; Acts 4:12, 10:43; Ephesians 2:8-9; Colossians 1:13-14; 1 John 5:11-13
Church
We believe that all those, anywhere, who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord make up the one true church. The purpose of a local church is to organize Christians to reach unbelievers with the message of salvation, serve as a corporate body for worship of God, provide fellowship for Christians with each other, develop the gifts and talents of Christians for Godly service, and practice baptism and communion. We believe baptism and communion are God’s ordinances to be observed by believers in Jesus Christ, but not to be regarded as means of salvation.
Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 2:38-41, 42-47, 38-41; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 10:24-25, 13:17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, 12:12-13
Faith & Practice
Scripture is the final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This church recognizes that it cannot bind the conscience of individual members in areas where scripture is silent. Rather, each believer is to be led in these areas by the Lord, to whom he or she alone is ultimately responsible. By adhering to God’s Word and seeking Him, we can best observe His greatest commandments, which are to love Him and others.
Romans 12:2, 14; 1 Corinthians 8 & 9, 10:23-11:1; Proverbs 3:5-6; Mark 12:29-31; Romans 12:2; Deuteronomy 6:5
We believe this Statement of Faith to be an accurate summary of what Scripture teaches.