Our Beliefs

Below you will find all of our Articles of Beliefs and Governances here at Crossroads Church.

Article I: Our Name

SECTION 1: NAME
The name of the church is Crossroads Church and is located in Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania.

ARTICLE II: Our Calling, Convictions, and Commitments

SECTION 1: OUR CALLING
As a church, our purpose is to call all people to be fully devoted followers of Christ. A calling implies both introduction and encouragement to remain in a life of full devotion to Christ. As such, we exist to exalt Christ, edify the believer, and evangelize the world; more specifically, to reach the unchurched, de-churched, dead-churched, and unmoved, and to encourage, equip, serve, and sustain those already devoted to Christ.

The unchurched – those who have never been exposed to biblical community.
The de-churched – those who have previously been in a “church” environment but have left it.
The dead-churched – those involved in a “church” that is not pursuing biblical Christianity.
The unmoved – those nominally involved with Christ or His purpose.

SECTION 2: OUR CONVICTION

A healthy church intentionally and zealously pursues a balanced ministry. Such a ministry, through the power of the Holy Spirit, results in:

New converts to Christ through the work of the ministry
New commitments to the local body and the cause of Christ
New growth in the grace and knowledge of Christ
New leaders for tomorrows harvest for Christ

Stated another way, our desire is to call others to:

Believe in Christ
Belong to His Body
Be trained in truth
Be strong in ministry
Be missional in their lifestyle

SECTION 3: OUR COMMITMENTS

We commit to measuring our success only by our ability to realize our conviction of being and making disciples. (Disciples are individuals who understand what it means to follow Jesus Christ into a life of worship, fellowship, sacrifice, service, and yielding to the Spirit.) In summary, we are in the business of changed lives. We live to turn uncommitted and opposed into unashamedly committed, fully devoted followers of Christ. Everything we do is measured by its fullness, effectiveness, and contribution toward this purpose.

SECTION 4: OUR CORE VALUES

We unashamedly and uncompromisingly strive to be:

BIBLICALLY BASED God's Word is our guide, authority, and conscience in everything. We stand firm where it stands firm and remain flexible where it is flexible.
CHRIST-CENTERED Jesus is Lord and head of the church, Senior Pastor, and it is for Him that we exist. Full devotion to Him is normal for the believer.
GROUNDED IN GRACE We acknowledge our complete dependence on the goodness and grace of God in everything. We ourselves have benefited from the kind of intention of His will; therefore we eagerly extend it to others.
RELATIONSHIPS We believe life-change happens best in the context of relationships. We value honest relationships where truth is spoken in love and every member takes responsibility for the well-being and reputation of others they know in the body.
PASSIONATE ABOUT PRAYER We do not believe that prayer is merely preparation for the work. We believe that prayer is continually an essential part of the work.
AUTHENTIC IN OUR WALK Authenticity, integrity, openness, and sincerity will define us. “The goal of our instruction is love, from a good conscience, a pure heart, and a sincere faith.”
COMMITTED TO THE UNCOMMITTED We believe that lost people matter to God; therefore they matter to us. Jesus came to seek and save the lost and has left us here in part to do the same. Our individual lives and corporate efforts will reflect this conviction.
RELEVANT TO OUR WORLD The Bible does not tell us to use only certain styles of music, or to present our message only through words. The Bible does make it clear, however, that we are to find ways to effectively bring the message “into all the world” in order to make disciples. We believe this will require careful scrutiny of everything we do-new practices and old-and a willingness to change when necessary within biblical parameters, in order that Christ, “by all possible means might save some”.
A WELCOMING FAMILY We desire our fellowship to be a caring family that values community, informality, spontaneity, freedom of expression, humor, fun, commitment, and loyalty. In our pursuit of holiness, we will acknowledge our imperfection and provide an environment in which people are free to risk, fail, and find grace and encouragement in a time of need.
ACCOUNTABLE TO ONE ANOTHER Everyone is welcome to attend our church and participate in our times of celebration and encouragement. It is our intention, however, to call all believers in our midst into membership in the Body of Christ.
COMMITTED TO COMMUNITY Belonging to our community requires a visible commitment to being intentionally involved with others in accountable and encouraging relationships. In clusters of caring people, participants share and encourage each other toward spiritual growth. Here people can experience both the benefits of a larger church and yet enjoy the kind of relationships that only develop in small, safe settings.
FOCUSED ON MINISTRY & SERVICE We believe that each believer has received a special gift and should employ it in serving others, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
INNOVATIVE AND FLEXIBLE We value openness to change and flexibility, believing that such a climate is conducive to personal, relational, and spiritual growth. We will be structured to allow for change, freshness, and innovation. We strive to keep the tradition in perspective. We constantly ask whether every tradition or practice is optimally serving the biblical purpose for which it was originally designed. If it is, we keep it. If it is not, and if the Scriptures give us leeway on how to accomplish that purpose, then we aggressively work to find a better way.

SECTION: 5 OTHER POSITIONS-GENERAL VALUES

PURSUIT OF GOD We desire to be in passionate, relentless pursuit of God’s heart, mind, presence, voice, and to follow after Him.
PREEMINENCE OF JESUS CHRIST We believe that full devotion to Christ is normal for the believer. We desire to emulate the attributes of Christ and be increasingly conformed to His image.
DEPENDENCE ON THE SPIRIT OF GOD We acknowledge our need to be completely yielded to and guided by the Spirit. God’s purposes will be accomplished here not by our great efforts, but by His great work through us and in us.
APPLICATION OF GOD’S WORD We believe the Bible is to be taught and applied to lives with equal passion. We seek to know and live the Scriptures. The best theology is applied theology.
SERVANT LEADERSHIP We acknowledge the significant leadership authority Christ has put in the hands of the Overseers. We expect all leaders to exercise that authority by modeling humility, selflessness, grace, care for His sheep, and sacrifice so that others might advance in their faith and faithfulness.
WORSHIP We do not desire to mandate or be identified by any particular form or practice in worship but to create a worship environment that resonates with the soul of worshippers. This will occur in an atmosphere of freedom, in which people can express their heart for God while at all times maintaining sensitivity to others.
CHILDREN We view children not only as the future but as a significant part of the church right now. Our goal is to raise passionate followers of Christ, so we believe our children are worth all the time and energy we can invest in them.
TRAINING AND DISCIPLESHIP Intentional participation in relationships with others at different levels of spiritual maturity is essential. While we provide many formal occasions for growth, we place a higher priority on the value of relationships. Jesus apprenticed His disciples, even as His disciples today are called to mentor or be mentored by others.
DIVERSITY We agree that churches more easily attract others with similar preferences and/or life experiences and therefore acknowledge that simply by being who we are we are necessarily “targeting” a certain segment of our society. Our desire, however, is that the Holy Spirit will bless us with a rich diversity of ages, life-stages, religious, racial, educational, and socioeconomic backgrounds. We desire to foster an atmosphere of unity that communicates warmth and acceptance of all that care to join us. It is our hope that the things that ultimately define us are those that speak to the needs of the entire human race, not only specific ethnic or demographic ones. Therefore, we stress such universal concerns as forgiveness, redemption, significance, peace, meaning, and truth above styles, tastes, and preferences.
UNITY, COMMITMENT, COMMANDMENT, COMMISSION We embrace diversity but require unity in the essentials, understanding in the non-essentials, and seek in every way to love others as Christ first loved us. We have a great commitment to the great commandment and the great commission, believing by this alone God will make us a great church.
SIMPLICITY We wish to do nothing “for religious effect” but rather to live, serve, and worship in an authentic and natural way.
HEALING We believe Jesus is the divine physician, so healing and hope should be the norm where His people gather in the community. We believe Jesus continues to provide freedom, redemption, deliverance, healing, salvation, and hope as best it glorifies His name and purposes.
MISSIONS In response to Christ’s directive to spread His Good News, we pursue a multi-faceted approach in helping reach people everywhere. Our church desires to take a servant approach to equip and support various indigenous ministries that have proven effective in their own culture. We encourage members to serve locally and abroad. In addition, we seek to involve our church in projects to communicate the Gospel and share our resources to empower the church locally, nationally, and worldwide.
THE POOR We are God’s extended hands. We must, with vision and servant leadership, increasingly learn to minister directly to the poor, sometimes with our money, sometimes with our lives. We must live in fellowship with an awareness of our blessings and the corresponding responsibility to others.
EXCELLENCE We believe excellence honors God and reflects His character. We strive for excellence without compromise in all areas of our ministry and lives to bring glory and honor to Christ.

Article III: Our Beliefs

SECTION 1: THE SCRIPTURES

We believe the Bible to be the verbally inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings, and the supreme and final authority in doctrine and practice (II Timothy 3:16-17; II Peter 1:21; John 17:17).

SECTION 2: THE GODHEAD

We believe in one God eternally existing in three equal persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each has the same nature and attributes but is distinct in office and activity (Matthew 28:19; II Corinthians 13:14).

SECTION 3: THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST

We believe the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man, without ceasing to be God. He was conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, in order that he might reveal God and redeem sinful man. We believe He accomplished our redemption through His death on the cross as a substitutionary sacrifice. We believe our redemption and salvation are guaranteed by His literal, physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1, 14, 18; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24-26, 4:25). We believe the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted to the right hand of God where, as High Priest to His people, He fulfills the ministry of intercession and advocacy (Hebrews 1:3, 3:1, 7:23-25; I John 2:1-2).

SECTION 4: THE PERSON AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe God and the Holy Spirit is a person who restrains evil in the world and convicts men of sin. He also regenerates those who receive Christ as their Savior, baptizes them into the Church, the Body of Christ, indwells them permanently, seals them unto the day of redemption, bestows spiritual gifts on each one, and fills those yielded to Him (John 16:7-11; John 3:8; I Corinthians 12:4-11, 13; John 14:16-17; Ephesians 4:30, 5:18).

We believe God answers prayer for the sick and is able to heal in accordance with His will (I John 5:14-15; James 5:15-16). All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to the church today.

SECTION 5: ANGELS, FALLEN AND UNFALLEN

We believe angels are spiritual beings who were created as sinless personalities and that they occupy different orders and ranks. They presently exist in both fallen and unfallen states, the former including Satan and his angels (Hebrews 1:13-14; II Peter 2:4; Revelations 7:12). We believe Satan, by his own choice, the enemy of God and His people, is the originator of sin that he led our first parents into sin and now rules as “the god of this world”. We believe he was judged at the cross and that ultimately he will be cast into the Lake of Fire (Isaiah 14:12-14; Genesis 3:1-19; Hebrews 2:14; Revelations 20:10).

SECTION 6: CREATION

We believe God created all things in heaven and earth and that they exist by His power (Genesis 1:1; Colossians 1:16-17). We believe man was created innocent and in the image and likeness of God but that he sinned, bringing both physical and spiritual death to himself and his posterity. We believe man has inherited a sinful nature, is alienated from God, and is in need of salvation (Genesis 1:27, 2:17, 3:19; Ephesians 2:13).

SECTION 7: SALVATION

We believe salvation is a sovereign gift of God and is received by man through personal faith in Jesus Christ and His sacrifice for sin. We believe man is justified by grace through faith apart from works (Acts 13:38-39; Romans 6:23; Ephesians 1:4-5, 2:8-10). We believe all true believers elect of God, once saved, are kept secure in Christ forever (Romans 8:1, 29-30, 38-39; John 10:27-30).

SECTION 8: SANCTIFICATION

We believe sanctification, which is a setting apart unto God, is positional, progressive, and ultimate. Positionally, it is already complete since the believer is in Christ and is set apart unto God as Christ is set apart unto God. Since the Christian retains his sinful nature, however, there is a need for progressive sanctification whereby he grows in grace by the power of the Spirit. Ultimately, the child of God will be set apart from sin in his practice (as he is now in this position in Christ) when he is taken to be with Christ and shall be like him (John 17:17; II Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 5:25-27; I Thessalonians 5:23; Hebrews 10:10, 14).

SECTION 9: THE CHURCH

We believe the Church, the Body, and Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism, made up of all born-again persons. We believe the Church began at Pentecost and that a believer is placed into the Church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. We believe the Church is distinct from Israel (Ephesians 1:22-23; I Corinthians 12-13, 10:32). We believe the local church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purposes of worship, prayer, the study of the Word of God, observance of the ordinances, Christian fellowship, equipping for and practice of Kingdom service, specifically stewarding our lives for the purpose of fulfilling the Great Commission (Acts 2:42-47; I Corinthians 1:1-2; Ephesians 4:11-13; Matthew 16:18, 28:19-20). We also recognize Jesus Christ as the Senior Pastor of this church.

SECTION 10: THE ORDINANCES OF BAPTISM AND THE LORD'S SUPPER

We believe Christ instituted the ordinances of water baptism and the Lord's Supper, both of which are to be observed by believers until He returns (Matthew 28:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-26). We believe by water baptism a believer is publicly identified with his Savior and that infants of believing parents may be dedicated to the Lord but should not be baptized until they can personally articulate their faith and the purpose of baptism. We believe the Lord's Supper is a memorial of Christ's death, the elements being symbols of His body and blood. We believe every Christian has a right to partake of the elements of the Lord's Supper but that participation must always be preceded by solemn self-examination.

SECTION 11: THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST

We believe in the personal, imminent coming of the Lord Jesus Christ for the Church. The second coming will be followed by the tribulation on earth and will culminate in the return of Christ to earth to set up His millennial kingdom (I Thessalonians 4:13-18; Philippians 3:20; Matthew 24:15-31; Zechariah 14:4-11; Revelation 20:1-6).

SECTION 12: THE ETERNAL STATE

We believe the souls of believers in Jesus Christ do, at death, immediately pass into His presence, and there remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at His coming for the Church, when soul and body reunited shall be associated with Him forever in glory.

We believe the souls of unbelievers remain after death in constant misery in Hades until the final judgment of the Great White throne at the close of the millennium when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting separation from the presence of the Lord (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; II Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; II Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15).

ARTICLE IV: Our Membership

Section 1: MEMBERSHIP

While we acknowledge that all true believers in Jesus Christ are positional members of the church universal; participatory membership in this local body requires participation in and commitment to:

The Beliefs and Governances of this church
An intentional community with members of this local body; and
The use of whatever gift(s) he has received to serve others, in order that he may do his part in faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms for the purpose of fulfilling the great commission.

As a result, we acknowledge two types of membership at this church:

Positional Membership – which includes all true believers in Jesus Christ; and
Participatory Membership – which includes true believers in Jesus Christ who have committed themselves to this local body as outlined above (hereinafter “Members”).

Article V: Our Government

This church, under the leadership of Jesus Christ through the Holy Spirit, is an autonomous body of believers voluntarily submitting themselves to a form of government that we believe is in accordance with the Scriptures. The official offices of this church, through which all its powers are administered, are covered in subsequent sections of this document. These offices shall be occupied by men and women where specifically permitted, by Scripture, and who are raised up by the Holy Spirit, called by a personal conviction of God, and appointed by the Board of Overseers. The responsibilities of these offices are also defined in subsequent sections of this document.

Article VI: Our Officers

SECTION 1: GENERAL
We believe that holding an office in the church is by:

The calling of God by the Holy Spirit;
The conviction of the will of God on the part of the candidate; and
The approval of the Boards of Overseers.

The officers in this church shall be the Overseers and those to whom the Board of Overseers delegates authority and designates as officers. Selection of new Overseers and Team Leaders shall be by appointment of the Board of Overseers. The Board of Overseers shall appoint all pastoral and ministerial staff.

SECTION 2: THE BOARD OF OVERSEERS

DESCRIPTION OF THE OFFICE Our church is Overseer led. The Board of Overseers governs, corrects, cares for (shepherds), and oversees the spiritual interests of this church. An Overseer must be a member of this church and lead a life that meets the qualifications of Scripture and embodies the “Calling, Convictions and Commitments” of Crossroads Church. The Board of Overseers shall be comprised of not less than three (3) nor more than ten (10) men. The number of Overseers must be limited by the number of qualified men that the Lord raises up and the ability of the Board of Overseers to maintain intimate, deep, and growing relationships between its members. It is imperative that the Board of Overseers model accountability, care, and every other aspect of the authentic biblical community. Great care should be taken as to the effects of the number of Overseers of the Board of Overseers’ intimacy and the integrity of relationships among the members of the Board of Overseers.

The Board of Overseers shall normally meet at least once a month. One hundred percent of its members constitute a quorum, except as permitted by any reasonable limiting circumstance. At the first meeting of the new church year, the Board will elect Chairman (Oldest Overseer), Vice-Chairman (Second Oldest Overseer), and Secretary. While such offices are allowed among Overseers for the orderly facilitation of meetings, no Overseer shall be considered subordinate to any other Overseer in the office of spiritual authority.

RESPONSIBILITIES
The Responsibilities of the Board of Overseers include:

Providing spiritual leadership for the church;
Directing the affairs of the church;
Making provision for teaching during worship services;
Praying for and with the people and watching over their spiritual and physical needs;
Leading the church’s outreach to a lost world;
Directing, protecting, and correcting the Participatory Members; and
Executing on behalf of the church, deeds, notes, deeds of trust, releases, and any other instruments or contracts as may be necessary to comply with God’s leading for the church as to real property belonging to, or being acquired, improved or sold to the church.

CALLING OVERSEERS
Overseers are raised up by God to provide spiritual leadership for the church. A prospective of Overseer will be examined as prescribed below to determine:

His personal knowledge and comprehension of the Word of God, especially as it relates to his being sound in doctrine and his knowledge as to the qualifications for an Overseer;
His personal philosophy concerning the purpose of the local church and his responsibility as a leader within the church;
His agreement with the Beliefs and Governances of this church in its entirety;
His ability and willingness to serve and participate actively as an Overseer, to attend faithfully the services and programs of the church and to support the various programs and activities of the church;
His ability to teach and his desire to cultivate this ability for the Lord;
His life of making disciples for Christ; and
His history of being in the biblical community including accountable, caring, submissive, and enduring relationships with other believers.

The Overseer selection process shall generally follow the process described below.

OVERSEER SELECTION PROCESS
The selection of a new Overseer shall, at a minimum, follow the four (4) steps below:

Candidate Identification – Any potential Overseer shall be identified by the Board of Overseers a man fitting the biblical qualifications of an Overseer of the church and shall be submitted to a period of prayerful consideration by the existing Board of Overseers.
Notification of the Potential Overseer – Following a season of prayer, the Board of Overseers, upon initial confirmation of the potential Overseer, shall notify the potential Overseer that he is being considered to hold the office of Overseer at the church. The potential Overseer shall submit himself to a time of prayer concerning God’s call upon his life and his possible service as an Overseer of the church.
Validation – Upon the confirmation by the potential Overseer of God’s call on his life, the Board of Overseers shall begin a validation process which, at a minimum, consists of the potential Overseer’s completion of a “potential Overseer Questionnaire” to determine whether he meets the qualifications of an Overseer as set forth above; a re-affirmation that the potential Overseer is in agreement with the Beliefs and Governances of the Church and various interviews with third parties concerning the potential Overseer’s character, life, and Christian witness.
Confirmation – Upon satisfactory completion of the Validation process, the potential Overseer shall be presented to the congregation for its comment on his character, qualifications or any other issue which would affect his suitability to serve as an Overseer of the church.

REMOVAL

No person can be removed from the Board of Overseers except for just cause as determined by a unanimous vote of the Board of Overseers (exclusive of the Overseer whose removal is being considered). Just cause includes, but is not limited to: events that would disqualify him as set forth in Article VI – Section 2; or behavior, schedule, or stage of life that affects his ability to maintain biblical community with other members of the Overseer Board. If any Overseer fails to maintain a biblical community with the other members of the Overseer Board, he should be informed and asked to make immediate adjustments to his schedule or voluntarily resign his office. The Board of Overseers will accept the written resignation of an Overseer whenever submitted.

SECTION 3: THE PASTORAL OVERSEER

The Pastoral Overseer is the vocational spiritual leader of the church and has oversight of the spiritual life of the church in conjunction with the Board of Overseers. The Pastoral Overseer should be fully prepared for his ministry as required by the Board of Overseers. He should live a consistent Christian life, ruling his own house well and having a good testimony with non-Christians.

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE PASTORAL OVERSEER The Pastoral Overseer is accountable to the Board of Overseers for the oversight of the Beliefs and Governances of the church. He is responsible for leading the staff and church body in carrying out the purpose and values of the church and overseeing the church's ministries.
CALLING THE PASTORAL OVERSEER The Board of Overseers shall call a Pastoral Overseer. When the Board of Overseers desires the church to have a new Pastoral Overseer, it may appoint a search committee to assist in identifying qualified candidates or search for a qualified candidate on its own. Ultimate responsibility and authority for calling a Pastoral Overseer rest in the Board of Overseers, since the Pastoral Overseer will serve as an Overseer of the church, at a minimum, the Overseer selection process shall be followed.
REMOVING A PASTORAL OVERSEER When the Pastoral Overseer resigns or is removed by the Board of Overseers, the Board of Overseers may call a meeting to inform the congregation of the reasons for removal or resignation, so far as it is honoring to God, the Pastoral Overseer, and the congregation. When the Pastoral Overseer resigns or is removed from that office, the Board of Overseers shall make a provision for the interim fulfillment of the Pastoral Overseer’s responsibilities. In that event, an Interim Pastor may be appointed by the Board of Overseers as a minister to carry on the pastoral duties while the church is without a Pastoral Overseer.

Article VII: Our Workers (Ordination and Commissioning)

It is our confidence that God will raise up Spirit-filled and gifted men and women from among us who will be called to a life of proclaiming the Gospel of the grace of Jesus Christ. Such men and women may be given a commission to lead God’s people, as is appropriate in Scripture and share in the privileges and responsibilities thereof. The Board of Overseers shall determine the process, requirements, timing, and forms leading to the ordination. The Board of Overseers may also commission Members to serve as ministers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ under its authority, while they are Members in good standing at this church.

Article VIII: Our Responsibilities

The Board of Overseers may delegate to individuals, committees, or organizations the right to transact any of its business or to exercise any of its powers, but the exercise of such delegation shall be subject to the supervision and control of the Board of Overseers.

Article IX: Our Beliefs and Governances Amendments
(Amendments) Our Beliefs and Governances may be amended by the unanimous approval of the Board of Overseers. Copies of any amendment(s) must be made available to Members not more than thirty (30) days following such amendment(s).

BIBLICAL MARRIAGE

Crossroads Church is taking the following measures to protect their religious freedom, even as we minister in Christ’s love. God calls His church to be salt and light, proclaim the truth, demonstrate grace, refuse to compromise with evil, and, as much as possible, obey the government. We believe that our congregation can respond to God’s call while safeguarding our religious liberty through three areas of preparation regarding society’s normalization of homosexuality.

Crossroads Church has the following statement declaring biblical truth regarding marriage: The Bible tells us that man and woman were created by God as distinct acts of creation, and that being male and female was an aspect of how they were created in His own image (Genesis 1:27 and 2:7, 18-19). Marriage is the joining of these distinct genders into one flesh. Thus marriage is between one man and one woman. Further, the Bible teaches that while sex within marriage is pure and honorable, sex outside marriage is sinful and will be judged by God (Hebrews 13:4). The seventh commandment, “You shall not commit adultery,” protects the sexual relationship between a man and woman who are united in marriage by forbidding marital infidelity, pre-marital sex, homosexuality, bestiality, and the use of pornography (Exodus 20:14). Outside biblical marriage, God’s standard for sex is celibacy, saying “no” to both heterosexual and homosexual lusts (Matthew 5:27-30). Celibacy is a gift of God that allows the unmarried to live a life of purity and contentment so that a person does not have to engage in sex to have a full and satisfying life (1 Corinthians 7:7-9). Homosexual behavior is sinful and unnatural (Romans 1:24-28). Like other sexual temptations to sin, homosexual lust is highly addictive and difficult to stop. Although God’s grace is sufficient to forgive and cleanse from all sin, that does not guarantee that a “forgiven and cleansed” homosexual will develop heterosexual feelings. Still, he or she may live a celibate life (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).
Crossroads Church believes that a Christian wedding is the worship of God, not a civil function. Crossroads Church believes that marriage has two essential characteristics:
- 1. God instituted marriage as a natural common grace available to all people, at all times, in all places. It is available not only to Christians but to all people (Genesis 2:24).
- 2. Biblical marriage is a lifelong covenant or sacrament between one man and one woman (Matthew 19:4-6). Biblical marriage promotes the bearing and rearing of children and exercise of stewardship over creation (Genesis 2:27-28). The essence of a Christian wedding is the Divine blessing of the bride and groom as they exchange vows while God receives the worship of the congregation as they witness those vows and as they offer Him prayer and praise.
- 3. Crossroads Church facilities are for uses that are directly related to its religious mission. Crossroads facilities are for the use that are directly related to religious functions and the church mission. (Exodus 25:8) Then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. (1 Kings 9:6-9) But if you or your descendants turn away from me and do not observe the commands and decrees I have given you and go off to serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land I have given them and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. Israel will then become a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples. This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’ People will answer, ‘Because they have forsaken the Lord their God, who brought their ancestors out of Egypt, and have embraced other gods, worshiping and serving them—that is why the Lord brought all this disaster on them.

RESTROOM FACILITIES USE

Crossroads, a religious-based place of worship, places qualifications on who may use our restroom facilities according to a person’s “gender at birth” versus a person’s “gender identity” in the area where state and municipal antidiscrimination laws unconstitutionally interfere with our constitutional rights and safeguard our religious liberties.

Crossroads holds two weekly services (for our members and the public) and various other ministry opportunities (i.e. community events, worship services, children and youth events, daycare center, congregant weddings, and congregant funerals). Crossroads will not allow the use of its facilities in any manner inconsistent with its religious functions or church mission.

This policy is consistent with and required by God’s Word, which sets forth the distinctiveness and immutability of the male sex and female sex as Jesus Christ himself taught in Matthew 19:4, “Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,”
The church has four single-occupancy restrooms designated for the separate use of each sex.
The church has one multioccupancy restroom, designated for the exclusive use of single-sex (either males or females).
Crossroads views these designations as being limited to biological males or females.
An individual’s sex is determined at the time of birth by the individual’s anatomy, physiology, and chromosomes.
Crossroads has maintained an unwritten policy that areas designated for sex-specific use may only be used by members of that biological sex—a policy that comports with our religious teachings.
Crossroads uses the pronouns he, him, his when referring to males and uses the pronouns she, her, hers when referring to females.