Where have all the Elders gone?

This past Sunday, the men of the congregation had another meeting in regards to the future leadership of Crossroads. As most of you know, we have been operating for the last six (6) months with a management team. Under their leadership, we have done very well as a congregation. We continue to grow in number. Our finances are very stable, and we are currently on track to make our budget for the first time in a decade. These men have done well serving in this capacity.

The topic of discussion, however, was our need to return to being led by a Biblical eldership. With the economic upheaval and our constantly transitioning community, maintaining a willing, qualified body of elders has been difficult. Combine that with leading a growing congregation in these challenging times, and you have even more difficulty finding willing men desiring the position of overseer.

I attended a seminar at the North American Christian Convention called, “Leading Beyond Today”. It was given by Dr. Don Wilson, from Phoenix, Arizona. He said so many great things, but one item that stuck with me was the need for great leadership in the church. He made the point that churches struggle because they have the wrong leaders. He said the means you use to choose your elders is extremely important. If you use politics to pick them, he said, they will be political elders, not leaders.

There is no question that Crossroads needs to have a strong eldership if we are to grow as a congregation. We are committed to having Scriptural elders, but not at the expense of having good leaders as well. We are praying not only for godly men who desire to serve God in this way, but men with a teachable heart and a commitment to the vision and mission of Crossroads. Please join us in prayer for God to speak to those whom He is leading to become a part of those who will lead us.

See You Sunday,
Mike

Mission Trips

This week I want to share some thoughts about the recent mission trip, and some changes that will be taking place in regards to the trip. This was not my first mission trip. I have been to Haiti and China. Each trip is unique and provides a different perspective.

This was our congregation’s second trip to Show Low, Arizona. Last year, Tyler and Torie led our group. Both years, we have partnered with the Francesville Christian Church to provide a week of church camp for reservation children. They are great folks and a wonderful group to work with. Our hope for the future is to be able to make this an annual event in our church calendar. We want to make this opportunity available for anyone who desires to go.

This year, MaryAnne and I led our group of ten (10) on the trip. I must confess to a little concern over the fact that we were the oldest and the rest of the group was young adults and teens. My concerns were dispelled however as soon as we hit the ground in Arizona. Every member of the team worked very hard, and I did not hear one word of complaining. They proved themselves to be willing servants in every respect.

This was needed because there was a last minute problem with the Francesville team. Due to a death, the minister and several members of their group had to cancel. However, everyone on both teams stepped up, took up the slack, and got the job done. I could not have been prouder of our young people. To see them work with the Native American children and touch them with the love of God was truly amazing.

While there are many benefits to participating in such trips, there are a few downsides as well. Every year we have done a mission trip, there has always been a struggle to raise enough support for those going on the trip. Our current policy has been that each individual had to pay for half the cost of the trip themselves, and the rest would be covered by fund-raising. While the congregation has been very generous in their support, we have had difficulty in covering the cost of the trip.

After discussing the problem with the staff and the management team, we have decided to change the way we finance the mission trip. There is total agreement that each person needs to continue to pay for half of the cost of the trip. This insures that the people going have some “skin in the game” and take the trip seriously. Rather than invest time and resources in having fund-raising events, we have decided to establish a separate, dedicated fund within our church finances to which individuals can give over and above their regular tithes and offerings to the church. The funds given will be used to reduce the cost of the trip, up to 50%, but no more than that. The fund will continue from year to year, and hopefully carry enough of a balance to keep the trip affordable for those who desire to go.

For example, the trip to Show Low costs approximately $700 per person. If ten (10) people sign up, the fund would pay $3,500 or $350 for each person (50%). If there is not enough in the fund to pay that much, then the fund would cover whatever amount it took. Regardless of the amount in the fund, it would never pay more than half the cost of the trip.

We will keep you informed through the bulletin on how much is currently in the fund, and once a year, we will do a special Sunday emphasis on the mission trip where we will encourage you to give. We firmly believe this is a better way to support the trip without spending time on bake sales and such that may be distracting from our mission as a congregation. Our hope is that you will support this fund. You can simply designate in the memo on your check or on your offering envelope, “Mission Trip Fund”.

God bless,
Mike