2008 Woodie Awards
A step of faith
Sarah Cash
Issue date: 4/11/08 Section: News
In late 2006, leaders at The Crossing in Quincy - a church that saw more than 5,000 people on Easter Sunday - began to think about starting a satellite church elsewhere. Clayton Hentzel, lead pastor at the Macomb campus, said God drew their eyes to Macomb. But there were obstacles. Would the Quincy church be willing to fund and build another church, miles away?
Then one church member loaned $1 million to the project - the step of faith the church leaders needed. From January to October 2007, nearly 500 members of the Quincy church gutted, rebuilt and cleaned what was a former grocery store in Macomb. On Oct. 7, the church opened for a Sunday worship session, and about 200 people came.
On March 30, The Crossing church campus in Macomb celebrated its six-month anniversary. Now, the church has an average Sunday attendance of 650 people - including college students, families and the elderly - and offers Bible study activities almost every day of the week.
There is a ministry for women, men, children, junior and senior high students and college-age students. The Sunday services play live on the church's Web site. There is a bookstore. Weekend seminars and concerts are planned.
In the past two months, The Crossing expanded to Mossel Bay, South Africa, which broadcasts the services on Sunday evenings. Next year, the church is planning to create another campus in Kirksville, Mo.
Growth is the name of the game for this network of churches, and Hentzel believes the Macomb campus will continue expanding.
"I don't think that God ever wants his church to stop growing, so I think we will always be seeing growth at this church," he said. "However, I don't want to be a church that's known for its numerical growth; I want to be a church that's known for its spiritual growth. That's why we do this - because we believe life with God is the best life, and we don't want to compromise that. We believe God's way is the best way, and God's way is still fun and enjoyable.
"When did something being godly have to be boring?" he added.
Then one church member loaned $1 million to the project - the step of faith the church leaders needed. From January to October 2007, nearly 500 members of the Quincy church gutted, rebuilt and cleaned what was a former grocery store in Macomb. On Oct. 7, the church opened for a Sunday worship session, and about 200 people came.
On March 30, The Crossing church campus in Macomb celebrated its six-month anniversary. Now, the church has an average Sunday attendance of 650 people - including college students, families and the elderly - and offers Bible study activities almost every day of the week.
There is a ministry for women, men, children, junior and senior high students and college-age students. The Sunday services play live on the church's Web site. There is a bookstore. Weekend seminars and concerts are planned.
In the past two months, The Crossing expanded to Mossel Bay, South Africa, which broadcasts the services on Sunday evenings. Next year, the church is planning to create another campus in Kirksville, Mo.
Growth is the name of the game for this network of churches, and Hentzel believes the Macomb campus will continue expanding.
"I don't think that God ever wants his church to stop growing, so I think we will always be seeing growth at this church," he said. "However, I don't want to be a church that's known for its numerical growth; I want to be a church that's known for its spiritual growth. That's why we do this - because we believe life with God is the best life, and we don't want to compromise that. We believe God's way is the best way, and God's way is still fun and enjoyable.
"When did something being godly have to be boring?" he added.
Be the first to comment on this story