For the past 3.5 years Sanctuary has been the Sunday evening service at Crossroads Church. Come this fall, Sanctuary will be re-born in St. Paul as the new daughter church of Crossroads Church.
QUESTION: What's the name of this new church?
ANSWER: After a great deal of prayer and consideration, we have chosen a name!
"For we are God's masterpiece...created anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago." Eph. 2.10
QUESTION: Do we have a building (in St. Paul)?
ANSWER: Yes, we do! We will be meeting Sunday nights at Steppingstone Theatre. Steppingstone Theatre is on Victoria just north of Summit Ave in St. Paul. Here's a pic of the space:
QUESTION: Will The Gallery be self-supporting or require financial support from Crossroads at first?
ANSWER: Our denomination, Crossroads, and those who make this new church their home will provide the funding. The denomination's and Crossroads' support will last for the first three years with the hope that by the end of year three we will be self-supporting.
QUESTION: There are many churches in this area, esp. Catholic and Lutheran. So are you saying that even tho' there are these churches out there, that they are not effectively ministering to this community? If so, how will we be successfully different? How will we be measured and held accountable?
ANSWER: Different churches reach different people. So, first of all, I thank God He has seen fit over the last 100 years to bring churches to zip codes 55105 and 55104. That said, there are no churches in the area I've found who are effectively reaching the cultural creatives, college students, and people of color I spoke of last Sunday. If there are some I don't know of, praise God!!! I look forward to meeting them. To add to that, I think we will be "successfully different" if we are making disciples, baptizing, and teaching the people I mentioned above. How will we begin a relationship with such people, by loving and serving them. Our attitude must be the same as Christ who came not to be served but to serve.
That said, this venture is less like planting a church in the suburbs and more like planting a church in a foreign country. I believe the people we are trying to reach have little understanding of the story of God and little understanding of what the Church is called to be. This is not going to be a walk in the park. For many, we will be starting from ground zero as to who Jesus really is. It is our responsibility to be a community of Jesus-followers living out the story of God among them.
We will be held accountable by our denomination, the leadership of Crossroads, and the leadership to emerge within this new church.
QUESTION: What will fill the Sunday night slot when Sanctuary moves?
ANSWER: That's not up to me. Before Sanctuary, Crossroads had a Sunday evening service like its morning services. I would not be surprised to see this happen again.
QUESTION: Will the service still be in the PM or will it be in the morning?
ANSWER: We will start with a PM service first and then hopefully add a morning service when ready and necessary.
Final thought: That last thought is very important. WHAT DOES GOD WANT? That is the key to all of this. We cannot move forward on our ideas and power. We must move forward empowered by God's Spirit. I believe we are blessed to have these next 5+ months to be in prayer and surrendered to God's leading as we build the foundation of this church plant. I hope more than anything, all of you will join me in surrendered prayer for this church plant. After all, its not ours. It's HIS.
