A small group of young adults at Redeemer Church is seeking to intensify our Gospel ministry. These believers range in age from 16 to 30. Though they are in different stages of their educational and professional life (pre-college, college, post-college), they have the same purpose for their spiritual life: “to pursue the glory of God and joy of all people through worship, fellowship, discipleship, and mission.”
Because of their common, critical stage in life they have started a ministry called “Crossroads.” Basically, the vision of Crossroads is the same vision of Redeemer Church (see above paragraph). They simply want to put hands and feet to this vision.
There are a few key areas of ministry on which Crossroads should focus so that the ministry will flourish and believers will be trained for a lifetime of worship. I would like to outline them here:
- Worship – Crossroads will be a very social ministry, focusing on relationships. But it will not be a “social club,” per se. The ultimate purpose of the ministry is worship. It gives an outlet for the members to be better worshippers and to draw other young adults toward worshipping the Lord in the context of relationships.
- Fellowship – Christian “fellowship” basically means partnership, close relationship, sharing. Christians are partners with Christ andpartners with each other (1 John 1:3). Crossroads members need to experience honest, loving Gospel fellowship with one another. Not only will it encourage their hearts and help them build solid relationships, but it will also give them a solid foundation for living in a worshipping community for the rest of their lives.
- Discipleship – Christian discipleship involves two principles: learning and doing. A disciple of Christ learns from Christ and then applies that teaching to life. Hence, a disciple is a learner and doer. Members of Crossroads must commit to discipleship. A disciple is a person who is faithful, available, & teachable.
- Mission – Believers are servants of Christ and others. Mission is a humble, joyful response to the grace of God whereby the Christian servant seeks to glorify God and minister to the spiritual and physical needs of others. üThe church is doing a massive disservice to Christian young adults when we do not train them to serve. This error produces a church that is lazy and ineffective in ministering the Gospel to the world. Crossroads will be on mission through various expressions of Gospel love.
Last Saturday they cleaned the entire church building. And it’s a BIG building! Then they played Ultimate Frisbee (which they do almost every Saturday). This Friday night they will hang out together at the Browns’ house. Next Friday night (Sep. 28th) they’ll host a gathering at the church after the Oxford High football game. On October 31st they’ll have a costume fellowship and game night. I know they have many other regular and special events planned for the fall semester. I also know that the ultimate goal is to fulfill their vision of worship, fellowship, discipleship, and mission. By the way, do those ministry pillars sound familiar to you?
If you have any questions about Crossroads or want to get involved, just let me know (ryan@redeemeroxford.org).
by Ryan Limbaugh