Our Core Values

Safe is not the absence of conflict. It is not the absence of trouble or persecution. Quite the contrary, the Lord reminds us to expect these things.

“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).

“Safe” at Crossroads Baptist Church means pursuing the goal of walking with the Lord with an undivided heart so that His presence saturates this place and these people. It comes through the encouragement of His people to one another, following the law of love with each other, bearing with one another in the situations of life and helping each one to become a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ.

Jesus, Himself, sought out those from whom He was strengthened. First and foremost, He often separated Himself to be with the Father. He was found in the house of Mary and Martha whom He loved very much and there were times that He withdrew from the crowds to be alone with His disciples.

Other examples of great men of the Bible looking for a safe place of comfort in the midst of conflict, war, threats, hardship and trial are:

• Elisha withdrawing to the Shunnamite woman’s upper room for refreshment

• David, in great sorrow, seeking out his wife to be comforted

• Paul encouraged by the letters from the congregations of other believers

• Paul encouraged by Timothy, Onesimus and the saints from other churches while in prison

• The Israelites quite literally in the midst of a “death camp” lived as the Death angel passed over those who had put the blood of the lamb over the doorposts while all others experienced the death of their firstborn children and livestock

It is obvious that this principle of a safe haven is evident in the Scriptures. We can have and be a safe haven in the midst of terrible times of personal and public threat, crisis, heartache, loss and sorrow.

Simple does not mean simplistic, dumbed down, lazy or a lack of excellence. It means intentional, focused and single minded. It demands a level of excellence that moves us beyond what is easy in order to pursue the Lord and His purposes with all diligence. It is giving our all for the supremacy of Christ in our lives and the single-minded pursuit of having Him accomplish His purpose in our lives. Simple should never to be confused with easy.

The apostle Paul’s frame of mind is to be our example:
“Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead . . .” (Philippians 3:13).

He was single minded in all of his purposes and pursuits. We must keep the main thing, the main thing.

“One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple” (Psalm 27:4).

Our earnest prayer and goal is to move toward full hearts rather than full calendars and the wisdom to know the difference.

It is strategic and vital that we minimize distractions, rejecting the temptation to involve ourselves corporately or personally with fads or things that may be popular, but distract us from our mission and purpose which is to Know Him and Make Him Known.

Home is a place where people go to be refreshed, encouraged, fed, strengthened, challenged and even corrected. Love is the operative word in all situations – from feelings of love and acceptance to necessary confrontations with the purpose of pushing one another to be more Christ-like.

“And let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25).

Home is a refuge for the wounded to heal and the downtrodden to be encouraged. It is a safe haven where joy is doubled and sorrow is halved. Home is to be enjoyed. If a safe haven does not exist for the body, it is with much difficulty that a launching pad can be accomplished. A launching pad is the foundation and starting point from which a person or a people embark upon the journey and the purpose to which God has called them. Simply, this journey is to make much of Jesus to our neighbors and the nations. These steps: from refuge to safe haven to launching pad bring all us to being the light of Christ in the world. We are individually His light-bearers and together as a church, we are a Lighthouse to our neighbors and the nations.

Refuge, Safe Haven, Launching Pad, and Lighthouse define the church culture in which Crossroads exists as we run to the heart of Jesus together.