{"id":2284,"date":"2012-10-23T08:41:53","date_gmt":"2012-10-23T13:41:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/?p=2284"},"modified":"2012-10-23T08:41:53","modified_gmt":"2012-10-23T13:41:53","slug":"our-churches-crossroads-church-loveland-colorado","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2012\/10\/our-churches-crossroads-church-loveland-colorado\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Churches: Crossroads Church – Loveland, Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

We have started a new series of posts here on the Worship Connect blog. In addition to our normal Friday posts, on occasional Tuesdays we\u2019ll be profiling one of our Covenant churches. Our purpose is to celebrate God\u2019s work in and through us, to demonstrate the diversity of approaches to worship in the ECC, and to prompt prayer for one another. We are better together.<\/em><\/p>\n

Our latest post comes to us from Jessica Perez, Worship and Creative Arts Directer at Crossroads Church<\/a>\u00a0in Loveland, CO.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This wall is on our main floor atrium; we have the same wall, in Spanish, upstairs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Crossroads Church is a vibrant and creative church, and has been since our first service in January, 1996. My father, John Smith, founded Crossroads 16 years ago; he remains the senior pastor. As a youth pastor at Evangelical Covenant Church (now LifeSpring Covenant church) in Loveland, Colorado, my dad was called to plant a church that was unlike any church in the area at that time. Crossroads met in schools for the first 9 years; at one point, we were meeting in 11 different facilities in any given week. We have had an exciting run. Although it hasn\u2019t always been easy or free from pain, storms or transitions, our journey has been exciting and full of God\u2019s grace. We tackle big, real topics, always pushing to be better than the week before.<\/p>\n

Crossroads is located in Loveland, Colorado (pop. 68,000). An hour north of Denver\u2014and just a few miles south of Fort Collins\u2014we are at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Camping, hiking, fishing, cycling and mountain biking are just a few of the outdoor activities within a 30 minute drive; skiing and other winter activities are nearby as well.\u00a0 The arts, including sculpture, theater, music, dance and more, are highly valued in Loveland and the northern Colorado community.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

We live in an active community, and we are an active church. We often talk about these activities being Crossroads\u2019 biggest competitors for people\u2019s weekend church attendance.<\/p>\n

Our auditorium seats 1,100, with a majority of the seating in chairs on the floor and additional seating in bleachers. Along with the weekend band (a rock band with multiple worship leaders and a worship choir), we use creative elements, staging, lighting and video to communicate the message of Jesus.<\/p>\n

On our second floor, we have a small room we call our \u201cChapel,\u201d which seats around 150. We utilize the Chapel for smaller funerals, weddings and overflow services on holidays, as well as choir rehearsals, large classes, Bible studies, special events and more.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>We have three identical weekend services: Saturdays at 4:30, and Sundays at 9 and 11. Kids programs for ages birth \u2013 5th grade take place during all of the weekend services; a middle school program is offered during the 11am service.<\/p>\n

Our weekend planning team creatively shapes our services in themed series, determining the music, videos, \u201cmy stories\u201d (testimonies), message (sermon), service order, and more. This team is made up of the teaching team (pastors), tech, worship and other creative arts staff. We are intentional about exhibiting the weekend series artwork throughout the building through posters and a 6 foot tall \u201clightbox\u201d (a custom backlit display), in the weekend program (bulletin), on our website, through Facebook, via our weekly e-newsletter, and more. We utilize social media to continue sharing the experience throughout the weekend and beyond; our Celebrate Recovery leader writes a Monday morning blog post, and we post the whole service online on Tuesdays.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The music is current, always moving and changing. A talented band, multiple worship co-leaders, and a seasonal worship choir lead the worship music. We introduce new music often, and continually rotate new and familiar music. We cover many radio hits, Christian and secular\u2014music our team has historically performed with excellence.<\/p>\n

Crossroads has baptized over 1,000 people in 16 years; for the past 5 years, 500+ people (per year) have volunteered for Project One, a day of service in the community. We are a creative, rockin\u2019 church, passionate about social justice and committed to sharing the Gospel on a weekly basis. We draw not only believers, but we also have become a safe place for many unchurched and dechurched in the community to experience Jesus. There are former pastors serving and leading ministries at Crossroads. We seek to create a church home for all.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

This past February, we added a Spanish ministry, Pacto de Amor. Pacto de Amor\u00a0 worships in our Chapel on Sundays at 1pm, and has a full children\u2019s program meeting simultaneously. Having Pacto de Amor at Crossroads has added a wonderful and exciting ministry to our church\u2014we have successfully experimented with incorporating Pacto de Amor and Spanish-language elements into a few of our weekend services, including Good Friday.<\/p>\n

At Crossroads, we have FUN! Currently, we\u2019re in a series called \u201cThe Family Series.\u201d We\u2019ve set up a \u201cPhoto Booth\u201d every weekend of the series\u2014families and friends incorporate silly props into group photos. We have an online photo gallery where people can view the photos, and download their own. It\u2019s been a blast! Part of the idea is to continue the whole weekend experience outside our auditorium doors, and to encourage connections.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\n

Crossroads is a church that seeks to better our community. As we plan, prepare, and wrap up each week\u2019s events, we ask ourselves: if Crossroads wasn\u2019t around, would the community feel the loss? Our goal is for that answer to always be a resounding \u201cYES!\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Report This Post<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have started a new series of posts here on the Worship Connect blog. In addition to our normal Friday posts, on occasional Tuesdays we\u2019ll be profiling one of our Covenant churches. Our purpose is to celebrate God\u2019s work in and through us, to demonstrate the diversity of approaches to worship in the ECC, and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14503,14,14507,19],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2284","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-better-together","category-local-church","category-our-churches","category-vocation-and-call"],"yoast_head":"\nOur Churches: Crossroads Church - Loveland, Colorado - Worship Connect<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"http:\/\/blogs.covchurch.org\/wc\/2012\/10\/our-churches-crossroads-church-loveland-colorado\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Our Churches: Crossroads Church - Loveland, Colorado - Worship Connect\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We have started a new series of posts here on the Worship Connect blog. 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