Welcome

CrossWalk

Community Church

I hope your experience so far with us has been positive. I am proud to be this church’s pastor, and love the people that make this place “family”.

 

 

This piece of propaganda you’re reading is meant to clue you in to who CrossWalk Community Church is, but also to help you weigh carefully whether or not this is the best church for you to call home. There are lots of great churches in Napa. I consider many of the pastors in Napa my friends. But we all lead differently, and our respective heritages influence how we worship, teach, and do community. But we’re all about Jesus. So your quest is to figure out where God wants you to be, where you fit best with your style, background, and hopes for the future.

You’ll get some basic questions answered in this page. I’ll cover the foundations of our belief as Christians, overview our structure, and give you my take on the how and why we do church the way we do. Sounds exciting, doesn’t it?

The word Baptist is important for you to understand. Regardless of what your preconceived notions may be, take these two principles to the bank, because it’s the most important thing about Baptists. First, being Baptist means that no denomination rules our roost. We are autonomous. We decide who we are, and decide who and how much we want to associate with others. We are a part of Growing Healthy Churches, a cutting-edge, evangelical region loosely tied to the American Baptist Churches, USA. With other churches in Northern California and Northern Nevada, we plant churches, help struggling churches grow, get resources, and commune together for the same purpose of helping as many people as possible hear about Jesus and what he offers.

The second thing you need to know is that we approach baptism and communion differently than some traditions. We believe both are meaningful symbols, not literally sacred. Some Christians traditions maintain that the water used for baptism is itself holy, and the bread and cup of communion literally become Christ’s blood and body, and therefore holy as well. We believe that the act of baptism is holy, and that communion is a holy moment, but that the literal elements used – water, bread, juice – are just elements. We also believe that water baptism by immersion most accurately reflects the teaching of scripture, which is why we practice it and require it for membership.

A third “bonus” thing to remember is that we hold the Bible in very high regard. Some traditions lean heavily on the teachings of their respective founders (Martin Luther, Calvin, Wesley, etc.). For Baptists, we stick solely with the Bible. We certainly appreciate what great leaders with great minds have contributed, but we never let their teachings overshadow careful study of the Bible as the primary source for our faith and practice.

Enjoy the rest of the reading. If you sense CrossWalk Community Church is where God wants you to be, we will be thrilled to welcome you into this part of the family of God. If you discover you fit better elsewhere, we’ll curse your name. Not really! We want you to find a church home – that’s the most important thing.