Wow! What a great sense of belonging we have experienced, after finally saying ‘Yes’ to the invitation to be part of Four12 at the beginning of 2015.
Greetings from beautiful East London, South Africa. Here is a little something about us and how we came to the decision to partner with Four12.
Crossways Christian Fellowship was birthed out of an amalgamation of two churches, back in 2008. In this time, we have seen incredible growth and witnessed God doing amazing work in the lives of His children. However, there has always been a desire to belong to a biblically-based grouping of people who loved and served the Lord within the biblical framework found in New Testament teachings. Having been exposed to many different models, there never seemed to be a good fit.
It is so refreshing to see men and women pressing into the things of God with such passion and vigour, and leaders being willing to stand for truth in the face of adversity.
In mid-July 2013, I was speaking at a men’s camp in the United Kingdom with Will Marais and, through relationship, started the process of being exposed to what Four12 is all about. I was confident, after spending some time with Will, Andrew Selley and others in Cape Town in 2014, that this was what God would have us be part of. Having attended the Four12 Conference on the Isle of Man, I came back and tried to expose the congregation to some of what I had experienced on the island, with only a measure of success. So I decided to invite a large number of our congregation to join Tracy and me down at the Four12 conference in Cape Town. The excitement we witnessed with the guys who came down was contagious. On our return home, this spilled over into the rest of the congregation, and I believe that it was then that the deal was sealed. The consensus within the eldership team, and all who attended, was overwhelming and so we made the decision and plugged in.
It is so refreshing to see men and women pressing into the things of God with such passion and vigour, and leaders being willing to stand for truth in the face of adversity. This we see in the lives of those called to lead Four12. It is also so attractive to see this blueprint being modelled throughout the Four12 family of churches, in both the leadership and the congregants.
There is such a desire to see THE church grow…that there is really no room for personal agendas, puffed up egos, titles or entitlement!
What makes Four12 different from other models that I have been part of or exposed to, is the incredible sense of humility that washes across the entire family of churches. Nothing is too much and no one is above reproach. There is such a desire to see THE church grow and flourish in the fullness and knowledge of the Lord, that there is really no room for personal agendas, puffed up egos, titles or entitlement! They are the real deal!
