Church of the Cross | Peoria, AZ

• Brent Thomas
• Oct 15, 2009
• Series: Church Profiles

Planter Profile:

Brent & Kristi Thomas

The Call:

 Having grown up in the Glendale/Peoria, AZ area, I had a deep conviction regarding the lack of doctrinally deep yet accessible, missonally-focused churches in the area.

 While pastoring in TX, the call to return to AZ became clear, undeniable and confirmed. After much prayer and counsel, my family and I moved back to where I grew up to plant Church of the Cross. We quickly realized that we were being called to plant because there were no like-minded churches in our target area.

There has been something unique about returning to the area where I grew up as a church planter. My background has given me an affinity for the culture that I might not otherwise have possessed.

How did you build up your core?

Through prior relationships, God quickly blessed us with a core group of approximately 15 adults. This group established itself as the initial core and somewhat slowly began to understand and practice missional living.

What were the biggest challenges you faced in planting your church?

Much of our initial core came from "traditional evangelicalism." This meant that much of our initial challenge was overcoming preexisting notions of "what church looks like." This "evangelical baggage" has been coupled with the challenges of suburbia (false security, fulfillment and community, consumerism, etc.).

How did you become involved with Acts 29? What have been the biggest benefits of being in the network?

As my wife and I became convinced that we were being called, we also began painfully aware that we had no sending/sponsoring church, nor did we have any denominational affiliations. Knowing that we did not want to be "lone rangers," we began to explore our options.

As we looked at various organizations, Acts 29 seemed to be the perfect fit for us. Very few organizations seemed to stress deep doctrine, missional living and cultural engagement the way Acts 29 does.

What advice do you have for men who are wrestling with the decision to plant?

Know yourself, your calling and your culture. The call to plant must be coupled with a call to a particular culture as well. I was an Associate Pastor for a short time in rural KY and it didn't take long to realize that I often thought quite differently than those raised in that part of the country. Suburban AZ and rural KY share different sensibilities and it became quite important to quickly realize this in light of who God has called me to be. This isn't good or bad, it just is.

You must be convinced of and committed to your specific call. That conviction will bear you through many dark times.

How do you personally disciple your family?

Though I don't always succeed as much as I'd like, it is a great privilege and responsibility to shepherd my family. My wife and I regularly seek to incorporate the Gospel into discipline and discussions with our four boys. We try to have a regular family bible time involving catechism, bible reading, discussion/application and prayer.

What are some examples of God's grace that you have seen in your life and/or the life of your church?

Where can I even begin? God has been so good to me. I am blessed with a wonderfully supportive wife, four incredible boys and a growing church community that is committed to living in Gospel-centered community while spreading Jesus' Kingdom.

How can we pray for you?

Please pray for continued, sustained joy. I have tried to minister out of obligation in the past and it doesn't work well, trust me.

 Church of the Cross

Location: Peoria, Arizona
Launch Date: March, 2009

What is your philosophy of community in your church and what does that look like practically? 

Though God saves us as individuals, He saves us into community. The Church is at the center of God's redemptive plan. We at Church of the Cross are committed to Gospel-centered community. After all, burdens are lighter when shared (Galatians 6:2, etc.).

This means "re-training" ourselves to understand that church is more than just Sunday mornings. As such, our Missional Communities have become the center of ministry. Relationships are central and our Missional Communities strive to be more than just a Bible Study, as important as that is.

What is your philosophy of evangelism in your church and what does that look like practically?

Instead of trying to encourage evangelism through programs, we have continually encouraged our people to view themselves as missionaries in their particular context. This means striving to understand their cultures and particularly their neighborhoods. We have emphasized the necessity of loving our neighbors, quite literally. We have stressed, as Steve Timmis puts it, "ordinary life with Gospel intentionality" as the primary avenue of evangelism. 

Mission, Vision, Values of Church

Church of the Cross is a new non-denominational church in the Glendale/Peoria area that exists to love God, love others and follow Jesus together. 

We want to be a multiplying community of people transformed by Jesus, becoming His hands and feet to a hurting world, transforming culture for His glory.

We are Christians, distinguishing ourselves from every other world religion by adhering to both the Nicene Creed and Apostles’ Creed. We believe in salvation through grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone.

We are Evangelicals in agreement with the doctrinal statement of the National Association of Evangelicals.

We are Evangelistic, taking seriously Jesus’ “Great Commission” to “Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:18-20). We are committed to sharing the Gospel, first in our homes and neighborhood, then spreading outward to the ends of the earth. We support and participate in global missions. Our goal in evangelism is to promote the worship of God through Jesus Christ. As a church we do not seek endless growth but are committed to reproducing like-minded churches.

We are Reformed, gladly affirming the sovereignty of God, His providence over creation and election of believers apart from any merit of their own; the irresistible grace of God provided for and preceding the faith of the individual; the sufficiency of God’s grace apart from which every person is dead in sin and wholly defiled in all his/her faculties of soul and body; the efficacy of Christ’s death for all those who believe in Him by grace; the safe-guarding of all those for whom Christ died for eternal life. We are humbled by these truths and seek to communicate them in a way that glorifies God and edifies His people. We are committed to loving and welcoming as members those who remain unconvinced of these doctrines.

We are governed by a plurality of male Elders, believing that God has established local churches to be led by a plurality (more than one) of male elders whose character is outlined in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1. These men, seeking the input of the congregation, are finally responsible for the spiritual oversight and governance of the church, protecting her from error and caring for her members.

We Practice Cultural Engagement. We believe the Gospel should impact all of life. We do not believe in isolating ourselves unnecessarily from the surrounding culture. Instead, we believe that God has given His people, in creation and in salvation, a mandate to shape the culture rather than be shaped by it.