What We Believe...
Jesus also said, "A thief is only there to steal and kill
and destroy. I came so they can have real and eternal life,
more and better life than they ever dreamed of." (John 10:10)
Sickness and trouble certainly rob us of satisfaction. Our
possessions and achievements may provide some level of satisfaction,
but these always leave us wanting more, and it only gets harder
to reach the next level. Without a significant sense of purpose,
we will wander from one activity to the next looking for meaning.
With God as our heavenly Father, we don't feel alone or empty,
and our lives are filled with meaning and purpose. Life becomes
better and more full than we ever thought possible.
About the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He give every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily. Scripture: 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13,
14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16;
Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
About the Bible: The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error. Since God’s Word is the only completely reliable and truthful authority, we accept the Bible as our manual for living. Our first question when faced with a decision is “What does the Bible say?” We encourage the practices daily Bible reading, Bible study, and scripture memorization. The Bible is the basis for all we believe. Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:15-16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2
Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105, 160; Psalm 12:6;
Proverbs 30:5 About People: People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life. Scripture: Genesis 1:27; Psalm
8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1-2
About Salvation: Salvation is God’s free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Scripture: Romans 6:23; Ephesians
2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians
3:26; Romans 5:1 About Eternal Security: Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot “lose” it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security. Scripture: John
10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14;
1 Peter 1:3-5 About the Church: Christ is the recognized head of the church - not any person, group, or religious organization. While recognizing the value of associating and cooperating with other groups of Christians, we believe every local church should be self-governing and independent from any denominational control. The primary role of the church is to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth, disciple believers, promote Christian fellowship, minister to needs, and honor the Lord in corporate worship. Scripture: Matthew
16:15-19; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; Acts
2:42-47; Ephesians 1:22-23; Colossians 1:18;
Revelation 21:2-3 About Baptism and Lord’s Supper: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer's faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer's death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Jesus. The Lord's Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby believers, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the sacrificial death of Christ and anticipate His second coming. Scripture: Matthew 3:13-17; Matthew
26:26-30; Acts 2:41-42; Acts 8:35-39; Romans
6:3-5; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29; Colossians 2:12
About Eternity: People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence. Scripture: John 3:16; John 14:17; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15; 1 Corinthians 2:7-9
We Dream...of courageously sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with our neighbors in Plainfield and northwestern Will county. We Dream...of training Christ-followers to share the gospel and of providing opportunities where they can experience the joy of fulfilling their responsibility to be witnesses for Jesus. We Dream...of welcoming members into fellowship in our church family – walking in harmony and unity with each other. We Dream...of a church family that reflects a diversity of ethnic, cultural, and national identities. We Dream...of developing believers to Christian maturity through Bible teaching that is inspiring and practical, small groups for all ages, special-topics classes, seminars, and retreats. We Dream...of equipping and preparing Christ-followers for ministry so that they can most effectively pursue God's purposes of love and service using the gifts and abilities that God has given them. We Dream...of meeting the needs of the hurting through ministry projects and short-term missions trips. We also dream of sending people into Christian service in vocational ministry. We Dream...of creating music, art, and stories that glorify God, communicate the gospel, and inspire the spirit. We Dream...of being a financially self-supported ministry that seeks to support new ministries and plant new churches. We Dream...of a ministry campus where we can minister to the spiritual, emotional, physical, and social needs of our community. We Dream...of aesthetically pleasing facilities that will be functional for worship, education, counseling, athletics, fellowship, and administration. We Dream...of sharing our facilities with community groups that meet any or all of these needs. As we pursue this dream, we will hold onto the core values of discovering the personal God and Christian faith revealed in the Bible; emphasizing the relevance of our eternal God, revealed long ago and whose Message matters for us today; living in hope because our future is in the hands of a loving God; encouraging one another and blessing God through kind and gracious words; promoting goodness in our personal behavior; being loyal in our relationships and commitments; and being authentic about our faith and needs. |
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Our Staff...
When I was a kid, the church we went to was a great place for me to learn about God, but
I was still pretty confused about what it meant to be a Christian. I thought that believing
in God and asking Him to forgive me whenever I sinned was enough. But I had no confidence I
would go to heaven, and worried a lot that I might miss it because I wasn't good enough. When I was 26 I came to understand that when Jesus died on the cross, He accepted God's judgment for all of my sins - past, present, and future. I trusted him as my savior and I now have an incredible peace and confidence in my relationship with God. As I've discovered more about what the Bible says about God and the Christian faith, and spent time with other Christians, I've been amazed at how incredible and powerful God's love and His ways are for bringing peace into people's lives. In the fall of 2004 I started sensing that God was calling me to be a pastor and start a new church in Plainfield. This is a bit of a switch for me, because for the last 15 years or so I've been working at Argonne National Lab as a nuclear engineer. As Crosswinds Church gets started, I plan to do both jobs as a "bi-vocational" pastor. I enjoy helping people, learning, and thinking of creative ways to communicate God's truth. A big part of what we feel Crosswinds should be about is helping other people discover what the Bible has to say about God, the Christian faith, and life. We want others to have peace in their relationship with God, just like we've found. If discovering God or uncovering life's purposes is important to you, then I hope you'll come spend some time with us.
Shortly after Meghan was born I started to sense there was something missing in my life.
I thought it was success and money. I was trying to build three business and failing in two of
them, never seeing my young family, and sliding deeper and deeper into debt. While attending a
business conference I went to an optional Christian service to network with some other business
people that might be there.The speaker that day was a construction worker who talked about God in really simple terms. I don't know all that he said, but he talked about how going to heaven was like taking a flight. He said that when we got to the counter to purchase the ticket we would not have enough to buy it because all of the stuff we had done wrong in our lives would increase the price beyond what we could ever pay. The ticket agent would start to turn us away, but if we knew Jesus as the Lord and Savior of our lives, Jesus would go up to the ticket agent and say, "No! No! It is okay. I have already bought his ticket. He is my friend. He will sit with me. Let him through." When I heard those words I knew I wanted Jesus as my friend. I decided that day to learn more and understand what this all meant. I started reading the bible and listening to messages on the radio to understand more. Later that week, a man I was seeing on a sales call had a bible next to him. I told him what I had heard and asked him what it all meant. He lead me through the scriptures and a prayer, and I accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior of my life. Since that time God has brought about a lot of changes in my life. Kathy and I went from never going to church in our married lives to being there every Sunday. We fell in love with the richness of God's word and began to study it and enjoying fellowship with Him. As we grew we also started serving in our local church and finding joy in that as well. For the past 6 years I have served as an Outreach leader and Bible Study teacher. I have worked hard to let the people of Plainfield know about God's love for them and the joy that can be found only in Him. About 3 years ago I started feeling God calling me into a greater commitment in ministry. As John shared his vision with me about Crosswinds, it was a fit. I am excited to continue to let more people in Plainfield know that their ticket has been purchased and that the most exciting thing in life is not success and money, but knowing your purpose and the One who gave you that purpose.
Prior to moving to Plainfield my family and I lived in the San Bernardino Mountains in sunny
California. My ex-wife; Amy, discovered God while we were in the mountains and joined a Calvary
Chapel located in Running Springs, CA. At the time I was not a believer. Amy introduced me to
some Christian music that was similar to the secular music I was traditionally used to; Kutless,
Jeremy Camp and Switch Foot to name a few. I soon found the music very moving and found myself
in a struggle to listen to the older/secular stations. I began attending church with Amy only
to enjoy the musicians who were playing. I was still skeptical about needing a savior and
thought I had life down...notice the word "thought." One Saturday afternoon at a Christian
Harvest Fest (featured artist was Kutless) I was enjoying the moments, the music and the time
I had with family and friends. The music stopped and a pastor spoke on stage. He was speaking
directly to me (though there were over 2000 people in attendance). I do not know why but when
asked if anyone wanted to have Jesus in their life I was the first to raise my hands and move
forward. I was moved by something spiritual that day and that is when I decided to give my
life to Jesus. That was the most exhilarating day of my life. About a month after being saved
I picked up one of my acoustic guitars and began playing music for the Lord. Ever since I have
not put the guitar down and enjoy the talents God has given me.Life was not so fun as I was relocated to Illinois for my job. I was crushed spiritually looking for a church that provided everything I needed and provided what my wife and children needed. It was not until one day a friend invited me to Crosswinds in late March 2006. The Sunday I went I felt God with me, I saw God in the eyes of those who were there and I felt moved instantly. I began coming regularly and being introduced to many who are now very close friends to me. I was blessed with the opportunity to play a song; Great Humble King, for an Easter service for the church. I never have played and sing at the same time but God helped me and blessed me again with the opportunity of becoming the Worship Leader for this wonderful church. Now through the blessing of God the Worship team has grown beyond what I ever dreamt it could be. Over the past year I have grown with the Lord. I know I have found my spiritual home and can now work on my walk with Jesus. Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus.
I was, and still am, blessed to have parents that taught me about God and His love
for me from as early as I can remember. My Father was in the Air Force, so I grew up
in many different churches as we moved around the Country. He retired and our
permanent home became Lockport, Illinois. I attended a wonderful church in Lockport.
I meet my husband while in College and we married after I graduated and moved to
Plainfield. We attended church back in Lockport on a very sporadic basis and
gradually began to make our Sunday a day of rest, but not how God intended.
We stopped attending church altogether. After our first son was born, I began
searching for a home church. I knew how wonderful and important it was to grow
up knowing God’s love and I wanted that for my children and for my husband and
myself as well. After visiting many churches, I began to attend a church that worshipped in the Elementary School in our neighborhood. I liked the church and the fact that I could walk with my infant son on Sunday morning to the church. Gradually, it became all too easy on Sunday mornings for me to tell myself it was too hard to bring an infant to church by myself and I stopped going. All the while, I was praying that Bill and I would find a church home together and we would raise our family in the church together. God is good! Five years after all those prayers, we have a wonderful church home, another son and the peace that comes from knowing we are God’s children. What led us to Crosswinds is such an amazing and intricate story, that I am still amazed by God’s plans for us. Crosswinds, in its beginning stages, was not yet meeting on Sunday mornings. One of the founding families was holding a Bible Study in their home. We were friends with that family and they called up and asked if I would be willing to watch some kids in their basement (I used to nanny for them when my son was first born) while the adults meet upstairs for a Bible Study. I said ok. The first night I was scheduled to watch the kids, my husband had just returned from a week long business trip. He offered to come with me to help and that way we’d get to catch up with each other since he’d been gone. We got to the house and the bible study members with children were not able to make it at the last minute. So, we were invited to stay for the Bible Study, if we were so inclined. I said sure, my husband was not so sure! He thought it was a plot to get him to the Bible Study. Of course it wasn’t and the rest just fell into place, as God wanted it to. We connected to the Church immediately. It just felt right and God was speaking to us in a way that we had never allowed Him to before. That’s most of our story. I am blessed to be a part of teaching children about God, His Son and His infinite love, grace and mercy for us all. I think children are the best witnesses for the Lord. Their understanding of the simple, yet ultimate, truth along with their complete trust and faith in God’s goodness and nearness is something I strive to get back to as an adult. God is good...all the time!
I came to know Christ as a result of children’s ministries.
I was a bus kid on the wrong side of town in grade school when I started attending
Church. Initially it was just to get gum from the bus driver but soon my family was
actively involved in church. One night when I was 13 years old after a youth rally
I lay in bed knowing that I was a sinner in need of a real relationship with Christ.
I woke up my mom and together we prayed to invite Jesus into my life. I am still
amazed at God’s incredible love toward me. (Rom 5:8, But God demonstrates his own
love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.)God led my family to Plainfield, Il through a job transition. While looking for a new church home we wanted somewhere where the whole family could serve the community to build God’s kingdom. Crosswinds is just that place. The worship is alive and modern and the teaching is Biblical and relevant to life today. Christy and Spencer help prepare hearts through praise team worship and Madison is a faithful children’s helper. It is our pleasure to be a part of continued community outreach through neighborhood holiday celebrations, food drives, ice cream socials and local parades. As God continues to spiritually grow my family, I am grateful for His blessings on the people and ministries of Crosswinds Church and the opportunity to serve Him.
Just before I went away to college, I lost my sense of security in there being a God
that actually cared about me personally. There was no specific event that brought
this on, only a gradual moving-away from Him. Throughout college, after sustaining
a great loss and several disappointments, I looked for love and acceptance in a
crowd which lived for the moment. Drinking and foolishness seemed to be all there
was to living life. After college, I was working and hanging around with the old
crowd from college. All in all, I was empty of joy or happiness. It was surprising
to me that with every day that passed, I became even emptier. When I finally could
not see anything at all that was good around or inside of me, I was faced with a
choice: Life with God, or death without Him. I had put up a long resistance and the
Lord of Life would not wait any longer for my answer, so stark and profound was the
question in front of me. I faced both sides with such clarity after so long, this
recycling of self-gratification to self-pity, guilt and shame and back again. I was
out of fight and exhausted and it was hard to believe there was indeed a way out.I chose Life. After all, it really was not much of a choice for me, as much as He was choosing me. I think the Lord was just revealing His truth to me so that I could be even more assured that He was there; He loved me and wanted me to belong to Him. 1 John 5:11-12 tells me (and you), “And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life and this life is in his son. He who has the son, has life. He who does not have the son of God, does not have life.” Eternity is certainly a long time, isn’t it? There has been some very painful pruning along the way, in order to snip off the dead and bloom according to God’s purposes, to get me ‘growing’ the right way. The difference was in the fact that the Lord never left me during those times. I suppose the “spiritual” thing to say here is that I wouldn’t trade them for anything. Honestly, though, I could have done without a few! I love the church and God’s word, found in the Bible. It is a rich treasury that I’ve received from following and obeying what it says. I love God’s people. So many kind, different and wonderful people that God made and seen fit to send into my life; to teach me, to allow me to grow even more and to be blessed by. I love God and His Son Jesus with all my heart and would gladly be a fool in the world’s eyes if it means another person would come to know Him as I do. My personal hope is that I can help others to know and follow Jesus and fall in love with Him as their Savior, Lord and King.
As I got older, I made poor choices in my life. I now had many deep dark secrets
to keep. I was fearful that someone would find out about my secrets. I had really
fallen short of the mark of being a good person and of being worthy of love. I
talked to the pastor of the church I went to. He tried to explain to me God’s
forgiveness. But how could God love me? I couldn’t even love myself! I didn’t
understand.
Many years later, some Christian girlfriends were talking unashamedly about the sins in their lives. They understood that God had forgiven them. I realized then that I wasn’t the only one with the hidden secrets in life. Everyone is a sinner and if God could love everyone else, then surely He could love me, too. And God did forgive me for my sins. All I had to do was ask. And He has never stopped loving me either even though I am unworthy. In the process, I discovered that I could love myself, too. God had forgiven me, I could now forgive myself. He lifted my burdens, and now I am free. |
John Stillman - Preaching Pastor 
Ken Schultz - Community Pastor 
Aaron Ward - Worship Leader 
Katie Purdy - 
Ryan Peddicord - 
Caryn Stillman - 
Kathy Schultz - Hospitality Leader 