The world mission culture of a local church is a reflection of the heart of the pastor and his flock. The precursor to Cross Points Church, Full Faith Church of Love, was birthed with a missions DNA and grew to become a missionary sending church. Pastor Ernie Gruen was a graduate of Friends University and then Central Baptist Theological Seminary. He and Delores had pursued and were scheduled to serve this denomination as missionaries in India when they were introduced to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. This experience disqualified them from serving in their mission but it did not prohibit the expressions of their heart for missions. Full Faith Church of Love was birthed in the wake of the charismatic renewal and exploded during the Jesus People revival of the 60’s and 70’s. Brother Ernie’s preaching, generosity and missionary relationships grew in those early years and this DNA was imprinted on and imparted to this young church. The discipleship of weekly Bible teaching and the establishment of FFCL Bible College resulted in sowing a rich field of ministers both locally and trans-locally. The abundant fruit of this Bible College resulted in almost 50% of the graduates serving in full-time ministries.
I was blessed to be part of that harvest of souls and to serve in this ministry rich environment beginning in 1980. Pastor Hal Linhardt was added to the staff in 1982 and began to stir the coals of evangelism and missions that were already hot and occasionally flaring. Missionary participation increased during the 80’s and then supercharged in 1986 with the institution of the 10—10—10 Plan. This began a financial commitment of 10% of FFCL finances to each of the areas of Maranatha Academy, the Apostolic Fund, and Missions.
I was serving as the evangelism pastor at that time and Brother Ernie asked me if I would become the first Missions Pastor. I was privileged to serve and began to order the fluid missionary activity with plans for growth and development. Missionary guidelines were developed for the growing demand and the distribution of committed funds. I continued the encouragement and momentum of the Missions Force begun by Pastor Hal.
This fertile field produced many missionary candidates, hundreds of short-term missionaries and ultimately hundreds of thousands of dollars for missionary exploits. Within five years the missions outreach of the church grew from a budgeted $37,000 to $550,000. The missionaries supported by FFCL grew from a hand full to 50 families in 26 nations.
What a blessing to be a part of this ministry explosion and the eternal ramifications of the spread of the Gospel of the King and His Kingdom. Only eternity will reveal the fruit of this ministry.