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October 2006 |
Cross Roads UMC is born
The spirit just kept growing as we went along. - John Hackney |
South and Park Place United Methodist churches in Anderson, Ind. have merged to become Cross Roads United Methodist Church.
The unified congregation now averages more than 260 worshipers weekly - roughly 50 more than the two former congregations had averaged separately - at the congregation's new facility. The merger comes after prayerful consideration and approval at the North Indiana Annual Conference in June.
The idea first came when Park Place Church, averaging just 39 people per week, reevaluated its future as a single congregation. Simultaneously, South Church, which had grown over the past 10 years from 100 to 190 worshipers a week, recognized its need for a new building when it was determined the current site couldn't be expanded.
South Church then began discussions with other Anderson United Methodist churches about the possibility of a merger. District Superintendent Dan Motto supported the process.
Normally, congregations spend two years "courting" each other before a full merger takes place, but South and Park Place had other thoughts when, five months later on June 18, the two congregations worshiped together for the first time in their new facility - the site of a former Evangelical Church.
Cross Road's pastor, the Rev. John Hackney, attributes the seamless transition to a lot of prayer. "The spirit just kept growing as we went along," he said.
Last updated on 25 Apr 2008