Name Change
Recently, The First Baptist Church of Springdale and The Church at Pinnacle Hills changed their respective names to CrossChurch. We know that many of you have questions, and we have created this page to let you know exactly why we have made this move as a church.
FAQ
Why are we moving to a centralized identity?
To strengthen our identity in four key ways: Greater CLARITY in our communication, cause, and our convictions. Greater UNITY in our fellowship. Greater VISION about who we are and where we want to go. Greater SYNERGY which leads to greater effectiveness, partnerships, and results.
Obviously it would have been confusing for us to name ourselves “First Baptist Church of Springdale at Pinnacle Hills” almost a decade ago, which is why we simply named ourselves “The Church at Pinnacle Hills.” However, we have known for some time that the names of our two campuses could become an issue when we move to a third campus. Our centralized identity, “Cross Church” will allow us to strengthen our identity. We are people of the cross. Identifying ourselves with this by name will help us build consistency as a church. This will assist us tremendously in promoting our church to the community.
Are we still going to be Baptist?
Absolutely. In some ways, we even want to celebrate our Baptist beliefs more as a church. We have come up with the saying, “Changing our name. Strengthening our identity.” We are Baptist because of the way we believe Scripture and doctrine along with the mission possibilities that come through cooperating with our Southern Baptist Convention. We are Baptist. We want to be Baptist. We will continue to be Baptist and cooperate with our Southern Baptist Convention.
What is the process for the name update?
Our staff has been pondering for almost five years the thought of bringing our church names under one centralized identity. We knew the third campus could be the tipping point as we simply cannot add another name and further complicate our identity. A few years ago during a meeting of our Leadership Team, the name “Cross Church” was thrown out as a possibility. We were able to obtain crosschurch.com and have held onto it just in case this change ever came to fruition. We believe now is the time for our church to strengthen our identity by coming under one name. Obviously the name has extreme significance for who we are as Christians, people who have been changed by the cross of Jesus Christ!
Who approves this?
The motion was brought by the board of Directors to the Annual business conference on Sunday, September 26, 2010 and the church voted overwhelmingly in support of the recommendation.
Are we still First Baptist Church and The Church at Pinnacle Hills?
Yes, we will be. As discussed above, this is not a step away from our heritage, but a strengthening of our identity. It’s interesting to know that our church, which is 140+ years old, has changed its name before in our history. The new names for our current campuses would simply be defined much like First Baptist Springdale was years ago. We were First Baptist Church of Springdale, Arkansas (geographic location). The new names would be, “Cross Church Springdale,” “Cross Church Pinnacle Hills,” and “Cross Church Fayetteville.” This gives our identity as well as our geographic location.
Partnerships
We are a Southern Baptist Church and believe that our partnership with The Southern Baptist Convention is pivotal to reaching our missional vision of presenting every person with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For more information about the Southern Baptist Convention, click here.
For a complete look at what we believe, click here to view the Baptist Faith & Message.