CROSS & CROWN CHURCH WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2017 IN NORTHERN VIRGINIA.
Our purpose is to equip men, women, and children to press the crown rights of King Jesus into every area of life.
In other words, you’ll hear us often say, all of Christ, for all of life.
Biblical worship; faithful mission: This is Cross & Crown Church.
Cross & Crown Church is a candidate church member of the Augustine Presbytery of the CREC.
CROSS & CROWN CHURCH AFFIRMS THE HISTORIC CHRISTIAN CREEDS AND CONFESSIONS
We affirm the Apostle’s Creed, the Nicene Creed, the Athenian Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon.
Cross & Crown elders also subscribe to and affirm one or more of the Reformed Confessions:
- Westminster Confession of Faith (1647)
- Three Forms of Unity (Belgic Confession, Heidelberg Catechism, and Canons of the Synod at Dordt)
- Savoy Declaration (1658)
- Second Helvetic Confession
- 39 Articles of Christian Religion
Cross & Crown Church is a fellowship of Christian believers united together for the purpose of obeying Christ and carrying out His Great Commission. We believe both the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired, inerrant rule of faith and life. The Holy Bible is the unchallengeable authority and final arbiter for all matters. When it comes to religious controversies, confessions, or creeds, all opinions and secondary convictions such as these must be subordinate to the Word of God.
OUR STRATEGY
SELF GOVERNMENT
Self government includes personal holiness, but it also entails individual purpose in the Kingdom of God. Because Jesus is Lord, and because individuals matter for the work of the Great Commission, we are convinced that each person must work and keep his corner of the garden-world.
Therefore, we will promote the necessity of: private-judgment, personal holiness, serious study and application of Scripture, prayer, a proper theology of work, individual purpose, and a commitment to the flourishing of the world around us.
FAMILY GOVERNMENT
Family government is about understanding that each covenant family and household is an integral component of God’s plan, and that father and mother are ground zero for training the next generation of world conquerors.
Therefore, we will promote the necessity of: family worship, Christian education, covenant households, proper gender roles, and the treatment of children as covenant members of the Church of God.
CHURCH GOVERNMENT
Church government is less about politics and more about kingdom-mission and discipleship. Elders are called to utilize the word of God & prayer in order to equip God’s people to do kingdom work. The Church is central to the mission of God and it is the Church who must proclaim the law-word of God for every area of life.
Therefore, we will promote the necessity of: qualified and competent Elders & Deacons, kingdom-oriented vocation, a discerning cooperation with other Christians in other assemblies, Lord’s Day worship and covenant renewal, and the practice of baptism and the Lord’s supper.
CIVIL GOVERNMENT
Civil government, according to Scripture, is designed to be a local, judiciary-centered institution granted from God for the express purpose of executing God’s wrath on the evil-doer (Romans 13:1-7). Since we love both the law and gospel of God, we desire justice for our selves and our neighbors. Our involvement in the political realm stems from our conviction that Jesus is truly King, and that all civil servants are to obey Him (e.g., Psalm 2).
Therefore, we will promote the necessity of: social/cultural engagement with the gospel, public theology, interaction with local, state, and national politics, the doctrine of lesser magistrates, and the propagation of biblical social justice.
DISTINCTIVES OF CROSS & CROWN CHURCH
REFORMED
We subscribe to the historic creeds of the Christian faith, such as, The Apostles Creed, The Nicene Creed, The Athanasian Creed, and the Definition of Chalcedon. We also subscribe (with few exceptions) to the Westminster Confession of Faith.
EVANGELICAL
“Unless one is born again he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3). The outward call of gospel proclamation is universal; however, in order to share in the benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection, one must be born again by the Spirit of the living God.
COVENANT RENEWAL WORSHIP
When the church (ekklesia) gathers for worship each Lord’s Day she is proactively renewing covenant with God. We do this not because the covenant is insufficient, but rather because we need the renewing power of God’s Holy Spirit. Our liturgy follows the pattern of worship commanded by God in Scripture, which is summarized in five categories: Call, Confession, Consecration, Communion, and Commission. We see this pattern in the five-fold covenant model: Transcendence, Hierarchy, Ethics, Oaths, and Succession.
WEEKLY COMMUNION
The heart of biblical worship is organized around Word and sacrament. As often as we are fed by the Word, we want to be fed from the Lord’s Table, too. Just as the worshipper in the Old Testament partook of the peace offering, signifying fellowship and peace between God and man, so we partake of Christ’s eucharistic table when we gather for worship.
PSALM/HYMN SINGING
The book of Psalms contain the fullest expression of human emotion, from the highest of highs to the lowest of lows. These songs of Christ are Holy Spirit-inspired praises and prayers, written for us to pray and sing back to God. We regularly sing hymns (based on sound doctrine), but the Psalms provide the musical and theological backbone to our worship.
BIBLICAL SERMONS
When we gather on the Lord’s Day, we do not desire a motivational pep talk, nor do we need a man to share a fun story. Ultimately, we need to hear from God. We need a prophetic herald to open up the Bible and tell the people of God what God has said. In other words, we need biblical preaching, and we need preaching that informs our minds, challenges our hearts, and motivates our hands for Christian action.
INFANT BAPTISM
Simply stated, we baptize the children of Christians because the children are Christians. Initially, they are set apart as holy (1 Cor. 7:14) through the generational connection of their believing parents. Throughout the Bible, children are included in God’s covenant people and this pattern continues into the New Covenant. As Jesus said, “for to such belongs the Kingdom of God” (Luke 18:16). Thus, water baptism is entrance into the visible church, hence why the infant child is to be brought into Christ and given the Trinitarian name (Matthew 28:19).
WINE IN COMMUNION
We are convinced that Jesus unashamedly used wine when He established the Lord’s Supper; consequently, we do not have the authority to alter what He established. The Jews used wine in the Passover meal, and Jesus established this sacrament in that context. When Jesus offers us the cup, we do not want to be in the position of saying, “No thanks, Jesus, I don’t drink because I’m a Christian.” The bread leavens righteousness, the wine gladdens the heart (Psalm 104:15).
COVENANT CHILD COMMUNION
Our children participate in the worship service with us. They are not segregated to “Children’s church,” because they are members of THE Church. Thus, we baptize our children and welcome them into the life of the church. Moreover, because they are brought through the “door” of the church via water baptism, they are welcomed to the “dining room” (the Lord’s Table) because His table is for His people and He welcomes all. When we baptize our children, we identify them as members of Christ’s people. Consequently, they are welcomed to eat the King’s meal.
CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
We believe it is the responsibility of every Christian parent (particularly the fathers as covenantal heads) to provide a distinctly Christian education for their children. This means the local church should equip and encourage Christian parents to provide this education for their covenant children. It is not the state’s responsibility to educate children; this responsibility belongs to the family.
OPTIMISTIC FUTURE
We hold to the historic and Reformed position on the end times known as Postmillennialism. We believe Christ’s Kingdom was fully inaugurated at His death, resurrection, and ascension, and it will grow/leaven in number and influence until He returns. Christ’s visible return will not happen until all enemies are defeated and the Great Commission is found to be successful. The last enemy to be defeated, utterly conquered at the final resurrection, is death (1 Cor. 15:25). The world is not to get worse and worse. Rather, Christ’s Kingdom will grow until the knowledge of the Lord fills the earth as the waters cover the sea (Isaiah 11:9; Habakkuk 2:14).
COMPREHENSIVE CHRISTIANITY
We find that much of our world’s woes can be traced back to a truncated, pietistic world and life view perpetuated within our churches. To combat this erroneous teaching, we are committed to five central theological components which constitute a Kuyperian, sphere-sovereignty capable of providing the tools necessary for any God-honoring people. They are: postmillennial eschatology, theonomic ethics, covenant theology, presuppositional epistemology, and Reformed/Calvinistic soteriology.
CULTURAL RENEWAL
We believe that Christians, through the visible church, are to have a preserving effect on society (Matt. 5:13). The church also has a prophetic role in culture, bringing the Bible to bear on the moral/political issues of the day, similar to how John the Baptist (Luke 3:19) and other faithful Christians throughout redemptive history have functioned. We unequivocally reject the forced distinction between “political” and “religious” issues. If God has spoken on a topic, so must the Church. There is no nature/grace dualism. All of life is to be obedient to Christ the King.