History
The Vision for Church Planting
Cross Park Church was planted in South Charlotte in the spring of 2011. Church planting happens when an established church develops a team of leaders and congregation members to begin a brand new church in another area of their city or state, or in another part of the world. We believe that Jesus loves to reveal his kingdom by leading his people to plant new churches. Church planting is an effective way to offer the good news of Jesus to more people, to develop servants and leaders within a new church, and to mobilize resources and vision for kingdom work in the world.
In our case, Jesus had been leading Uptown Church to take part in starting new churches in Charlotte and around the world. As their congregation grew, they developed a growing interest in planting a Christ-focused, gospel-preaching church in the quickly-growing South Charlotte area. We are so thankful for their foundational work to begin our church, and for the many other churches they have helped to plant in our area. We hope that as our church continues to grow and develop leaders, we will also be involved in starting new congregations to reach our city and our world.
Our Beginning Years
In the beginning stages of planting Cross Park Church, Jeff Hardy was hired to be our Pastor. Jeff and his family moved to Charlotte and worked with Uptown Church to build a team of people to launch Cross Park. One key addition was Jordan Olshefski, who was hired early in the planting process to be the Associate Pastor. With its team in place, Cross Park began its services in March 2011, meeting at Smithfield Elementary School in South Charlotte. Within about a year, our congregation chose godly men to be ordained and installed as our own officers. These elders and deacons serve our congregation and lead in God’s work at Cross Park.
Where We Are Now
Cross Park has continued to grow as a family of people committed to responding to God’s calling for our church. We have been able to pursue ministry of various kinds in South Charlotte, as well as sending and supporting a number of missionaries and churches throughout the world. It is a joy to love and serve our community, to help one another grow in our relationship with God, and to raise up leaders for the church around the world.