Growing True Disciples
Our Vision
We will be a church that is helping people to mature spiritually so that they can enjoy God and be used by Him to advance the work of His kingdom, both locally and around the world.
Our Mission
We will develop a vibrant, growing church that is helping to change the world as we disciple our members and equip them to evangelize and disciple others.
Leadership
What We Believe
Our Denomination
One of the first questions that people invariably have about a church is this: “What kind of church is it?” In other words, they want to know if the church is affiliated with a particular denomination, and if so, which one. Well, to answer what might be your first question, Crossgate is affiliated with a conservative, Bible-believing branch of Presbyterianism known as the PCA or Presbyterian Church in America. (www.pcanet.org). The PCA is a branch of Presbyterianism that believes the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, and our final authority for determining what is right and true. BUT all that being said, our goal is not to make Presbyterians, but to grow true disciples of Jesus Christ.
We want to help people know God personally and intimately so that they can grow strong in their faith and experience that “abundant life” that Jesus came to give us. (cf. John 10:10). Because of our unswerving commitment to help people grow spiritually, Crossgate has become a church where people from a wide range of denominational affiliations have come together as one to worship, fellowship, and serve the Lord. Those who visit Crossgate, quickly understand that our boast is in the cross of Christ (Gal. 6:14) – not in a man-made label.
Our History
Towards the end of 1997, Tom Musselman was called by a joint committee from Clemson Presbyterian Church and New Covenant Pres. in Anderson, to plant a new PCA church in Oconee County. Tom had previously planted churches in St. Mary’s, Ga, the home of Kingsbay Naval Base, as well as Mt. Pleasant (Charleston), SC. Tom and his family moved to Seneca in December of ’97 and began meeting with a core group of about 20 people for prayer, fellowship, Bible study and strategic planning.
The first public worship service was held at Seneca Middle School on September 20, 1998. A few months later, on Easter Sunday of 1999, the church moved to a new location and began meeting in the gymnasium at Shaver Recreation. This move gave us the additional space that we needed, not only to accommodate the growth we were experiencing, but also to launch new ministries (e.g. Sunday school) that would enable us to realize the vision God had given us. After meeting in Shaver for a few years, the Lord opened up the door for us to move to Oconee Christian Academy on Keowee School Rd. This was an amazing blessing to us and was the beginning of a strong relationship that we continue to have with this Christian school.
In 2010, Crossgate moved into a new facility on our 15 acre site located on Keowee School Rd. We called this new church Crossgate because of two images that it conjured up – a cross and a gate. An open gate was specifically what was in view here because it connoted movement from one place or position to another. This seemed to be a fitting symbol for a church that was committed to meeting people where they were in their spiritual journey and helping them mature in their faith so as to experience more of the reality of Christ in their daily lives. Of course, in our minds, the cross is the gate. It is when people come to the cross and live in its shadow that they really grow as Jesus’ disciples.
Over the twenty years of our existence, the Lord has blessed Crossgate tremendously and provided for all our needs each step of the way. There have been many challenging times, as might be expected in any new work, but the Lord has used these times to strengthen and mature us as a body and to lay a solid foundation on which succeeding generations will be able to build upon so as to advance God’s Kingdom and to bring Him great glory! Te Deum Gloria!!