Trusting the Lord is rarely something that yields immediate results. In fact, that’s part of the very nature of trust, isn’t it? We lean on God to do what He wills, even when His timing doesn’t align with our own. That’s the best way I can describe how our newest CrossPoint location came to be, not through strategy or foresight, but as a response to the Spirit and a surrendered timeline.
It’s with great joy that I introduce to you CrossPoint Iola, the newest member of our church family.
Several years ago, our leadership team connected with the staff of Waypoint Church in St. Charles, Missouri, through some denominational relationships. At the time, Waypoint was preparing to launch their first rural multisite campus, and we had the privilege of walking alongside them in the early stages, offering encouragement along the way. During that season, their Lead Pastor, Bob Ingle, shared that his father had planted a church in Iola, Kansas. As Bob’s father prepared to step away from leadership, that church entered into relationship with Waypoint, becoming Waypoint Iola. For the last six years, that congregation has faithfully served their community and made disciples in eastern Kansas.
Fast forward to late 2024. CrossPoint and Waypoint reconnected at a North American Mission Board event. Bob pulled Andy aside and shared a thought: Waypoint Iola, while fruitful, sat five hours away from the nearest Waypoint campus. The distance, combined with cultural differences and even the separation of a state line, made it challenging for their team to serve the church as well as they longed to. Over the years, leadership transitions only amplified the challenge. The Waypoint pastors wondered whether Iola might flourish more fully if they were connected to a network rooted in rural Kansas, with proximity and experience in exactly that setting. That’s when CrossPoint entered the Iola conversation.
For the past year, both churches have prayed, listened, and sought God’s will for the future of Iola. Together, we’ve come to the conviction that Waypoint Iola is to become CrossPoint Iola. The work of ministry there will continue, but now as part of the CrossPoint family. We believe this transition will strengthen the congregation and extend the reach of the gospel in eastern Kansas.
With Iola, CrossPoint now gathers in 14 locations. And as I reflect, I can’t point to a single location in our story that came to us in quite the same way. That could be unsettling for someone like me, someone who likes to make a plan and see it unfold neatly. But in truth, it’s a testimony to the way God works. He doesn’t need us to build these churches. He doesn’t rely on our cleverness or timelines. Yet, in His grace, He has chosen to use us as instruments to reach the lost and make disciples. That means every step forward is not ours to claim, but His to ordain.
And so, we trust. We trust that the Lord who has already been at work in Iola will continue to move powerfully. We trust that He will raise up leaders, multiply disciples, and bring revival in His timing. Our task is simple: to walk faithfully, depend fully, and celebrate joyfully what He has done.
Please join me in praying that:
- God would prompt a leader to move to Iola to shepherd the people there.
- We would see a revival of the eastern part of the state that begins in Iola.
- We would be an encouragement to the faithful congregation joining the CrossPoint family.
Eric Franklin
Lead Pastor