Securing the Next 100 Years

As a historic Assemblies of God congregation neared its 100th birthday, it faced several obstacles, including deferred maintenance issues and stagnant growth. Crosswind Church (formerly named Bethel Temple Assembly of God) in Tampa, Florida, had a strong history in the community – one hallmarked by outreaches, community partnership, and decades of solid pastoral leadership. Yet the church’s culture was in need of fresh vision to reach the next generation in the community.

The church also had growing financial concerns on the horizon, and with an average weekly attendance of fewer than 100 people, the staff and board considered selling a piece of its valuable property, located in a prime location within the community, with the hopes of proceeds being invested back into the ministry.

The church knew it had value in its property, but God wasn’t done with it yet. Other revitalization attempts were stalled as the church struggled to let go of nearly half its assets. Understanding the weight of such a decision, Radiant Church (Tampa) offered to merge, but the board declined, maintaining a warm and prayerful relationship but sensing that the timing was not right.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, an offer that seemed even more difficult to pass up was extended. The church’s leadership was approached with a substantial contract that would build a 200-unit apartment complex, and with heavy hearts the board considered accepting the offer. Yet in the wake of the country’s shutdown, the deal fell through, leaving the congregation feeling lost – but God was preparing the way.

Nearly 18 months later, the church’s pastor resigned after being called into evangelistic ministry. Before leaving, he urged the board to reconsider the offer from Radiant Church. Within a short amount of time, the district was able to initiate renewed conversations between Aaron Burke, lead pastor of Radiant Church, and the struggling congregation.

The board unanimously voted to approve the merger and the congregation followed with an overwhelmingly positive vote, surpassing the percentage of affirmative votes that Burke had been asking the Lord to provide as confirmation.

Burke and his team immediately got to work. Radiant Church’s 10 existing campuses, representing more than 10,000 weekly attendees, raised a collective $4 million to fully restore the aging facility while remaining debt free.

The merger was not without initial reservation, however. During the process, one longtime member asked, “Why would we close the doors now, just before our 100th anniversary?” Burke’s answer still rings through the campus: “You’re not closing anything. You’re securing the next 100 years.”

When the revitalized campus launched, 1,190 people were in attendance, filling the sanctuary to more than half its capacity at both services. Thirteen people made decisions for Christ, and in recent weeks, 37 additional salvations have been reported – a total more than the campus had seen in the entirety of the previous year.

Longtime members of the church report being deeply moved at seeing families filling the building and the sanctuary buzzing with vibrant, life-giving fellowship and collaborative worship.

Burke states that he feels a massive amount of weight to steward the campus well, stating that his “dream is that this becomes a movement – struggling churches joining hands with a generation of church planters, not as a threat, but as a solution to the prayers they’ve been praying.”

Longtime members testify that the transformation that has taken place is fulfilling prophecies that had been spoken over the church, although not in the timeline or format they had expected.

Rich Becker, one of the congregation’s most senior attendees, admits he was “weary of anything mega-church.” But once he heard Burke’s heart, he became convinced that God’s hand was on the situation. He recalls Burke sharing that every community deserves a healthy church. “That really stuck with me,” he says. “And after seeing so many unhealthy churches, this felt like a God-thing.”

Now, just a few weeks after their launch, the newest campus of Radiant Church is thriving and, once again, active in outreach and community engagement.

And to many of the 60 longtime members, the best part is that they will witness the building’s 100th anniversary as a beacon of hope and a place of healing.

“This is what we need to see happening in our movement,” says Burke. “We must become a fellowship of churches – united in doctrine, in the Spirit, and in mission. Sometimes that means passing the baton. The result is what we are seeing here: new life, new hope, and a future secured for the next 100 years.”