Until all see, hear, experience, and ultimately encounter the Gospel.
A few years back, Kevin and Johanna Kowalski sensed the Lord calling them back to Northeast Ohio to plant a church. Although they both grew up in the area, they had been living in Dallas, Texas where Kevin was serving as Campus Pastor and Men’s Minister at RockPointe Church. Kevin didn’t grow up in the faith and came to know Jesus through a faithful chiropractor and receptionist. Although Johanna grew up in a Christian home, she had a disconnected faith and didn’t come to know Jesus until her young adult years.
They both experienced the transformative power of the Gospel and started to dream about what it would look like to plant a church where those furthest from Christ could hear, experience, and encounter the Gospel. Over the course of several years, this call was confirmed through prayer, church leadership, mentors, friends, and formal assessment. In spring of 2024, Kevin and Johanna moved back to Ohio where Kevin stepped into the role of Church Planter in Residence at Renew Communities in Berea, Ohio. Kevin and Johanna are meeting with community leaders, building a launch team, and hosting a microchurch as they prepare to launch CrossFields Church in North Royalton in fall of 2025.
Our Story
Who We Are
MISSION:
Living on mission with God where we live, work, learn, and play.
VISION:
To be a church so embedded in our community that all people would have the opportunity to see, hear, experience, and ultimately encounter the Gospel.
VALUES:
Gospel-Centered.
The goodness of God on display through Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and ascension is our foundational value that shapes all our theology and ministry. We are Scripturally-rooted, Christ-exalting, and Spirit- empowered. We stand on the authority of Scripture, live our lives for Christ, and are guided by the Spirit’s movement in the world around us.
Unapologetically Missional.
We are outward focused and move beyond our comfort zones to meet people where they are. We are sold out for reaching those far from Christ. We sacrifice for the betterment of others as we are focused on serving others rather than being served. We pursue the one.
Holistic Discipleship.
We aim to develop people to follow Christ in every aspect of their being, not just spiritually, but emotionally, intellectually, relationally, physically, vocationally, and financially.
Kingdom Expansion.
We are committed to expanding God’s kingdom in every area of societal influence. Within the church, we will intentionally raise up and develop leaders who will disciple others by leading and multiplying microchurches, church plants and church revitalizations. We will also invest in kingdom leaders who will impact homes, workplaces, and communities.
God
We believe that there is but one true God, who eternally exists as three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who exclusively share in the work of creation, maintenance of the universe, redemption and judgment (Genesis 1:1; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14).
Beliefs
Jesus Christ
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son – who entered the human race, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, and that He is fully God and fully man. He lived a life of perfect obedience to the Father and voluntarily fulfilled the will of God by laying down His life as the atoning sacrifice for humanity’s sin. Having fully satisfied Divine justice, He achieved salvation for all who place their trust in Him. Raised from the dead by God, He ascended to heaven and is currently interceding for His own, awaiting His return to consummate God’s kingdom and redemptive plan (Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1-5; Romans 1:3-4).
Holy Spirit
We believe the Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He empowers believers to live in the fullness of life offered in Christ. He continues to bestow gifts upon believers for the building up of the Body of Christ and for the sharing of the Gospel. The maturing Christian seeks to live under His control, power, and guidance daily (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; John 14:16-17, 1 Corinthians 12).
Creation and Humanity
We believe God created the Earth and everything in it. Humankind is a special creation of God, made in His image. He created them, male and female, being the only genders, and made them equal in dignity, value, and worth as image bearers of Him. Although humanity was created in the image of God, we were separated from God because of Adam’s sin. As a result, the image of God in humankind became damaged – defaced, but not erased. Therefore, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are unable to function in moral responsibility before God. We need spiritual regeneration before we can become what God meant us to be (Genesis 1:1-2:7; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23).
Salvation
We believe that Jesus died upon the cross as a sinless substitute for sinners of all ages and times, and that the Father was thus, by means of the Spirit, reconciling the world to Himself. All who receive the risen Jesus as Lord, by grace through faith, are spiritually born into membership in the family of God (Romans 5:1; 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 1:12; 14:6; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26).
The Church
We believe there is one true Church universal, consisting of all who recognize Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The body of Christ finds expression as local churches where those who have been regenerated by the Spirit come together. Operating under the direction of Jesus as Lord and Head of His body and through Godly servant leadership, believers devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of baptism and communion, fellowship, service to the body and outreach to the lost (Matthew 16:18; 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-47; 20:28; 1 Corinthians 12:7-12; Ephesians 4:7,11-13).
The Resurrection and the Future
We believe in the imminent, bodily and visible return of Jesus Christ to this earth to bring to completion His redemptive and kingdom plan. All people who have died will be raised from the dead, and those who have been redeemed will participate in eternal life in the presence of the God, but those who have rejected Christ will suffer eternal separation from God (1 Timothy 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; Matthew 25:31, 34, 41; 1 Corinthians 15:50-56; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-4, 8; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3, 8-10 ; Revelation 3:5; 20:12; Revelations 21:1-5).
The Family
God has ordained the family as the foundational institution of human society. It is composed of persons related to one another by marriage, blood or adoption. We believe that sexual activity is to be exclusively practiced within the parameters of biblical marriage, and that marriage is defined in both Old and New Testaments as an institution ordained by God as a lifelong covenantal commitment of only one man and one woman. Marriage is God’s unique gift to reveal the union between Christ and His church and to provide for the man and the woman in marriage the framework for intimate companionship, the channel of sexual expression according to biblical standards and the means for procreation of the human race. Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing and heritage from the Lord. Parents are to demonstrate to their children God’s pattern for marriage (Genesis 1:26-28; Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Joshua 24:15; 1 Samuel 1:26-28; Psalm 78:1-8; Psalm 127; Psalm 139:13-16; Proverbs 5:15-20; 22:6; Matthew 18:2-5; 19:4-6; Romans 1:18-32; 1 Corinthians 7:1-16; Hebrews 13:4).
Leadership
LEAD PASTOR
Kevin Kowalski
Management Team
These leaders from our sending churches are serving as overseers until local elders are installed.
Alan Michael
Lead Executive Pastor,
RockPointe Church
Andy Sikora
Lead Pastor,
Renew Communities
Networks
RockPointe is one of our two sending churches. They are located in Flower Mound, TX where Kevin served for over five years before moving to Ohio to plant CrossFields.
The Kingdom Collective is a group of likeminded churches working together to send missionaries, church planters and Kingdom Innovators to see whole communities renewed by the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Renew Communities is one of our two sending churches. They are located in Berea, OH where Kevin is currently engaged in a year-long church planting residency in preparation for planting CrossFields.
The Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA, consists of about 200 churches and other ministries in the U.S. It is part of an international United Brethren fellowship which includes 560-some churches in 18 countries.
Stadia is a church planting network that helps start thriving, growing, multiplying churches for the next generation.