Click Here to Access a PDF Version of our Partner Covenant
The Crete Collective exists to establish gospel-driven churches in distressed and neglected Black and Brown communities.
This covenant communicates The Crete Collective’s core emphases and the responsibilities of partner churches. By signing this document, your church affirms these characteristics, your responsibilities, and The Crete Collective’s Statement of Faith. The board of directors for The Crete Collective reserves the right to revoke a church’s membership at any time if a cooperating church does not demonstrate these like-minded characteristics and abide by the statement of faith, or if there is unethical behavior on behalf of the pastoral leadership.
The Crete Collective emphasizes the gospel of Jesus Christ as “of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:1-8) in the preaching, ministry and cooperation of member churches.
The Crete Collective submits to the Bible as our final authority in all matters of belief and life (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
The Crete Collective maintains a missional focus on predominantly Brown and Black neighborhoods and communities that are materially and spiritually neglected (Rom. 9:1-5; Gal. 2:9-10). In part, this means centering our work on the needs, sensibilities, cultures and perspectives of Black and Brown residents and exploring the intersection of specific cultures and identities with biblical and gospel truths. We welcome churches from every ethnic, social, cultural and economic background to partner in this missional effort.
The Crete Collective promotes holistic discipleship to meet the spiritual, physical, eternal and temporal needs of our communities. We aim to combine both personal piety and public witness, gospel proclamation and the demonstration of justice, sound doctrine and social duty (James 2:14-18; 1 John 3:18).
The Crete Collective aims to foster the full flourishing of Christian women and girls and the maximal use of their gifts and passion to honor the Lord in every way the Bible encourages and allows (Matt. 28:18-20).
The Crete Collect commits to kingdom multiplication through church planting and support of existing churches (Titus 1:5).
Our partner churches will seek to promote the mission of The Crete Collective by participating in three ways:
1. Engage in network functions (ex. zoom calls, regional events, national meetings)
2. Give at least 3 percent of their general offerings to help plant churches with The Crete Collective.
3. Pray regularly for the work of The Crete Collective and for the welfare and faithfulness of other member churches.
Our core doctrinal commitments and basis of theological unity are based on in the New Hampshire Statement of Faith (1833). Member churches must agree to uphold these doctrinal positions outlined in our statement of faith.
The Bible calls Christians to do everything to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Eph. 4:3). As a consequence, churches and Christians must reflect a healthy catholicity that recognizes the necessity of other churches and contributes to their well-being (Acts 11:29; Rom. 15:25-28; I Cor 16:1-5). The Crete Collective strives for unity in spirit and in mission. By signing this covenant, member churches commit themselves to this same charity and catholicity for the sake of the Lord, the gospel, and the communities we work together to reach.
As a matter of policy and conviction, The Crete Collective does not intervene in the financial decisions or governance of any local church. Each local church is free to govern itself before God, only in accord with the scriptures, our statement of faith and this covenant. If a church plant ceases to exist, all monies given to The Crete Collective for that church plant will be used to plant new or strengthen and support existing churches within The Crete Collective. The board of directors for The Crete Collective will determine how to distribute those committed finances. The board shall also make regularly available to member churches a statement of The Crete Collective’s finances and operations.
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Members of the news media who want to cover the work of The Crete Collective should email: john@thecretecollective.org