Celebrating 100 Days

The following report comes from Pastor Kris and Johnny Jackson, our congregation's Lay Leader. It was shared with Sunday morning's Large Group on September 8, 2019. Scroll down to the bottom of this post to see video from the worship service.

KRIS: We want to take a moment to recognize our first 100 days as a newly merged church worshiping together in this space as Peace Tree.

Many of you know that conversations began last year to bring the congregations of CrossRoads and Peace Tree together as we sought to further God’s mission, to build the Kingdom of Heaven here in our corner of the world, and to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
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A team of faithful individuals came together to discuss the details, to list our rocks in the river, and to share our dream and vision for the future. I’m extremely grateful for all those who contributed their energy and effort to the merger of CrossRoads and Peace Tree, and today we want to report on the progress that’s taken place in a little over three month’s time.

I’m going to touch upon the Mission, Vision, and Values of our church and how we’ve been living those out, then Johnny Jackson, our Administrative Board Chair and Church Lay Leader will talk about some noteworthy successes from our first 100 days.

Peace Tree’s mission is to Love God by Loving Others, and I feel as though we do a good job of demonstrating that. In fact the first of our four core values is to Love All.

We remember that God first loved us, so we try to express love in all that we do, whether it’s greeting people at the front door, offering coffee and donuts on Sunday morning, welcoming newcomers to House Groups and Large Group worship, or interacting with our followers on social media. We want everyone to know that they’ll be loved, respected, encouraged, challenged, and welcomed by the people of Peace Tree.

Our second core value is to Serve All. For decades, this facility has been utilized by multiple groups in the community such as the Cub Scouts, Futsal Escola girls’ soccer team, pickleball players, and even our neighborhood's Homeowner’s Association, and we’re continuing to nurture and build upon those partnerships.

We’re dreaming up more ways to use this facility to serve the community, and at the same time, our people have taken the church out of the building to meet people where they are. We have more House Groups and monthly gatherings than at any point in Peace Tree’s history which means we’re reaching more people than ever before.

Our House Groups have supported the Big Heart Fund, the Family Violence Council of Collierville, the Reynolds Hospice House, and several local schools. Our UMW circles and BRO and SIS groups have supported local reading programs, the Page Robbins Adult Day Center, and My Town Miracles’ Family Picnic & Field Day. And for the fourth year in a row, our church is organizing volunteers for the Guatemalan Mobile Consulate.

Live Together and Follow Christ are the last two core values at Peace Tree, and we participate in this work every time we gather in this place for Sunday morning worship. Members of our House Groups and small groups come together to form one Large Group in order to pray together, to sing God’s praises together, and to learn together as we explore God’s Word.

Our Adult Sunday School class started back up this morning after taking a break for the summer, and we’re exploring ways to launch a Confirmation Class for our young people. Groups which meet in coffee shops, restaurants, and neighborhood clubhouses have given us a chance to evangelize and witness to our neighbors. And House Groups have used a variety of resources for their studies as we all seek to follow Christ ever more closely.

Now, I’d like to pass the mic to Johnny Jackson, our church Lay Leader, as he shares a word about our first 100 days…

JOHNNY: Thank you Kris and thank you congregation for this “first” 100 days. It is right to pause, reflect, and to celebrate this milestone.

In the first 100 days:

• We’ve welcomed 6 new members
• We’ve had first time visitors virtually every Sunday with over 50 visitors since June 1
• We've averaged 140 worshippers in our Sunday morning gatherings with a one week high of over 180 people
• We’ve had over 45 children in the nursery and Peace Tree Kids — ages Infant through 5th grade
• We celebrated the unofficial end of summer with 93 people who attended our Back To School Cookout
• We’ve learned about the joy of owning a building with the unexpected need to replace an air conditioner and learning that 2 others are non-functioning and must be replaced
• We’ve hired a new Church Business Administrator in Amy Collins

Speaking of the children, one of the real motivations for Peace Tree joining with CrossRoads in this merger was the need for a safe and inviting space for our children to learn and grow. Over the past 100 days we have renovated 5 classrooms to create this space for our children of today and for those families and children to come.

• We have had over 35 volunteers who have worked through the summer helping us in this renovation
• Rooms have been repainted
• Old carpet was removed and floors were prepped for the installation of new carpet
• Rooms have been decorated

I would like to extend a huge thank you from Connie and myself for the work of all the volunteers who pitched in and helped out.


If you have not yet checked out the new children’s space, I invite you after today’s service to walk down the west hall and check it all out.  As you do, dream about the possibilities that the Peace Tree campus offers for extending the kingdom of God.

• Imagine the hallways through the building being refreshed and updated
• Imagine the chapel with a fresh look, more seating, and multi-functional
• Imagine visitors, guests, and members exploring the ministries of Peace Tree​

As you observe the new children’s space and imagine the future, let me give an update for proposed renovations of our facilities. Over the past 100 days we have had a number of meetings with ANF Architects reimagining our facilities. In the coming weeks we will be compiling the design recommendations to review with the district board and the district superintendent. We will be presenting this recommendation to you, our church, as we prayerfully consider what God would have us to do. The renovations under consideration include:

• An update of the chapel that will increase our seating capacity by reducing the footprint of the stage
• Seating will shift from pews to removable chairs allowing us to rearrange the room based on the needs of the event, whether it be Sunday morning worship, a wedding, a funeral, vacation Bible School, or even a conference
• We will replace at least one non-functioning air conditioner which currently services the chapel
• We will make cosmetic updates on all of the hallways to create inviting pathways around our facilities, replacing the current carpet
• We will update signage to make it easier for visitors and guests to find their way through the building

As stated we will be presenting this information in more details in the coming weeks as ANF wraps up the conceptual design. It's been an active 100 days. I am excited to be a part of what God is doing here at Peace Tree, and I look forward to the future.

KRIS: I want to end this time by reminding you of our overarching vision statement: Church Can Happen Anywhere. At its core is a simple reminder that I am the Church, that you are the Church, that we are the Church together. Whenever we walk out of the doors of our homes or this building, we are walking out into the mission field.

God is already out in the world, waiting for us to arrive so that we might participate in God’s mission of disciple-making. Demonstrate God’s love to your classmates at school, be the Church in your workplace, pray for each other and encourage one another with words of affirmation online and in person, seek out the path that Christ has prepared for you.

Four years ago, Peace Tree was approximately two dozen people meeting in two different living rooms - Wednesday nights in Collierville and Thursday nights in East Memphis. Today, we’re a congregation of 350 members & regular attenders on the roll with an average Sunday morning worship attendance of 140. There are also 100+ people each month who get together at House Groups or other Peace Tree gatherings.

We reach hundreds of people each month online with our worship service Live Streams, and we reach thousands with our Causely check-ins which have encouraged your friends to message you and ask, “Hey, what’s Peace Tree? I see you checking in at the location all the time. Can you tell me more?” We’ve entered an age of digital evangelism, and you are at the cutting edge!

Just as Jesus told Peter that he would build his Church, we trust that God is building up this congregation, using each of us to serve as living stones for God’s holy temple. In the upcoming weeks, you’ll have opportunities to hear about our renovation proposal so that our facility can reflect the joy, hospitality, and spirit of our people while attracting newcomers and partner organizations to utilize this space seven days a weeks, extending our reach into this community.

But for now, let’s celebrate our first 100 days, let’s give thanks to God, and let’s continue worshiping together at the table. Thank you!
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