BOE policy change forces church out at DVES

A change in Hoover school board policy pushed Cross Creek Church out of Deer Valley Elementary School, but the church’s pastor said good things have come from the move.

Cross Creek was forced to leave Deer Valley Elementary in December, after a Board Of Education policy change last summer effectively banned churches from using school facilities for worship services.

The new policy allows the city of Hoover and support organizations affiliated with the school system to use school facilities, but other outside groups can do so only “when the activities being conducted are beneficial to students and where there is a purpose related to or in support of Hoover’s schools or the education of its students (including but not limited to academic, artistic, cultural, physical or recreational education).”

Hoover schools spokesman Jason Gaston said that means churches can no longer use schools for worship services, which has been a practice for many years. “It is for educational purposes only,” he said.

While the school system wants to be a good community partner and churches have paid the school system rent for use of school facilities on Sundays, there is still the issue of wear and tear on the facilities, Gaston said. 

“We’re trying to be protective of the buildings,” he said.

The school system has seen an increase in requests for use of school property by outside groups, and officials felt it was time to reconsider their policy, he said.

BOE President Earl Cooper said this was not an effort to exclude churches, but if the school system allows churches, it might have to allow use of facilities by outside groups for things the community might not favor. The school board wants to be fair and consistent, Cooper said.

Cross Creek beginnings

Cross Creek Church was formed in the fall of 2009 as an outgrowth of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Homewood and Cahaba Park Church in Mountain Brook. For the first four years, the church met at South Shades Crest Elementary School, and the past four years it has met at Deer Valley Elementary, Pastor Chris Peters said.

The church most recently paid about $2,500 per month in rent, Gaston said.  He noted that Cross Creek’s use of school facilities was designed to be temporary until the church could find a more permanent home.

Peters said school officials have been gracious to allow Cross Creek to use South Shades Crest and Deer Valley. Cross Creek does indeed plan to build its own building on 11.5 acres off Ross Bridge Parkway between Jefferson Credit Union and The Cottages at Deer Valley.

The church completely paid off the debt from buying the property in spring 2017 but isn’t quite ready to start building, Peters said. The church decided to wait a year before beginning another capital campaign, he said.

Because they had to leave the school, they had to find somewhere else to meet on Sundays. That’s where a partnership with Lake Crest Presbyterian Church began.

Lake Crest Presbyterian is about two miles away from Deer Valley Elementary, just off John Hawkins Parkway at 560 Lake Crest Drive. The church has been in a building there since 2001 after moving from the Trace Crossings community, Pastor Thomas Joseph said.

2 churches, 1 building

Cross Creek approached Lake Crest Presbyterian about sharing the building and paying rent, and the Lake Crest congregation was receptive. Since December, both churches now meet at the same place, but with worship services at different times.

Cross Creek has a worship service at 8:45 a.m., and Lake Crest Presbyterian worships at 11 a.m. Both groups have Sunday school classes from 10 to 10:40 a.m.

The unusual part of the arrangement is that Cross Creek is the larger congregation, with more than 225 members and an average attendance of 140. Lake Crest has about 50 members and an average attendance of 35, Joseph said.

“We are a small church with a building, and they were a larger church that was basically in need of a building,” Joseph said. “We wanted to be of assistance to a sister church in need. … The building is not ours. It belongs to the Lord.”

Both churches altered their schedules to make it work.

“We take it a day at a time, a week at a time,” Joseph said. “Thus far, it seems to be working out logistically OK. It’s sort of akin to grown children living in a house together. You sort of have to learn how to do the dance without stepping on each other.”

Peters said he thought Cross Creek might lose a few people with the change in location and a new worship time, but the Cross Creek congregation adjusted pretty quickly to the new schedule. Cross Creek actually increased its Sunday school attendance, he said, because it now has Sunday school classes after worship, and people are already there. They also let out a little earlier than they did at Deer Valley Elementary, he said.

‘what the Lord has for us’

There are additional positives associated with the move.

Paul Johnson, one of the original core team members who helped start Cross Creek, said church members no longer have to completely set up and take down all their equipment and classroom decorations each week like they did at Deer Valley Elementary.

They also are able to use the Lake Crest church building at other times during the week, while at Deer Valley Elementary they could not, Johnson said. They recently were able to have their first Sunday night service, he said. The seating is a plus, too. 

“Here we have softer seats. People like that,” Johnson said.

The move has been an adjustment, but “this is just another next step,” Johnson said. “We just believe that this is what the Lord has for us.”

Peters said both churches are affiliated with the Presbyterian Church of America and have similar missions. “Both churches pray that each other grow and flourish and reach the community with the gospel,” he said.

Cross Creek does, however, still plan to move to its new property. Peters said he would love to see something happening on the land in 2019, but the church leaders are praying about the timeframe.

In the meantime, “where we are right now is a great place for us to be to share the love and truth of Christ with this community.”

For more information about Cross Creek Church, go to crosscreekchurch.net. For more information about Lake Crest Presbyterian, go to lcpca.org.