For several years, Gene and Lynda Murray of Hoover celebrated Easter in a way that displayed their faith to their neighbors. They erected a six-foot-high cross in their front yard, testifying to passersby that Easter had a significant, spiritual meaning to their family.
The Murrays are now encouraging Christians of all different denominations to display similar crosses at their homes. The couple first took their idea to their home church, Green Valley Baptist Church in Hoover, and have now taken the idea to churches of many different denominations.
As a result, they expect to see thousands of crosses displayed throughout the Birmingham area during the week leading up to Easter.
“We had mentioned the idea to some friends who are members of a different church and they encouraged us to go talk to their pastor,” Murray said. “As God called us to go out and talk to more pastors about it, we were overwhelmed by the responses we received. The Lord truly went before us and prepared the pastors’ hearts for our message. Every one of the pastors said, ‘Yes, let’s do it,’ within minutes of us being with them.”
Murray’s own pastor, Jeff Vanlandingham, immediately supported the idea for their church. “I was instantly excited about it when Gene approached me,” Vanlandingham said.
The project is so important, he said, because it gives Christians a simple way to proclaim their faith. “We are really praying that it takes off, and we think it can,” he said. “It’s a project that both small and large churches can do. It’s something that every church can accomplish.”
The symbolism of the project is of the utmost importance in today’s society, Vanlandingham said. In a time when war may be imminent and so many issues bombard Christians culturally, the cross is a universal symbol for the hope of Christianity.
“This project shows the importance of the cross to us,” he said. “The cross stands for Jesus’ obedience to the Father, it shows the sacrifice given for our sins. It shows the great gift that we have as Christians.”
Green Valley is just one of many Southern Baptist churches participating in the Easter cross project this season. Murray states that pastors of both small and large congregations have shown great enthusiasm for the project.
The project reaches much further, however, and involves churches of many different denominations and racial backgrounds. And that, said Murray, is the great appeal to the project — it celebrates a common symbol of the Christian faith.
“This is not a Green Valley project, or a Southern Baptist project,” he said. “It’s a Kingdom project.”
According to Murray, the churches represented include Presbyterian, Methodist, Assembly of God, Catholic, Southern Baptist and others. Seven out-of state churches have even expressed interest in the project, leading to a current total of 25,000 crosses.
At The Metropolitan Church of God, Senior Pastor Raymond Culpepper was instantly enthusiastic about the project. “He prayed right then and there, telling God that we wanted to see thousands of crosses throughout the area,” Lynda Murray said.
Each church is responsible for its own crosses, with individual churches developing different ideas about how to accomplish the cross building and distribution. Ideally, each church family will have a cross to display.
The crosses, which are made from 1-inch by 4-inch rough boards that are approximately six feet long, cost no more than $1.50 each to make.
The crosses are to be set out on Palm Sunday and should remain in the yard through Easter. Murray encourages participants to keep their crosses plain and simple, without paint or fancy adornments. “We want it to be as much like Jesus’ cross as possible. It was a simple wooden cross,” he said.
Once the Easter season is over, “The crosses could be retained by each family and used again during subsequent seasons,” Murray said. “After the initial effort of supplying one for each family, only a few replacements or additional ones would be needed.”
In talking with different pastors and church members, Murray was struck by the creativity used by congregations. At one Catholic church, the priest said that the Knights of Columbus and resident Scout troop would build their crosses. At Bluff Park Baptist Church, the idea developed for the RA group to build them. At The Church at Brook Hills, an existing workshop will be used to construct the 4,000 crosses needed by that congregation.
The time and effort dedicated to the construction and distribution of the crosses will be minimal when compared to the life-changing testimony the crosses will have on neighborhoods and communities. “When we found that this many churches were excited about this project, we realized that we could actually be known as the community of crosses,” he said. “This gives Christians the chance to be an example during this time,” he said. “It is a beautiful emphasis on the true meaning of the Easter season.”
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