CRESCENT—Unity among believers is one of the most important aspects to have in the church. A great example of such unity can be seen through the Crescent Collective, a student-driven ministry hosted by Crescent, First.

Acting as a hub for worship, people from churches in the Crescent area gather to have fellowship with one another.

“The true architect of Crescent Collective is John Lovett,” said Paul Montgomery, lead pastor at Crescent, First. “He’s the associate pastor here, he does our youth and he also does our music and worship.”

Lovett has been serving at Crescent, First for almost 30 years in numerous roles. Churches from numerous denominations in the town rotate hosting community-wide worship nights for students in grades 6–12. Lovett approached Montgomery and proposed the idea of having Crescent, First host the event since their worship center could facilitate it.

“He said to me, ‘What if we made this an every-Wednesday night thing?’” Montgomery said. “We met with the elders and leaders at churches to work out details.”

Since then, Crescent Collective has only grown.

“We’ve just had these awesome opportunities to point people to Christ, which is what we’re here for,” Montgomery said.

According to Montgomery, most of the kids who attend Crescent Collective are not part of any of the churches in town. Each week they are encouraged to dive deeper into the Word and tell their parents what they’re learning. This then opens the door for the whole family to be invited to a church where they can find community in Christ.

“We’re not just trying to ‘recruit’ people to join our church,” Montgomery said. “We’re just saying that kids need to be in a church and they need to take their parents to church.”

Prior to becoming a pastor, he was a successful businessman. All throughout his career, Montgomery felt God was calling him to ministry but just didn’t know where he was called to. That was until 2017 when Crescent, First asked Montgomery to preach temporarily. A few weeks later, the church asked him to stay. Montgomery celebrated nine years of service to Crescent, First on Aug. 17.

By reaching the younger generation, Crescent Collective has been able to lead entire families to the Lord and prepare the next generation of ministry leaders.

For more information about Crescent Collective and other Crescent, First ministries, visit fbccrescent.org/ministries.