IMPACTing Wake Forest

IMPACT has been a part of Crossroads’ vocabulary since 2017. It was first launched as the IMPACT Generosity Initiative, which aimed to put our congregation’s above-and-beyond giving toward three specific, church-building goals. Those were to update our Kids Ministry spaces; construct Crossroads Park; and pay off the Wake Forest Campus mortgage, giving our people a permanently owned place to gather in this rapidly growing area of the Triangle.

But after almost a decade—and a new iteration—of IMPACT, the Wake Forest Campus’ mortgage is the only giving goal that remains.

That doesn’t mean significant giving hasn’t happened over the years. Prior to May 3, what was once a $2.67 million mortgage had been paid down to $1.45 million—a milestone that represents far more than money. That kind of financial progress tells a bigger story—one where God is using the Wake Forest Campus to win hearts, transform lives, and sow the Gospel into this close-knit Triangle community.

Back in 2010, the Millbrook Campus was experiencing explosive growth—to the point that the building was nearing capacity. In the words of Wake Forest’s Worship Pastor Tyler Hairston, it was a great problem to have—and it also presented a great opportunity, as staff began to consider how to reach a new part of the Triangle with the Gospel.

“That’s when the leadership at the time started to talk about the idea of a multi-site,” Tyler recalls. “They identified that we had a good core of 100 to 150 people that were coming from this Wake Forest area. They were even hearing from them about it, like, ‘My neighbors are open to coming to church, but when I invite them to a church that’s 25 minutes down the road, they’re hesitant to make the drive.’”

Soon after, the Crossroads Wake Forest Campus was planted at Heritage High School, and our current Senior Pastor Andy George started serving this quickly growing community as their Campus Pastor every Sunday.

But without a building to gather in throughout the week, the people of the Wake Forest Campus weren’t as able to experience the best part of church: community. Though they were able to worship together on Sundays, then venture out into homes or public areas during the week, Tyler remembers the “longing” the growing campus felt for a home base.

At the same time, God was working to deliver that home. Originally, Bay Leaf Baptist had housed a church plant in the Wake Forest Campus building—but in the words of Campus Pastor Ryan Siegers, “it just didn’t take.” Yet God used it for good when, with our growing congregation in mind, Bay Leaf reached out to Crossroads and asked if we'd want to acquire the building.

That conversation ultimately led to a lease-to-own agreement—and in 2012, the Wake Forest congregation moved into the building.

“What was really cool was our ability to feel planted in a space and outfit it for the ministry and the discipleship that we wanted to do,” Tyler recalls. “It really opened up the doors for us to think about that midweek ministry outside of Sunday morning gatherings.”

Fourteen years later, that midweek ministry has become a cornerstone for the Wake Forest congregation. While Millbrook sees people from all over the Triangle, our second campus remains a community church—one that’s serving an ever-growing pocket of our region.

In 2016, when Andy George became our Senior Pastor, Ryan Siegers joined Crossroads as the second Campus Pastor at Wake Forest. For the past 10 years, he’s faithfully shepherded a church that’s changed over time—especially after the pandemic in 2020.

As the congregation returned to the church building, Ryan encountered a slimmed-down yet dedicated community that was hungry to connect, grow, and serve after so much time apart. And with a smaller population, the Wake Forest team got to focus on matching their ministry efforts to the congregation’s needs.

That focus meant rebuilding core ministries, where people could serve and be served. It was also expressed through events like the Spring Picnic—which acknowledged the need for wide-scale connection after that time of isolation.

Yet before long, that renewed sense of community began producing something else: a congregation eager to take part in what God was doing at Wake Forest.

Today, their Prayer Ministry groups gather on Monday afternoons and Wednesday evenings to share requests and lift them up together before God. And while it’s easy to assume the staff built it themselves, it all started with one congregation member taking a step of faith.

“In 2022, after I’d taken a few stabs at starting it up, a guy named Paul just showed up to the church,” Ryan explains. “He was like, ‘Hey, would it be okay if I prayed in the Worship Center for an hour every week on Monday?’ He did that for 18 months. He’d check in with me occasionally, and I’d check in on him, and then I decided to ask, ‘Hey, you’re doing this, you’re devoted, you’re obviously faithful to it. Could I invite others to pray with you?’

“Paul led that for almost a year, and then he told me, ‘What I really love is praying alone, not necessarily leading a team.’ Then someone said, ‘Well, I'll pick it up,’ and it’s been going strong ever since.”

Similar stories surround many other ministry initiatives—like when two trusted leaders brought Pride4Parents to the Wake Forest Campus. Overall, though, what both Ryan and Tyler have noticed God stirring in the people of Wake Forest through the years is a willingness to step into His work.

And unlike some church environments, that willingness to serve isn’t extended only to an inner circle of attendees. It’s poured out into the community, as congregation members bring the hope of Jesus into their local relationships.

“We are probably less likely to hear ‘I Googled you,’” Ryan notes. “We get it, but it’s usually like, ‘I Googled you, I went to Millbrook, and then I found out about Wake Forest.’ What we’ve more often been getting, especially in the last eight to 12 months, has been, ‘My neighbor invited me. My friend from work invited me. My family goes here. My parents go here. My kids go here.’”

Those invitations aren’t happening by accident. They’re the fruit of a congregation that sees the Wake Forest Campus not simply as a place to attend—but as a mission field where God has called them to live, serve, and build relationships.

Strong, dedicated community. Ownership in ministry. Kingdom multiplication. Over 14 years, that’s what God has built at the Wake Forest Campus.

While IMPACT Sunday has been a regular, biannual occurrence for a few years now, our most recent one on May 3 brought something new. That was a $100k matching gift given by a congregation member at the Wake Forest Campus, whose generous gift came out of end-of-life planning, according to Ryan.

Prior to May 3, our congregation had given approximately $363k toward our fiscal year’s IMPACT goal of $500k. But in just the last month, while the matching challenge was active, you all gave around $370k—which becomes $470k with the gift applied.

That means IMPACT giving now stands at more than $830k, exceeding this year's goal by over $300k two months before the end of this fiscal year.

One of the beautiful things about giving to IMPACT means knowing exactly what you’re giving to—and this generosity reflects the reality that God is at work through our second campus. Thanks to His guiding hand, people from across Wake Forest are finding an authentic, safe community, becoming known, and embracing His gift of salvation.

In a full-circle moment, Ryan has seen the Wake Forest Campus building nearing capacity on Sundays. Services are maxing out at around 80 to 85 percent, by his estimate. Yet for Ryan, the most encouraging sign of growth isn’t a crowded room—it’s a community where people are known, loved, and growing together in Christ.

“I think, when you’re shopping for the most attractive church in town, you miss the best part of it, which is being known and knowing people, and you get to celebrate different things when you’ve sat next to people for at least three years,” Ryan says. “Like, you’re still married; praise the Lord after what happened. Or, hey, you have grandbabies; you got married; you never thought your husband would come to church. Or, you’re more alive in Christ than you’ve ever been; you’re leading something, and you never thought you would; you prayed out loud.

“These are things that might seem insignificant when you see them, if you don't have any context. But the more you enter a church family, the more you have that context, and I think that’s what we should all be looking for.”

Although the IMPACT Generosity Initiative officially concluded in September 2020, the heart behind it did not. As we looked for a new way to inspire generosity that truly makes a difference in our church and our community, we carried the name forward.

Whether you're curious about the initiative or interested in giving, we invite you to join us in celebrating what God has done through IMPACT—and in anticipating how He'll continue to use it to bless our community!