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 For over 30 years, Crawford has been ministering
in the central Illinois area. Crawford has had ties to the Lincoln
community since 1986 when he was a freshman at Lincoln Christian
College. He received a bachelor’s degree from LCC in 1991. In 2013,
Crawford received his master's degree from Lincoln Christian
University.
In April 2007, Open Arms was established. Crawford said the first
year, they met in Chestervale Township at the home of Kevin and
Charlene Wolf. Soon, there were more people attending than the home
could hold.
Therefore, Crawford said they had to find a different meeting place.
From June 1, 2008 to July 12, 2015, the church held services in the
former Gossett’s Cleaners building on Broadway Street in Lincoln.
The church continued to bring in more people. Crawford said in 2015
the church began leasing a building that formerly held Family
Dollar. Sunday July 19, 2015, the day after the church’s Family Fun
Day, they began holding services there.
As the church continued to grow, Crawford said they began offering
two services. Now the church is “busting out the walls” with around
400 people attending each Sunday. On Easter Sunday, services were
held at the LCU chapel with over 600 in attendance. On May 15, the
congregation began holding a 10 a.m. service every Sunday at the LCU
chapel.
Part of Open Arm’s mission statement is to make disciples of all
nations. Crawford said the church’s vision is to “try to be a
transforming community that transforms our community.”
To help transform the community, Crawford and his congregation do
community outreach several times throughout the year. He said they
like to do outreach every month and are hoping to keep expanding
their outreach.
Long time church member Terry Carlton shared some questions that
come to mind regarding the outreach, “How can we meet the needs of
the community? Where are the needs? How can we touch the community?”
Open Arms’ annual Community Outreach events include Blessing of the
Bikes, an Easter egg hunt, Family Fun Day, Trunk or Treat, and a
community Thanksgiving meal.
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Family Fun Day, one of the church’s largest events, started in 2008.
Since then, Crawford said they have held it every year besides 2020,
when it had to be cancelled due to covid restrictions.
Held in mid-June, Family Fun Day is a free event for the whole
community and a way to help people. Crawford said over 2,500 people
usually come to the events. Some years, Crawford said, almost 3,000
have come to the event.
At the annual Easter egg hunts, members of the congregation and
residents from Christian Horizon fill and hide 10,000 eggs for
children from around the community to find.
The Blessing of the Bikes, held in May, usually brings 30 or more
cyclists. Crawford said, this year the Christian Motorcyclists
Association is helping with the event.
The community Thanksgiving meal is another popular event. Most
years, it is held in the sanctuary of the church. In November 2020,
when large gatherings were unadvisable, Crawford said they decided
to offer meals drive through style. That year, they served more
people than ever before.
During the early part of the pandemic, when many restaurants were
only able to provide limited services, Crawford and the church
decided to provide Sunday “drive through” meals.
Every Sunday for fourteen weeks, the church partnered with a local
restaurant. Crawford said they were serving between 700 and 1,200
meals per week. To help the businesses, the church gave $500 over
and above the cost of the meals.
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Carlton said the church gave these businesses extra money to help
bless the restaurants during covid. As he said, “you cannot out-give
God.”
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In recent years, the church started a sports
ministry. Crawford said they have a men’s basketball league with six
teams made up of both church members and community members. Open
Arms has also held a community softball tournament.
This summer, Crawford said Open Arms plans to help provide a family
friendly “Balloons over Lincoln” weekend.
Crawford said the goal of community outreach activities is to
provide something fun and free for families, bringing the community
together and making it stronger.
To Crawford, Lincoln is a great place to live, work
and raise a family. He loves Lincoln and is excited to be here.
Crawford also wants to see everyone come to Christ.
Currently, Crawford said it is a tough time for many in Lincoln. We
want to minister to those facing challenges. One goal is to help
people figure out the next step as they struggle and help them
become who they were created by God to be. Crawford feels good
things are yet to come.
When everyone else is walking away, Crawford said the church needs
to be there. People need us when they are hurting. Reaching out is
critical.
As a way to help reach those who may be struggling, Crawford said
some in the congregation volunteer help at the Pregnancy Resource
Center. Additionally, Crawford said the church does the baby bottle
campaign to raise funds and some attend PRC’s annual fundraising
banquet.
Their Made With Love ministry is a sewing ministry. Crawford said
those involved in this ministry have made things like dresses for
kids in Haiti and the Dominican, mats for the homeless, blankets for
the Pregnancy Resource Center. Several also made masks during the
early part of the pandemic.
When Heather Gaule and her family joined Open Arms about a year and
half ago, one reason they were attracted to the church was the
outreach done by Crawford and the church. Gaule said, “Even before
we became members of Open Arms, the love they showed for the
community was evident to us. From Fun Days to the Easter Egg Hunts
and beyond, they truly care, and it showed.”
Gaule also said, “When we started attending Open Arms, we were not
only told that we were loved, but we felt it and knew it.”
With the church growing so much, Gaule said, “I keep thinking back
to 15 years ago and how Pastor Larry and his wife Pastor Wendy
started out with just a few people. If you ask Pastor Larry about
it, he will just tell you he was doing what God told him to do. Now
15 years later, here we are entering the next season of Open Arms.”
For Carlton, reaching and loving the community is why Open Arms is
here. He said one vision is to reach the lost and raise future
leaders.
In August, Crawford said they will be launching another outreach
with Celebrate Recovery, which helps people overcome hurts, habits
and hang ups.
The ministry of Open Arms expands beyond Lincoln. Crawford calls
Open Arms a local church with a global impact both nationally and
internationally. He considers that a model for the church seen in
the book of Acts chapters 2, 11 and 13 where people were being set
apart to reach people.
One way the local church provides global impact is by having Cadmiel
Santana translate Crawford’s sermons into Spanish. Santana is from
Puerto Rico and often goes with Crawford on mission trips to
interpret. Recently, Crawford and Cadmiel did an international
conference online for ministers in Nicaragua.
As part of their goal to make disciples of all nations, the church
partners with HopeCo in Tanzania, Africa. Crawford has travelled to
both Tanzania and Kenya more than once to minister to people there.
Crawford has made other trips through World Christian Outreach.
Additionally, Crawford has made eight trips to the Dominican
Republic preaching and doing evangelistic crusades. On trips in
2018, 2019 and 2021, Crawford said big groups from the congregation
joined him, leading VBS and doing various projects.
During his travels, Crawford has taught pastors at international
conferences. Carlton said recently Crawford has continued to do that
remotely.
Through the various outreaches of the church, Crawford and his
congregation are making a difference in the community.
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