Hi Erin! Glad you found us.
There are several different trains of thought on using a crate. Many of us chose not to. Many, many people on this board, though, do use crates and firmly believe that it is the quickest way to housebreak a dog (assuming, of course, that said pup didn't live in a kennel before he came to you). Many people here believe in the "cry it out" method. There is a different way, BTW, to get a pup used to a crate. Here are more details about it:
http://www.clickersolutions.com/articles/2001/crate.htm
Another option to speed housebreaking is to tether the pup to you using a leash clipped onto your belt. This way, you are always aware of what pup is doing and you learn to read his signals quicker. When you can't watch him, you can contain him in a small area covered in newspapers to facilitate easy cleanup.
So you see, there are alot of options. The choice is yours!