Crossroads (Cincinnati)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Crossroads | |
|---|---|
| Crossroads Community Church | |
 Crossroads Oakley | |
| Location | 3500 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45209 |
| Country | United States |
| Denomination | Interdenominational |
| Weekly attendance | 34,000 |
| Website | crossroads.net |
| History | |
| Founded | 1996 |
| Clergy | |
| Senior pastor | Brian Tome, Kyle Ranson |
| Pastor(s) | Vicki Diller (Columbus), Andy Reider (Anywhere), Lena Schuler (East Side), Terry Phillps (Florence), John Gillispie (Lexington), Tim Senff (Mason), Greg McElfresh (Oakley), Matt Castleman (Dayton), Steve Tilling (West Side) |
Crossroads is a multisite interdenominational megachurch in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. Crossroads has nine physical locations in Ohio and Kentucky, and an online streaming platform.[1]
In 1990, Procter & Gamble brand managers Brian Wells, Jim Bechtold and Vivienne Bechtold started a singles Bible study in Hyde Park, Cincinnati. It quickly grew to over 100 people and they wondered if starting a church made sense.[2]
After five years in a junior high auditorium and a growing attendance, senior leaders raised funds to purchase an empty supercenter. It was renovated into an auditorium seating 1,200. The construction was done by Megen Construction Company, completed a month ahead of schedule within budget.[3]
Champlin Architecture did the architecture for the first renovation with Megen Construction, and also did work for the second phase. Phase two expanded the auditorium, tripled the size of the childcare facility, and modernized the design. The new design is “raw, edgy, contemporary”.[4]
It was named the 4th-largest and the fastest-growing church in America in 2017,[5] with over 34,000 average weekend attendees. In November 2018, CBS News listed Crossroads as the 23rd largest megachurch in the United States with about 16,792 weekly visitors and thousands of viewers on their livestreamed services each week.[6]
Beliefs
The church is considered interdenominational,[7] and some on staff refer to it as evangelical.[8] The core beliefs pull from a variety of Christian denominations and the church believes in the Bible as the inspired word of God and the final authority on all matters of faith.[9] The church is classified as Unclear: Non-Affirming with their LGBTQ policy,[10] and Senior Pastor Brian Tome has indicated that homosexuality is a sin.[11] The church also opposes abortion,[12] supporting such local organizations as the Eve Center.[13]