They wanted a great environment to meet with friends to explore questions about God without having to pretend they had it all together or wading through a bunch of religious lingo. They wanted to offer their friends an alternative that wouldn’t make assumptions about what they believed about God or knew about the Bible. They wanted to assure their friends that no one would single them out by asking, “Where are all the visitors?”

On March 24, 1996, Crossroads Community Church of Hyde Park “went public” in a Cincinnati neighborhood. About 450 people showed up that day to a rented room, intrigued by the promise of “great music, free coffee and real topics.” In the years since, Crossroads has grown tremendously. The goal was never size; the goal always was, and continues to be, based upon the ideas of authentic community, honest conversation and exploring the question: Where is God taking us next?

Life and faith in God is an adventure. Crossroads is here to inspire, equip, and guide people through the technicolor heart-pumping adventure they were born for–to change the world for God.

* We are made in the image of God, which means we’re like him in many ways, except that he’s God and we’re not. He’s loving and just and desires a relationship with us. As individuals with free will, we have the freedom to respond to the relationship God’s initiated with us, or not.

* We’re free to choose to live outside the realm of the life God has for us as it’s explained in the Bible. Put another way, many choices we make either move us closer to God or further away from him. Making even seemingly small decisions that separate us from God is called sin. We all do it, and we’ll continue to do so. And, even then, God will love us and passionately pursue us.

* God loves us so much, in fact, that he sent his only son, Jesus, to die so the rest of us could live. The cost of sin was separation from God—spiritual death—until Jesus came and his death paid everyone’s debt. That’s serious love. Because of that serious, perfect love, this gift from God is waiting for anyone who wants to receive it. This is called Grace. God gives grace freely and abundantly.

* Church of the Highlands: Was founded by Pastor Chris Hodges and 34 other ministry leaders on February 4th, 2001. Church of the Highlands is considered the 2nd largest church in the U.S as of 2018. With its creative ways of bringing people in through there online services, they have gained thousands of members.

* Collectivus Church: Was founded by Pastor Ben Nelson and his family in February of 2020. It is showing record growth for a church with it’s different approach on how to “be the church.” Collectivus is a mission oriented church with its focus being Missional Communities throughout the state of Alabama and hopefully the U.S.