CrossWay Church is described as “a place to seek, discover, worship and feel free.”
“We have changed things in the building,” CrossWay Church Pastor Jeff Shaull said. “It’s more guest friendly. We updated the worship and feel of the Church. Most (of the changes are) on the inside. The outside (of the church) needs work but it takes money.”
No matter what the background, CrossWay leaders hope to make people feel at home.
“We are geared to reach the dechurched, (by trying) to make it exciting and not boring.” Shaull said, “People who have been detached from church for whatever reason feel rejected, bored, disconnected or maybe they got to busy in life outside the church. Sometimes it’s not that they don’t love God, they just get distracted by other things or don’t feel accepted.”
The Galion building where CrossWay meets used to be a bowling alley.
“It’s a multi-purpose building, it’s really big inside and we have a gymnasium that we use for worship.” Shaull said, “Try it, you might like it. Most churches have the same element, there are so many around and we want people to feel at home.”
CrossWay is different since it has a cafe area where people can grab a coffee, relax and observe the service.
“We have open table and chairs,” Shaull said. “We make it as welcoming as we can. We’ve been getting younger people lately in their 20’s and 30’s. Older people are the foundation, they hold it together but if you don’t have the younger generation they (Churches) can’t continue.”
Shaull said the food ministry has grown.
“Our food ministry started out using a large garbage can to donate food in,” .” Shaull said. “People used it as a trash can too. So we now use a farm feed trough. We don’t have a big enough space for a food pantry so we take our donations to the Galion Cooperative Christian Services Food Pantry.”
CrossWay also has an active LifeGroup.
“Twice a month the group meets on every other Sunday. We have three small groups Galion, Crestline and Ontario that meet in the host’s home.” Shaull said, “They share their lives together, share their experiences and build friendships.”
CrossWay University classes start after Labor Day and will be held every other Sunday, Shaull said, adding there are three classes to help people get connected with the church.
