Our Churches: Crossroads Church – Loveland, Colorado

Our latest post comes to us from Jessica Perez, Worship and Creative Arts Directer at Crossroads Church in Loveland, CO.

This wall is on our main floor atrium; we have the same wall, in Spanish, upstairs.

Crossroads Church is a vibrant and creative church, and has been since our first service in January, 1996. My father, John Smith, founded Crossroads 16 years ago; he remains the senior pastor. As a youth pastor at Evangelical Covenant Church (now LifeSpring Covenant church) in Loveland, Colorado, my dad was called to plant a church that was unlike any church in the area at that time. Crossroads met in schools for the first 9 years; at one point, we were meeting in 11 different facilities in any given week. We have had an exciting run. Although it hasn’t always been easy or free from pain, storms or transitions, our journey has been exciting and full of God’s grace. We tackle big, real topics, always pushing to be better than the week before.

Crossroads is located in Loveland, Colorado (pop. 68,000). An hour north of Denver—and just a few miles south of Fort Collins—we are at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Camping, hiking, fishing, cycling and mountain biking are just a few of the outdoor activities within a 30 minute drive; skiing and other winter activities are nearby as well.  The arts, including sculpture, theater, music, dance and more, are highly valued in Loveland and the northern Colorado community.

We live in an active community, and we are an active church. We often talk about these activities being Crossroads’ biggest competitors for people’s weekend church attendance.

Our auditorium seats 1,100, with a majority of the seating in chairs on the floor and additional seating in bleachers. Along with the weekend band (a rock band with multiple worship leaders and a worship choir), we use creative elements, staging, lighting and video to communicate the message of Jesus.

On our second floor, we have a small room we call our “Chapel,” which seats around 150. We utilize the Chapel for smaller funerals, weddings and overflow services on holidays, as well as choir rehearsals, large classes, Bible studies, special events and more.

We have three identical weekend services: Saturdays at 4:30, and Sundays at 9 and 11. Kids programs for ages birth – 5th grade take place during all of the weekend services; a middle school program is offered during the 11am service.

Our weekend planning team creatively shapes our services in themed series, determining the music, videos, “my stories” (testimonies), message (sermon), service order, and more. This team is made up of the teaching team (pastors), tech, worship and other creative arts staff. We are intentional about exhibiting the weekend series artwork throughout the building through posters and a 6 foot tall “lightbox” (a custom backlit display), in the weekend program (bulletin), on our website, through Facebook, via our weekly e-newsletter, and more. We utilize social media to continue sharing the experience throughout the weekend and beyond; our Celebrate Recovery leader writes a Monday morning blog post, and we post the whole service online on Tuesdays.

The music is current, always moving and changing. A talented band, multiple worship co-leaders, and a seasonal worship choir lead the worship music. We introduce new music often, and continually rotate new and familiar music. We cover many radio hits, Christian and secular—music our team has historically performed with excellence.

Crossroads has baptized over 1,000 people in 16 years; for the past 5 years, 500+ people (per year) have volunteered for Project One, a day of service in the community. We are a creative, rockin’ church, passionate about social justice and committed to sharing the Gospel on a weekly basis. We draw not only believers, but we also have become a safe place for many unchurched and dechurched in the community to experience Jesus. There are former pastors serving and leading ministries at Crossroads. We seek to create a church home for all.

This past February, we added a Spanish ministry, Pacto de Amor. Pacto de Amor  worships in our Chapel on Sundays at 1pm, and has a full children’s program meeting simultaneously. Having Pacto de Amor at Crossroads has added a wonderful and exciting ministry to our church—we have successfully experimented with incorporating Pacto de Amor and Spanish-language elements into a few of our weekend services, including Good Friday.

At Crossroads, we have FUN! Currently, we’re in a series called “The Family Series.” We’ve set up a “Photo Booth” every weekend of the series—families and friends incorporate silly props into group photos. We have an online photo gallery where people can view the photos, and download their own. It’s been a blast! Part of the idea is to continue the whole weekend experience outside our auditorium doors, and to encourage connections.