Cross Community Church sits on the north side of Elyria at 525 Abbe Road North, across from Northwood Elementary and Middle School, in a part of Lorain County where suburban streets meet older neighborhoods. Locals know the church simply as CCC, and it has become a steady presence in the community through its Sunday gatherings, midweek electives, Vacation Bible School, the M25 outreach ministry, and a packed calendar that includes the Elyria Apple Festival, the Kerstetter 5K, and the Cornerstone Walk/Run for Life. The congregation is affiliated with the Assemblies of God, and its teaching centers on a straightforward Pentecostal faith: one God in three persons, the Bible as the authoritative Word, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the present work of the Holy Spirit, water baptism and Communion, healing, and the certain return of Christ.
Sunday Mornings at CCC
Sunday is the heart of the week at Cross Community. The morning begins at 9:30 AM with Discipleship Classes for adults. The flagship offering during that hour is Foundations, a Sunday morning class taught by Rick Fauth that walks through a Christian worldview. Foundations covers the biblical perspective on God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, Revelation, Creation, Salvation, Sanctification, good and evil, the afterlife, and the Second Coming. The church describes the class as a way to lessen everyday stress, reveal God-given potential for growth, increase security in a troubled world, give parents tools for raising their children, and help each person fall more deeply in love with the Lord. The class meets in the Fellowship Hall.
At 10:30 AM the main Worship Service gathers in the sanctuary. The service is contemporary in style and open in feel, with the KidMin Kids and Nursery environments running alongside it so that families with young children can worship together without worrying about the little ones. The service includes congregational worship, prayer, teaching from the pastors, and the elements of Communion that the church observes regularly as one of the central ways it celebrates its hope in Jesus Christ. After the service, the connection center in the main lobby is staffed to answer questions about baptism, life groups, and next steps.
Office hours at the church run from 10 AM to 3 PM, Monday through Thursday, and the staff can be reached at 440-366-8871 or crosscommunitychurch.office@gmail.com.
Wednesday Nights for All Ages
MidWeek Electives meet every Wednesday at 6:30 PM and are built so the whole family can be in the building at the same time. Three age tracks run in parallel:
- Adults gather in the Fellowship Hall for a teaching elective that walks through books, topics, or sermon series in greater depth. Recent electives have included Fresh Encounter by Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King, The King Is Coming on the Second Coming, and How To Get Through What You're Going Through, a series on grief and the transitions of life.
- KidMin runs in the Preschool Room for children from preschool through fifth grade, mirroring the elements of the adult service in a way that connects to a child's world.
- Oxygen Youth meets in the Fireside Room for students in sixth through twelfth grade, with food, fun, fellowship, and discipleship built into the evening.
The Nursery is available every Wednesday for infants through age three, in a separate Baby Room and Toddler Room, so parents can step into their own study without distraction.
Children and Students
The church takes its next generation seriously and runs three distinct ministries that meet children at their stage.
The Nursery serves infants through age three every Sunday and Wednesday. Its mission is to express the love of Christ to every child while providing the best of care and age-appropriate spiritual formation. The space is divided into a Baby Room and a Toddler Room.
KidMin Kids is for children four years old through fifth grade and meets on Sunday mornings. The environment exposes kids to the same elements as the adult worship service, worship, prayer, teaching, and small group time, but in a way designed for their hearts. A small group ministry sits inside the larger gathering so that every child gets one-on-one attention. The room is intentionally comfortable and welcoming, and kids are free to worship God in whatever way feels natural to them.
Oxygen Youth serves students in sixth through twelfth grade and meets Wednesday evenings at 6:30 PM. The ministry's aim is to reach young people, connect them with peers who share their experiences, help them grow through discipleship, and give every student a chance to serve in ministry. Oxygen runs seasonal events throughout the year, including the summer Water Olympics, where students gather at the church in modest swimwear for water games and challenges, and the North Central Area Youth Rally, which brings area students together for an evening. The youth also participate in the wider life of the church, joining VBS and Christmas services alongside the kids and adult ministries.
Life Groups and Adult Discipleship
Cross Community takes seriously the pattern of the early church in Acts 2, where believers shared Koinonia, genuine fellowship, by gathering in homes to break bread, pray, and study the Scriptures. Life Groups are the church's expression of that pattern. Some groups are geographically based across the surrounding communities, some are organized by age or stage of life, and some are built around a particular ministry focus. The groups meet in a variety of settings on different days of the week. New groups form and existing groups relaunch regularly, and a Host and Leader Luncheon is held each year to train and equip both current and future facilitators.
For people newer to CCC, the This Is Us class runs for three Sundays at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall. It is a chance to meet Lead Pastor Randy, the staff, core leaders, and life group leaders, to learn the culture and convictions of the church, and to find a place to connect.
For those ready to formalize their commitment, Membership Classes meet over three Sundays at 9:30 AM in the Fellowship Hall, covering what it means to be part of the church family.
What Cross Community Believes
Cross Community's beliefs are set out plainly on the church's statement of faith. The church teaches that there is one holy God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Bible is the inspired, infallible, and authoritative source of Christian belief and teaching. Human beings, men and women alike, are created in the image of God but are fallen, lost, and unable to save themselves; the church holds that biological sex is determined at birth and remains so throughout life.
Jesus Christ is the virgin-born Son of God, crucified to take on Himself the punishment for the sin of all mankind, raised from the dead, and destined to return personally in power and glory. The only hope for mankind is faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
The church practices water baptism and Holy Communion as outward celebrations of that hope. Consistent with Jesus' earthly ministry, the church believes that Christ still offers healing for the physical, relational, and emotional pain people carry. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer at salvation and empowers them to live righteous and holy lives, and the church teaches that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, along with its evidences and gifts, is available to believers today. When a life is changed by the love of Christ, the church teaches, the journey of becoming like Christ shows itself inwardly in love, joy, and peace, outwardly in integrity, and relationally in love and grace.
The church looks forward to the certain return of Christ, when every person will be held accountable for the choices of their life, and to a permanent, personal relationship with God for all who have chosen Christ. The Church itself is the body of Christ, of which Jesus is the head, made up of all who have been spiritually changed through faith, and called collectively and individually to pursue God's mission in the world.
Reaching Out: M25 and the Community
The M25 Ministry is the church's main outreach arm, named for the verse in Matthew 25 about serving others. M25's work is woven through the calendar.
Each fall, the ministry collects non-perishable food items and twenty-five dollar gift cards for turkeys to fill Thanksgiving Blessing Baskets for at least thirty families in the community. Volunteers assemble the baskets on a Wednesday evening in November, and the baskets are distributed to local families the following week.
Each Advent season, M25 partners with Northwood Elementary and Middle School, the school across the street, to provide Christmas gifts for students. Gift tags go on the M25 tree near the Welcome Center, and the church gathers unwrapped gifts for the school to distribute.
On Halloween, Light Up the Night sends Life Groups into their surrounding neighborhoods during trick-or-treating hours. The goal is to engage the community, demonstrate the love of Christ, and share biblical truths in a way that pushes back against the darkness of the night.
Cross Community is also a regular presence at the Elyria Apple Festival, held each September in Ely Square in downtown Elyria. The festival is treated by the church as a bridging event, a chance to interact with the community, share its values, and show that CCC is a place for hope and healing.
On the first Thursday of May, the church participates in the city's National Day of Prayer gathering at Midway Mall in Elyria, joining other churches to pray for the city and country.
Each September, the church fields a team for the Cornerstone Walk/Run for Life, a two-mile walk/run held at Veterans Memorial Park in Avon that raises money for Cornerstone Pregnancy Services, which serves Lorain and Cuyahoga Counties.
On summer Monday evenings, the church fields a CCC Softball team that plays at Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Amherst, drawing players and spectators from across the church.
CCC also participates in the Kerstetter 5K, the annual James A. Kerstetter Memorial Run that honors the fallen Elyria police officer. The church supports beginner and intermediate training groups in the lead-up to the race.
And on the Fourth of July, the church joins America Prays 250, a nationwide, grassroots prayer movement mobilizing Assemblies of God districts, networks, churches, and leaders from coast to coast for a unified one hour of prayer.
Children's Week: Vacation Bible School
Vacation Bible School is one of the biggest weeks of the year at CCC and is open to children four years old through fifth grade. The schedule is built around family availability: Thursday and Friday evenings from 6:15 PM to 8:30 PM, Saturday from 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM with lunch provided, and a culminating Sunday at the 10:30 AM main service. Recent themes have included Wonder Junction, a Wild West-themed exploration of who Jesus is and what He has done, and Ocean Commotion, an exploration of Noah and the flood that helps kids learn to stand for God, obey God, trust God, thank God, and fear God. VBS also doubles as a community outreach, drawing in children from across the surrounding neighborhoods.
Women and Men
The women's ministry centers on two annual touchpoints. Time Apart is an off-site retreat held over a Friday and Saturday each fall for women from across Ohio. The weekend features dynamic speakers, worship, mission moments, and teaching aimed at helping women walk out their God-given destiny. Hotel blocks are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. In addition, the church has hosted Saturday morning seminars such as All Your Work Is Sacred with Pastor Janelle Anderson, focused on the sacredness of work and the callings on every Christian's life.
The Men's Breakfast gathers the men of the church at a local restaurant a few times each year for food, fellowship, and conversation. Locations are announced in advance.
The Mature Saints ministry serves the seniors of the church. Beyond regular fellowship, the group gathers each December for a Christmas lunch at Sugarcreek in Sheffield and stays connected through smaller gatherings during the year. Bob and Diane help organize the ministry.
The Church Calendar: Easter and Christmas
Easter at Cross Community begins with a Palm Sunday service at 10:30 AM, continues with a Good Friday worship and Communion service at 6:30 PM, and culminates in an Easter Sunday continental breakfast at 9:30 AM followed by the 10:30 AM service with dynamic worship, an inspirational message, engaging kids' activities, and coffee.
The Christmas season opens with a five-week teaching series called A Nativity Story, a family devotional series that brings the nativity to life through the perspectives of Gabriel, a shepherd, the wise men, Joseph and Mary, and a child. Plaid Sunday, the Sunday after Thanksgiving, kicks off the season with a casual, fun morning where everyone wears their favorite plaid. The year closes with a candlelight Christmas Eve Eve service on December 23 at 6:30 PM. Water baptisms are scheduled several times a year; the next scheduled baptism is a Sunday afternoon service, and anyone interested can find information at the Connection Center in the main lobby.
Pastors and Staff
Cross Community is led by Lead Pastor Randall McKinney and Associate Pastor Carissa Wright. Pastor Randy is the primary preaching pastor and the one newer attenders will get to know through the This Is Us class and the Life Group leader luncheons. Pastor Carissa serves alongside him in ministry to the church. The staff is supported by an administrative team.
Visiting Cross Community
The church sits at 525 Abbe Rd N in Elyria, with the entrance and parking lot just off Abbe Road, directly across from Northwood Elementary and Middle School. First-time guests can expect a friendly welcome at the door and the Welcome Center in the main lobby, where someone will hand them a connection card and answer questions. Dress is casual; the church draws a mix of jeans, polos, and dressier clothes on any given Sunday. The service runs about an hour to ninety minutes and includes time after the service to hang out over coffee.
Giving can be done online through the church's secure giving page. Sermons are posted on the church's YouTube channel, where services are also livestreamed, and on the Cross Community Church podcast on Apple Podcasts. Updates flow through the church's Facebook and Instagram pages, and the church invites visitors to sign up for the email list at the Welcome Center to stay current with everything happening at CCC.