Crossroads Christian Church sits on Renner Road in western Shawnee, just across from the Shawnee Fire Department and a short turn off Interstate 435 at Johnson Drive. From a 1995 launch with 18 adults and 11 children, it has grown into a non-denominational congregation of more than 1,200 people who describe themselves as one big family. The church is known around the Kansas City suburb for its three Sunday services that range from an intimate traditional gathering to lively contemporary worship, a thriving Christian preschool, and a steady stream of mission partnerships that stretch from inner-city Kansas City to Japan.
Three Sunday Services for Three Kinds of Mornings
Crossroads designed its Sunday schedule around the idea that no single worship style fits every believer. The day begins at 8:00 a.m. with a traditional service held in the Loft, the upstairs worship space. This service runs under sixty minutes and blends older hymns and choruses in a shorter, more reflective order. Nursery and children's programming are not offered at this hour, which keeps the Loft quiet and unhurried.
At 9:15 a.m. the main floor opens for a contemporary service. The worship team leads with a full band, and the room is set up to accommodate skits, specials and other features. Sprouts Nursery welcomes newborns through age two, and Crossroads Kids serves children from three years old through fifth grade. This is also the service that is livestreamed on YouTube and Facebook for those joining from home.
A second contemporary service begins at 10:45 a.m. in the same multipurpose area, with the same nursery and kids programming. The difference at this hour is that middle school and high school students gather in the Loft for their own time of teaching called Grounded. Between the 9:15 and 10:45 services, the back of the gym becomes a free coffee and donut hangout where newcomers can meet regular attenders without any pressure.
What Worship Feels Like
The worship team is open about their purpose. The band is not there to perform but to lead the room in praising God. Expect a lively, energetic atmosphere where clapping, raising hands, or simply singing along are all welcome. Communion is taken every week, and the church extends an open invitation to anyone who is a follower of Jesus to participate, regardless of denominational background.
The dress code is whatever a guest is comfortable wearing, from blue jeans to a suit. The pastoral team sums up the welcome with a verse from 1 Samuel 16:7: "Man looks at outward appearances, but the Lord looks at the heart." Laughter is also part of the rhythm of the morning, and the staff openly invites it.
What Crossroads Believes
Crossroads identifies as a non-denominational, independent Christian church committed to reaching people who do not have a church home or who have given up on church for various reasons. The leadership is transparent that denominational labels are not a priority; hearts are.
The doctrinal foundation rests on a few clear statements. Crossroads believes in one God, almighty and eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The church confesses faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, fully man and fully God, born of a virgin, whose death paid the penalty for sin, who was buried, rose bodily and ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit is affirmed as the one whose indwelling power enables believers to live godly lives. The Bible is treated as the completely reliable, inspired Word of God and the only authority for Christian living.
The church teaches that all people are sinful and separated from God and that salvation is a free gift received by grace through faith in Jesus Christ. The Christian life, in turn, is lived as a grateful response to what God has done.
The Purpose and the Core Values
The purpose statement hangs over everything Crossroads does: "We exist to bring people to Jesus Christ and to assist them in becoming His fully devoted, reproducing followers." Around that statement, eight core values shape the day-to-day life of the church.
God is at the center of all the church does, and lost people matter to God and therefore to the congregation. The Bible is held up as relevant to daily life, and worship is meant to be heartfelt and sincere. The church is to function as a body, with every member contributing. Personal growth, fellowship and the meeting of needs are best realized in small groups, and full devotion to Christ is treated as the natural rhythm of a believer. The ultimate mark of maturity, the church teaches, is reproduction: disciples who make more disciples.
How a Church Plant in the Cornfield Became a Regional Hub
Crossroads traces its roots to the Christian Evangelizing Association of Kansas, the same organization that today operates under the acronym CEA and that partners with Crossroads on new church work around the state. In 1993, the CEA approached Brad Fangman twice about planting a new church in Shawnee. He turned them down. The third time, with the encouragement of his wife Colette, he said yes.
Brad had grown up in rural Kansas, picked up a Bible at seventeen to win arguments with Colette, and found himself instead convicted and called into ministry. He earned a degree in Christian Education from a Bible college in Joplin, Missouri, and then spent ten years serving the Burnside Christian Church in southern Illinois. The couple moved to Shawnee in 1994 with their twin boys. Before any services were held, Brad went door to door in the community, asking people who did not attend church why they had stopped, and what they would look for if they ever returned. Those answers shaped the church's approach from the very first Sunday.
The CEA provided start-up funds, a steering committee and Brad's salary for three years. Once that support ended, Crossroads became autonomous. It held its first service on April 9, 1995, with a core group of 18 adults and 11 children. The first facility was a rented space, and the church eventually moved to its current home at 5855 Renner Road. Brad stepped out of the Lead Pastor role in early 2023 and served as an associate pastor until his retirement at the end of 2025.
Today the church is led by Kurt Witten, a journalism graduate from the University of Oklahoma who left a teaching and coaching career to enter ministry, earned degrees from Ozark Christian College, Johnson University and Hope International University, and served as senior pastor of Redwood Christian Church in Grants Pass, Oregon, before moving to Kansas. He and his wife Jennifer have three children.
Crossroads Kids and the Preschool Next Door
Children's ministry is treated as a core calling rather than an add-on. Crossroads Kids is led by Jordyn Lindsay, a children's pastor who grew up in Monticello, Iowa, met her husband Levi at Ozark Christian College and joined the Crossroads staff after the couple settled in the Olathe area. Her team's stated mission is for kids to become fully devoted disciples, leading them into a lifelong relationship with Jesus.
On Sunday mornings at the 9:15 and 10:45 services, the Sprouts Nursery cares for children from birth through age two, and Crossroads Kids walks three-year-olds through fifth graders through Bible teaching, songs and creative activities. The program emphasizes that love speaks volumes to small children, and that planting seeds through stories and art only takes root when kids feel safe and cared for. Mid-week, BRIDGE meets on Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. and pulls Pre-K through fifth graders back together for music, games and a deeper look at the previous Sunday's lesson. A secure check-in system with matched parent and child tags is used every time a child is dropped off.
Crossroads Christian Preschool and Parents Day Out is licensed and operates as a separate arm of the church under the direction of Emily Beuster, an early-childhood educator with a Master's degree who has spent nearly two decades in the field. The preschool runs classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. The Parents Day Out program offers flexible one, two or three day options for two-year-olds. A three-year-old preschool class focuses on social, self-help and readiness skills, and a Pre-K class for four-year-olds builds toward a confident kindergarten launch. Throughout the day, teachers weave in prayers, songs and Bible stories, with a stated goal that every child knows that God loves them.
XR Students: A Movement Built on Discipleship
Middle and high school students at Crossroads fall under the umbrella of XR Students, led by Youth Pastor Stephen Caudill. The mission is to create a movement that instills in students an innate knowledge of love, worth and purpose through a foundation of disciples who make disciples. The team wants every student to feel seen and heard, to be encouraged by Scripture, to have fun and to cultivate a faith that will last into adulthood.
On Sunday mornings at 10:45, students meet in the Loft for a teaching series built around a book of the Bible. On Wednesday evenings from 6:30 to 8:15, they gather again for a time of community, teaching and small groups. Throughout the year, XR Students also attends larger events like The Event at Ozark Christian College, an annual weekend of worship and teaching designed for high schoolers.
Small Groups and the Ministry Teams
The small group ministry at Crossroads is the engine of the church's adult life. The driving passage behind the program is Hebrews 10:24-25, which calls believers to spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Groups are sorted into two broad categories. Study groups are centered on Scripture, whether a book of the Bible, a theological theme or a video-based curriculum. Community groups are centered on shared interests and life stages, with prayer and Scripture woven in rather than being the main focus.
Recent offerings have included a young adult small group for ages 18 to 29, a women's study on Max Lucado's teaching on grace, Financial Peace University, a multi-part study in Romans, a Berean class for adults during the 10:45 service, a women's study of the book of Jonah, a virtual Armor of God study, a New Testament overview using the Bible Project videos, Discipleship 101, an adult Bible study that follows the weekly sermon, a morning and evening study of the Psalms, a Basics of Christianity class, a women's study called In Her Shoes, a class on sharing and defending the faith, and a study of the parables. Senior Saints, a fellowship and study group for adults 55 and up, works through books like 12 Ordinary Men and adds social outings throughout the year.
Community offerings range from Celebrate Recovery, a 12-step Christ-centered program for hurts, habits and hang-ups, to crochet and knitting groups called Projects From the Heart that donate blankets and hats to local charities, to a MomCo (formerly MOPS) program for mothers that meets on the first and third Sundays. A Supper 8 program forms groups of four couples that rotate homes for dinner and friendship. A disc golf group meets at Wooded Prairie in Shawnee Mission Park. The Crossroads Cruisers motorcycle riding group runs single-day and multi-day rides throughout the warm months.
Crossroads also organizes the congregation into more than two dozen Ministry Teams. These teams, from Welcome and Fellowship to Nursery, Children's, Student, Marriage, Media, Sound, Production, Pastoral Care, Outreach, Missions, Men's and Women's teams, are framed both as an opportunity and a responsibility. Anyone can express interest through a sign-up form, and the team leader walks the new volunteer through the process. Teams that work with children, students and vulnerable adults require additional screening.
Women's Connect and Men's Connect
The Women's Connect ministry, led by Jesse Wilson, is built on the conviction that the Spirit of God feeds women in the middle of busy, depleted seasons. Table Groups are the entry point: groups of six women who gather once a month, share a meal and work through four questions. Sessions run October through May. The SWINGS Luncheon, short for Strong Women in God's Service, gathers women on the first Thursday of every month for fellowship, food and a teaching time. MomCo, mentioned above, runs alongside Table Groups as another on-ramp into the women's ministry.
Men's Connect aims to equip, encourage and engage men of all ages to walk in full faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. The monthly Fellowship Breakfast meets on the first Saturday of each month at 8:00 a.m. for a meal, a devotion and a time of testimony. A separate Coffee and Fellowship gathering meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays at 7:00 a.m. for coffee and prayer. A yearly Men's Conference brings men together for a weekend of teaching and worship; the 2026 theme was A Man After God's Own Heart. The men's ministry also runs a basketball night on Mondays, a monthly golf outing at Burning Tree Golf Course in De Soto, a doubles tennis group, a target practice group that alternates between outdoor shoots at Mill Creek Rifle Club and indoor sessions at CenterFire, and the Crossroads Cruisers motorcycle group. James Haynes serves as the primary men's ministry contact.
Marriage Ministry and Stephen Ministry
Marriage ministry at Crossroads is overseen by Tom and Lynnea Haim and is built on the conviction that marriage is a picture of God and that couples are called to reflect that image in their relationship with Christ and with each other. The team offers periodic devotions and prayer emails, couple's challenges, date night events, couple-to-couple discipleship, marriage conferences, pre-marital counseling using the Art of Marriage curriculum, couple's small groups and special events like Vertical Marriage, Stepping Up, Blended Family and Smart Stepparent. marriagekc.com keeps couples connected.
Stephen Ministry, led by Scott Robinson and Troy Reed, is a lay-caring program in which trained Stephen Ministers provide confidential, one-to-one, Christ-centered care to people in the congregation and the community who are going through a crisis or a difficult season. Stephen Ministers complete 50 hours of training, meet twice monthly for continuing education, and meet weekly with the people they are walking alongside. Stephen Ministry is a quiet, deeply practical ministry that supplements the Pastoral Care team's visitation, listening, encouragement and meals.
Missions: Local, National and Around the World
Since its founding, Crossroads has set aside 10 percent of all general fund giving for missions. One out of every ten dollars given supports a balance of local, national and international work. The church's primary mission model is the Living Link, a long-term, near-full support relationship with a missionary and their family. Crossroads currently supports Ben and Kelli Sander, who are planting a new church called Mustard Seed Network in Kyoto, Japan, and Luke and Jenna Fangman, who serve with MMS Aviation in Coshocton, Ohio.
On the local level, the Local Ministry Outreach initiative walks the church through partnerships with Two Lines Pregnancy Clinic (formerly Advice and Aid), City Union Mission, Shawnee Community Services, Samaritan's Purse Operation Christmas Child, Cross-Lines, Veterans Community Project, Lifeline, Sunflower House and Harvesters. Nationally, Crossroads supports International Disaster Emergency Services, a faith-based disaster response organization. Crossroads also funds a small scholarship for students attending approved Bible colleges, including Ozark Christian College, Manhattan Christian College and Central Christian College of the Bible, and supports Campus Christians at Pittsburg State University.
Past short-term mission trips have taken teams to Haiti, Belize, Russia, Mexico, Brazil, U.S. inner cities, disaster relief sites and Native American reservations. Mark Palmer, the Associate Pastor, serves as the Missions Ministry Team overseer, and Libby Pierce serves as a team leader.
Pastoral Care, Prayer and Counseling Referrals
When the congregation is hurting, the Pastoral Care Team steps in. Mark Palmer oversees the team, which coordinates visitation, meals through the Service Team, listening and follow-up. Anyone can submit a prayer request online; requests are routed to Brad Fangman and then shared with the prayer team unless the requester asks for privacy. For unplanned pregnancies, Crossroads refers people to Two Lines Pregnancy Clinic, a non-profit that provides medical services, counseling, material assistance and abortion recovery support at no cost.
The Building, the Location and Practical Details
Crossroads is located at 5855 Renner Road, Shawnee, Kansas 66217, just off Interstate 435 at Johnson Drive, across the street from the Shawnee Fire Department and Justice Center. From I-435, the directions are simple: exit onto Johnson Drive, head east, then turn north onto Renner Road. From I-35, exit onto Johnson Drive, head west, and again turn north onto Renner. Reserved visitor parking is available next to the main entrance. Office hours run Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and the church can be reached at 913-962-9966 or office@crossroads-christian.org.
The building contains the main multipurpose area where the contemporary services meet, the upstairs Loft that hosts the traditional service and XR Students, the gym that doubles as a fellowship space with donuts and coffee between services, dedicated children's and nursery wings, classrooms for small groups, the preschool, and the offices of the staff and elders. A welcome team is stationed at the door every Sunday to help families find the right room and answer questions.
How to Get Connected
Crossroads offers a multi-step on-ramp for newcomers. Visitors can fill out a connection form online. A Closer Look class is held every two to three months and walks newcomers through the church's purpose, beliefs and ministry structure. The Ministry Teams sign-up form is the gateway to serving, and a ShelbyNext church directory app helps members learn one another's names, sign up for small groups and receive church-wide alerts. The Pushpay app handles online giving from a phone or desktop. RightNow Media is available for free to the whole congregation, giving access to a library of more than 10,000 Bible study and family-friendly video teachings. Bible reading plans, the YouVersion Bible app and a free spiritual gifts discovery assessment round out the resources offered to anyone who calls Crossroads home.