A Church on Vernon Road
Crossroads Christian Fellowship sits along Vernon Road just outside Greenville, Pennsylvania, drawing people from many area communities into a single congregation. The church is nondenominational and self-described as a place "for Christians who are serious about God and growing their faith and also for unbelievers who really want to know the truth about God." Members travel from a number of nearby towns to attend, and the church has built its identity around three commitments: careful expository preaching, a robust network of small groups for men and women, and a long-running training program called Grace School of Ministry that has shaped pastors, preachers, and lay leaders since 2015.
The Crossroads Motto: Jeremiah 6:16
The name Crossroads comes directly from one of the Old Testament's most quoted verses about seeking God. Jeremiah 6:16 stands as the church's guiding motto: "Stop at the Crossroads and look around. Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it. Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls." The verse is featured prominently on the church's main materials and frames the way the congregation talks about its mission.
The mission of Crossroads Christian Fellowship is to glorify God by bringing people to Jesus and membership in His family, developing them to Christlike maturity, equipping them for their ministry to the church and mission in the world, and inspiring them to continual worship. The congregation is united by a common purpose to follow and worship Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord and to manifest and proclaim His redemptive love.
A Sunday at Crossroads
Sunday mornings at Crossroads are organized around the study of Scripture. Bible studies begin at 9:00 a.m. and have ranged across both topical series and expository walks through individual books of the Bible. Past topics have included marriage, enriching your devotions, the mindset of a super-conqueror, and the assurance of salvation. Past expository series have worked through Acts, 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, 1 and 2 Kings, and Revelation. Recordings of past Bible studies are kept in an online archive that visitors can browse and download.
The Sunday worship service follows, and the service is livestreamed on YouTube so that those who cannot attend in person can still follow along. The church's recent preaching has worked through the Gospel of John, with messages titled "The Good Shepherd," "Jesus: The Door to the Sheepfold," "The Blind Man on Trial," and "A Blind Man Receives His Sight." Each sermon is paired with discussion questions for group study and family reflection, including prompts about why the blind man was brought before the Jewish leaders, why the man's parents were nervous to testify, why the Jews excommunicated him, what the first question Jesus asks the man is, and what a person must do to be saved.
Children's Sunday School runs during the morning hours and has its own dedicated classroom space within the building. Visitors are invited to the Worship Service, Sunday School, Bible Study, or other activities, with the church's standing promise that those who come will hear the Word of God and feel His embrace.
Grace School of Ministry
Grace School of Ministry is the church's flagship training program and one of the things that makes Crossroads recognizable across the region. Its stated passion is to raise up leaders, pastors, and preachers who will be used of God to advance His Kingdom in this generation. Courses offer training for shepherding the local church while allowing students to continue in their current vocations.
Todd Jaussen and Scott Graubard serve as instructors under the leadership of the Crossroads Elder board. Individual courses meet regularly for approximately one hour per session, with class time built around lecture, group discussion, the study of biblical texts, and the review of homework. Participants are assigned work including biblical texts to exegete, books to read, sermons to hear, and outlines to write.
Proclaiming God's Word
Todd Jaussen's signature course is Proclaiming God's Word, a series built on the conviction that "the church, our nation, and the small towns and villages of our region are languishing from the lack of good preaching." The course's stated vision is to raise up an army of preachers who will be sent out to bring the Word of God to people who are in darkness. Sessions move through the work of preaching, outlining sermons based on the text, structuring outlines, applying Scripture, clarity of form and structure, and equipping men to minister the Word. The full eight-session syllabus and lecture handouts are kept in the online archive.
Biblical Exegesis and Theology
Biblical Exegesis is a foundational course that teaches students how to open up the biblical text and listen to its message. Topics include outlining a passage, doing word studies, studying historical backgrounds, and learning principles for proper interpretation and application. A follow-up course, Theology and Exegesis Study of the Book of Romans, is built around careful study of Paul's epistle and aims to develop skill in biblical exegesis, systematic theology, and biblical theology through guided round-table discussion of the assigned text.
Biblical Counseling
Scott Graubard teaches the multi-semester Biblical Counseling sequence. The premise is that man's problems of living do not originate in brain chemistry but in the heart, and that aberrant thinking and behavior arise from fractured relationships with God and with each other. Absent a physical cause, the problems come from sin, and the solution comes through the study and application of God's inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word. Later semesters study biblical applications to specific life issues such as anger, depression, and anxiety, with counseling skills practiced and developed through case studies.
Christology and Church Membership
Grace School has also hosted a Christology class using study materials from Stephen Wellum, and a four-part membership class covering introduction, the identity of Crossroads, baptism, and church membership and administration. Together with the preaching, exegesis, theology, and counseling tracks, these courses form a full curriculum for anyone who wants to be equipped for ministry in the local church.
Small Groups Around Greenville
The life of Crossroads extends well beyond Sunday mornings through a network of small groups that meet on different days and at different times throughout the week. Most groups meet at the church building, while others rotate between homes and local parks. Groups are open to anyone in the community, and several of them are designed specifically for adults at particular stages of life.
Women's Groups
The Tuesday Ladies Bible Study gathers at 10:00 a.m. each Tuesday at Crossroads under the leadership of Betsy Edgar. The group is currently working through a video series by Max Lucado called "More to Your Story" and is geared toward older women whose children are grown, making child care unnecessary.
The Tuesday Evening Women's Group meets on the first and third Tuesdays at 6:00 p.m. in the Children's Sunday School Room and is led by Deb Weese. The group is open to women of any age and is currently studying the love of Jesus, with start dates for new sessions communicated through the group's message thread.
The Women's Fellowship Group, for ladies in their twenties through forties, meets once a week at 6:00 p.m. The location rotates monthly and has included Riverside Park. Erica Smith leads the group through discussion and Bible study on different biblical themes and topics relating to life and faith.
Men's Groups
For men, the Men's Accountability group meets Tuesdays at 9:00 a.m. at Crossroads under the leadership of Matt Courtney, with a focus on men being accountable to other men in their walk with Christ.
The Men's Group, led by Paul Sereda, meets every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. at the church. The group is currently working through the book of Romans together and emphasizes fellowship, spiritual growth, and mutual accountability.
The Young Men's Group, led by Dan Jaussen, meets on the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 7:00 p.m., gathering at Dan's house. It is geared toward young husbands, fathers, and single men who study through books, Scripture, and sermons together.
What Crossroads Believes
Crossroads Christian Fellowship holds to the authority of Scripture as the inspired, inerrant, and infallible Word of God. The church is committed to expository preaching that opens the biblical text and walks through it verse by verse, and to systematic and biblical theology that grounds Christian living in careful doctrine. The pastoral staff teaches that aberrant thinking and behavior always arise from fractured relationships with God and with others, and that discipleship through the study and application of God's Word is the path to growth and change.
The church is nondenominational and does not align itself with any single denominational tradition. It welcomes people from many different backgrounds and area communities who are united by a common purpose to follow and worship Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Missions and Outreach
Crossroads maintains a steady focus on both local and global missions, with a dedicated area of its ministry devoted to missionary partnerships. The church archives sermons from visiting missionaries and guest speakers who share about their work. Outreach is woven into the church's regular rhythm, and the congregation keeps an online prayer list where members can submit and view prayer requests for one another and for the surrounding community.
A Deep Teaching Library
Crossroads has built an unusually deep library of teaching content over more than a decade. The sermon archive includes expository series through the Gospel of John, with full audio recordings and discussion guides. The Grace School of Ministry archive is even more extensive, with audio recordings, lecture handouts, outlines, syllabi, and homework assignments available for courses on preaching, biblical exegesis, theology, biblical counseling, Christology, and church membership. Students and visitors can study at their own pace through material originally delivered in the Grace School community.
Weekly bulletins and a quarterly Messenger newsletter keep the congregation informed about current events, classes, and ministry opportunities. Recent bulletins and the Summer Messenger newsletter are posted on the church's main page, with the archive of bulletins stretching back through the calendar year.
Pastors and Instructors
The preaching ministry at Crossroads is led by Benjamin Beck, whose name appears as the author of the archived sermons on the church's site. Dan Jaussen also preaches and leads the Young Men's Group. Grace School of Ministry is taught by Todd Jaussen, who leads the courses on preaching, biblical exegesis, theology, and the book of Romans, and by Scott Graubard, who leads the biblical counseling sequence.
Small group leaders across the congregation include Betsy Edgar (Tuesday Ladies Bible Study), Deb Weese (Tuesday Evening Women's Group), Erica Smith (Women's Fellowship Group), Matt Courtney (Men's Accountability), Paul Sereda (Men's Group), and Dan Jaussen (Young Men's Group). The Crossroads Elder board provides oversight for the church and its teaching ministries.
Connecting and Giving
Tithes and offerings can be given online through Tithe.ly. Prayer requests can be submitted online, and the church keeps a running prayer list for its members and community. Visitors who want to learn more about the church's ministry can use the Connect page, and those interested in formally joining the church can walk through the membership process outlined on the Membership page. Recommended links and additional resources are also kept on the church's site for those who want to keep studying between services.
Crossroads Christian Fellowship stands at the crossroads of Vernon Road and the rural communities around Greenville as a teaching church. With its emphasis on expository preaching, its long-running Grace School of Ministry, and a network of small groups for men and women, the church has quietly built a regional reputation for training the next generation of Bible teachers and preachers while remaining a place where Sunday morning worship still centers on the careful study and proclamation of God's Word.