Crossroads Community Church, Mansfield, Ohio
Rich Workman, director of ministry

If there can be one mantra that fits the philosophy of ministry at Crossroads Community Church in Mansfield, Ohio, it would be this: Serving together to transform lives. With this purpose in mind, Rich Workman, Director of Ministry at Crossroads, has determined to impact culture with the message of service, using Jesus’ life of service as the model. Rich says, “Ministry can happen as long as it turns ‘irreligious’ people into focused, faithful followers of Christ.” And for that to happen, Rich believes we must understand our culture, understand God’s Word, and finally, by applying God’s Word to culture, we will see growth.

Rich places a strong emphasis on the training aspect of serving, both for the volunteers themselves and for the ministry leaders. It is Rich’s goal to communicate the idea that volunteers will feel valued and much less intimidated when they are well trained. “No one wants to be part of a sinking ship,” Rich points out. And it is not just a matter of how to train, but why training is so important. Along with the reasons just mentioned, good training also helps to build a sense of teamwork and unity among the volunteers and the ministry leaders, demonstrating the message that each person wants the other to succeed; and for success to occur, strong guidance and instruction need to be displayed.

One training tool that Rich uses at Crossroads is a set of discs he has entitled FUEL: Improving my Serve/Serving Together. This audio material uses practical strategies and beneficial insights from ministry leaders to aid the listener in effectively applying these lessons to their own churches and ministries. An additional aim of the FUEL discs is to help with the ministry leaders’ spiritual growth by focusing on the important role that serving has in regards to growth and spiritual maturity.

Besides CLASS 301 in which attendees learn about their S.H.A.P.E. for serving, the ministry team at Crossroads Community provides both members and visitors to the church simple and quick ways to get involved in serving as soon as they show interest. A couple of these ways to begin serving are First Serve opportunities, and Season of Serve. First Serve opportunities offer members and attendees the chance to try out a ministry with no strings attached. A person can continue in that ministry if they feel it fits their S.H.A.P.E., of he or she can decide to try something else.

The Season of Serve approach allows the member to commit to a ministry for 3 months in order to get a more in depth experience while serving in a particular ministry. Again, there is no pressure to continue in that ministry if a member realizes it is just not the right fit.

Rich and the ministry team at Crossroads Community Church place a strong emphasis on members and attendees discovering their God-designed S.H.A.P.E. so that they will be fulfilled in service. The team believes that it should be “an individual approach to ministry, not an institutional one.”  This individual approach to serving as well as to training demonstrates a true sense of caring, which results in the desire to serve the Lord and the church body and that will produce the desire of Rich and all of those at Crossroads Community Church: transformed lives.  

www.crossroadswired.com