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After 20 years of learning and being groomed by God through sitting under other Pastor's in the
area and gleaning from them, one in particular that I highly respect to
this day, he told me he felt I was called to Pastor. I was very against
it since I knew the heartache and difficulties Pastors go through. There
are seasons of joy but all I remembered were the problems I witnessed.
I didn't want to Pastor a church, but God was very convincing, so I surrendered. Once we decided to follow God's leading to plant a church, originally Vineyard Christian Fellowship in 2001, it went well for 3 years. We started out in our home, then moved to the High School Library, then to the Gym then to the Senior Center and finally to the Baptist Church where Julie and I first met Jesus. We did a lot of moving! Things slowed down and we were down to about 4 or 5 attenders so we felt God was done with us and I had missed Him and His call. We went back to the church we helped build and after a year or so I knew this wasn't home any longer so we left and began attending another church down the street. It took a little over a year for us to realize this wasn't home either but God had us stay anyway to prove our faithfulness to Him and not to follow our feelings. So we remained for almost another year. I was told at that point that I had to accept all their doctrine that I and others felt leaned a bit to far toward emotionalism, or I could no longer be a leader there. The Pastor and another leader told me to pray about my decision, that was the shortest prayer time ever!
As soon as we left God revealed His will for us and He told me to take a 4 month sabbatical and then plant Crossroads, name changed, in June of 2008. We were attending a church a friend of mine Pastors in Lakeport and after 3 months attending there they disbanded due to leadership differences. That was a real confidence builder for us a month from when we were to start Crossroads! We attended a local Church for the last month, and immediately knew more solidly than ever the need for a Church with Crossroad's Spirit and philosophy toward ministry. Our first service was June 29, 2008 at the Youth Center. At that time 18 people joined with us initially and we
immediately saw God's Divine Blessing on the church. We grew so quickly
that we stood in amazement over what God was doing and the diversity of
people He was bringing! It was an awesome start and was the beginning for a long and Blessed history that chapters are still being added to as we move toward our destiny! We outgrew the Youth Center and were looking for a larger venue to meet in. I had found one but it was leased out from under us but God had a plan we didn't know about. A few days later my Asst. Pastor, Tony Efestione, called me and let me know the Elks Lodge was for sale. I called the realtor that day and we put a down payment on this facility! God is amazing and will always meet your needs. Crossroads is a non-traditional church in our style of ministry, yet the Bible's teaching isn't
compromised or watered down. It is taught in love and as a guide for a satisfying and
fulfilling life that will last for eternity once you commit it to to
Christ personally. We believe in growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ, not growing in traditional religion, which is dead and not fruitful. We don't practice many things that keep unchurched people from attending church that have no bearing on a relationship with Jesus.We have very comfortable chairs or a dining area that make the gathering an enjoyable, non-threatening experience. Crossroads is a come-as-you-are church that welcomes
everybody equally, whether you're a first time visitor or a lifetime member. We are a very loving, accepting and non-judgemental group that focuses on the Word of God and it's power to change the direction of people's lives for the better. We don't use God's Word to bash people's current lifestyle, we are simply providing a welcoming, non-threatening environment that will point people toward God's plan for them into eternity. We model and teach ways to rise above spiritual mediocrity and live a love-filled, peace-filled and hope-filled life. I was shown the need for a church that was was filled
with true grace, love, mercy and acceptance of all people and a church that was also fun to attend. A church that taught God's Word in an easily understood and encouraging style without all the hype and showmanship some churches display. I found that many had stopped attending, or have never attended
church due to being judged by Christians or not truly being welcomed in church
because of their appearance, life issues or socioeconomic status. I
have also noticed many have a hard time forgiving themselves for their
past lives and needed an environment where they will be accepted and nurtured without being
judged for who they were and truly be given the opportunity and support to heal and become the person God intended them to be. A place where every-day people are welcomed and loved regardless of how much baggage they come with and celebrated for who they are becoming even if they stumble. Grace means to us: It doesn't matter how many times you fall as long as you get up one more time than you fell. At Crossroads we laugh, cry and have a great time as we grow in our Christian life together. Our Purpose as a church is to reach out to our community and make it better than when we came one person at a time and to give the residents a reason for hope and to know that God really does love them. We try to show our love through our lives and let people see what a Christian is, not perfect in this life but loving. We have truly been Blessed to be a part of God's
amazing work here at Crossroads in Clearlake and we see no slowing down
in what He is going to do. Come join us at 10am this Sunday morning!  Pastor Gary and Julie Logoteta/Founders and Senior Pastors |