In 1989, eight people began gathering in a living room with a simple but compelling vision to create a safe place where their friends and neighbors could hear and ask about Jesus. From the beginning, this has been woven into the DNA of our church.
In the late 90s, under the leadership of Lead Pastor Greg Holder, this start-up church meeting at a YMCA began to grow into a multisite church of thousands, now known as The Crossing. Even as our footprint expanded, our mission remained clear: to continually be a place where anyone could explore the truth of Scripture, experience the grace of Jesus, and learn to express love to others in extravagant ways (we call them the 3 E’s). Today, we gather across four campuses, in homes and dorm rooms, in coffee shops and workplaces, and online through live-streaming—reaching our city and extending around the world.
Through the years, we've seen God's faithfulness as ministries expand, particularly our kids, youth, and young adult ministries. We continue to see hundreds baptized each year, seemingly breaking new records each time. Our team has developed spiritual formation strategies that continue to provide on-ramps for people of all ages and spiritual maturity.
By God's grace, The Crossing has become an incubator of Kingdom creativity—a highly creative and collaborative community that believes the best ideas emerge when gifted people build together. That culture has produced Advent Conspiracy, an invitation to celebrate Christmas with a missional mindset that now spans the globe. It gave rise to The Genius of One discipleship resources, a practical and winsome approach to developing healthy culture and community within the Body of Christ. And The Crossing has launched numerous pastors and artists into ministry through our internship and residency programs, including senior pastors and even a Grammy-winning artist.
We stand on a strong foundation of biblical conviction, emotional and spiritual health, passionate evangelism, and a deep love for the local church and our St. Louis region. At the heart of everything we do is a commitment to John 17 unity—Jesus' prayer that we may be one. A church marked by that kind of unity doesn't just grow; it becomes a witness.
Our church now stands at the edge of an incredible opportunity for growth and influence—both locally and globally—because of a series of recent developments. The Crossing became debt-free as of 2025, a reflection of God's provision and the faithful giving of our people. The future unfolding before us is like nothing we’ve seen before. It will require the best of our leadership and the most of our folks. Our Aspenstand Initiative will uniquely position us to serve as a kingdom catalyst at home and around the world. As Mordecai so famously said to Esther, we truly believe that he has brought us to this moment “for such a time as this.”