Our Story

The Beginning

DeElda and Nancy Payton were faithful and successful missionaries to the Philippines, supported by Gray Road Baptist Church of Indianapolis. In the late 1980’s, God led the Paytons back to the States and gave them a burden to plant new churches here. DeElda and Glen Lockwood, pastor of Gray Road at the time, began praying and scouting to plant a new church in the area surrounding Indianapolis. Eventually, the Lord led them to a small church for sale at the intersection of McKay Road and State Road 9 in Shelbyville. Gray Road Baptist bought the property, DeElda and Nancy moved to Shelbyville, and McKay Road Baptist Church was born, with DeElda as the pastor.

With the help of the Gray Road congregation, the new church began a phone campaign inviting local people to attend the new church. Over 100 people attended the first Sunday service in 1988. DeElda helped establish the fledgling church until God called him to another church in 1991.

When DeElda Payton departed, McKay Road Baptist called Glen Rumrill as its new pastor. However, shortly thereafter Glen became seriously ill and was not able to minister on a consistent basis. In the ensuing years, church attendance suffered. By 1999, the church was down to a small group of people.

In August of 1999 the church asked Gray Road Baptist for help, so Mike Lockwood, a deacon and Sunday School teacher, was sent to McKay Road Baptist. Mike helped with the music and preaching. By December, the congregation called Mike to become their new pastor. The church was very small and Mike continued to work his full-time job in conjunction with ministering at the church.

A New Name

Pastor Mike led in refurbishing the building and changing the worship style to a blend of contemporary and traditional music. At that time, the church also changed its name to Crossroad Community Church. The new name was not a move away from Baptist roots, but rather a reflection of a new attitude of broader Christian unity and community outreach. Once again, the church began a telephone outreach campaign leading up to Easter Sunday 2000.

Mike’s passion was to build a balanced ministry based upon the clear teaching of God’s Word. In an interview with the Shelbyville Times in March of 2000, Mike said, “The church is based on God’s Word, not on special programs. God’s Word is powerful and alive. If I will just stay faithful to teaching His word, His Word will do the work.”

Around that time Mike met Andy Lee, a young, energetic pastor who was also ministering in a bi-vocational capacity at a church in Fairland, Indiana. “When I first met Andy, somehow I knew in my heart that God had a special plan for Andy in ministry,” Mike said. In 2003, Mike went to the Crossroad leadership and asked them to consider calling Andy to become a part-time co-pastor at Crossroad. After meeting with Andy and hearing his heart for ministry, the leadership agreed and Pastor Mike and Pastor Andy began sharing ministry tasks, including preaching on a rotating basis. Six months later the church called Pastor Andy to serve as its full-time pastor, while Mike remained for a time in a supporting role.
The church began to outgrow the small building on McKay Road, so the leadership began praying for a larger facility. In the fall of 2005, God provided fifteen acres of land approximately one mile south of the old church building; the church purchased half of the acreage and the other half was graciously donated by the owner. Only God could have arranged this blessing!

Easter Sunday 2006 was the church’s last service in the McKay Road building. The building was sold and the congregation moved to the gymnasium at Girl’s Inc. while the new building was built. For twenty-eight months, the congregation faithfully went through the rigors of setting up and tearing down each Sunday while God continued to add members to the church.

A New Building and Partnership

In August 2008, the new 13,000 sq. ft. Crossroad Community Church building was completed and dedicated. The first service in the new building was August 31st, with over 200 in attendance. In December, God joined Harvest Bible Chapel of Shelbyville with the Crossroad Community Church family. Two separate churches, out of reverence for Christ and in humility toward each other, came together to better serve the community of Shelbyville for His glory. The combined church retained the name of Crossroad Community Church, but gained an affiliation with the Harvest Bible Chapel organization along with many gifted new members. Only God could have accomplished this!

Each week nearly 400 people attend Crossroad’s Sunday services. Our focus is not on numbers for the sake of numbers; it is on people for the sake of Christ. We exist to help these people pursue a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through our Worship of Him, our Walk with Him, our Work for Him, and our Witness about Him.

We invite you to come to Crossroad Community Church! Whether you are looking for a church to call home or are just curious about Jesus Christ, you are welcome!