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Cross Road Church Reunites With a Unicorn Senior Pastor
Cross Road Church Reunites With a Unicorn Senior Pastor
Meet Cross Road Church
Cross Road Church is a non-denominational Christian fellowship, originally started in a backyard in the summer of 2002. Cross Road Church operates on the belief that the most important thing they can do each week is to gather to worship the Lord.
On any given Sunday morning at Cross Road Church, you will find people wearing everything from suits and ties to jeans and t-shirts, stating that God never looks at the outside appearances of a person. Rather, He is most interested in what’s going on inside.
Time for a new leader
After several fruitful years serving at Cross Road Church, the senior pastor, who was successfully matched through a partnership with Vanderbloemen, was called into service elsewhere. As 2024 approached, the Cross Road Church family found themselves in need of a new unicorn candidate to lead the congregation.
The search begins
Cross Roads church immediately reached out to partner with Vanderbloemen again. Executive Search Consultant Brian Dunks met with Cross Road’s search committee, pastoral advisor, and office in charge to begin the search process.
Finding the perfect fit
While the team was able to find a large field of qualified candidates, one stood out as the first choice. Someone familiar.
Image of Kenton Beshore
“I am more of a skeptic by nature, and I was amazed at Vanderbloemen’s insight. It was incredible, and ultimately, the result is wonderful. I would never want to go through a process like this without having someone who’s done it so many times. It would be impossible for us to be exposed to as many people as we needed to be and for us to be as confident as we were without a group like Vanderbloemen.”
Kenton Beshore
Senior Pastor at Mariners Church
Brian reconnected the search team with their unicorn candidate, who now was clearly a perfect match for the role. The following week after Mark accepted the role, he was presented to the church with full confidence. Brian says the church is “thrilled” to welcome Mark Cress as their new senior pastor.
