Founded in 1911, Crossroads First Church of God of Fredericktown, Missouri will be 115 years old in 2026, and they are still innovating. Trying new things doesn’t come easy to churches, which are heavily influenced by culture and their institutional nature. That’s why it's always a joyful surprise when churches with more than a century of history continue to show flexibility and innovation.
We recently heard about two new ways that Crossroads First Church of God is stepping out of the walls of their church and meeting people where they are, and to tell that story we talked with Pastor Joseph Pogue.
The first new innovation is a lakeside service that the church has set up at the nearby Mine La Motte Lake and campsite. Held on Sunday morning before Crossroads' normal Sunday service, the lakeside service draws in a different crowd of people who often spend time at the lake on the weekends, camping in their RVs and mobile campers, and who aren’t likely to head back home in time to catch their home church’s service.
Read Pastor Joseph’s take on how this service came together below:
"Thank you for reaching out. As far as the Lakeside Worship Services at Mine La Motte Recreation Association, (a 59-acre private lake with 400 members and 90 plus RV camping sites). About a year or so ago the Holy Spirit began speaking to me about the need to have some type of Sunday morning service at the Lake. Honestly, for several months I argued with the Lord, telling Him that my schedule was already too busy, but the Holy Spirit kept speaking to me. Over the winter I asked one of my Elders about the idea and he thought that it was a great idea and that we ought to do it. We prayed about it, I bounced the idea off of Pastor Kendall, from there we began asking our Church about it and for it.
"The Lake opened on Easter weekend, so we put together a 7:00 am Sunrise Service at the Lake and cooked breakfast there at the Lake afterwards. That was our launch, then each Sunday morning since then, we have a 8:00 am Service at the Lake. Myself, other local pastors, some members, and some guests take turns preaching. We usually have a keyboard or guitar along with someone to lead a couple songs before the message. We have been live streaming it on Crossroads First Church of God Facebook Page. We are averaging at least 500 views a week and have had weeks of 700, 800, and even 900 views. We've had Church Members, Lake Members and others reposting the services. The Lord has really blessed with this ministry. We intend to have services until October when the Lake closes."
While a lakeside service is neat, the true novelty of it comes in two small details. First, the service is actually ecumenical. Pastors from all around the region help lead and give the messages. Pastor Joseph realized that adding another service on top of his other responsibilities would just be too much. But that didn’t deter him from accomplishing what the Lord had put on his heart. Instead, he found a way to cooperate with other pastors and ministry leaders in the area to ensure they can bring the message of Jesus to people who need to hear it.
Crossroads First Church, Lakeside Service Posted by Crossroads First Church Live on August 2nd, 2026
That’s a kingdom mindset that we all need to remember. Our personal callings from God aren’t meant to be our own fiefdoms. Rarely does God expect us to carry out His mission on our own.
The second detail from that story is how a simple smart phone live stream has transformed a service on the lake into a powerful digital service. It may sound wild, but Crossroads lake services generate 10x to 20x more views online than they do in person. Thanks to the power of social media, the lakeside service in a small town is being viewed with mega-church numbers. Are those people coming to know the Lord? Are they really engaging the message? Truly, only the Lord knows. But we can say for sure that the church is reaching far beyond its walls, and it didn’t take the latest or fanciest technology to do it.
The second novel idea came from an unlikely source. The church decided a few years back to renovate the parsonage and turn it into a “Man cave” for Pastor Joseph. He was eager to have a place to have a quiet and relaxing space but it turned into much more. We’ll let him tell it:
"As far as the Man Cave, it started out as a getaway for myself, but it quickly evolved into an entertainment center with a very large table for friends and family to come over and fellowship. Shortly afterwards, my wife and I were discussing the idea of moving our Wednesday night Bible Study to the Man Cave for the purpose of trying to get young Christians to feel more comfortable and relaxed and be more open to ask questions and interact. It took off quickly, new people started coming to Bible Study who didn't come to our Church. Again, the Lord blessed and we have had 3 people who started out coming to Bible Study now attending Sunday School and Church on Sunday Mornings. We've had as many as 17 in the Man Cave and are working on ways to create more room because this has just begun.
"Also in the Man Cave, we are starting a Men's Ministry on Monday Nights. Myself and 6 other men are going to the Lake of the Ozarks to a Men's Encounter Men's Retreat this Weekend. They have an online Men's Meeting on Monday nights with Worship, Devotions, Lessons, Prayer Time and Small Group Breakouts. This is what we'll be hosting in the Man Cave on Monday Nights. We hope to open up an Ashes To Beauty Ladies Meeting soon as well. It will probably be hosted in the Living Room of the parsonage as we reach out to unchurched people with this ministry and hope to have a more inviting setting for them to ease into."
While the “Man Cave” is still on the church’s property, the simple change from a meeting room in the church to a comfortable space where people could relax and share a meal, drew in many more people than their Bible study had before. Likewise, Pastor Joseph shared with us that once the study ends, people end up sticking around for another half hour to forty-five minutes just hanging out and talking. The informality of the space has created room for people who wouldn’t usually attend a church to come with their friends and family, and be open to hear the Word.
In another conversation, Pastor Joseph shared with me that the inspiration for both of these ideas, and the willingness of the congregation to accept them, was planted a while ago. Pastor Kendall Hughes, director of the Western Region came to the church and shared about his time with the Exponential Multipliers Cohort, a group of pastors facilitated by the CGGC, learning how to innovate and try new ideas. Those ideas resonated with the church and have manifested in these new works.
If you or your pastor would like to be apart of the Exponential Multiplier Cohort, reach out to our office at .
We’re grateful to Pastor Joseph and to Crossroads First Church of God for sharing these exciting developments with us. We hope that our readers are as inspired as we are to find new ways to bring the message of Jesus to all who need to hear it.
CGGC eNews—Vol. 20, No. 35
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