about crosshaven
Discover more about our story, our beliefs, and our staff.
We currently meet on SUNDAYS AT 10:00 AM at the O'Fallon YMCA
Our Story :: Our Beliefs :: Our Staff
Our Story
Hi. This is Jeremy. I'm the pastor of CrossHaven Church. I'd like to give you a brief snapshot of how CrossHaven has come to the place we are now.My wife and I had been missionaries overseas for a couple of years and as we headed back home, we both wanted to continue seeing ourselves as missionaries. We didn't want to allow ourselves to get comfortable and become useless to God's Kingdom. Considering the enormous growth in the O'Fallon area, we decided to plant ourselves there and strive to see a new church get started. We discovered that there were new houses and stores everywhere. It is great that somebody has started a million Starbucks (which is where I'm sitting right now) to serve all these new people, but who is starting new churches?! People don't just need physical food, they need spiritual food that will feed their souls. Well, we were on a mission again! We soon became two-year missionaries through the North American Mission Board, which gave us some initial funding to get started.
We were both from the general St. Louis area, but neither of us had lived in St. Charles County. As we settled into a house in WingHaven, we prepared ourselves for a tough assignment. I spent the early weeks walking through the streets and handing out community surveys. I wanted to know what the community thought about churches. Did they want contemporary music or traditional? What ministries would be important to them? We even asked them what would be a good name for our new church.
We started with just 3 families: mine, my brother's, and my sister's. Talk about humble beginnings! We met in a house initially. After listening to the responses of the people and gathering some initial interest, we held a meeting for those who were interested. We had about 15 people there. Soon we had a handful of interested families. Thankfully God led us to Greg Lawrence, who is now on staff at the church. He leads our worship and media ministries and he does a tremendous job. We are really blessed that God sent him our way.
Since we were drawing a lot of young families with children, we soon needed a larger place to meet. We started to meet at Dardenne Presbyterian Church on Sunday nights in June of 2005. We met there until January of 2007, when we were finally able to start meeting on Sunday mornings. We met in a small church building on Bryan Road for 3 months. Attendance continued to grow and we had our first baptism service there.
The building we were meeting in was changing ownership and we were outgrowing it anyway, so as of April 1, 2007, we began to meet at Crossroads Elementary School. When we moved to the school, we made a lot of significant upgrades. We began a new children's ministry curriculum that is really outstanding and exciting. We were able to obtain a large truck, stage, lights, children's ministry equipment, etc. Things really began to fall into place! In June of 2009, we relocated to Prairie View Elementary School and in January of 2011, we moved to the YMCA (where we currently meet).
We are a new church, but we are a growing church. It is a very exciting time to get plugged in at CrossHaven Church. God just keeps sending new families our way, and maybe you're the next one He's guiding our way. We believe it is no accident that He has led you to our website today. If you really want to get a taste of what our church is like, click on "New to the Haven" on our home page. Better yet, why don't you come and check us out this Sunday?! We meet at 10:00 AM at the O'Fallon YMCA. We'd love to get to know you. If you have any questions or you'd just like to get in touch, you can contact us at info@crosshavenchurch.com or (636) 327-5217. May God bless and guide you as you search for the church where you belong. I hope to see you this Sunday!
Our Beliefs
Although we aim to be relevant and modern in our style, this does not mean we will compromise the firmly established doctrines of the faith. We are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention, which is a network of 42,000+ likeminded churches. To see a list of Baptist beliefs, click here.We are also associated with the North American Mission Board.
Our Staff
Jeremy Plymale, Pastor
I can't tell you how excited I am about our new church! We can't wait to see what God's got in store for CrossHaven Church. Let me give you a little background info about myself.
I grew up in the St. Louis area (so I'm a diehard Cardinals fan). I went to college at Missouri Baptist University in Creve Coeur. After graduating, I worked full-time with young people at a church in Ferguson for a few years before heading to California for seminary studies (I LOVE California!).
I got married to my lovely wife Amber a year later and somehow managed to study full-time AND work full-time at a church. She and I both completed our master degrees at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and then served overseas as missionaries for two years through the International Mission Board. While overseas our first son (Carter) was born. Since then God has blessed us with three more children: Jenna, Emery, and Hudson. In 2011, I completed my studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, earning a Doctor of Ministry degree.
Our dream is to see CrossHaven Church become a growing, vibrant church that will reach out to people all over the area. If you have interest in our church, Amber and I would love to get together with you. I hope that CrossHaven can be a blessing to you as you search to find a church where you belong and can find meaning and purpose.
I grew up in the St. Louis area (so I'm a diehard Cardinals fan). I went to college at Missouri Baptist University in Creve Coeur. After graduating, I worked full-time with young people at a church in Ferguson for a few years before heading to California for seminary studies (I LOVE California!).
I got married to my lovely wife Amber a year later and somehow managed to study full-time AND work full-time at a church. She and I both completed our master degrees at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary and then served overseas as missionaries for two years through the International Mission Board. While overseas our first son (Carter) was born. Since then God has blessed us with three more children: Jenna, Emery, and Hudson. In 2011, I completed my studies at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, earning a Doctor of Ministry degree.
Our dream is to see CrossHaven Church become a growing, vibrant church that will reach out to people all over the area. If you have interest in our church, Amber and I would love to get together with you. I hope that CrossHaven can be a blessing to you as you search to find a church where you belong and can find meaning and purpose.
In case it matters to anyone, I thought I'd also mention some of my hobbies and interests. I LOVE baseball. My idea of a relaxing evening would be to watch the Cardinal game on TV and chill on the couch with a Dr. Pepper and a bag of Doritos. So you can tell I'm a real health nut. I actually enjoy jogging...every year or two. I had a weight set downstairs, but I gave it away to someone who would actually use it! I'd prefer to play some b-ball or go hiking instead. I love to be in natual scenery, so hiking up a mountain would be my ultimate fun. I thoroughly enjoy traveling, and I'm convinced that Amber and I could win The Amazing Race. We've been to Europe, Asia, and Hawaii. I've got lots of pictures to show to anyone who is interested. I enjoy going to Starbucks to read good book, and anytime I can get to a small town, I love to check out local restaurants and observe the locals. Feel free to contact me at:
(636) 327-5217
(636) 327-5217
Greg Lawrence, Worship/Media Pastor
Greg Lawrence grew up in the St. Louis area. He attended Missouri Baptist University and graduated in December 2002 with a degree in Music Education. Greg completed his Masters in the area of Information Science and Instructional Technologies at University of Missouri, Columbia in May of 2004.
He currently works for the Wentzville School District as the Technology Facilitator.
Greg married his lovely wife, Andrea, in 2001. She is a fifth grade teacher at Crossroads Elementary in the Wentzville School District. They reside in the Wentzville area with their twins, Carson and Kailey (born in August of 2007) and dog, Abby.
Greg’s vision for worship at CrossHaven Church is to see God’s people worship Christ as a corporate body and in their daily lives. Greg currently serves as the Worship/Media Pastor.
If you have any questions regarding Worship or Media at CrossHaven Church, contact Greg at:
(314) 650-7892
Tom Papez, Youth Pastor
Tom Papez was raised in a large family while growing up in suburban Milwaukee during the late 1980’s. Biographically speaking this means two things. First, that Tom embraced all the 80’s fashions including rolled up sleeves on t-shirts and a mullet, and second, that he inherited a love for the Green Bay Packers even before his birth.
Despite being a regular church attendee who experienced a tremendous amount of success in athletics, Tom realized he was lost and without a spiritual consequence during his junior year of high school. It was at this time that Tom prayed to accept the Lord Jesus into his heart during the cold winter of 1989 and has never looked back.
While playing football in college, Tom met and fell in love with his girlfriend Lori as the two sweathearts attended Bible Study together through FCA. After graduating, the two got married at the little chapel on campus and lived locally for the next handful of years as Tom taught high school in a nearby city.
During November of 2000, Tom received and accepted the call to serve as youth pastor at 1st Baptist of Lake St. Louis under Pastor Steve Easterwood. Thus, Tom and Lori, with much faith, uprooted their four children, all under the age of five, and moved from their quaint rural town to the big city. Tom describes this decision as one of the most difficult he has ever had to make in their family’s life.
Tom has served the Lord faithfully in the area for some years and now takes his experience to CrossHaven Church where he and his family are thrilled to be. Tom is known for being an excellent Bible teacher with deep lessons, the originator of some seriously outlandish outreaches, and a sincere molder of young men and women. In addition to youth ministry, Tom also teaches and coaches at Timberland High School which is a part of the Wentzville School District. As for the family, Lori is an avid horse lover who volunteers at a local ministry in Foristell called Strong Tower Ranch. While there, she serves in a variety of capacities including trail rides, lessons, and the wrangler program that teaches both the obedience of the horse for its master and the obedience of teenagers to our Master.
The Papez family have five children: Victoria, Bradley, Jacob, Julia, and Hannah. Victoria enjoys horsemanship and volleyball, while Bradley loves games and anything to do with the military. Jacob loves football and BMX racing, while Julia enjoys cooking and taking care of babies. Their youngest girl Hannah enjoys dolls and loves everything outdoors, especially running.
CrossHaven Church is thankful to have Tom Papez on staff and would be thankful to have you as a member of our church as well. If you have children and are prayerfully looking for a body of believers to help assist you in growing closer to Christ, you can trust Tom and you can trust CrossHaven Church.
If you have any questions regarding the Student Ministry at CrossHaven Church, contact Tom at:
tom@crosshavenchurch.com
(636) 866-4287