Leaders
Jeff Gardner:
My wife, Eileen & I are one of the founding CORE Team Leadership Group that launched CrossWalk out of Mechanicsburg BIC Church as a Satellite service. We have two children of our own who are young adults in their early and mid 20’s. So, we have a heart for this age group who are one of our target groups here at CrossWalk. I was in the Healthcare Management field, in both Hospitals and business for 22 years and for the past 9 years have been working with churches as a consultant, as God has continued to put a call to ministry on my life. Since the fall of 2007, I have shared to preaching load with Pastor John and have learned alto under his coaching. Today, I have assumed a 3/4 pastor role for CW. Preaching about 3 times per month and taking on the first line of counseling, hospital visits and so on.
One of my favorite verses over the years continues to be Revelation 3:20: Jesus says: “Here I am! I stand at the door [your door] and knock. If anyone [you] hears my voice, and opens the door, I will come in and eat with [them] and [they] will eat with me.” This verse was powerful to me as one who was ‘missing-in-action’ in the church, but earnestly searching. When I read this, or was shown this for the first time, my mouth literally dropped open. I said, “Wow! This sounds like maybe Jesus means even me! Me! One so full of mistakes and errors in my life, but Jesus actually wants to break bread with Jeff Gardner to get to know me a lot better. That was the moment of decision for me to make the choice to become a follower of Jesus.
John King:
Adoption Day for the Kings - Aprli 7, 2008
I am the founding pastor of CrossWalk Community and have lived in the Mechanicsburg area since 2003. My wife, Cindy, and I have six wonderful children: Andrew, Jesse, Mariana, Isaac, Eden, and HopeAnne whom we adopted in 2008. Our family all plays together in a strings group called “The King’s Strings” and a few of our children have acted professionally in local theatres. I have been a pastor since 1995, and prior to that I was a counselor, child therapist, and social worker. We have a heart for children in need, and I personally have a heart for seeing broken people come to wholeness and healing.
One of my favorite Bible verses is John 10:10 where Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.” This passage is so awesome because it shows all of us that Jesus came to bring us life—right here and right now. And he also came to bring us life forever. And if we trust Him, we know that He can begin to put our broken lives back together.
