Leaders at the crossing church
Leadership Matters to You
You care about leadership when considering a church. You know healthy things have healthy leaders (not perfect ones).
Leaders You Can Relate To
You want leaders you can connect with. The Bible is filled with great leaders who are real people with very real struggles. That’s what you’ll find at The Crossing.
The leaders at The Crossing Church are called elders. It’s the word the Bible uses for “pastors”.
Leaders You Can Look Up To
You need leaders you can respect. You won’t find perfect leaders here. But you will find leaders with character and integrity.
The elders at The Crossing Church seek to point you to Jesus with their lives and service.
Jared Pickney
PASTOR & ELDER | VISION + TEACHING
Jared was born and raised in Paragould. He has received a bachelor's degree from Arkansas State University in Communication Studies along with a M.A. from Southern Theological Seminary. Since 2005, he has served as a youth minister, college pastor, associate pastor and now lead pastor. He has served on the board for the Soma family of churches, co-hosted the Saturate Podcast, and continues to serve the broader church through coaching pastors and speaking at conferences. He currently hosts the Paragould Podcast and contributes monthly to the Premiere Magazine.
In 2012, after a one year church planting residency through Fellowship Bible Church in Jonesboro, Jared, along with a handful of families officially launched what is now known as The Crossing Church. Though a lot has changed since the early days, Jared is still passionate about creating a culture where people can thrive. "Our goal is to help people become deeply connected to God and others. To establish healthy, relational roots that allow them to flourish no matter what season they find themselves in."
Jared is married to Meagan and together they have three kids, Nora Kate, Wyatt and Moses. Jared enjoys gardening, playing tennis, running, morning walks with Meagan, good food and good music.
Chris collier
Executive pastor | Operations, Assimilation, and crossingKids
Chris grew up in Tyronza, AR and attended East Poinsett County. He has received degrees from Williams Baptist University (‘08) and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (‘13).. Chris has served as a youth minister for two NEA churches while in college and served at Redeemer Fellowship in Kansas City from 2011 to 2021 in roles in children’s ministry, student ministry, community groups, and as the Business Administrator.
In his role as Executive Pastor at The Crossing Church, Chris oversees our finance and operations, communications, membership and assimilation processes, CrossingKIDS ministry, and preaches and does counseling with members and attenders.
Chris and Sarah married in 2008. They lived in Kansas City, MO from 2009-2021. Their sons Jackson (2017) and Graham (2020) fill up a lot of their personal time. Chris enjoys running,, watching baseball and football, playing basketball & golf, & reading (particularly novels by Frederick Backman).
daniel mcdonald
missional communities, students, & Worship
Daniel grew up in Georgia and met his wife Kristen at Liberty University. For over four years the McDonalds lived in Puerto Escondido, Mexico working with Global Education Ministries as a recruiter, teacher, and also as the Director for Global Engagement once they returned to the states in 2021.
In 2022, Daniel and Kristen moved from North Carolina to Paragould, AR to be in a church centered on Missional Communities. In early 2023, Daniel came on staff to oversee our Missional Community leaders, as well as our Student Ministry and Worship Coordination..
Daniel and Kristen have two wonderful children, Eliana and Declan. Daniel loves to be active, spend time with his wife, and watch the Atlanta Braves!
brooke smith
Pastoral Assistant, Women’s ministry, and Volunteers
Brooke has been a part of The Crossing Church almost since the beginning. She began visiting the church about 3 months after it was launched when meetings were happing in the Paragould Cinema 8. Brooke was in the Agape House at the time, and Jared was coming around helping out one of the other girls. Jared told her how the church was structured around Missional Communities, and Brooke was instantly intrigued. She started attending services and plugged into Jared’s MC and hasn’t looked back since!
Brooke loves that she can be completely broken and still completely loved by the pastors, her MC, and her DNA. There have been a lot of ups and downs over the years, but someone always shows up without fail.
What excites Brooke most about her job is being obedient to the Holy Spirit. She is also super excited about being able to serve the body of Christ in this way after all that has been done for her over the last 9 years. Her hope for The Crossing Church is that we will continue to be shaped and formed by Jesus giving the people of Paragould a safe place to land no matter what walk of life they are from.
Stephanie Noblin
kids + office assistant
Stephanie has been a part of The Crossing Church since October of 2017. She began attending through Grace Mission and knew several of the members. As a member of The Crossing, the two most enjoyable things for Stephanie have been the loving and welcoming environment and the opportunity to serve in CrossingKIDS.
“I am able to be around the men and women here who stir my heart towards Jesus... and I now get to work alongside them for the church!” Her hope for The Crossing Church is that we would be a body of believers who have such a desire to be with Jesus that it leads others to want to know Jesus!
Stephanie is mom to three wonderful kids, Gage, Izzy, and Emma. In her role she leads our CrossingKIDS ministry and volunteers, helps with our communications, and assists in the weekly operations of the church.
Jody dillon
facilities + crossing rental
Jody was born in Paragould and graduated high school at Ridgecrest in 1996. He has been a member of The Crossing since 2012 when it was launched in the cinema. He is passionate about serving his church family and the community where he grew up. Jody lives by the Jesus’ words in Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jody was Building administrator for 8 years at First Baptist Church before starting a landscaping company that specializes in sod installation. He has overseen the facilities at the Crossing since 2020.
In 2021 he took over the responsibility of booking and coordinating weddings, parties, and community functions at the venue. In 2022 the position has led to many opportunities to assist with benevolent needs and the ability to assist our Missional Communities with reaching the last, the least, and the lost in our community!
Jody is married to Karen They have three kids, and A LOT of grandchildren. Jody enjoys serving alongside his wife in many areas at The Crossing. “We truly love our MCs and DNAs and don’t know how we would do life without them!”
Lay ELDERS
Tim Parrott–Elder
Non-vocational
Tim has been a member of The Crossing since 2012. He works as an administrator for the Paragould School District. He and his wife, Savannah, have been happily married since 2017. They enjoy leading worship together, raising their son Hudson, and actively seeking to see God’s kingdom come in NEA as it is in heaven.
Luke Moore–Elder
Non-vocational
Luke and his wife, Donna, helped start The Crossing back in 2012. They have 5 children. Luke works as a sales rep full time. He is passionate about helping parents and children enjoy Jesus in their homes and neighborhoods.