Crossroads Church to mark milestone anniversary
It's been 40 years since a prominent south Oklahoma City congregation changed its name and moved from one part of the metro area to another.
Forty years ago, the Rev. Daniel Sheaffer led First Assembly of God of Oklahoma City — one of the metro area's first megachurches — to its present location at SE 89 and Shields Boulevard.
The preacher and his congregation renamed the church Crossroads
Cathedral, with its new name reflecting the church's presence at the crossroads of two major highways.
The house of worship, now called Crossroads Church, will celebrate that rebirth of
sorts with an anniversary service on Sunday at 8901 Shields Blvd.
The Rev. Marc Johnson, Crossroads Church's senior pastor, said he's hoping former members and other supporters will help the congregation mark this milestone. He said a Homecoming Reception will be held after the service to allow people to “connect with old friends.”
“We're inviting anybody who has been a part of the church,” Johnson said.
He said the church is celebrating the milestone anniversary of the church's change in identity 40 years ago since that was when First Assembly of God of Oklahoma City became known as Crossroads Cathedral. The pastor said First Assembly of God of Oklahoma City is much older, but the congregation wanted to pay tribute to its identity as Crossroads Church.
“We're celebrating that new identity that was established,” he said. “We just wanted to take a moment to celebrate that.”
Johnson said he envisions the church holding a much bigger celebration for the 50th anniversary, but the biblical symbolism connected to the number 40 compelled leaders to plan a way to mark four decades.
“Forty years is the year of new beginnings, so we're believing for a new season, new beginnings,” he said.
Crossroads' history
Johnson became the church's senior pastor in March after serving as interim pastor for about a year.
He said he's aware of the house of worship's strong legacy of evangelism and outreach at its current location, starting with Sheaffer and his vision for the church.
Sheaffer became pastor of what was then the First Assembly of God Church of Oklahoma City in 1969. In the late 1970s, construction began at the current site at SW 89 and Shields Boulevard.The sanctuary was dedicated in 1979, and with the move, the church became Crossroads Cathedral. In 2007, a former senior pastor of the church, the Rev. Gary Bohanon, told The Oklahoman that Sheaffer started with a relatively small group of congregants at First Assembly, and the church grew to include several thousand people under his leadership.
Bohanon had been a longtime member and associate pastor for many years before he succeeded Sheaffer (who left in 2006) to become the church's senior pastor from 2007 to 2010. He led the congregation to change the name from Crossroads Cathedral to Crossroads Church, before he stepped down from the pulpit to devote his time to fulltime missionary work in Africa. Sheaffer, who went on to become pastor of Harvest Assembly of God, died in 2010 at age 80.
Other senior pastors included the Rev. Terry Barris; the Rev. Marcia Aycock (interim); and the Rev. Ted Miller.
Meanwhile, Johnson said the church has activities and programs planned for the coming holiday season and beyond.
He said the church will offer its Christmas outreach, a production of “The Gospel According to Scrooge” on Dec. 13 and 15. He said the church hosted about 5,000 people for its annual Fall Festival, and he hopes the Broadwaystyle musical also will draw a large crowd.
The pastor said there is a strong possibility that the church's history of offering popular theatrical productions will help leaders develop a community program including theater classes and other related activities. He said he expected to discuss these developments during the anniversary service.
“We're going to use this celebration as a launching post to announce new initiatives,” Johnson said.