We are a Christian church located in the community of Palo Alto, California striving together to follow Jesus. We believe that our church exists to be a people whose faith in Jesus is lived out not just on Sundays, but also through our work, play, and fullness of life. We invite you to join us on this journey.
Helping people connect with God in daily life by seeking God’s wisdom, sharing life together, and serving people in need.
Posturing ourselves as active learners, we continue to reflect upon the spiritual life through the lens of scripture, tradition, reason, and experience while recognizing that all of these come from God. As we seek to navigate life, we also believe that wisdom must have space to take root and grow in our lives in order to transform our living and faith.
“Guard my teachings as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart.” Proverbs 7:2-3
As a community of faith we do our best to embrace the unity given through Christ in the midst of our diversity of thought and life. One of the best ways that we know how follow Jesus is to join together in loving each other and our neighbors as well. Sharing meals, serving our community, working for the good of our city, and more all bind us together in love that points toward Christ.
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” John 13:34
Through the life of Christ and the Christian Scriptures we see a constant concern for those who are marginalized, poor, and/or outcasts from society. We believe that as Christians we are tasked with joining God in bringing about fullness of life and restoration to all people, especially those identified in these groupings.
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10
Pastor Jake grew up in the Bay Area before leaving to attend Point Loma Nazarene University where he studied Church Music and Youth Ministry. After college he spent 5 years in Central America where met and married his wife Laura. He also got a Master of Arts in Religion at the Nazarene Seminary of the Americas in Costa Rica. He answered the call to be the Lead Pastor of CrossRoads in 2012. He enjoys staying active, coaching youth sports, playing music and spending time with his family. His favorite Bible passage is Ephesians 4:20-24.
Laura was born in Costa Rica but spent her childhood in South Carolina, Chicago and Costa Rica. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Special Education and her Master’s in Educational Psychology. More recently, she completed a Master’s of Christian Ministry through Point Loma Nazarene University’s religion department. Laura is also a Certified Strengths Advisor through Gallup and the Nazarene Strengths Institute and is able to provide mentoring and coaching for people in relation to their strengths. Additionally, she is a trained SYMBIS (Saving Your Marriage Before it Starts) facilitator. She’s married to Pastor Jake with whom she has two children and together they do foster care as well.
We believe that all of life is centered around being in relationship with the God who made us and loves us.
We believe that God is the Creator of all. When God created humanity, God did so in the hope that we would never turn from God and sin. However, since we are created in God’s image, as free beings, the possibility of choosing our own way was always there.
We believe that, like in the story of Adam and Eve, all people have sinned have become separated from our loving Creator. The divine image in which we were created is distorted and we are all in need of the transformation that comes through Jesus Christ and by living in the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that Jesus’ death on the cross and subsequent resurrection give us a means for being reunited to God and for having God’s image restored in us.
We believe that God is at work to redeem not only all people, but all of creation. As Christians, we recognize that we are called to be co-laborers with God, striving for redemption in creation.
We believe that Jesus will come again and when he comes, Jesus will make all things new. Creation will be restored to what it was originally intended to be and we will live for eternity in that perfection.
We believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God and contains all things necessary for Christian salvation.
And we believe that the Christian Church is an instrument that God is using, even in her imperfection, to embody and spread the message of New Life and to bring about the transformation of individuals, communities and even nations.
You can learn more about our church’s core values and articles of faith.
We are a part of the Church of the Nazarene which is a small denomination formed around Christian service, missions, and care for the marginalized.
If you have questions about these beliefs or are looking to explore how your life connects to something more, connect with our team.
