SHELBY TOWNSHIP — A local church underwent a remodel after many years of not changing the look of its home.
Crossroads Community Church on Auburn Road was founded in July 1953 and had seen little change to its structure since. In recent years, the church has held an annual community barbecue and started a food pantry.
However, in recent weeks, the people of Crossroads Community Church worked hard and invested much time, energy and money to bring several changes to the church building.
Phase one of the updates are completed, and the interior of the sanctuary has a new look.
Glenn Leach, the church’s worship leader who has been with the church for over 40 years, said the big advantage to the recent changes was to expand from a single-use to a multiple-use space.
“Elimination of the church pews allow us to use this space not only for worship, but as a game area for kids and teens as well as a conference area with tables and chairs. The new carpet and chairs provide a more modern look and feel to the church as a whole,” he said.
Leach said the church also has community outreach events.
“These are wonderful opportunities to serve God by serving people. The outreach events are well attended and offer a great way for us to meet, encourage and serve the community. They also help us to focus on our mission to help others discover, grow and live for Jesus Christ,” he said.
The Rev. Rich Reinhart said the update of the church building is a huge transformation. He said the barbecue is a big event held annually in September.
“I have been here for the past two years, and it is quite an operation as we’ve fed a couple hundred people each year. We keep the tables full of food and drink. We have large tents to provide shade. There is a barbecue competition, with several judges, and a trophy to the winner,” he said, noting that the current champion is Melvin Williams.
“The Fire Department has brought a firetruck. There is live music provided by members of the church praise team. It is a ton of work, but everyone chips in and makes it a great time. We also hold an annual egg hunt, trunk or treat, and Christmas Eve service,” he said.
They have a weekly children’s program and teen program, and a young adult group that meets once a month, as well as an “over 60” group that meets once a month.
“We have a group called “Crochet from the Heart” that makes quilted hats, scarves and blankets for hospital infants, nursing home residents, animals at the humane society, Karmanos cancer patients and more. In February, we are holding our very first Super Bowl party, open to the community,” he said.
He also said the church has a small food pantry, about the size of a closet, that is available to the public as needed.
“It has been used about a dozen times over the past several months,” he said.
Services are viewable on Facebook and can be found at facebook.com/cccshelby.org.
“We are a very active church and looking to become even more active in our community,” he said.
The church is located at 2690 Auburn Road in Shelby Township.