Congregational Meeting October 1st
Jay grew up in Southern Ohio near the town of Portsmouth. He graduated in 2011 from Appalachian Bible College in Mt.Hope, WV where he majored in Bible and Missions. It was there that he began to make preparations for cross-cultural ministry. After college, Jay was an intern at a church in Jacksonville, FL where he met his wife, Hannah. Jay and Hannah spent two years as missionaries in Panama before relocating to Upstate SC in 2017. In 2021, Jay went on to complete his Master of Divinity at Erskine Theological Seminary and a pastoral internship at Downtown Presbyterian Church in Greenville, SC. He joined the Crossgate staff in January 2022 and was installed as Assistant Pastor in May 2022. Jay and Hannah have four children and one rambunctious dog. Jay enjoys spending time outdoors, working with his hands, or rooting for the Ohio State Buckeyes.
RULING ELDER CANDIDATES
Chris McKean
Chris grew up in Southeast Kansas and has lived in Arkansas, Texas, and Georgia before he and his wife Cindy moved to South Carolina in 2010. Since moving, they have been members at Crossgate for many of those years. Before relocating to the upstate, they were members of Perimeter PCA Church in Atlanta beginning in 2000. It was there that he was ordained as an elder in 2006. He has been retired from the Information Technology industry for about 5 years. He enjoys home improvement projects, home automation projects, walking on the trails near Lake Keowee, and playing golf.
David Warlick
David grew up in Simpsonville, South Carolina and moved to Seneca in 2001. He is the Orchestra Director at Seneca Middle and High School. His wife, Leslie, is a professional violinist who teaches at Clemson University. They have two children. Crossgate has been their home church since moving to Seneca because it has always been a supportive, nurturing community. David has led worship since 2008 and continues to enjoy the privilege of participating in the leadership role.
Wayne Hagins
Wayne was born and raised in Columbia, SC. He and his wife Gayle lived in Columbia, Irmo, Lexington, then Taylors before moving to Seneca in 2013. They have a son, grandson, great-grandson and three adult step-grandchildren (all in TN) plus a daughter and granddaughter (in Seneca). Wayne spent 24 years in the steel fabrication industry and 25 years in the hot dip galvanizing industry before retiring in 2019. In his youth Wayne lived across the street from a Baptist Church where he came to know Christ. Wayne and Gayle are very happy to have found a church home and family at Crossgate Presbyterian.
Bill Jones
Bill was born in Zion, Illinois and moved during middle school to St. Albans, West Virginia. He has a BS in Metallurgical Engineering and worked in the power generation industry for 37 years as a Registered Professional Engineer. He has been married to Jane for almost 50 years. They have a son, a daughter, and two grandkids. Bill has been involved with choral music since middle school. He currently teaches chemistry at Oconee Christian Academy and audits classes at Clemson. He also participates in the Audio/Video ministry at Crossgate Church. They’ve been attending Crossgate since Winter of 2018.
Craig Whitman
Craig was born and lived in Clinton, SC for his first 40 years. He grew up going to First Baptist Church in Clinton and became a follower of Jesus in 1983. He got married in 1996 to Mary and they have two adult boys, Cole (married to Olivia) and Drew. Craig worked for 20 years in the pharmaceutical industry as a manufacturing, engineering, and supply chain manager. From there, he chased a dream of teaching high school math for 1.5 years. Since 2013, he has been self-employed as a contract consultant. He works with small to mid-sized companies across a wide variety of industries helping them find what drives their business. He takes these drivers and puts metrics in place to keep the focus where it should be. This requires a fair amount of travel and he is fortunate that Mary, a counselor, can travel with him as he works. Craig and Mary started attending Crossgate in 2019 and joined in 2020. Craig has been active in community groups, the S.A.L.T ministry, and communion committee.
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Shepherding Plan
“The Lord is My Shepherd, I shall not want.” Psalm 23 reminds us: the wholeness and fullness we long for comes from Christ ruling and guiding us. Because Jesus is the good shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep (John 10:11), even our deepest wants and needs are met through him. We get to belong to him, be loved by him, provided for and led by him! Sometimes though, the pathway is difficult, and, as sheep, we all have a tendency to wander. Thankfully, Jesus says, No one is able to snatch them out of my hand (John 10:28-29).
How does Jesus hold on to and guide his sheep? One of the means he uses is under-shepherds. Think of the way Jesus tells Peter, “Feed my sheep” (John 22:17), the way Paul reminds the Ephesians elders “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers” (Acts 20:28), or Peter’s exhortation to elders, “shepherd the flock of God that is among you” (1 Peter 5:2). At Crossgate, we believe this is a major part of the role of the Session (pastors and ruling elders), serving as shepherds to guide God’s people to follow Christ, the “Chief-Shepherd.”
How will our spiritual shepherds at Crossgate help us follow Jesus? All of the activities of the church from our worship services and Bible teaching to our community groups and fellowship times are designed to serve this goal. As we all know though, it takes more than participating in programs to grow in Christ. And shepherds don’t just count the number of sheep in the field! They know them each individually, feed them, lead them, and protect them. Each of us needs spiritual guides who pray for us, reach out to us, and spend time with us. That’s why at Crossgate, your pastors and elders do not intend to just leave you on your own to hopefully grow, we want to come alongside you regularly and intentionally and we are putting in place a specific shepherding plan.
What will this shepherding plan involve? While there are many sides to the Session’s oversight and care for you, this shepherding plan at Crossgate involves each member of the Session having certain individuals to specifically care for and follow up with. Three simple aspects of care from the Session are primary:
- Praying Weekly (bringing requests for your spiritual growth and specific needs to God )
- Contacting Bi-Monthly (checking-in every other month by phone call, text, or email)
- Visiting Yearly (whether having you over or coming by – taking time for in-person spiritual guidance)
Who will be included in this care? We are always concerned for the whole of the Crossgate community: members, non-members, visitors, and friends of the church; however, only members have officially placed themselves under the spiritual oversight of the Session. As we are able, we would be glad to extend specific shepherding care to our regularly attending non-members, by their request. Belonging to Jesus means being one of his sheep, and so it is good to aim to be under the spiritual care of Christ’s church.
How should I respond to this shepherding? Remember Jesus loves you, and your shepherding elder wants to be an agent of expressing his love. All of us tend to put on our best face or hide from certain questions, but, obviously, there is no benefit in trying to hide from Christ. And we hope that you will also be open with us, both about what is good in your life and about what isn’t. As the book of Hebrews says, “They are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account, let them do this with joy and not groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you”(Hebrews 13:17). Our goal, more than finding what’s wrong, is to encourage you in what’s right. We want to help you grow closer to Christ and live for him.
What types of questions will I be asked? While a lot of the conversation will be about what’s going on in your life and how it is affecting you, our Core Values at Crossgate also provide a helpful spiritual focus. For example: Has your engagement in Worship lately felt more vibrant or bland? Why do you think that is? What role has Scripture played in your life lately? What about it is difficult for you and what might be helpful? How are you involved in Community at Crossgate? Where have you felt more connected or disconnected? In what ways are you taking up Service within Crossgate or outside of it? Is there something you would like to be able to do more? Since Christ has a Mission for all of us, what opportunities do you think God has placed in your life with non-Christians? How would you like God to use you? Well, sometimes you won’t know how to answer. That’s fine. These questions aim to open up the topic. We want to come alongside you and build you up in Christ (Acts 20:32).
We hope this shepherding plan encourages you and helps us all. Please pray for us as we pray for you.
In Christ,
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