Our Leaders: The Elders and Deacons

Meet the Elders: (left to right) Scott Shipferling, Tony Buford, Steve Southard and (elder in training) Jeremy Fruechting.

Meet the Deacons: (left to right) Brad Weeks, Darwin Binder, and Phil Noel.

Elders

Scott Shipferling

Scott became the second elder of CrossPointe several years ago, his job bringing him from the north to the midwest.

Tony Buford

Tony has been pastoring CrossPointe since its beginning over 25 years ago. The church began through a Bible study led by his father in Oregon, MO. As the group grew into a church, Tony became its pastor. Since then, he and his servant-hearted wife, Melanie, have been serving faithfully as they raise their two children. Tony's passion is that in his expository preaching sermons, week after week, year after year, Christ would be held up as supreme, as God's great Son and King, the focal point and the goal of all history.

Steve Southard

Steve came to CrossPointe with his wife Diana and four children, Mindy, Christopher, Jacob and Rachel in 2002. At that time, while serving as an officer of another congregation, Steve came to embrace and cherish the Doctrines of Grace. In the Lord's timing, the Southard's tent stakes were moved and they relocated to the CrossPointe family. Steve currently serves as a non-vocational Elder, also occupying his time with Periodontal practices in Saint Joseph and Kansas City. Having had numerous opportunities to serve in evangelistic campaigns overseas, as well as, on a regular basis with the Missouri Department of Corrections, Steve desires that Crosspointe would be instrumental in conveying the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ to our community, nation and world.

Jeremy Fruechting (elder in training)

In May of 2007, God graciously and sovereignly brought my family to CrossPointe Community Church. While studying at Southern Seminary in Louisville, KY, a dear family from the church moved to that area, and we became good friends with them. As I neared the end of my studies and training, and was looking for a pastoral position in a local church, this family directed us to contact Tony, and the rest is history. I officially began work here as an associate pastor in July 2007, accompanied by my wife, Rebecca, and our children. We desire that Christ would be honored, loved, adored, and proclaimed through CrossPointe to the St. Joseph area and around the world, and that through our labors, men and women would be reconciled to God in Christ.

Deacons

Brad Weeks

Brad serves as Deacon over the Education Ministry Center. He feels the pleasure of God when he runs.

Darwin Binder

Jennifer and I came to Crosspointe, then Grace Church, in the fall of 1991 as newlyweds. My knowledge of our LORD and his attributes, while having a long way to go, has increased greatly under the faithful teaching of Tony and our elders. God has also blessed us with 2 daughters during this time, who we are striving to bring up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. I desire to see the young people of the church to be thoroughly equipped to fight the good fight and to keep the faith, so that when called they will be willing and able to serve God wherever he will lead them.

Phil Noel

CrossPointe was begun in 1982 in the basement of my home, so I have been a part of this church since its beginning. The church's original motto came from John 17:17, "Thy Word is truth." The consistent emphasis on the Scriptures has always been our goal and continues to be the means by which our Lord works in our lives, both individually and corporately.