The Crosswalk Experience Podcast

How do you create a culture where serving becomes part of a church’s DNA? In this episode, Christalee Crary shares the story of launching Crosswalk Chattanooga’s outreach ministry and the lessons learned from years of serving alongside volunteers, nonprofits, and community organizations. From Ronald McDonald House and the Chattanooga Food Bank to local service projects and volunteer mobilization,...

Before Crosswalk Chattanooga became an established church, it was a growing group of people setting up chairs, opening homes, and trying to create a place where people genuinely belonged. In Episode 7, Bryant Rodriguez shares his journey from theology student and marketing professional to becoming one of the key connectors in Crosswalk’s earliest days. From leading small groups and first impressio...

What if the way kids experience church shapes everything? In Episode 6, we sit down with Jaclyn Pruehs, Crosswalk’s founding Kids Director, to talk about how Crosswalk Kids was built from the ground up—without a playbook, a team, or a clear system. From navigating chaotic early classrooms to intentionally designing environments where kids can move, play, and engage with faith, Jaclyn shares the he...

What do you do when everything is working… and God asks you to walk away? In Episode 5, Wesley León shares his journey from building a successful production company in Costa Rica to stepping into an entirely new life in the United States—and ultimately becoming part of the foundation of Crosswalk Chattanooga. From starting a growing faith community in his own living room to leaving it all behind,...

In this episode of the Crosswalk Experience Podcast, we turn the mic around and sit down with our own Experience Director, Shastin Rains. From growing up as a pastor’s kid to helping launch ministries across the country, Shastin shares her journey into leadership—and how God led her into one of the most unique and impactful roles at Crosswalk. We talk about: What “guest experience” really means (a...

Most churches grow by habit. Some grow by personality. Crosswalk chose to grow by identity. In this episode, founding member and brand strategist Alysa Darmody shares how Crosswalk defined who it was before scaling, and why belonging, momentum, and experience became the guardrails that shaped every decision that followed. This is a conversation about intentional culture, clarity over chaos, and wh...

We built a church around belonging before we had a building, a budget, or a roadmap. This conversation traces Crosswalk’s origin…from living rooms to pop-ups…and why choosing people first changed everything that came next. A Lovewell Creative Podcast. Chapters00:00 Intro01:30 The moment something felt different05:10 Visiting Crosswalk Redlands10:45 Why starting with small groups mattered18:40 Movi...

Pastor Tim Gillespie didn’t “grow” Crosswalk by accident, he rebuilt it on purpose. In 2014, Crosswalk was down to ~85 people and debating whether to shut its doors. Tim walked into his first board meeting and said: we’re not closing, we’re building. What followed was a decade-long rebuild anchored in three non-negotiables: excellence (no “good enough”), belonging (people first), and relevance (fa...

The Crosswalk Experience Podcast takes you inside the life of Crosswalk Chattanooga. Hosted by Shastin Rains and Justin Wampler, we explore the stories, leadership decisions, creativity, and faith that shape the church—from its founding to the people carrying it forward. This is Episode 1, featuring Crosswalk Founder and Pastor Tim Gillespie.