With Tommy “Urban D.” Kyllonen & Edward "Spec" Bayonet
Crossover Church in Tampa, Florida was relaunched in 2002 as Tommy Kyllonen became the lead pastor. Six years prior he founded the church's youth ministry which experienced incredible growth and became a national model for urban ministry. During this time he also developed his music ministry and signed with a national label as "Urban D.". He was content to continue in youth ministry and travel doing music. God had other plans and pushed him into the lead position at the church.
Something amazing has happened over the past few years in Tampa, Florida. A new type of urban, multi-cultural church that is reaching the unchurched has emerged. Tommy and his team were from the urban/hip-hop culture and began to really seek God and dream what could church look like in that context. They carefully and prayerfully made changes as God led them. As the church grew they added services and remodeled their once run-down campus on North Orleans Ave. Eventually they were out of space bursting at the seams. Because of their unique, creative approach they have been featured in USA Today, Newsweek, CBS News, Tampa Tribune, Purpose Driven Connection and countless other favorable media articles. The leading church leadership magazine (Outreach Magazine) listed them as one of the most innovative churches in America.
In early 2010 they sold their campus and became a portable church meeting at a hotel. In March of 2010 they signed a lease deal on their new 43,329 square foot retail building on Fowler Ave. In October 2010 they moved into their new space. Crossover started in 2002 with a handful of people and now has over 1,000 people gather each Sunday at their worship experiences. They plan to reach thousands more in their new facility. This story didn't happen overnight and it hasn't been easy. Urban ministry is not for the weak hearted. With all the obstacles and lack of resources, the team at Crossover has constantly had to be creative and proactive to move forward against the seemingly impossible odds. Pastor Tommy constantly gets emails, phone calls, facebook messages and meets people as he travels that desire mentorship, advice and counsel. He has a big heart for urban church planters and pastors. His desire is to encourage them and help them along the journey of urban pastoring that can many times feel very lonely and difficult. The Urban Coaching Network is where training, networking and resourcing happens in a scheduled, structured, effective way.
If you're ready to grow and take your ministry to the next level by reaching the unchurched and dechurched in your city - this is for you!
Current Networks Available and Upcoming:
- The Advanced Network (For Pastors and Church Planters in the Urban Context) Coming In January 2012
- Designers Network (For Graphic Designers, Creative Directors and Techies) Coming in December 2011
- Pastors Network (For Pastors and Church Planters in the Urban Context) Coming in July 2012
