Jim Beaty

Director of Operations

Jim and his wife, Kasey, joined The Crossing in 2002. After serving in various volunteer positions, as well as an elder, Jim joined the staff as Director of Operations in 2007. Jim received a PhD in organizational psychology, which he used in Human Resources to improve how companies hire employees. His passion is for the day to day operations of the church to run in such a way that they help enable vibrant ministry.

Chris Walters

Assistant Director of Operations

Originally from Kansas City, Chris attended Central Methodist College before working at Landmark Bank for over 13 years in the IT department. Chris joined the staff at The Crossing in 2011. He loves working at The Crossing since it is the church where he became a Christian (while taking the Discovery Class). 

Chris started at The Crossing as the Director of IT and moved into his current role in 2015. As Assistant Director of Operations, he oversees most of the Operations Team staff, works on special projects, and just tries to get things done. 

Christian Neuenswander

Associate Director of Operations

Christian was born and raised in Liberty, MO. She attended Mizzou and after graduating with her degrees in Sport Management, Marketing and Sales, she worked at the ABC Broadcast Affiliate, ABC17 in Columbia, MO. Christian married her high school sweetheart, Andrew in 2015. Andrew and Christian have two children, their son Graham and their daughter, Callahan. Andrew and Christian enjoy serving at The Crossing in the Crossing Twenties ministry as small group leaders. As the Associate Director of Operations, Christian manages the Daily Operations Team including our Ops on Duty and Front Desk teams. She is in charge of the operating details and logistics of weekday operations and Sunday operations. Christian is excited and passionate about making the experience people have when visiting our facilities one that is seamless and inviting to allow them to learn more about Jesus! 

Cody Melton

Rock Product Director

Cody Melton joined The Crossing’s Ops team in the Fall of 2019. While attending Northwest Missouri State University Cody earned a bachelor's in Management Information Systems and an MBA in IT Management. After graduating he and his wife Lydia got married and decided to move to Columbia and founded Gunter Hans. He currently serves as the Software & Systems Manager.

Andrew Baier

Facilities Manager

Andrew was born and raised in Columbia. He met his wife Wendy while she attended the University of Missouri. After a career with the Columbia Parks and Recreation Department and working part-time for The Crossing, Andrew retired from the city and came on full-time at the church in 2015.

Andrew oversees the building and grounds maintenance at The Crossing. Spending time keeping the facility looking like the day it opened provides him with ample work, and being able to spend time outdoors while “working” is an added bonus.

Courtney Cooksey

Development Manager

Courtney began attending The Crossing in 2008 where she got involved volunteering with Crossing Kids. She interned with Crossing Kids for many years in high school and college and also worked as part-time IT staff for The Crossing. Courtney graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in IT and promptly moved west. She has created applications to support everything from start-up companies to government agencies. Courtney hopes to be able to create new applications that can support the ministry teams and looks forward to learning new things and solving problems every day. 

Elaine Mauldin

Treasurer (Executive Team Member)

Elaine is the BKD Distinguished Professor at the University of Missouri in the School of Accountancy. She teaches Auditing Internal Controls and a doctoral seminar introducing accounting research to first year students. She conducts research in auditing, corporate governance, and internal controls. She earned her PhD from the University of Nebraska in 1997. She is married with two married daughters, and four grandchildren.

Grace Albritton

Database Admin

Grace Wiley is the Database Admin for The Crossing Database Team. She grew up in Springfield, Missouri, and she moved to Columbia in 2017 for college. While attending Mizzou, she joined The Crossing and began leading a 6th-grade girls' small group with Crossing Middle School. After graduating with her Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, Grace worked at a nanotechnology start-up company before joining The Crossing staff in 2022.

In her free time, Grace enjoys serving with Agape, walking Columbia's trails with friends, and teaching yoga as a Holy Yoga Instructor. Grace looks forward to connecting people at The Crossing so that within community everyone can experience how Jesus is more.

Jeff Fox

Operations Coordinator

Jeff grew up near Springfield, Missouri area and attended Mizzou in the 80s. He married his wife Lori in 1999 and returned to CoMo in 2000. Jeff and Lori have a daughter Lily, and they have been attending the Crossing since 2007. Jeff has volunteered with Crossing Kids, Kids Club, and was one of the original Crossing Tech Team members.

He's excited to work with the Operations Team and make our facilities part of a positive experience for every person that comes to The Crossing.

Jordan Morrison

Database Project Manager

Jordan grew up in St. Joseph, MO where he started dating his wife Sarah their senior year of High School. Jordan moved to Columbia in 2012 for his undergrad at Mizzou and started attending The Crossing that fall. After graduating from Mizzou with a degree in Mechanical Engineering, Jordan worked in Jeff City for 4 years before joining the database team at The Crossing in the summer of 2021. Jordan enjoys working on challenging problems and using his technical skills to help ministries at the church.

Kaelyn Mislan

Operations Manager

Kaelyn is originally from Lamar, MO, and she moved to Columbia in 2016 for undergrad. She graduated from MU in 2020 with degrees in Sociology and Black Studies and is currently pursuing a Master's in Biblical and Theological Studies from Covenant Theological Seminary. 

Since attending The Crossing in 2016, she has served with many different ministries including Crossing Students, Veritas, and Crossing 20s. She and her husband, Mason, got married in 2021 and welcomed their daughter to their family in 2023.

As Operations Manager, Kaelyn is passionate about people and processes. By helping ensure things run smoothly at The Crossing, she hopes to create a positive experience in our building that allows people to see that Jesus is more.

Steve Hudson

IT Manager

Steve was born and raised in Boone County and graduated from the University of Missouri with a degree in Marketing. Steve has been a professional tech/entrepreneur/geek since graduating from Mizzou. He served as a volunteer on the setup crew and as an usher before joining the staff as IT Manager in 2015.

Tanya Parmele

Operations Staff

After living nearly all her life in Nebraska, Tanya married her high school sweetheart and moved to Columbia for a job opportunity. She is thankful for their two children who make her laugh and, at times, shake her head. It was shortly after moving to Columbia and discovering The Crossing that she felt God working in her heart, and she began to better understand the gift of salvation through Jesus’ death on the cross. Tanya enjoys creating order out of chaos, be it pieces of fabric coming together into a quilt, photos and paper becoming a scrapbook, or various ingredients turning into a meal. This urge to have some sense of order plays well in her role on the operations team.

Velma Harvey

Office Operations & Hospitality Manager

Velma began attending The Crossing February 2016, and is currently serving as a team leader in her classroom for Crossing Kids. Velma enjoys reading, working out, and Chiefs football. She is truly passionate about serving her community and has a long-term goal of opening a women’s and children’s shelter.

Wendy Baier

Operations Staff

Wendy and her husband, Andrew, were among the founding members of The Crossing and have volunteered at the church since its inception. She joined the staff full-time in 2008 and is responsible for building and other operational tasks.

Leigh Ann Wanserski

Operations Staff

Leigh Ann grew up in Wheaton, Illinois and came to Columbia for the University of Missouri in 2001, which is also when she began attending The Crossing. She spent ten years as the Chief Operating Officer of Veterans United before joining The Crossing HR staff team in 2020. Leigh Ann is passionate about serving the employees of The Crossing, so that they can best serve in their roles.

Heather Cummins

Operations Staff

Heather is originally from West Virginia. After graduating college, she settled in Columbia and eventually began attending The Crossing. Heather uses her education in business and her work experience in insurance and customer service in her role as HR Manager. It brings her joy to have the opportunity to serve the staff of The Crossing.

Lexie Diya

Event Manager

Lexie was born and raised in Columbia, MO. She attended the University of Missouri and graduated with a degree in Psychology in 2021. After finding Veritas during her time at MU, she began regularly attending The Crossing. She has since served with many different ministries, including Crossing Students and Veritas. Lexie started working at The Crossing front desk in 2022 and is excited to continue working on the operations team as Event Manager.

Lexie and her high school sweetheart, Khalil, were married in 2019. Together, they have a dachshund, Indie, and a cat, Maui. During her free time, Lexie enjoys spending time with family, reading, and cooking fun new recipes.