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

Chris is a bonafide geek and first came on staff in 2011 as the IT Manager, having worked in computer technology at a local bank for 13 years. Chris loves providing the quality systems that ministries rely on to flourish, and this quickly grew to other domains outside of IT. Now, Chris manages the Infrastructure Team and its talented individuals, overseeing or helping with many tech and building-related projects. Chris feels very blessed to be able to work at the church where he became a Christian and attends with his wonderful wife, Jordan, and their twin daughters 

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! 

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.

Brian Schiller

Planning and Logistics Operations Coordinator

Brian was born and raised in St. Louis, MO where he attended Parkway South High School. From there, he attended Missouri State University where he received a Bachelors in Administrative Management and a Masters in Health Care Administration. Brian is married to Anna who also works in Crossing Students. They both take care of their sweet puppy, Scruffy. 

Brian is responsible for overseeing all daily operations at the building and manages the Nightly Operations Team. He enjoys knowing that the work he does helps creates spaces for people to be a part of gospel-centered community.

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.

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.

Ellie Sjogren

Office, Hospitality and Volunteer Coordinator

Ellie was born and raised in Omaha, NE as a diehard Husker fan. She is the youngest of 10 kids and an aunt to 23 nieces and nephews. She graduated from the University of Nebraska - Omaha with a degree in Criminal Justice and History. Following a job offer, her and her older sister moved to Columbia, MO in early 2023 and have been attending The Crossing since.

In her free time, Ellie enjoys being outside, reading, catching up with family, and exercising. She has been active in Crossing Twenties and Crossing Kids before coming on as the Operations and Hospitality Coordinator. She is excited to be a small extension of TheCrossing; a church that has become a very dear home away from home. 

Grace Albritton

Rock Liaison

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.

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.

Joe Peterson

Cafe Manager

Joe has called The Crossing home since 2011, shortly after moving from Liberty, MO to attend the University of Missouri, where he gained a degree in Sport Management and Business. After YouTubing his way to becoming a self-taught barista, he started volunteering on the Cafe team in 2019. Joe enjoys spending Sundays keeping the church properly caffeinated and building connections with Cafe volunteers and attendees. Outside of his coffee obsession, Joe enjoys outdoor activities: hiking, cycling and trail running. He and his wife, Brianna, have four children.

Jordan Morrison

Rock Product Expert

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.

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.

Miranda Giger

Operations Staff

Originally from Clarence, Missouri, Miranda has called Columbia home since attending the University of Missouri. After graduating with her degree in Business Administration, she worked at a nonprofit doing project management and finance bookkeeping. She and her husband, Harris, married in 2014 and have two daughters together. 

Miranda has attended The Crossing since 2008, serving in multiple volunteer roles within Crossing Kids. Her role as Finance Operations Project Manager combines her two passions for numbers and people. 

Noah Lucas

Event Operations Coordinator

Noah has been part of The Crossing since 2004, when the church was still meeting in Rock Bridge High School's auditorium (at just six months old). He graduated from the University of Missouri in 2025, earning a Bachelor of Arts in Children & Adolescent Communication. Noah is currently pursuing a Master's degree in Biblical & Theological Studies at Covenant Seminary in St. Louis.

In his role, Noah coordinates events and facility operations, support planning, logistics, and hospitality. He oversees events and creates organized, welcoming environments for staff, volunteers, and attendees.

A fun fact about Noah is in college, he played the bassoon for the University of Missouri Symphony Orchestra and also performed professionally with the Missouri Symphony.

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.