A church on a mission for over 135 years
CrossPoint Church's story begins with a religious unbeliever experiencing a new birth in Christ. Hans Gravenslund attended the State Church of Denmark and considered himself a Christian. However, when he heard an evangelist preach the gospel, he realized he had yet to be born again as a follower of Jesus. Hans and a small group of people withdrew from the State Church and began conducting services on their own. They called themselves "Followers of Christ".
Hans and his family moved to the United States to settle in Mankato. On their way there, they stopped at a farm in the Hutchinson area to hang their clothes to dry. As they took in the beauty of the area, they decided that Hutchinson would be a good place to live and decided to stay. In 1880 Hans gathered a small group of believers for worship, prayer, and bible study. This gathering of believers grew, and they needed a building to accommodate their size better. They built their first church but soon outgrew it. They then moved into a larger building and, upon doing so, adopted the name Franklin St. Baptist Church.
In 1980, the congregation outgrew their meeting space again and sought land to build a new church. They found ground in southwest Hutchinson, our current location. During this transition, the church renamed itself Shalom Baptist Church to communicate its desire to be a welcoming place of peace for people to meet and know God.
Shalom Baptist had a vision in 2012 for expanding its facilities to fulfill the mission of leading people into a growing relationship with Jesus. A building campaign was launched to double the size of the existing church building, and the project was completed in 2015. During this time, the church changed its name to CrossPoint Church to better communicate its mission and connect with people in the community.
Today, our mission remains to lead people into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. We come from a rich legacy of believers who were passionate about knowing God and sharing the good news of Jesus with others, and we continue to carry on that mission today over 135 years later.