Crossroads Kids Club Goes Global
Benjamin Vazquez (center) is a pastor in Chicago who introduced Matt Armstrong (left) to Rolando Gonzalez (right) in 2018.
From our founding in 1998 until 2018, our sole focus was on public-school children in the United States. But in early 2018, our international journey began unexpectedly through a divine connection. CEO Matt Armstrong met a Guatemalan pastor in Chicago who believed his friend in Mexico would be deeply interested in the mission, materials, and methods of Crossroads. He asked if we would consider training leaders in Mexico. Intrigued by this opportunity, Matt traveled to Guadalajara in March and met Pastor Rolando González.
Rolando had a profound passion for reaching children and was eager to enhance the impact of his ministry. Recognizing a shared vision, Matt suggested that a team from the U.S. return to train leaders in Mexico. This collaboration took place in August 2018, marking the beginning of our international outreach.
By the following year, Rolando had joined the Crossroads staff, becoming a pivotal part of our mission. In 2020, the first Kids Club in Guatemala launched after a leader there was equipped by Rolando while the leader was spending some time in Mexico. The momentum continued, expanding into El Salvador in 2022 and reaching Honduras by 2023. Today, we have dedicated country coordinators in each of these Central American nations, with Rolando leading as the director of our Latin American ministry.
Our global expansion didn’t stop there. In 2021, doors opened for ministry in Ghana, where we now have two co-coordinators working tirelessly to bring the love of Jesus to children in that African nation. Now Crossroads is a truly global mission with clubs in multiple languages and countries.
While serving public schools in the United States remains our primary calling, our board has committed to targeting a 10% investment of our resources to support international work. We are humbled and excited to see how God is using Crossroads Kids Club to impact children around the world.