Crossroads Kids Club was born out of love—and a little graffiti. It was the vision of Bern and Jeanne Bertsche, who were the owners of Camcraft, a precision machining company in Hanover Park, Illinois. When one of the factory’s retaining walls was marked with graffiti, a local police officer suggested Camcraft build bridges with young people in the community to avoid future incidents.
From this suggestion, Bern and Jeanne created a partnership with Parkwood Elementary School, and this relationship continues to this day, more than 25 years later with children from Parkwood School coming to Camcraft for a time of small-group mentoring and learning about high-tech manufacturing.
As this early partnership grew, back in 1998, Bern and Jeanne desired to share the love of Christ with the children as well. So, they launched a spring break Bible club followed by a weekly after-school club—the first Crossroads Kids Club!
Today, Crossroads Clubs are led by local churches and meet in schools across America, serving middle school as well as elementary school students. In addition, Crossroads has expanded its footprint into Mexico and Central America. At every Crossroads Club, our desire is for each participant to feel loved and included, to hear the Good News of Jesus, and to have the opportunity to walk in a relationship with God.
