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Willie Behrends - Senior PastorJackie and I are Moreno Valley ‘natives’. We grew up in the valley and graduated from Moreno Valley High School. I’ve been a follower of Jesus Christ since I was 19 years old. We married in 1979 and have three grown children. We were in Youth Ministry for 25 years and spent five years ministering around the world full-time with students on Summer Mission Trips. Since 2003, I’ve been the Pastor here at Crosswinds, where we’ve been ministering since 1990. My passion is to introduce people to Jesus Christ, see them grow in their walk with Him, and release them to share their gifts and excitement with others!
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Nathan Baleanu - Assistant PastorI have been serving God for the majority of my life. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, Samantha. We have been friends since childhood and have been happily married since December 2012! We have 4 wonderful children! My goal is to live a gospel-saturated life and have that reflect in my marriage, family, and ministry. I strive to please God and advance the Kingdom of God in whatever capacity possible. I have directed outreach programs, played drums on worship teams, led children, youth, and young adult ministries. I love working with Adolescents, Youth, and Young adults. It is fulfilling to connect them to Christ. I cannot wait to see all that God has for CrossWinds, Moreno Valley, our nation, and ultimately, the world!
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Sissy Bates - Kids' Ministry DirectorHello! My name is Sissy and I am joyfully married to my husband Branson. God used my now husband as a huge instrument in my faith during my senior year of high school and ultimately used him to share the Gospel with me and what a relationship with Jesus meant. Jesus was no longer someone in a romanticized painting, but someone who laid down His life willingly so that I could be saved. My desire for Kids Ministry is that children would have a personal relationship with Jesus and seek His will for all their days. I want every child that walks into Kids Ministry to be trained up and that the family unit would be strengthened so that they could GO to their WORLDS and share the Gospel.
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Trenton Benishek - Director of Student MinistriesMy mother taught me about God's love for me from a young age; I accepted Christ as my savior before I can even remember. However, I began to take my relationship with God seriously in jr. high. That is when I began to actively pursue my savior. I began attending CrossWinds first as a kid in AWANA and then as a teenager in youth group. Fun fact: I met my wife, Maya (who is also on staff at CrossWinds), at our youth group. Maya and I got married in January 2021; our marriage has been such a blessing! After graduating high school, I became the youth intern in 2020 serving under our previous Youth Pastors. I became the Youth Director at CrossWinds in 2022 and am so excited about what God is doing in this ministry. Jr. high and high school are such an important and foundational time in a person's life. I am so honored to be able to minister to the youth as they figure out who they are and what they believe. My goal in this ministry is to create an environment where the youth will hear the Gospel, learn to apply the Bible in their daily lives, and where they can build relationships with other people their age and with those older and wiser. I am so blessed to serve God as the Youth Ministry Director here at CrossWinds Church.
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Maya Benishek - Director of ConnectionsI accepted Jesus Christ as my savior when I was eight years old. My family began attending CrossWinds shortly afterwards, and it has since become my home. I met my now husband at Youth Group at CrossWinds in 2015 and we recently got married in January of 2021! I find it so amazing how God designs us uniquely for the tasks He called us to pursue. I never would have chosen this ministry on my own, but God brought it to me and has given me such a heart for it. We get the beautiful opportunity to love and embrace guests who come to our church and invite them to GROW in their relationship with God and GO into their worlds together with us. It has been so much fun to build relationships with people and see them flourish as they get connected.
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Ronaele Wolf - Director of Ministry DevelopmentCalifornia seemed like a foreign country to me when I arrived in 1980 from a small farming community in Wisconsin. Rick and I were married in '84 and have two grown children, Ryan and Riley. CrossWinds has been our home since the early '90's. For me, ministry is just FUN. Helping people make connections with God and others. Truly, it is a joy! Added to that, I have the privilege of working with leaders to develop ministry. This is the place that gets to the heart of what I love -- serving leaders, so they can accomplish all that God has called them to do. 'Hobbies’? Sitting with someone, sharing the deeper things about God's love, sipping on coffee...doesn't get much sweeter!
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Mike Browning - Tech Ministry DirectorI was born in Ohio, and am a military brat. My father was in the Air Force and we moved every 3 years. I attended 5 High Schools in 4 years and have 2 High School diplomas. I was accepted to the Air Force Academy. However, I decided not to attend. I was introduced to God by my Grandparents at a very early age. I think I have always believed in God. However, it was made personal in 1982, when I moved to “Sunnymead”. I met my beautiful, smart, and God-fearing wife at church in 1983, We married in 1985. I earned my degree in Computer Science from Cal State San Bernardino. I have been working with computers since the mid 1970’s when I was Radio Shack manager. I love using Tech to further the message of Jesus. I became the Director of Technical Ministries here at Crosswinds in 1995. I retired from Cisco in 2017. My passion is to use my gifts in the Technical arena to further the kingdom of God.
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Thomas Sperschneider - Office AdministratorWhile born and raised in Moreno Valley, CrossWinds was just a building I would see across an empty field off the 60 freeway. It wasn't until 2014, that I would be invited to Youth Group and witness the life God pours into this church body. I first accepted Jesus Christ into my heart in 2012, but CrossWinds is where I was really encouraged to GROW with Him. From being baptized, to building meaningful relationships, and serving in ministry; CrossWinds has become my home. You'll likely find me surrounded by plants at my desk, making coffee in the Cornerstone Café, or on one of the many trails in the surrounding mountains. It is an absolute joy and pleasure serving in this church body as the office administrator. I look forward to seeing how God continues to work through CrossWinds as we fulfil our mission to GROW & GO.
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Charlie Painter - TreasurerI have been attending CrossWinds Church with my family since I was one year old. I grew up watching my parents serve in the Church, but did not see God’s calling in my life to serve until 2017. Since then I have seen God transform my life and give me a passion for the Church.
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