LOUISVILLE—Lance Howerton, interim president of Crossings Ministries, has been elevated to president of the Kentucky Baptist youth outreach ministry known for its popular summer camp programs.
Howerton, a graduate of Campbellsville University and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, brings over twenty-seven years of experience in camp ministry, recently as Crossings vice president of operations for the last two years.
Prior to joining Crossings, Howerton served as the director of operations for Lifeway Kids, the director of children’s training and events, and the managing director of Fuge Camps. In his tenure, he oversaw the development of curriculum like VBS, the Gospel Project for Kids, and Bible Studies for Life curriculum for children. After a decade of coordinating Fuge camps in the 1990s, he started both Missions Fuge camps and Centrikid camps, leading both ministries to substantial growth during his tenure.
Brandt Lyons, a long-time Crossings board member and pastor of Twelve Oaks Baptist Church in Paducah, commented that Howertown is “one of our own” and will excel at building close relationships with local churches in Kentucky and the region.
“Lance knows who Crossings is. He knows where we come from and he knows where we are going. The board made this decision now so that we have him at the at the helm at the beginning of the summer. We want to enable and empower him to focus on making new relationships and rekindling many old friendships,” said Lyons.
Howerton has built a reputation for loving churches, building a gospel-focused purpose within the organization, and investing in Crossings staff and churches alike, Randall Breland, Crossings director of communications said.
“I’m excited about the future of Crossings under Lance’s leadership. I’ve been praying that the board would see that Lance is the right guy. There is an air of excitement, not only in my own heart, but an excitement within the hearts of the entire Crossings’ staff in the choosing of this leader,” Roger Palmer, ministry consultant with Crossings and a regular camp pastor, said, noting that the entire staff has been eagerly hoping that Lance would be the new long-term leader
Howerton believes that camp is more relevant and more necessary today because it allows kids, students, and churches alike to disconnect from the busy and distracted world.
He added, “Camp has always been about getting you away from the world and to a place where God can speak to you. Students live in a world with more distractions than ever before. With cell phones, Xbox, 1000 TV channels, Netflix, iPad, sports leagues, Instagram, and more, it is hard to find a place where you aren’t constantly interrupted to read a text, news feed, or Facebook post. Camp gives you that place where you can be uninterrupted and God can speak. Camp is as relevant today, if not more so, than ever before,” stated Howerton.