BELLS — Cross Roads Baptist Church dedicated a new playground March 24. The playground was a long-time desire of pastor Josh Simmons’ late wife, Cynthia. She began dreaming of a playground long before the church had many children to play on the playground.
The playground comes at a strategic time for the church. Cross Roads Baptist has seen tremendous growth in the last five to six years and continues to have guests and new members on a regular basis.
Most of the growth has been families coming to the church. “Today we celebrate that there’s a playground for the children, but more importantly we celebrate that there are children for the playground,” Simmons said in his remarks to those gathered in attendance.
The church raised the money for the playground in less than two months and began working to build the playground last September.
Combined, more than 25 members of the church worked on numerous Saturdays in the fall to help build the playground.
The final work day was Saturday, March 16, when the sign was installed and flowers were planted.
The playground was built in memory of Cynthia Simmons who died following complications of her second liver transplant in June of 2021 at age 38.
Simmons encouraged the church to reflect on God’s promises by drawing attention to Zechariah 8:5, which is a picture of life in Christ as well as eternal life in Heaven. “Yes, there are still tears, but our hearts are filled with the joy of the Lord.
“He has turned our mourning into gladness, our sorrow into joy. It is my hope that as kids (and parents) play on Ms. Cynthia’s Playground, and we hear the laughter and squeals of joy, we would be reminded of this truth: God is faithful to restore gladness and joy in the hearts of His people.”
The children of the church, including the Simmons’ son, Eli, cut the ribbon to cheers from the crowd, closing the special service.
A picnic lunch followed the service, along with families staying into the afternoon for their kids to play on the new playground. B&R