Crossroads Christian Communications top management shake up, CEO Don Simmonds steps down
Effective Monday, American John Hull will take over as the Global CEO of the Crossroads group, and specifically the CEO of Crossroads Canada, Crossroads USA and as the General Manager of CTS. Dr. Hull is known to a few Canadians as a former senior transition minister at Toronto Peoples Church in the 1990′s. After Peoples Church, Hull returned to the US where he headed up a leadership ministry called EQUIP.
Simmonds was appointed CEO of Crossroads in October 2009. I never did understand why his appointment was not publicly announced for 2 months. He will remain chairman of the boards of Crossroads Canada, Crossroads USA and CTS, but no matter, he’s out, and the new CEO will be introduced to Canadian 100 Huntley Street viewers on Tuesday.
Crossroads has been dealing with continued debt, loss of staff, lack-luster performance of new projects, the terminal illness of founder David Mainse, attention around the Axcess Automation/Funds ponzi scheme that had involved Ron and Reynold Mainse, as well as public questions around CIDA funding. 100 Huntley Street just held it’s 2 week fundraiser to meet operating expenses. Christian tv in Canada is not doing well, and has been limping for some time.
This shake up will be spun on 100 Huntley Street as a positive and planned development.
This is me musing, but with the appointment of Jerry Johnston as Executive Director of Crossroads Christian Communications USA, and as a host of 100 Huntley Street, and Dr. Hull taking the helm, I wonder if we’ll see more religious right, conservative thinking coming from the Burlington behemoth? Crossroads is going south.
Matt says:
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fjc says:
This is not about Christianity. It is about business and making money for the principals.
Just another view on a age old scam called “Fleece the Faithful”. -
John Wallace says:
I stopped watching Crossroads when they brought in Dr. Jerry Johnston. With his track record and where he is from has me very suspicious and confused as to why he was brought in. David Mainse was totally Canadian and built up his television ministry for Canadians. Ex C E O Don Simmons is a multi millionaire that wanted power and wealth and to grow into the USA and run crossroads like corporate machine. Isn’t all this against the founders plans and dreams for Crossroads. You email any of the on air staff and they appear to have been muzzled. The hour broadcast was cut back to a half hour has ruined the show and changed the feel entirely. Its a rushed broadcast to beg for money for 30 minutes and there’s little or no spirituality. If David Mainse has an ounce of strength left in him he had better come back to this ministry and get it back on track. His sons blew that opportunity out of the water for sure. Too bad such bad decisions have been made . -
Bene Diction says:
I’m not at all convinced Jerry Johnston has gone over well with the Canadian audience on 100 Huntley Street, but that wasn’t why he was brought in. He might appeal to a US religious audience (don’t know).
Canadians who watch 100 Huntley Street wouldn’t bother to look up his background for the most part.
The bottom line is that broadcasting is a business. I’m not saying that is good or bad, it just is.
You can look at Crossroads USA at http://nccs.urban.org/
Crossroads – Federal EIN: 95-3426592 (N) (PC)
The US branch been around since 1978, it appears to have had a caretaker board (as opposed to a proactive board) and I think some of the prior board members may have had dual citizenship – I don’t know for sure. And I think many of the Mainse/Rutledge clan have dual citizenship also. Interestingly when Crossroads Canada registered as a charity, Rev. Vaters was chairman of the board, he is still around on the US board. Because Crossroads was considered a religious charity it had to give Rev Can a denomination. David Mainse was/is affiliated with The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada, so that was the flavour the organization took.
Now, key people (Hull, Johnston, Simmons) are Baptists.
If I’m reading the latest IRS form for Crossroads correctly, the US branch is/was in debt.
Selling product is somewhat lucrative for Crossroads, I would think about a quarter of a million a year. Product is peddled a lot more than it used to be, and Crossroads has FB and the internet to really push products. The second you give Crossroads information online, by phone, snail mail, email, you are in the begging chain. Is it weird for 100 Huntley Street fans/donors to see Hull in the latest fundraising drive asking Canadians for their money, or Johnston begging? Again, doesn’t make the increased sales pitches less crass,(and probably necessary) but if I read the CRA T3010 correctly, revenues are down, expenses are up and financially Crossroads remains in decline.
David Mainse is dying, and I don’t see him as being long for this world.
Neither son has the personality or gravitas to carry 100 Huntley, the smarts for the business end of broadcasting, or the ability to woo some of the big Pentecostal donors their father did in days gone by. The idea either son would carry on for dad is a classic one (think Oral Roberts, Robert Schuller, Jimmy Swaggart, the Sumralls, Crouchs etc), andI believe was wishful thinking.
Airtime costs are high, the 1/2 hr. Huntley format may have been decided on to keep the show on air. The Christian Post for the Crossroads 360 newsfeed (are you kidding me!) was another bad decision.
Can Johnston and Hull make inroads in a saturated US religious broadcasting market?
Can Crossroads produce and distribute to an international religious market and retain what little is left of a Canadian brand/identity?
We’ll see.
Is David Mainse An Unethical Scoundrel Like Benny Hinn? http://www.scribd.com/doc/18020892
RODNEY HOWARD BROWNE THE FLEECER http://www.scribd.com/doc/36546812
Government Intervention Needed to Curb Religious Financial Fraud http://bit.ly/hwNEay http://tinyurl.com/27z7e3w
The twisting of biblical thoughts and scripture has become so common place people have no idea what is going on. They talk about the fact families can not watch television without having their morals challenged. They are absolutely correct – it is time to turn off ‘Christian TV’ because they are manipulating scripture/language and thoughts to convince people that God is apart of it.
I grew up being told I had to worry about non-believers – my parents were partially correct – I know what non-believers are about – i really do – they are open/transparent and shoot from the hip. The issue my friends that we need to worry about is ‘believers’. It is not the non-believers that will destroy the Christian faith. It is the people who portray themselves as believers.