wfn.org | UMNS# 05148-Ministry revives to plant crosses across U.S.

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Ministry revives to plant crosses across U.S.

Mar. 11, 2005	 News media contact:   Fran  Walsh * (615) 742-5458*
Nashville {05148}

NOTE: NOTE: A UMTV report and photographs are available at
http://umns.umc.org.

By John Gordon*

VICKSBURG, Miss. (UMNS)-Beginning in 1984, Bernard Coffindaffer spent
all the money he had - around $3 million - erecting thousands of crosses
throughout the United States as a roadside testimony.

Now a Mississippi-based ministry hopes to pick up where the late
businessman and United Methodist lay minister left off, and plant
crosses along every interstate.

"I just think it's a marvelous project," said United Methodist Peggy
Griffin, executive assistant for Crosses Across America, an
all-volunteer, nondenominational ministry dedicated to scattering the
Christian symbol nationwide.

The goal is to reach non-Christians and to remind Christians that "there
is hope in Jesus Christ."

Griffin's job includes tracking the nearly 2,000 three-cross clusters
that Coffindaffer's crews built in 29 states and the Philippines. Many
have fallen into disrepair since they went up between 1984 and 1993,
when Coffindaffer ran out of money and died.

"I would hate to think that this man spent as much time, effort and
money to get these crosses erected," Griffin said, "only to have them
just be allowed to stand and rot from neglect or whatever."

Crosses Across America plans to erect crosses every 50 miles along the
nation's more than 40,000 miles of interstate highways.

"It's a very expensive project. The logistics of it are mind-boggling,"
said Sara Abraham, executive director and founder of Crosses Across
America.

The group plans to launch a fund-raising drive during 2005. Abraham
estimates materials alone will cost between $5 million and $7 million.
"People are praying for this project all around the country today and
around the world," she said.

Coffindaffer made his fortune in the oil and coal industries in West
Virginia. After two heart operations, he sold his businesses and began
preaching at United Methodist churches and building crosses. His goal
was simple: to "make one person stop and think."

According to letters Abraham has collected, many lives have been touched
by the roadside symbols. Travelers sometimes stop and pray at the
crosses. "There are a lot of stories," she said.

For instance, a Maryland man wrote: "I pass these crosses every day on
my way to work, and they have become an important part of my daily
devotion."

Each cluster includes three crosses. The tallest stands 25 feet high,
and the two flanking crosses are 22 feet tall.

One such cluster rises out of a farm east of Vicksburg. Owner David
Aldridge says the image offers drivers along Interstate 20 a refuge
"from everyday life and the things they go through-the troubles, the
problems." Even Aldridge notices them each time he pulls into his farm.
"And it does make you think," he said.

Church groups are repairing some of the original crosses in Mississippi,
cutting weeds, straightening poles and providing a fresh coat of paint.

The original crosses were made of California Douglas fir, but Abraham is
investigating using a more durable Fiberglas material for new ones.

The group wants to recruit volunteers in every state to find locations,
work with landowners and maintain crosses after they are erected. So
far, there is no shortage of helpers.

"There are so many people out there who are willing," Griffin said. "I
never cease to be amazed."

Abraham started Crosses Across America after reading a newspaper article
about the end of Coffindaffer's ministry after his death.  She placed
the article in her Bible. Five years later, when it fell out, she felt
led to continue his passion. She is now a full-time volunteer and is
confident the group will raise enough money to fund the effort.

"No one will ever know the far-reaching impact of these crosses," she
said. "What you do is you put them out there and you pray that every
single person that sees them is ministered to by them."

# # #

*Gordon is a freelance producer and writer in Marshall, Texas.

News media contact: Fran Coode Walsh, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5458
or newsdesk@umcom.org.

********************

United Methodist News Service
Photos and stories also available at:
http://umns.umc.org