Crossings Camps will reach a milestone in 2025 when it celebrates its 25th year of hosting summer camps filled with fun and faith for young people. And throughout Crossings’ history, Rusty Ellison and his family have been “all-in.” Three generations have been firmly entrenched in making disciples among students.
Ellison is the founder of Crossings and continues to be its most ardent cheerleader, serving as assistant to the president. For Ellison and his wife, Pam, the ministry has always been a family affair.
Pam has worked alongside Rusty at both the Cedarmore and Jonathan Creek camps and lived either on or near both during the first few years of the new ministry.
Two daughters, Angie Billiter and Jodi Baker, served on staff at Crossings, and now a granddaughter, Sophie Billiter, is on staff this summer at Cedarmore. Both his sons-in-law, Billy Baker and Kris Billiter, are part of Crossings’ legacy. Kris serves as camp pastor for multiple sessions every summer.
Crossings background
Understanding the significance of Crossings requires a bit of a history lesson. “One cannot begin to realize the degree to which we have been blessed today without an understanding of the meager beginnings — it is important,” Ellison said.
The Kentucky Baptist Convention faced a major decision in 1996 on the future of two camp properties — Cedarmore and Jonathan Creek. At the Annual Meeting in Owensboro that year, a motion was made to sell the Cedarmore property and keep Jonathan Creek. Those in favor of selling Cedarmore were asked to stand. Ellison, then pastor of Cedar Creek Baptist Church in Louisville, quickly rose to his feet.
“I voted to sell it — I had only been there once in my life and I never wanted to go back again,” he recalled.
Seated next to him and voting against the sale was Jeff Eaton, pastor of Hope Community Church in Lawrenceburg.
Instead of making a final decision, the issue was sent to a committee which ultimately agreed that the best course of action would be to spin off the two camps and set up a new not-for-profit organization. That led to the KBC deeding the properties to Kentucky Baptist Assemblies (KBA), Inc., on Sept. 1, 1997.
A month later, Eaton — a member of the newly formed KBA board — contacted Ellison and told him to “pack your bags … you are going to be president of the camps.”
“No way,” Ellison replied. “You were sitting by me when I voted to close Cedarmore.”
Eaton responded, “It doesn’t matter how you voted, God told me this is going to happen. You are going to be the president.”
Two weeks later, Eaton followed up with another call, asking, “Have you prayed about this?” When Ellison said “no” Eaton asked him to “pray for just one week and see if God moves your heart.”
Ellison agreed and recalled driving to the back of the property at Cedarmore and praying, “Lord, if there’s any way this is of You, I need to know and I need to know in a hurry.” He said in 30 minutes time “I knew He wanted me to take the role as president of the camp. I voted to sell it, but in God’s grace and beautiful plan I ended up as the president.”
The board quickly confirmed Ellison as the ministry’s new leader.
“We began to pray for a fresh, compelling vision for a new camp on the banks of Kentucky Lake,” Ellison said. He then reflected, “It’s not about me, but about God. I am just part of the team God put together.”
Little did he realize at that time how instrumental his family would be in the long-term ministry of Crossings.
Family involvement came early
The first summer camp was held in 1998 and, along with Rusty and Pam at Cedarmore, were their daughters, Angie and Jodi, and four of their friends. “They were the summer staff — they drove food trucks, washed dishes, did dirty work all summer long. Our teenagers were the behind-the-scenes workers doing the work no one else wanted to do. From the start, camp ministry has been a family affair.”
The year 2000 launched a new millennium – and a new direction for the ministry — beginning with a new name.
“The vision was clear, but the name was not — we had no name,” Ellison recalled. “One day in my devotional time I read John 5:24, ‘I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.’
“That is where I got the name Crossings. Since that time, we have been all about students and kids experiencing camp and crossing over from death to life. Prior to this summer, we have had 11,509 cross-over from death to life” by trusting Jesus Christ as Savior.
In 2000, the Ellisons went to Jonathan Creek in western Kentucky. “We had 1,350 kids in year one,” Ellison said.
“The board bought the vision for a new camp and the vision we saw was a camp on the banks of Kentucky Lake unlike anything Kentucky Baptists had ever seen. I began to cast that vision to the board, the board bought it, and we put in jet skis and ski boats and built climbing towers.”
The summer staff included daughter Jodi and a young man named Billy Baker, whom she had met at Cedar Creek Baptist. They later married.
In 2001, daughter Angie was home after serving two years as an IMB journeyman in the Philippines. She arrived in the U.S. and went directly to camp. Also on the staff was Kris Billiter, who was a student at Western Kentucky University. They met at Crossings and later married.
Kris is in his 10th year as pastor of Eastpoint Community Church, which meets at the Kentucky Baptist Convention. He is on the Crossings board, and seven years ago was asked to be camp pastor at Cedarmore. He has done that every year since then — this summer doing five camp sessions — three for students and two for children.
“Outside of the blessing of being able to serve the Lord as a staffer and board member, Crossings changed my life, and I would never have met my wife. My life would have been drastically different without her in it. To say God used Crossings to change everything is not an understatement at all.”
“My plans were to come home from the Philippines and enroll in seminary for that fall,” said Angie. “I was going back to career missions — that was my plan. But that is one of the things that God taught me — that God’s plans are always bigger and better than what we can humanly comprehend.”
Family members praise God’s faithfulness and goodness
Ellison’s life verse is Eph. 3:20-21, “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.”
Ellison said the story of Crossings verifies that scripture — and his family has seen it evidenced through the Lord’s blessings on Crossings.
Angie Billiter said she has been blessed as well. She said the experience of walking through the growth of Crossings taught her to “be willing to do the bold and audacious for the Lord, to be willing to risk it all. I saw that at the camps — my dad being willing to take the risks and follow God in obedience. That was the biggest thing I learned, and the Lord has used that in our lives as a couple … my dad taught me to do big things and go after what God is calling you to, because He is faithful.”
The Billiter’s daughter Sophie is on the staff at Cedarmore this summer.
“It has always been her dream to work there and follow in her granddaddy’s footsteps,” said Angie. “She is getting to do this alongside her dad and granddaddy — it is unbelievable. She gets to serve the Lord alongside both of them.”
Sophie, who just completed her freshman year at UK, said she wanted to be a staffer at Crossings “for as long as I can remember. I don’t remember a time I didn’t want to do this … the opportunity to serve and share the gospel with kids.”
She said her current plan is to continue to work with Crossings but is open to “whatever the Lord has in store for me.”
For the Ellisons’ other daughter, Jodi Ellison Baker, memories of the early days of Crossings are still vivid.
“I will never forget that first summer at Jonathan Creek (2000). Billy and I were both on staff. The camp had been neglected and in huge disrepair. When they pulled up with a new speed boat, tears filled my eyes. I saw the Lord’s faithfulness — this was a place you were weren’t even allowed to get on the lake. And seeing campers come to know the Lord was a huge blessing for us.”
Jodi said it was at Jonathan Creek that the Lord impressed upon them to adopt. They now have one adopted child and three biological children. “It holds a special place for us,” she said,
Husband Billy echoes that sentiment. “It was at Crossings where I asked Rusty’s permission to marry Jodi,” he said.
“For both of us, Crossings has been an unbelievable boost to our faith and trust in the Lord,” Jodi added. “We have seen God’s hand on that ministry and how He has used the obedience of the staff over the years to building something that only the Lord can do. For us to have a front row seat to see it going from scratch to having thousands (of campers) is overwhelming.”
Crossings today
There are 22,500 young people attending Crossings camps this summer — and 219,000 since 2000. “Early next summer, we will pass a quarter of a million campers,” said Ellison.
Ellison said seeing three generations of his family’s ministry through Crossings is a reminder of two passages:
• Ps. 71:18 — “Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me. Then I will proclaim your power to another generation.”
• Ps. 145:4 — “One generation will declare your works to the next and will proclaim your mighty acts.”
The Lord has indeed performed mighty acts at Crossings Camps through generations of faithfulness.