Educating & empowering children from non-English speaking homes with math and literacy skills
Equipping immigrant children for success since 1992.
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About us
At Cross-Cultural Ministries we believe every child deserves a chance to succeed.
Our programs equip children to master the foundations of math and phonics-based English at after-school centers in their own apartment complexes. When children acquire these basic but critical skills, they learn how to learn, stay in school, and become healthy, self-sufficient citizens.
Since 1992, our after-school programs have provided students with easily accessible learning assistance to build a foundation for lifelong learning that will allow them to excel academically and personally.
Our guiding principles
OUR MISSION AND VISION
We strive to put God’s love into action through education and discipleship programs for non-English speaking children, youth and adults in community-based centers in partnership with individuals, churches, businesses, and organizations.
We seek to enable children, youth, and adults to realize their potential and empower them to achieve their goals.
We believe that all people (even ourselves) deserve respect.
With our actions and words, we honor everyone that we come into contact with.
We believe every child deserves a safe and loving place to learn.
We provide a safe space for students to learn foundational math and English skills, get help with homework, study, hear the gospel and be mentored and discipled.
We believe integrity is the foundation of our relationships and resources.
We take the stewardship of the gifts we are given and the mission that we carry seriously and seek to honor our donors, volunteers, and, above all, God, in everything we do.
We believe scripture is our cornerstone and seek to live it out in every area of our lives.
The most valuable resource we can share with those in our care is the gospel of Christ. We share our faith by living the Word.
Supporting Cross-Cultural Ministries is an opportunity to change a child's life and impact a community.
Our team
Board of Directors
Lonice Barrett
Board member
Lonice Barrett retired from public service with the state government on January 14, 2019, after 49 years. During his career he served 9 governors including 34 years of service with the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, that included five years as State Parks Director and nearly 10 years as DNR Commissioner. He served two years as Director of Implementation for Governor Perdue’s Commission for a New Georgia followed by nearly 14 years as a Special Assistant to Governors Perdue and Nathan Deal. He also served as Chairman of the Lake Lanier Islands Development Authority, served on the Jekyll Island Authority and Chaired the State Employees Retirement System Board.
Lonice and Carol live in Dunwoody where they are active in the Dunwoody Baptist Church where he serves as Church Moderator. Carol serves as a Deacon and frequently teaches the Lydia Ladies Sunday School Class. They have two children and five grandchildren.
Paul Gloyer
Board member
Paul began volunteering with Cross-Cultural Ministries in 2017 helping with boys' club soccer activities. He transitioned to tutoring 3rd grade and middle school students in 2018. He has also worked with students to connect them with local professionals to learn more about their career interests. He has a passion for education and believes that it is essential to the development and success of children. He has enjoyed getting to know the students and the families in the community through CCM.
Paul and his wife Sharon share a love of traveling and the outdoors. He has an undergraduate degree from the University of Michigan in Engineering and an MBA from Vanderbilt University. He currently works in the Pricing profession.
Jessica Leung
Board member - Secretary
Jessica started volunteering with Cross-Cultural Ministries (CCM) since 2010 teaching kids typing and basic computer skills and has continued to be involved with CCM in various ways since then. Jessica is blessed to be able to serve on the CCM Board starting in 2022 and to assist in the important work that CCM is doing to share God’s work and his love to the Doraville community. Jessica has an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth University and graduate degree from Yale University. She currently works at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Steve Peters
Board member - Treasurer
Steve has been participating with Cross Cultural Ministries over the past five years and has always been looking for ways to help. The consistent theme of his working career always included some type of organizational support as a military supply officer, federal budget manager, small business operations manager and logistics supervisor. Introduced to CCM through Dunwoody Baptist Church's Naomi Ministry, his early involvement included delivering furniture and household goods to ministry families. Over time, Steve found fun ways to stay connected with Vacation Bible School driving, Summertime and Christmas field trips and then holiday giveaway preparations. Through it all, he appreciated the wonderful impact CCM is having with the children, the families, the community and the volunteers. Today, Steve has participated with various committee roles within the board and tries to grow community awareness and volunteering assistance.
Nick Salazar
Board member - Chairman
Nicholas Salazar is a member of the Board of Directors for Cross Cultural Ministries. Nicholas has prior Board experience serving on the boards of Dunwoody Christian Academy in Dunwoody, Georgia, and Chapel Hill Church Dunwoody campus. Nicholas's education consists of a Bachelor of Science in Computer Information Systems, a Master's Degree in Business Administration, both from Florida Gulf Coast University, as well as a Juris Doctorate from Atlanta's John Marshall Law School. Nicholas was admitted to the State Bar of Georgia in 2013 and runs his own law practice in Chamblee, Georgia, with an emphasis on criminal defense and civil trial work. Nicholas is married and has a teenage daughter. In his spare time, he loves to travel and learn new things. He is particularly passionate about the Gospel and all things related to Christian apologetics.
Rich Scheff
Board member
Richard joined the Cross Cultural Ministries board in 2022 at the encouragement of his wife Maria, a former board member and long time volunteer at Cross Cultural. Previously, he helped coordinate a Chess Club at Cross Cultural. Richard and Maria are members of Dunwoody Baptist Church. His hobbies include cycling and working at Georgia Tech football and basketball games.
Richard and Maria are the parents of four grown children, Rick, Anthony, Veronika and Yegor and have three grandchildrend. He is a two-time graduate of Georgia Tech with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering. He has worked in the aviation field for his entire professional career, starting with a 14-year career at Delta Airlines, followed by over 20 years doing aviation related consulting. Rich has worked for the football and basketball programs at Georgia Tech for more than 40 years.
Susan Still
Board member
Susan has been volunteering in the CCM after school program since retiring as CEO of Olympic Pool in 2016. Susan was greatly influenced by her mom who was very involved in missions at their church. Susan shared “God has given me a heart for these children and there is such joy in sharing Christ’s love for them.” Susan is a native of Atlanta and graduated from Georgia Southern with a degree in Economics. She and her husband Philip have three adult daughters and two granddaughters. Susan is member of Dunwoody Baptist Church.
Staff
Adriane Wagner
Executive Director
Adriane’s journey has been shaped by over 20 years of nonprofit work in international education. Her passion for serving others led her to Cross-Cultural Ministries (CCM) during the pandemic, when she volunteered at the Pearl Lane Center to support families during a challenging time. Originally from Canada, Adriane’s connection with internationals began nearly 30 years ago when she studied abroad in Japan as a high school student. She earned a BA in East Asian Studies and Sociology, later working as an ESOL teacher and dedicating her career to nonprofit student exchange programs. Five years ago, Adriane and her husband relocated from Columbus, Ohio, to Atlanta, where they live with their three daughters. She is a member of Chapelhill Church of Dunwoody and feels deeply called to serve alongside CCM. Adriane sees CCM as a growing organization with a vital mission, and she is committed to helping improve the experiences of young internationals who face unique challenges.
Angela Campbell
program director, hope center
Having grown up in poverty-stricken Mexico, Angela witnessed her people's struggles firsthand. Responding to God's call on her life to serve children and women in the Latino community, Angela has dedicated her life's work to this mission, bringing to CCM her rich and unique experience at World Witness, Child Evangelism Fellowship, Reformed Presbyterian Church, Maranatha Camp in Mexico, Atlanta Intercultural Ministries, and Hope 4 Atlanta. Angela holds a degree in Christian Education, is a certified Pre-K teacher, and has two sons.
Allison Jansen
Program Director, Pearl Lane Center
“Teaching has always been a passion of mine,” Allison says. She discovered her passion by teaching Sunday School and training over 100 employees at Chick-fil-A. Allison tutored children in our evening program before joining the staff in August 2019. She has also helped to lead a youth group in a mobile home park and served in a program that prepared taxes for low-income individuals. Allison has a bachelor’s degree in Accounting from Berry College and one year of corporate experience. She is a member of Dunwoody Community Church. “My past and the hardships I have faced shaped my passion for telling others, specifically the marginalized, that they are fully loved by God,” Allison explains.
Shawn Pack
Bookkeeper
Shawn Pack is giving back to CCM with her talents and time. She is our consultant on all things accounting and finance for the organization. She has over 25 years of accounting/finance experience and has been a CFO for both a non-profit and for-profit media companies. She has been a tutor at our Pearl Lane location over the last three years and has loved every minute of it. Her favorite grade so far is second. She gets to help and share the love of Jesus with these kids and that is beyond fulfilling.
Shawn and her husband Sam are active members of Dunwoody Community Church where they serve in hospitality and other needs of the church. And Shawn helps out in the kids ministry. They love to travel and be doggy parents to a 13 year hound and 4 year old corgi.
Lynette Nolan
Ministry Admin AssiStant
Lynnette discovered her passion for the world's children when she and her husband adopted their daughter from China and their son from Russia. She came to CCM to substitute in our Kindergarten Good News Club for two weeks, and she loved the children so much that she stayed for two years. Previously, Lynnette taught preschool at The Kingswood School. She has a bachelor's degree in English from Wheaton College and a master's degree in communications from Northwestern University.
Ellen Hansz
Program Director
As a Canadian who spent many years moving between the US and Canada, Ellen is passionate about learning and helping others who have recently entered the United States. She gained her bachelor's degree in music with a concentration in intercultural Studies and then completed her master's degree in Ethnomusicology where she studied cross-cultural interactions between Western Europeans and local Tanzanians. For the last 8 years she has worked with multiple non-profits across the globe in Tanzania, Liberia, Peru, the Czech Republic, Buffalo, NY and now Atlanta, GA. She has taught English, choir and helped students adjust to American culture. She loves to learn new skills such as dairy-free baking and painting. She is an active member of Dunwoody Chapelhill Church and can often be found playing pickleball with her husband, Tim.
Obdulia Trujillo
Assistant, pearl lane center
Obdulia assists at the Pearl Lane Center to provide a clean center and organized kitchen. She is also liaison with parents when needed. Obdulia is a mother of three students who are actively involved.
Advisory board
Rev. Robert Culver
President Emeritus, Interface Ministries
Reverend Culver began his cross-cultural adventure 50 years ago, the day he married his wife. In 1981, God called the couple into cross-cultural ministry to international students. Rev. Culver is the president-emeritus and co-founder of iFace (InterFACE Ministries), has served on the Board of Hope Springs Learning Center, and has been Chair of ACMI, a national & global network of Christians serving international students/scholars.
Sandra Sledd
Program Advisor on Family and Children Issues, Teacher
Sandee has published several articles for international publications and has taught children’s workers in several countries. She and her late husband were foster parents for high-risk children and teens for 25 years. They co-founded a boys’ home and vocational training school in Jamaica. Sandee served as a support group facilitator for children and their parents in a large Atlanta church for several years.
Sandee joined CCM in 1998 and until 2020 served as a child advocate for children in the community and schools. She assisted with tutoring, mentoring, and spiritual training and assisted families facing a crisis. Her passion has been to pastor the hearts of children, to guide them to understand “Whose” they are, and to choose to live the abundant life provided for in the grace and love of our Lord.
Cross-Cultural Ministries, Inc. is an independent, 501(c)3, nonprofit organization partnering with churches, ministries, organizations, and businesses. CCM is not affiliated with any one denomination. We partner with all denominational and nondenominational churches, various Christian and non-Christian organizations, and individuals that share our values.
Statement of Faith
We adhere to the following creeds:
Apostles' Creed (Modern English Version)
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day, he rose again; he ascended to heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and he will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy universal Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
Nicene Creed
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father. Through Him, all things were made. For us and for our salvation, He came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit, He became incarnate from the virgin Mary and was made man. For our sake, He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried. On the third day, He rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and His kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy, universal and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come. Amen.
Get involved
Help vulnerable children learn how to learn, stay in school, and become healthy, self-sufficient citizens.
You don't have to leave the country to find a mission field. There's one right outside your door.
Providing the basic skills of reading, writing, and math to non-English speaking students in a gospel-centered environment both empowers them to succeed in school and shows them that there is hope for their lives in Jesus Christ.
Donate
Your financial support allows us to open more after-school learning centers and support more students with educational outreach.
DONATE NOW
Volunteer
We are always looking for passionate individuals who want to make a difference in the lives of these children. From tutoring to organizing events, there is plenty of work to be done!
Pray
Pray for our staff, volunteers, and the families we serve. Pray that those who don't know Christ will come to know Him and that we will be a light to the community at large.
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