Crossroads Church has sidelined founding pastor Brian Tome, putting him on administrative leave while the church investigates an allegation that he used "inappropriate physical humor" during a video shoot in late 2015. The Crossroads Spiritual Board says Tome will not preach or appear at church events in any role while an independent third-party investigator reviews what happened. The board told congregants the complaint was first raised in 2024 and addressed at that time, but a community member recently brought it back up. Church leaders say they plan to update members once the review wraps.
What the board told members
According to a note sent to congregants, the board met with those involved in 2024, formally admonished Tome and "considered the issue resolved" before deciding this week to hire an outside investigator after the complaint was renewed, WLWT reported. The board added that "the Crossroads Spiritual Board has officially suspended Pastor Tome from all Crossroads responsibilities until the investigation is completed."
No criminal probe, church says
The Cincinnati Enquirer, in coverage republished by Fox19, reported that the email to members went out Feb. 27. A church spokeswoman, Erin Caproni, declined to comment further but confirmed that local police are not investigating Tome. The outlet also noted that the board has not said how long the review could take.
Recent turmoil at the church
The suspension lands as Crossroads deals with other personnel trouble. In January, the church fired a Next Gen director after Cincinnati police told church officials he had allegedly been secretly recording women at a Crunch Fitness in Oakley, WCPO reported. Crossroads said it cooperated with investigators, offered support to those harmed and was doing "additional due diligence" to make sure there were no other incidents.
Local footprint and next steps
Crossroads, founded in the mid-1990s and now operating multiple sites, lists its Oakley campus as its headquarters on the church website, Crossroads notes. Church leaders and the board have asked the community to pray for "truth, reconciliation, and unity" and say they intend to share the investigator’s findings once the independent review is finished, according to reporting by WLWT.
