Rev. Harry Skeele - Senior Pastor

Rev. Harrison F. Skeele (Harry) spent the first nine years of his life on the island of Nassau, in the Bahamas, and the second nine in New Canaan, Connecticut. In 1973 he began studies at Amherst College in Massachusetts. During a year off in 1975, he worked as a bartender in Nantucket, sailed from Nantucket to Bermuda, then began a trip around the world with a knapsack, sleeping bag and tent. Reading, sightseeing and meeting people as he traveled, Harry was somewhat surprised to find that happy, healthy and otherwise normal people could be intellectually serious about and personally committed to following Jesus Christ. After an extended time of studying, arguing and learning with Christians, Harry became a follower of Jesus in New Zealand.

Traveling home through Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Hawaii was an eye-opener. Previously, Harry believed Christianity to be a white, western religion. Yet during this trip, while visiting leaders of city and university ministries, he learned that Christianity is in fact a burgeoning social force in the Pacific Rim and around the world. Harry returned to college in 1976 and earned a B.A. in American Studies from Amherst in 1978. For three years after that, he worked with the Navigator campus ministry at Lehigh University. After this he earned a Master of Divinity and a Master of Theology in New Testament from Trinity Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

In 1987, Harry became pastor of the English-speaking congregation at Rutgers Community Chinese Church (a trilingual church: Mandarin, Cantonese, and English) in Somerset, New Jersey. During the next thirteen years, English ministries increased almost tenfold from 45 to about 400, and the church’s combined adult membership tripled, making RCCC the largest Chinese Church in North America. During a sabbatical at Westminster Theological Seminary in 1995, Harry did doctoral work in Systematic Theology. During this time, he began to consider planting a church that would reach out to the whole community.

In early 2000, Harry transferred his credentials into the Presbyterian Church of America, and Crossroads Community Church was planted in Hillsborough. Particularized in September of 2010 with four elders, Crossroads is a member church of the Metro NY Presbytery of the PCA.

Harry met his wife Gigi at Trinity in 1982. Gigi also came to Christ during her college years—in her case at Wichita State University in Kansas. At Trinity, she was a Teaching Fellow in New Testament. They married in 1984. The Lord has blessed them with three children: Peter (Wheaton College, class of 2011, working in finance in Chicago), John (U.S. Air Force Academy, class of 2013, a member of the USAF competition skydiving team: “Wings of Blue”), and Elizabeth (Hillsborough High School, class of 2013, interested in attending either a Christian college, or the Culinary Institute of America.)

Pastor Robert Maeder - Youth Pastor

Rob was raised in Cape Town, South Africa and Silver Spring, MD. His father is a brilliant bioinformaticist and his mother is a magnificent music teacher. He is proud of his only sister Liz, who is an astute architect.

Rob, who recently became a U.S. citizen, studied Philosophy and Political Sciences at the University of Maryland, College Park, receiving a double major in those fields. During college, Rob was involved with KCM, IVCF, Manna, Navs, and RUF teaching Bible studies for IVCF and KCM (Korean Campus Ministry). A week after graduating he and Suzanne Maeder were joined together in marriage. Suzi has worked as an excellent English teacher since graduating.

Rob received his MDiv from Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington DC, after four years. During these four years, he interned at Wallace PCA as a youth director. He started at Crossroads almost immediately after super-storm Sandy hit in 2012, and hopes to be ordained soon.

Gigi Skeele - Director, Women's and Children's Ministries

With a passion for teaching God’s word in a way that is relevant to life and appropriate for the listener, Gigi coordinates both the women’s and children’s ministries at Crossroads Community Church. She delights in witnessing the positive changes that a relationship with God will bring to an individual’s life.

Gigi grew up in a professor’s family in Wichita, Kansas. She earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Wichita State University; then taught elementary school music in the Wichita Public Schools, and piano fundamentals to music education majors at Wichita State University. In Wichita and elsewhere, she taught piano for over ten years. Sensing a call to ministry, Gigi attended Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where she also taught Greek as a Teaching Fellow in New Testament. Upon receiving her Master of Divinity, Gigi interned as Director of Women’s Ministries at her home church, First Evangelical Free Church.

Upon marrying Pastor Harry, Gigi joined him in moving to New Jersey, where she became a stay-at-home mom when children began arriving while continuing to serve in church in a volunteer capacity. In 2000, the Skeele family moved to Hillsborough to plant Crossroads Community Church, and Gigi began working for the Hillsborough School District as an Instructional Assistant for special needs children. She remained in this position until she joined the Crossroads staff in 2007.

Cheryl Frueh - Counselor

Cheryl Frueh received her B.A. in Finance from Rutgers University and her M.A. in Biblical counseling from Westminster Theological Seminary. In addition, she received a two-year certificate from the Christian Counseling and Education Foundation in Philadelphia.

Cheryl has over ten years of experience with counseling in local churches and at a resource center for female victims of domestic violence. Beyond working with women in crisis, Cheryl has also counseled those suffering from panic disorder, eating disorders, depression and marital issues. Moreover, she has experience helping parents and their children who struggle with Aspergers and other learning disabilities. Cheryl schedules counseling opportunities weekly at the Crossroads office in Hillsborough.

Cheryl and her husband Eric reside in central New Jersey with two of their three sons. You may contact Cheryl at: (732) 599-2153 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it