Rev. Jake and Liz Borgwardt – Crossroads Church, Chicago, Ill.
Home Missionary Jake Borgwardt was assigned to Crossroads Church in Chicago, Ill., upon his graduation from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in May 2025. His wife, Liz, graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran College in 2021. She began working as a postpartum nurse in the Chicago area before taking maternity leave with their first child, Jude, who was born in February 2026.
As soon as they moved to Chicago, the Borgwardts fell in love with their city, their local neighborhood, and all the people they began to meet—especially the members of Crossroads! Crossroads is a home mission restart, meaning it had already been a successful ministry for many years, but the pandemic led to membership waning to a faithful core group. These core members were excited for a fresh start, and they spent the first nine months of the Borgwardts’ time in Chicago exploring new ideas for building bridges for the gospel.
God has already blessed their efforts, bringing them new members, new friends, and new avenues for outreach—some they never could have predicted. Pastor Jake and Liz are excited to share what God has already done for Crossroads, what they pray he will do in the future, and what we all can learn from city ministry at Taste of Missions 2026!
