Jimmy Hatter already knows what it’s like to work with CrossRoads Missions, so when he had the opportunity to return and build a team to serve others, he jumped at the chance.
Although, it’s not a choice he made on his own. Hatter began work earlier this month as the new Field Director for ServeLouisville.
“When I was thinking about the position, it was a family decision, because it was a sacrifice for my wife and everybody,” Hatter said. “They were 100 percent for it. We wanted something our kids can be involved with so I wanted my kids to see what this lifestyle was like.”
As mentioned, Hatter is no stranger to CrossRoads. He started out working with the organization in New Orleans in the latter part of 2005, shortly after Hurricane Katrina devastated that city and the surrounding area. About a year later, Hatter, his wife, and their infant son moved to Piedras Negras in Mexico, where they lived for four years while he worked full-time for CrossRoads.
The family returned so that Hatter’s wife could complete graduate school to become a nurse practitioner. Hatter stayed busy as well; he attended the St. Meinrad School of Theology to complete his Master’s in pastoral theology. From there, Hatter entered a program at Baptist Health Hospital in Louisville to become a hospital chaplain, a role he worked in for about three years. He also worked in home building, in a supervisory capacity for Ball Homes.
Through it all, though, Hatter felt something was missing. Something he only could regain by returning to CrossRoads.
“When I was with CrossRoads, I felt like I was living an integrated lifestyle,” he said. “There weren’t clear lines between when I’m working, when I’m relaxing, when I’m spending time with friends. There was a rhythm and harmony to life. When I started working in more of a business environment, I felt like things were compartmentalized and found myself looking at a clock, ready to go home, and I’m ready to kind of live a lifestyle the way we lived in Mexico.”
Hatter takes over one of CrossRoads’ thriving fields in ServeLouisville. In 2018, six different teams numbering nearly 1,000 total volunteers constructed 15 homes.
“It’s going to be important for us to create a mission atmosphere for ourselves,” he said. “The main project right now is missional families and serving them, but we want to create the feel here in Louisville that we are in a mission field. Just like if we were overseas. We just want to be able to create a devotion life that has a rhythm to it. And through that, we’re hopefully going to grow closer together as friends.”
Click here to learn more about ServeLouisville, or schedule a trip to Louisville using our convenient online registration system.
