Pastor Carries Cross from Coast to Coast to Preach Christ and Call Attention to the Homeless

A pastor who has carried a 75-pound, wooden cross for two years across the United States is in the nation’s capital this week with a message he first preached on the West Coast.

Pastor Nick Schindler carried the cross all the way to the gates of the White House, as he and other people have been praying, worshipping, and welcoming Jesus Christ into public squares across the nation.

He was hoping for a face-to-face meeting with President Trump to discuss the epidemic of homelessness and to submit ideas about how to end it for hundreds of thousands of citizens.

Fascinated by the cross in small towns and large cities where Schindler has carried it, newspaper, radio, and television media have documented the journey from coast to coast.

Schindler hopes the same interest occurs in D.C. so that the message of the cross and homeless awareness spreads.

After Schindler placed the cross near the White House gates, his plan was to visit a ministry site with a history of non-stop prayer and worship in the nation’s capital. David’s Tent, a 24-7 prayer, praise, and worship ministry in D.C., is honoring the cross with a new home – a place for Schindler to revisit and remember.

“I’m going to miss the cross,” said Schindler, who is 40. “People have shed tears of joy and sorrow on this cross,” he said from near the White House.

“It is more than two pieces of wood; it’s a testimony to the healing power of God through a vessel like me. The cross has become a part of me, and I’m a part of it,” he added.

Schindler first constructed the cross, then hoisted it onto his shoulder in Bend, Oregon, on June 23, 2023.

During the trek, Schindler shared the Gospel of Jesus Christ hundreds of times – both in one-on-one encounters and in churches large and small – and highlighted the plights of unhoused people for politicians and citizens in 11 states.

From a National Day of Prayer breakfast in the South, homeless encampments, rural and urban churches, to the floor of a state legislature, Schindler has endured below-zero temperatures and agony in his hips and feet from long walks with the cross. 

“I’ve been blessed to sit down the cross and rest; Jesus didn’t get to do that. He was blinded by his blood and parched for water. When he needed rest, there was no mercy,” said Schindler.

Schindler has also enjoyed the honor of preaching, serving, and praying across America.

In Trinidad, Colorado, he and other people – many of them in tears – prayed over all the state flags arrayed in the town’s civic center, asking God to send revival to each one.

Founder of Redemption Railroad Ministries, Schindler at one time walked with a cane due to a crushing pelvis injury. He also experienced homelessness for five years beginning at age 18. 
Rising above his misfortune, Schindler owned a home until 2019, when the Lord led him to buy a food truck to serve the homeless and once again take Jesus to the streets.

Since then, Schindler has ministered to homeless camps across the country, serving people and preaching the message of the cross. Along the way, he has learned ways to reduce homelessness, which he has shared with politicians and church members.

Homelessness is rarely a choice, and it is complicated by things like addictions, employment issues, identification, criminal records, and more, according to Schindler.

He was invited this spring to the Tennessee Statehouse by Senator Mark Pody, who introduced Schindler from the Senate floor, explaining the pastor’s passion to share Jesus and his vision to help the homeless.

Serving and praying for people in a Nashville-area homeless encampment, the next minute, Schindler was at a National Day of Prayer gathering that included Gov. Bill Lee – a sign to him of God’s favor, given that Schindler didn’t have a ticket to the event.

Crying and recalling memories of meeting thousands of people across the country, Schindler’s two-year trip is documented with video he posts almost daily to social media. 

In Oklahoma, a wife and mother of three children drove nearly two hours from Tulsa to meet Schindler, after she first saw him with the cross on Facebook. “I felt convicted that I needed to meet him,” said Wendy Dukes, who later introduced Schindler to her pastor in Tulsa. After meeting the family, Schindler gave each of the children a cross keychain as a reminder of its powerful message.

Invited to speak by Dukes’ pastor, James Lacey, Schindler found a railroad spike in Tulsa. It was at New Covenant Bible Church that Schindler incorporated the spike into the cross ministry. Recalling his former life of sin and immorality before the packed church, Schindler was led by the Holy Spirit to drive the nail into the cross.

“The moment the nail hit the cross, I felt power in the atmosphere. I’ve never experienced it before, and probably never will again,” said Dukes, who now supports Schindler’s cross ministry by assisting with publicity, including his visit to D.C.

In Twin Falls, Idaho, a woman who wanted to be baptized came to Schindler. He was baptizing in the 40-degree waters of the Snake River. There Schindler stepped into the icy waters with the woman’s children, who witnessed their mother’s act of obedience to Jesus’ command.

Later in the journey, having walked all day with the cross to a small Tennessee church, Schindler pitched a tent on the property for what he hoped would be a night of rest. Instead, Pastor Tony Hayes invited Schindler to sleep in his office at First Baptist Church in Strawberry Plains, where there was a shower and many comforts of home, including food. 

“Across the nation, I’ve seen it go one or two ways with pastors who see the cross on my shoulder. They’re either like a kid on Christmas Day, or they’re afraid and want nothing to do with it,” said Schindler.
He offers $100 to anybody who can carry the cross one mile – 20 city blocks. 

In Raton, New Mexico, a young man who denied Jesus’ claim to be the son of God accepted the challenge. As the two walked together, Schindler shared with him what transpired, medically, to Jesus as he carried the cross on which he died. At the half-mile point, the young man, under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, set down the cross and prayed to receive Jesus.

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you receive the latest news from a Christian perspective.*** 

This week’s two-year cross anniversary is momentous for Schindler. “I’m not the man I was when I left. I see the evidence of God’s goodness, His miracles and the lives He’s touched… I can confidently tell you – not only is Jesus real – but where you’ve seen me carry the cross, I would argue Jesus has carried me and the cross,” said Schindler.

After a sabbatical in Virginia, Schindler intends to build another cross for the trek back to Oregon, stopping at the Mississippi River where he will pray along both sides.

Schindler says the Lord has told him revival will break out in Oregon.