POINT [works] - the inner workings of The Point Community Church

Ministry Teams: The Biblical Model

2007-02-19T15:28:00.000-05:00

Ministry Teams: The Biblical Model, Written by C. Gene Wilkes

The basis for forming ministry and support teams is the biblical model for the church. 1 Cor. 12 and Romans 12 teach that the church functions like a human body. It is highly organized, but it is organic and diverse. A body has many members, but each one belongs and each one has a functional place of service. All the members work as a unit to follow the directions of the brain. Every part is connected to the others in such a way that what it does contributes to the overall health of the body.

Ministry and support teams are one way to connect members systematically to be the body of Christ. I am convinced that teams are the most effective way to complete the mission of God for your church because they best match the biblical analogy of integrated teams of organs in a body.

· What is the Difference?
· Committee-run churches fit an institutional model of the church.
· Teams belong to a mission-driven, organic model of the church.

Unique Functions of Committees:
· Committees belong to an institutional way of doing church.
· Committees tend to control the resources of the institution in order to maintain its stability and viability.
· Committees often see their role as controlling resources rather than empowering others with them.
· Committees tend to protect the assets of the organization.
· Committees tend to make decisions for others.
· Committees value agendas and meetings.
· Chairmen head committees.

Unique Functions of Teams:
· Teams belong to a mission-driven environment.
· Teams empower members and others to complete the mission of the church.
· Teams enthusiastically invest assets to complete the mission.
· Teams primarily make decisions for themselves as related to the goal.
· Teams value performance and goals.
· Servant leaders lead teams.

5 Advantages of Teams over Committees.

1. Teams involve more people more effectively. The mission to make disciples of all people requires that every member of the body be in service to it. Both needs and goals related to such a God-sized mission are so numerous that a limited number of groups cannot meet them. Members gathered in teams will involve more people on mission. You may have more people on committees in a traditionally organized church, but teams with a shared mission come closer to doing the work God has assigned the church to do.

2. Teams maximize a servant leader’s potential and minimize her weaknesses. Teams maximize the potential of true leaders in your church. A gifted, servant leader mobilizes and empowers a team of people who share his or her passion to meet a need. In the same way, a team of on-mission members can minimize the weaknesses of the leader. An effective team allows the strengths of some members to compensate for the weaknesses of others.

3. Teams provide multiple perspectives. The advantage of diversity on a team is that the team does not need to argue over where it is going. It simply asks how will it get there. Multiple perspectives help accomplish that goal. Diversity among members in the context of shared leadership toward a shared goal allows the team to be more effective.

4. Teams keep the leader accountable.
· Churches evaluate the committee chair’s performance related to the ability to perpetuate the work of the committee.
· The team leader is evaluated by his performance related to reaching the goals assigned to his team.
Servant leaders in team ministry make themselves accountable to others on the team for its effectiveness. If reaching the goal is the measure of success, then leaders who have made themselves accountable to it will graciously give leadership to someone else who is more effective than he is.

5. Teams can simply do more.Teams score. Committees meet. It does not take much to meet. Reaching a goal, however, requires endless energy, strategic positioning, and creative tactics. Teams that reach their goals or meet the needs assigned them have the potential to do more than other groups in the church - especially when they have a clear goal in front of them.

© 2001-2007LifeWay Christian Resources

The Seasons Of A Church Plant

2006-09-19T16:21:00.000-04:00

We recently came across a timeline and overview of the typical development of new churches and church plants.

This overview is designed to guide a church plant or a church that plants churches. Each season includes a suggested timeline for completing bulleted tasks and will establish a clearly defined strategy for training and coaching the church plant.

Our TPCC Leadership Council will use this as a guide and evaluative tool to guide and direct our attention and help set goals for the present and future.

Keep in mind that these seasons are not necessarily in the order in which we or any church may develop.

I. PREPARING SEASON: Preparing to Plant (before day 0)
· Confirm the calling and vision
· Determine general location and ministry focus
· Establish prayer support base
· Begin church planning training and coaching
· Clarify ministry philosophy and models
· Design a church planting action plan
· Create a church planting proposal
· Establish a financial support base

I. GATHERING SEASON: Gathering a Worshipping Community (0-6 mo.)
· Implement networking and evangelism (word and deed)
· Implement home fellowship groups
· Develop core group and leadership team
· Manage conflict for unified values and vision
· Establish essential ministries (systems)
· Develop leaders over essential ministries
· Launch public worship and ministries

II. DEVELOPING SEASON: Developing Gospel-Centered Ministries (6-24 mo.)
· Develop leaders in essential ministries
· Develop frontline kingdom prayer
· Develop gospel centered-worship and preaching
· Develop transformational learning communities
· Develop need-oriented evangelism ministries
· Develop lay and gift-oriented ministries
· Develop emerging functional structures

I. MENTORING SEASON: Mentoring Gospel-Centered Leaders (2 yrs->)
· Develop mentoring leadership philosophy and strategy
· Develop mentoring process for raising up healthy disciples
· Develop mentoring process for raising up ministry leaders
· Develop mentoring process for raising up elders/deacons
· Develop mentoring process for raising up church planters
· Develop mentoring process for raising up movement leaders

V. GROWING SEASON: Leading the Church to Growth and Planting (ongoing)
· Evaluate church health and growth
· Establish church health and growth goals
· Lead the church to expansion growth (evangelism in word & deed)
· Lead the church in internal growth (edification/discipleship)
· Lead the church to extension growth (mono-cultural planting)
· Lead the church to bridging growth (cross-cultural planting)
· Lead the church to organizational growth

VI. LOCATING SEASON: Establishing a Community Presence (2 yrs ->)
· Determine whether and/or when to find a more permanent location (this is ofcourse depending on current circumstances)
· Find adequate facility and/or real estate (rent or purchase?)
· Establish planning for funds relative to location/construction
· Oversee relocation and construction process
· Repeat the locating process if necessary
· Prioritize mission in local context (word and deed)

VII. MULTIPLYING SEASON: Establish a Church Planting Movement (ongoing)
· Develop a unified vision and comprehensive strategy
· Implement spiritual renewal dynamics
· Overcome barriers and cultivate leadership
· Establish recruiting and assimilating systems
· Establish training and coaching systems
· Establish support systems for parenting church leaders
· Establish home-grown planter development systems
· Develop funding for a church planting movement
· Develop multiplying church planting networks

As a church, we should begin now to pray for the next season and beyond. Our preparedness is first spiritual with execution of tasks to follow. It is vitally important as we discuss each item within our respective season that we do not loose focus on our own personal gospel renewal, without which, there can be not gospel progress.

Much of this is gleaned from Church Planting Resources, Acts 29 Network and The North American Mission Board (SBC).

Helpful Resources

2006-09-05T12:53:00.000-04:00

We have found some really helpful resources in our quest for inexpensive, or better yet - free, yet sound Bible studies, administrative items, worship elements, etc.

Capitol Hill Baptist Church has some great Bible studies and materials offered here.

Acts29 has very helpful articles and documents for the administration of church plants here.

more to come...

Acts 29 Network

2006-08-16T10:30:00.000-04:00

Part of our research in church planting has led us to the Acts 29 Network of churches. At the same time I was researching them, I was actually contacted about becoming a member of the network. This is a long application process and we are right in the middle of the paperwork.

This is one of several strategic partnerships that will strengthen us as a church and offer a network of pastors, leaders and churches that are like us, doing what we are doing, with similar visions of ministry and doctrine.

From the Acts 29 website:
"Acts 29 is network of pastors from around the nation and world whose dream is to help qualified leaders called by God plant new churches and replant declining churches.
If you have a dream to plant or replant, we will assess your fitness to pursue that dream. And, if you are a good fit with the network we will strive to assist you with friendship, coaching, and resources that will help you successfully serve Jesus.
Simply, we love Jesus and if He has called you to serve Him in church planting they would love to serve you."

visit the Acts 29 website here

Influential Churches

2006-07-28T12:30:00.000-04:00

Church Report has released their latest list of the 50 Most Influential Churches In America. It's an interesting read.

The Point did not make the list - gasp! Not yet anyway...

3 Questions

2006-07-16T23:35:00.000-04:00

We are asking our people to answer three simple questions about the church. The responses will be used in a number of ways: they will help us in some ads that we are about to start, the responses will give us an idea of what is happening with our folks, and the responses will give our people an opportunity to testify about God's working in their lives.

The questions:

How has God used The Point to impact your life?

What do you like most about The Point?

If you had one sentence to describe The Point to people, what would you say?

We may use the '3 Questions' approach from time to time by asking new questions and then sharing the responses among leadership. This is not an original idea with us, just a good idea we heard about (but forgot where from).

Acts 29 Network

2006-07-12T22:53:00.000-04:00

One of the first network of churches and church plants that we find affinity with is the Acts29Network. This is a ministry that offers resources, training, fellowship and coaching for new church plants, especially a church plant that is like The Point (modern in style and vision, strong in doctrine, innovative in ministry).

The vision of the Acts29network:
"Acts 29 is network of pastors from around the nation and world whose dream is to help qualified leaders called by God plant new churches and replant declining churches.
If you have a dream to plant or replant, we will assess your fitness to pursue that dream. And, if you are a good fit with our network we will strive to assist you with friendship, coaching, and resources that will help you successfully serve Jesus.
Simply, we love Jesus and if He has called you to serve Him in church planting we would love to serve you."

From http://www.acts29network.org/main.html

Establishing Elders

2006-07-12T16:16:00.000-04:00

We are presenting our first Elder 'candidate' this Sunday. Brad and I serve as elders already, and have evaluated this man's personal testimony of Christ, doctrinal statements, family and personal vision of ministry. This has been a long process, but a very rewarding one. We are actually presenting one man this weekend and another men next weekend.

This is exciting...to see this church begin with a purely Biblical form of leadership and governance.

Mark Driscoll has written an excellent series of articles on establishing an Eldership in a church plant. Here it is...

"Even a cursory reading of the Bible reveals that when God wants to get something done He starts by selecting a dude to lead that change and works through that dude. Examples include sparing humanity (Noah), founding a nation (Abraham), liberating a nation (Moses), establishing a throne (David), building a temple (Solomon), preparing hearts (John the Baptizer), reaching Gentiles (Paul), and redeeming creation (Jesus). Therefore, a church cannot be successfully planted and expect to survive if it is not led by a dude who obediently follows God as He speaks through Scripture and leads through the Spirit. Therefore, in addition to meeting the requirements of an elder, there are additional responsibilities that a church planter must be willing to embrace and execute if he hopes to be the dude. They include the following:" click here to read more ...

Growing Points

2006-07-10T15:39:00.000-04:00

Growth is exciting, and validating. Growth reveals weaknesses and brings challenges. Growth can be good as well as problematic. The good news is that The Point Church is growing. The better news is that much of our growth is from folks returning to church after being absent from the church. The best news is that we are seeing the lost come to Jesus Christ. We do have a lot of folks that are coming to The Point from other churches for various reasons. We do not recruit from other churches that exalt Christ, but our doors are open to anyone seeking Truth.

The challenges that our growth bring us are really just opportunities for us to respond to God's working among us. I want to briefly share some of our most pressing opportunities...

Prayer Ministry: There are those among us that can be called 'prayer warriors', these folks must be gathered for concentrated and concerted prayer efforts.

New Believer Maturation: With folks confessing Jesus as Lord and turning to Him for forgiveness, comes the tremendous responsibility of discipleship and training in the Word. It is my belief that this needs to bea two-fols approach. The first being a mentor relationship where the new believer is paired with a more mature Christian for one on one discipleship, prayer and accountability. The second half of this approach being a class setting where the new believer is trained in the disciplines of the Christian faith.

Guest Follow Up: We have many first time guests every week. An intentional follow up strategy is needed. We will shortly begin recruiting more people to make phone calls, send emails, and where appropriate, make home visits. Every guest is contacted every week right now, but this is a growing need and more people are needed to do a better job at this.

Small Group Bible Studies: Small groups that serve each other in the areas of fellowship, discipleship, prayer and ministry are a key to our long term growth and health. We currently have a few groups meeting. More groups will form in the fall.

Children's and Youth Ministries: There are lots of kids at The Point. There are multitudes more that we need to prepare for. Ministry to children, youth and thier families must be a priority for The Point. We must dedicate resources, energy and prayer toward this vital area. If we are to reach our community for Jesus Christ, we must demonstrate His love for children by giving our community world-class children and youth ministries. How do we do this? One step at a time, but we must focus and grow a ministry of excellence that 'wows' every parent and kid.

THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS, changes and additions to this are coming!

This is why...

2006-06-08T23:20:00.000-04:00

I want to share statistics (don't click away, it's not that boring, but it is sobering).

More than 75 U.S. churches close their doors every week.
More than 80% of the churches in the U.S. have plateaued or are declining.
In the United States alone, there are over 180 million unchurched people, making the U.S. the third largest mission field in the world.
Since 1991, the number of adults in the U.S. who do not attend church has nearly doubled.
Only 3 out of 10 twenty-somethings attend church in a typical week.
51.9 million people in the U.S. between the ages of 20-38 are not connected with the existing churches. (Gallup Poll)
Eight million twenty-somethings alive today will no longer attend church by the time they turn 30.
Our nation (a Christian nation) leads the world in every category of violent and domestic crime and social decay. (NationBuilder.com)

*Unless otherwise stated, these statistics are from Barna Research Online.

Ofcourse, we need more churches. The church is just not getting it done for the most part. Sorry, but it;s true - that is not deniable. Not only do we need more churches, we need new churches with new vision and new leaders and new passion and new methods of BEING the church for the sake reaching the new generations with the ancient Truth of GRACE.

We don't need more churches that are cool and hip. We need more churches that teach the truth of the Gospel and lead people to an understanding of grace in Jesus Christ.

With this in mind, I am praying over how The Point will be a church that starts churches. We WILL be a mother church. We WILL be a church that plants churches. We WILL not become complacent and comfortable by growing a big church full of people who don't get it.

How can I say we WILL so emphatically and so boldly?

Simple. It's B I B L I C A L That's why.

Ok, I feel better now.

Communication Is Vital

2006-06-07T00:20:00.000-04:00

Yep, here it comes...our first weekly 'bulletin'. There are more and more opportunities for fellowship, service and growth. Communication is vital for growth and stability, so we are debuting our weekly bulletin this week (if all goes well).

This will be 11x17 (large) tri-fold, color publication. This will offer plenty of space for announcements, sermon notes, information about the church, and a focus article. Perhaps most importantly, there is a perforated reply card that guests can tear off and place in their seat or in the offering baskets.

The 11x17 size may be challenging for printing and copying (although our copier will print this size). So we may end up with a 8.5x14 size.

In the coming weeks, we will be relying more and more on a reply card for people to indicate any decision they have made.

We are starting off with a bulletin 'shell' from www.outreach.com

We plan to have a pre-printed custom shell with our logo and non-changing information in color, and then print our weekly announcements, sermons notes, etc each week on the pre-printed color shell.

Spiritual Gifts

2006-06-07T00:14:00.000-04:00

We are in the middle of a mini-series of sermons based on the teaching of spiritual gifts. Our folks are gearing up for service, but not just service for the sake of service. We cannot ascribe to the 'don't just stand there - do something' mentality. We must grow in our understanding that we are to serve in the specific areas where we are gifted. So, we are walking through the spiritual gifts and helping our people to discover, develop and use their gifts. This seems a natural and vital early step in the organization of any church body.

We are directing our people to an online survey available at www.churchgrowth.org

POINTworks

2006-06-06T01:03:00.000-04:00

The purpose for this blog has changed somewhat. There are quite a few people that are following the development of The Point. These are church planters, pastors, church staff and church leaders from across the nation. Many churches like us use a blog like this to communicate the inner working of the church so that others that 'walk the same path' can learn from us. Just as importantly, other church leaders that are further 'down the path' than we are can share with us some mistakes to avoid and successes to implement. So the 'news and information' is now on The Point's website.

(see the previous post "New Purpose For This Blog")

There is a new edition of my weekly letter, called "Points Along The Way" on the website. Click 'Pastor's Points'.

www.thepointcommunity.net

By the way, soon The Point will be hosting a one day conference for church planters. This conference is being offered by several state and national ministries that encourage and equip new churches and church plants. I will let you know more details as they develop.

Rick

Comfy yet? I pray not.

2006-06-04T23:03:00.000-04:00

The new chairs arrived just in time. We had a great crowd today.

The new chairs are comfortable and cushy, there are even racks on the bottom for hymnals -- Okay, okay, we'll use them for pastries, sermon notes and Bibles and also to rest our feet.

They are really nice. Hopefully not too nice or too comfy though. We need to remember that those chairs are for our equipping as we prepare to GO and SERVE, then BRING them back to a comfy chair of their own where they can learn to GO and SERVE and BRING...

Filling Vacancies Or Developing Servants

2006-05-27T13:10:00.000-04:00

As our church grows, we are already seeing that we have lots of places where people can serve. We also have lots of people that are willing to serve, they just haven't found that sweet spot yet where they can serve. There are also people that simply do not understand service grows out of love for the Lord. They don't understand this YET anyway.

At The Point, it will be difficult for a person just to sit and soak and never serve. We simply love people too much to let God's people be content with merely hearing the Word. We want to be be good stewards of the people that God sends our way be developing fully devoted followers. What does a fully devoted follower of Jesus look like? They are servants who worship and worshippers who serve.

The Gospel of Luke recounts an encounter that Jesus had with Mary and Martha, two sisters who loved the Lord in two very different ways. Jesus was in the home of Martha, so she was in the kitchen busy preparing a meal for her Lord. Her sister Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to Him. Martha became angry with Mary, saying that she too should be in the kitchen preparing the meal. But Jesus corrected the critical Martha saying that she was too worried and stressed and that Mary was fine doing what she was doing. Later in their life though, we find both of them serving. Mary is with Jesus again, but now she is working by washing the feet of the Master just a few days before His crucifixion.

Here's the point: They both served Him in different ways. Mary's service grew out of her worship of Him. Martha's worship grew out of her service to Him.

Worship must precede service. Worship produces service. It's a beautiful cycle. A worshipper is a servant because a servant is a worshipper.

In order to grow a church of servants, we must be a church of worshippers. The problem in most churches is that worship is self seeking and self serving. So, worship that does not produce work is shallow, superficial and self-serving. At The Point, there is a church developing where this cycle is beginning to come about. We need servants....that means we develop worshippers. It's really as simple as...those who love The Lord (worship) will work in His church that He loves (service). We say: "we need more workers in the nursery, youth or outreach" What we should say: "we need people who love Jesus and want to serve Him".

We DO need people to sign up and serve in the nursery during Sunday worship. If enough servants do this, then it will only be a very few times a year that each person would serve in the nursery. This is such a deserving ministry of our time and effort. It requires no experience or giftedness, just a willing heart.

Another place where you can serve is on a building clean up team. Each month a different team will have the responsibility of cleaning and preparing the building each week.

I am asking EVERY MEMBER to serve in one (or both) of these two areas for the next year.

There is a saying that we have at The Point: "If you sit and soak and never serve, you will sour. But if you sit, soak and serve...you will SOAR!"

YOU are loved!

Pastor Rick

Gracious Giving

2006-05-26T10:22:00.000-04:00

A local businessman that is retiring, attended The Point recently. Since he is in the process of closing his successful business, he has a lot of office equipment, furniture, supplies, etc that he no longer needs. In an extremely gracious gesture, he is donating many items to The Point. There are desks, chairs, a really nice copier, phones, cabinets, shelves, office supplies, and lots more that we will move to The Point in the next few days. We are so very thankful for this gift! He could sell these items and make a lot of money, but God has told him to give these for the use of building the Kingdom. Praise God for a giving and generous family that blesses us with thier blessings!

This is just another way that God meets our need before it is really is a 'need'. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!

Media Site Launches

2006-05-18T10:45:00.000-04:00

Now anyone in the world with internet access can download sermons, music, photos, videos and more! Thanks to gifts and services of Andrew Dodson (he is your guy if you need a site built or designed).

The Point: media

New Purpose For This Blog

2006-05-15T00:01:00.000-04:00

Now that the website is up and running with all sorts of news, calendar items, updates and information - the need for this blog has changed.

I am regularly getting calls and emails from pastors, church leaders, and just curious folks who want to know what we are doing, how we are doing it and what our vision is. I am finding that there are lots of people who fall into one of these categories:
(1) They are part of a new (1-5 yrs) church plant.
(2) They are preparing to plant a new church in the near future.
(3) They are just curious and are watching the 'new church' movement that is sweeping our nation and world.

The Point is a mere 5 months old or so. We by no means are the plumb line of how to start a church. But for whatever reason many people outside (and inside) our city are watching us. Some with hope, ecnouragement and optimism, others with cautious curiousity and maybe even a few with a critical perspective.

So, this blog will serve as the 'behind the scenes' look at the inner working of The Point. Rather than a place of news and announcements, this blog will serve more as a journal of our formation and development. Our mistakes and successes will be discussed here in open and honest communication.

There are many, many churches that are being birthed in Kentucky and across the country. Some of these 'births' are natural and planned. Others, like us, are more of a cesarean birth which is no less legitimate or healthy just not as planned and 'carried' for months before the actual birth.

There is a network of new churches that is forming for the purpose of support, encouragement, learning and fellowship. Some of these churches are affiliated with a denomination while others are independent. Here is the place where people from The Point and other churches can come and read about the operations, planning and development of a healthy New Testament church, which is exactly what is beginning to take shape at The Point.

So, with growth comes change. The need for news and information is met through our terrific website at www.thepointcommunity.net. With that, this blog needs a new name....something that indicates it's purpose of communicating the 'behind the scenes' happenings of The Point. Any suggestions??

Points Along The Way

2006-05-01T16:09:00.000-04:00

Wow! What a tremendous celebration of worship on the first day in our new home! It was simply a powerful experience of authentic worship, fellowship and ministry. The sweet, sweet spirit of the day was overwhelming. I wish each of you could experience the thrill of baptizing those sweet souls, I could barely do so without choking up. The baptism tank worked wonderfully! Pictures will be posted this week.

And the crowd of people! We just kept getting out more chairs because people kept coming in the door! It was great! All of our guests that I spoke with had a wonderful experience and say they plan to return. To God be the glory!

The facility has come a long way, and there is much more to do. In the coming days and weeks, you will have oppotunities to lend a hand. This building and property offers us so much oppoirtunity.

I want to share with you some notes about how we are developing and forming:

The Outreach Team, led by Chuck Adams is meeting and planning some wonderful opportunities for us to be the church to our community. I am excited about the enthusiasm and passion that is growing in our people to serve those around them.

The Administrative Team has prepared a finance statement and this will be ready by Wednesday. You can pick up a copy at the welcome center in the front lobby.

Home Bible Studies are starting this month! A meeting of the leaders and hosts will be announced this week and groups will begin meeting shortly thereafter.

God is stirring men to respond to His call and serve as elders. We are patiently waiting for God to raise this body of spiritual leaders. As this develops, the church will have input and final confirmation on each man that submits himself to this call.

We are helping with some needed work at Cedarmore Camp and Conference Center, this Saturday (5/6) we will be there helping out with some landcaping and spring projects. Please contact Dennis Raliegh if you are able to serve in this way. Cedarmore is a Christian camp in Shelby county and is expecting a record number of campers this summer. Our own Shane and Kari McGrath live and serve there.

Be sure to check the website for everything going on at The Point. There is a calendar of activities that is really helpful. Use this great resource and keep informed. It is updated every day with new information.

If you have not done so yet, please go to the website and fill out the Personal Information Form. This will help us build our database and keep records of our people. This is a big step toward being able to keep track of 'the flock.'

What a joy it is to serve you and be with you on this amazing journey that God has for us. In the coming days I will be sharing more about "Preparing For Amazing Things." This is our spiritual growth emphasis for the 31 days of May. Our focus must always be on Him and His Glory, by doing this we can fulfill the mission and the see the miracles He has for us!

You are loved!

Rick

City On A Hill

2006-04-25T22:32:00.000-04:00

This Sunday is our first Sunday in the new facility. Work is really coming along. Each night, there are people painting, wiring, hanging lights, drywalling, decorating kids rooms and cleaning. In order to be ready to have worship there on Sunday we need your help.

Please come Wednesday night at 6pm and Saturday morning at 9am and help us get everything ready for Sunday.

Keep in mind, that this is a work in progress. There are lots of plans for remodeling and renovations that will continue for weeks. We are just getting the building ready for our daily use.
----------

We are planning to see our first several baptisms this Sunday. What an exciting day of celebration and consecration this will be! Praise God for all that HE is doing, let's keep our eyes focused on Him and remember that this building is a base for our outreach to this community. God has given us a spot set up on a hill that overlooks Frankfort for a reason!

Matthew 5:14 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden."

We are being blessed with this building and property. From the start, God intended Israel to be a nation that would be a blessing to those who did not yet know Him. Israel became selfish and exclusive. God’s chosen people became proud and self-centered and hugged themselves to death.

This building is not for us, it is for those who aren't here yet. HE knows who they are.

At The Point Church, we must remember God did not place us here to merely be a blessing receptacle but to be a channel of blessings to others! Just as God wanted to bless the nations of the world through Israel, He wants to bless our community, our state, our nation, and our world through The Point. I’ll have more to say about this at worship on Sunday.

That’s what God wants us to do. Now how does He want us to do it?

You are loved!

Rick

Please Be Seated

2006-04-20T17:02:00.000-04:00

We started out in the comfy 'camp' seats and lawnchairs that people brought with them the first few Sundays. Then some more conventional chairs began to show up and were added to the mix. Cedarmore Conference Center graciously loaned several more 'nice' chairs and even more for the Easter service. But those are all loaned chairs.

Great news for your posteriors!! We will be receiving 200-300 REALLY nice and comfortable seats in late May from Hillvue Heights Baptist Church in Bowling Green. Until the our chairs arrive from Bowling Green, our friends at Crestwood Baptist Church are loaning us enough to make up the difference after we returned the chairs to Cedarmore.

We will finally have seats of our own, and really really nice ones at that. They each have a pouch on the back and a rack on the bottom for the hymnals ;-)

There will be a photo of the new chairs posted here soon.

Extreme Makeover, The Point Style!

2006-04-18T23:24:00.000-04:00

Work has officially started on the new facility for The Point Church. A company that specializes in cleaning and sanitizing facilities such as this starts their work Wednesday morning and should be completed by Thursday evening. Saturday April 22 at 9am, we will gather there and begin the work of preparing for our move into this spacious building. All of this work is being coordinated by our Property Team led by Dennis Raleigh.

We need everyone to come and lend a hand. Work will begin at 9am and should be completed by the afternoon if we have plenty of help.

Come ready with some Scripture in mind. We will be writing scripture througout the building on posters. This will 'consecrate' this building and begin sowing the seed of Truth and God's Word which will echo throughout this property for a long time.

Easter Reflections and Future Thoughts

2006-04-17T16:11:00.000-04:00

The first Easter of The Point Church was simply wonderful! What a great day of rejoicing and celebration of the risen Savior! We had an amazing crowd, well beyond our anticipated attendance. Despite the rumors, there were NOT 1200 people there (you would understand if you were there, but there were a lot of people!). There were many folks that came to The Point for the first time, and all that I spoke with had a great first impression. There are so many people that made our first Easter a success...so many people worked really hard...please know that all of our work and service is greatly appreciated and is an investment in our outreach to this community. This church is truly blessed with people who are ready and willing to serve.

Our attention now turns to our moving into the new building. The Property Team, led by Dennis Raleigh, is busy planning and evaluating how this needs to happen. Our first Sunday in the building will be April 30, so there is much that needs to be done in a short amount of time. Keep in mind that we are just getting the building ready for our move. It will take weeks and months to get the building to where we want it to be for our long term use. The Property team will be sharing a schedule of work times in the next couple of days. We all will need to pitch in and have a lot of great 'fellowship' while working to get the building ready.

We are also working on the development, training and launch of Home Group Bible Studies. This has taken more time than anticipated to get these groups off the ground, but not for the lack of attention. We want to be intentional and timely in the launch of such an important and vital part of the church. Charles is doing a great job at facilitating this ministry effort.

Mother's Day is coming soon. Often, this day is as well attended as Easter, if not better attended. We want to make certain that we utilize this opportunity to reach out and show our community how much we appreciate mom's. This is another great way to get the word out about the ministry of The Point Church.

These are exciting and challenging days. God is at work to build His church, to Him be the glory!
You are loved!

Rick

Easter Preparations

2006-04-11T09:34:00.000-04:00

Sunday we will celebrate our first Easter as The Point Community Church. What a celebration it will be! We are busy preparing for plenty of people who will gather to worship a risen Lord. Really, every Sunday is a celebration of the risen Jesus though. If it weren't for the resurrection of Jesus Christ, there would be no reason to gather as a church. Our beliefs, our practices, our praise, indeed the very Word of God would be invalid. But our faith is in the God that raised His Son from the cold grip of death. His victory over the sting of death results in promised victory over sin and the spiritual death for us, His children. Jesus is alive and promises us new life, now that's reason to celebrate.

Here are some things that you can be doing in preparation for Easter worship at The Point:

**Please come early on Sunday. We want to welcome each person as they come through the door.

**Please be sure to park away from the front doors, this way allow our guests to have the most choice parking spots.

**A team is going to Cedarmore this Thursday evening to gather additional chairs. If you are interested in lending a hand with this, let me know.

**Be sure to get copies of The State Journal, there is a TPCC ad in every edition this week.

**Remember to hand out those invitation cards you were given last Sunday. Give them away everyday!

**Pray that the 600+ doorhangers we distrubuted last Saturday will reap a harvest of people that come to The Point for Easter to hear about the risen Jesus.

**Talk it up and Pray it up!

- - - - - - - - - - -

Dr. Al Mohler has written a commentary about what the majority of Americans believe about the resurrection of Christ. You can read it here.

Neighborhood Outreach

2006-04-07T15:46:00.000-04:00

We will gather at the skating rink SATURDAY APRIL 8 at 11am and then go out to area neighborhoods with cards and doorhangers that invite folks to our "New Beginnings" Easter Sunday service. This will be a great opportunity to meet new people, most of which are looking for a place to go on Easter. They need to know that The Point is here and 'open for business.' We will meet at 11am and will be done by noon.

If it is raining and/or storming, we will reschedule this in the upcoming week.

Jesus On Skates...

2006-04-04T16:46:00.000-04:00

I have had this graphic for awhile now. Since we are meeting in a skating rink, this is appropriate. If we had stayed in the rink, perhaps this could have been the backdrop or a mural. But since we soon will be leaving the rink for larger space of our own, I thought I'd go ahead and post this while it is still timely.

Crossings For Kids

2006-03-31T21:46:00.000-05:00

Crossings for Kids - Sunday July 9th through Wednesday July 12th. The cost for the camp is $159.00; a deposit of $75.00 is due ASAP. If you are interested in sending your child to Crossings please contact Janine Shackelford or sign up using the sign up sheet located at the information booth by Sunday April 1, 2006.

Thank you, Janine

We Have A Home

2006-03-31T15:03:00.000-05:00

Earlier today, The Point Community Church signed a lease on the Trigg property. This large facility and surrounding land will serve as the base for our ministry. Over the next few days our Administrative Team will be busy securing the utilities and finalizing everything. There is some work that the owner must do in the building to get it ready for us to begin our work. It will be a few days before we can take possession of the facility. It is already very apparent that God is in this decision. The owner made a significant concession which just confirms that we are moving in the right direction.

We now have a place that we can call home, but we must keep in mind that our mission is not inside that building. Our focus, heart and attention must always be centered on Jesus Christ and His purpose. He came to 'seek and save that which is lost'. That is our mission. Our building just serves as a 'life-saving station', it gives us a place to gather, equip and prepare for our outreach to the community that God has given us.

Consider that the property is on the most heavily travelled stretch of highway (other that interstates) in the state. The building is massive compared to our current size. There is plenty of room for tremendous growth and lots of room for creativity. I am excited at what God is preparing us for. It must be so far beyond our reach that only He gets the credit (glory)!

This building is not for us, it is for those that aren't here yet. It is for those that are drowning, for those that are on sinking ships, for those that are in the midst of the storm, for those that are stranded on islands of sin, for those that are completely lost in the sea of unbelief. This building is a place where we board the rescue boats and go out, returning with the cold, soaked, hungry, and hurting. This building is where we will clothe, feed, warm and heal.

Church- we are mightily blessed!

Soon, the work will begin. We will need EVERYONE to help us get the place ready. I am really looking forward to spending a lot of good 'fellowship' time together while we are working.

I hope to see you Sunday morning for what promises to be an incredible worship experience!

Rick

Affirmations And Appreciation

2006-03-29T22:45:00.000-05:00

Tonight was good for me, frustrating for others maybe, but good for me. I learned a lesson tonight that will stick with me. I guess I was trying so hard to not make the mistakes that we have seen in the past that I let it bog our decision making down. I am sorry for that.

I appreciate the trust and support that everyone gave me and our leaders tonight. It is truly humbling and encouraging.

Essentially, the overwhelming message from the crowd tonight was "why are we talking about this again? it seems really obvious that God has revealed a place for us - let's move forward!"

So, the Administrative Team is in the process of reviewing the lease and will sit down soon with the owner. Assuming there are no major complications, we will sign the lease and begin the work of moving into the Trigg building. There is overwhelming support and peace with this decision, that was confirmed (again) tonight. From what I could gather, there was 100% peace with moving forward on the Trigg property.

I appreciate the work of the Admin. team and the Leadership Council, and the patience of the entire church.

As for the Vision Team, this will likely just be far more informal than I thought it might be. Thanks for your thoughts, encouragement and honesty.

Again, I am just blessed, honored and humbled to serve you. You are loved. Thanks for your patient and fervent prayers for your Pastor, my family and The Point. What a wonderful journey we are on together!

(I am just so very grateful for the overwhelming support, confidence (in the Lord) and commitment that was shown to me and the leadership tonight. It was confirming and affirming in many ways.)

Next Wednesday, we will return to our study of Ephesians.

You are loved (and appreciated!),

Rick

Vision Team

2006-03-29T10:28:00.000-05:00

For the past three or four weeks we have been prayerfully and carefully researching our options for a long term meeting location, as I stated in the previous post.

This process has revealed to me that we need a team of advisors, prayer warriors, accountability partners for me, and a group that can serve as a vision casting and vision carrying team. Ofcourse, we are praying that God will raise up elders that will serve in these roles in the future. God is doing this, but it is slower than I anticipated. I feel rather vulnerable in the early days of the church and I desire this group of advisors and guides that have no other function than to pray and offer wisdom and discernent as we develop. I believe that this will be a team that may only be active for a few months or so, but I believe we need this now. This team will help us develop a decision making process and will act as a group that can develop the elder process as well. I have sought the counsel of several of you about this today and have had other church planters encourage this as well. I believe that this team will be called the VISION TEAM and will be nominated by the church by considering some Biblical qualifications, then placing a qualified person into nomination by submitting a signed form with the name of the person they are nominating.Those nominations will then come to me and Brad, as well as two 'random' people from the congregation to determine a strong concensus and Biblical qualification for service. I want the whole church to have a voice in this process, so that is why I believe the nomination prcoess can be useful for this purpose.

This idea is still in the 'prayer development' stage, we will talk more about this on Wednesday night.

This young church is mightily blessed. I am honored and humbled to serve as your Pastor.

Rick

A Place For The Point

2006-03-26T14:39:00.000-05:00

As a young church, there are many challenges and hurdles. There are all kinds of things that we must overcome and find solutions for. We are nine weeks old, and in this pastor's opinion, doing a pretty good job at facing our challenges and creatively overcoming the challenges we face.

Perhaps the biggest question out there has been "where will we meet, where will we call home?"
From week one, we have been gathering at the former Skatarama Fun Center. This facility has given us a wonderful place to meet and get started. We have really enjoyed meeting here and using this a place for worship and ministry for the past several weeks. Due to the lack of parking and land, we have known that this was not going to be a place we could meet for long-term. The monthly lease on this building could be absorbed into our budget, but it is more than we want to put into a building that we will not own or have exclusive access to. Recently, we became aware that another church is planning on leasing the smaller side of the building for their meeting space. This church is also a new church in Frankfort, they are much smaller so the space and parking will be adequate for their needs. Ofcourse, two churches meeting in the same facility poses many problems.

We have been researching our options for our long term meeting space over the past several weeks. Our Adminstrative team and others have looked into several area schools, office buildings, warehouse space and any space that could accomodate us. We are also taking into account that we are growing and we need to plan for growth. I want you to know that more than anything else, there has been significant, focused prayer and fasting over this matter. After weeks of praying and searching, it seems that we have arrived at a facility.

This facility is located at the same intersection where the Skatarama is located. It is the former Trigg Manufacturing building. It is 15000 square feet of open, empty, clean and usable space. We have met with the owner three times and are coming to an agreeable arrangement. There are some final details that we need to confirm, so nothing has been committed yet. Along with the building there is 5+ acres of flat land that fronts 127 South. There is plenty of room for us for the forseeable future. Should we commit to this lease, this will be our home for quite some time. The owner is open to discussing a lease to own agreement. It is our belief that this is a tremendous blessing and incredible opportunity for us.

There is one major piece of work that may need to be completed in the very near future. The facility has new heating and is air-conditioned in the classrooms and offices. However, the large open warehouse space is not currently air-conditioned, though it is heated. This space is large and airy, and vented very well. The owner is willing to allow us to have air conditioning installed in the space and will reimburse our cost for this in the 2nd year. We believe this is fair and reasonable.

There is some minor work and general cleaning that will need to be done:

Cleaning and tiling of bathrooms.
Cleaning and carpeting of the children's area.
Cleaning of the carpets in the lobby, classrooms and offices.
Making and hanging a backdrop behind the stage.
Building a stage area.
Adding some lighting in the stage area.
Securing areas that we will not use until they can be made safe.

To put it mildly, there is TONS of potential at this location. Speaking of location, it is perhaps the most desirable location in the city. The traffic count on highway 127 south is 52,000 cars per day! It is our belief that we can spend the next year or so making the facility comfortable, doing some work as we go and gathering here for worship, Bible study and fellowship. Then, in the 2nd year, begin some major renovations phase by phase to transform this great space into a state of the art home for The Point's minstries.

Perhaps most exciting is the tremendous space for our children and youth ministries. This building has tons of room and lots of potential.

Again, we have made no commitment at this point to take possession of this facility. We are continuing to pray and ask for God's wisdom and discernment. Having said that, it is increasingly becoming our belief that God has led us to this facility. I suppose the best way to describe this is, we believe God will bless us regardless of where we are, as long as we are a church that glorifies Him and exalts His Son Jesus Christ.

So, what are your thoughts? Do you have something to share with us regarding this decision that we have before us? Please feel free to share what your prayerful thoughts are.

Should we continue with this, we believe that our first Sunday in this facility will be as soon as April 9. As a brief review of how we are communicating about this decision, there have been several meetings with the Administrative Team, Leadership Council and others who have lots of experience with this kind of facility. We have had three open forums with the congregation and a tour of this facility last Wednesday evening.

Visit this blog often for upates. Please feel free to call me at 320-9756 with questions, comments, confirmations or concerns.

Regardless of where we gather as a church, we are being mightily blessed! Praise God!

Your Pastor,

Rick

New Website Coming Soon!

2006-03-25T00:14:00.000-05:00

The Point has a new website that will be launched within the next few days. You can see the site that is being developed here>> http://thepoint.ccbchurch.com/app/ .

The current TPCC website address (www.thepointcommunity.net) will stay the same and point to the new site when it’s ready. There are numerous tools for ministry and members on the site. Be sure to check it out and let us know what you think. Register for a user name and password so that you can enter you and/or your family’s data. The public website interfaces, very securely, with our church management software and database.

Pray Without Ceasing

2006-03-24T16:53:00.000-05:00

We continue to pray over the opportunities we have before us regarding our long term location. Essentially, we have been evaluating several locations and sites. We are tremendously blessed with options are that are really terrific.

Ofcourse, our prayer has been that God would give us wisdom and discernment over this decision. The concensus of prayer seems to be God saying "I really don't care where you meet, just glorify me and lift up my Son and I will bless you." That is truly the over-whelming response over this matter.

Our options are strong and we believe that God is revealing a place that we can call home. If this continues to be the case, we will be sharing the details with you in the very near future. It is simply a wonderful location and opportunity for us as a young and growing church. Many of you toured this facility last Wednesday night, but I cannot divulge the details online yet. Continue to pray and seek God's wisdom over this matter. Wherever we are, as long as we are BEING the church we will always be blessed. Remember, it is not our job to build the church. Jesus says that He will build His church. Our only job is to BE the church, no matter where we are.

We are incredibly blessed with the opportunities we have for a place to call home. I am amazed at how blessed we already are! God is so very good! Just keep praying, we will keep you informed.

I look forward to worshipping with you Sunday. We will observe the Lord's Supper together as we prepare our hearts and homes for our Easter launch as a church. To God be the glory, great things HE is doing!!

You are loved! Rick

TPCC Partnering With AA Pregnancy Help Center

2006-03-21T20:50:00.000-05:00

At last week's Leadership Council meeting, it was proposed that we begin financially supporting the AA Pregnancy Help Center of Frankfort. The Finance team and the Council determined that this is a ministry that we want to be part of. The Pregnancy Help Center here offers encouragement and counseling for ladies in crisis pregnancies. I received this email from our Finance Team Leader today. This is a wonderful testimony to God's providence for those that are doing His work.

"I contacted Cheri at the Frankfort Pregnanacy Help Center to tell her The Point wanted to start supporting their ministry financially on a monthly basis. She said a new Pregnancy Help Center had recently opened in Shelbyville and no churches have supported that ministry financially yet. The Frankfort AAPHC had 1 Shelbyville Church sponsor but was relutcant to transfer that support to the Shelbyville AAPHC. The day before I called she decided to transfer the 1 Shelbyville Church sponsorship to the Shelbyville AAPHC. Then low and behold we call the next day and fill that gap.

It's awesome to see God's hand at work, I'm excited to see what he has in store next for TPCC as we follow HIM."

Thanks Kelly for following God's leadership and bringing this to us!

The Look Of The Point

2006-03-21T10:12:00.000-05:00

For some time now we have had a team of people developing a logo design for The Point Community Church. After many hours of prayer and design work, this is the logo they have arrived at. For the past several weeks, many random people at The Point have been asked for their input in this and other design ideas. It became clear that 'simple' and 'clean' were the looks that were preferred. The design that started this idea is not original with us, but the final look is original and was completed by Andrew Dodson. Thanks Andrew, Julia, Becca and Dwayne!

There are about three variations of this that we may use for various applications.

Here is a brief explanation of the elements...

The four arrows come to a point. The Point Church exists to point people to the cross of Jesus Christ. Everything we are about and everything we do must be centered on the cross. The cross reflects on the price paid for our redemption and the new life that is promised through the resurrection of Christ.

The circle that surrounds the arrows and the cross represents the fellowship of believers that is The Point Church. Our circle of fellowship and love encompasses everyone and is never ending.

The colors of the arrows represent God's sovereignty and reign (purple) and our responsiblity to share His love and guide others to Him (blue) as He draws all people to Himself for the purpose of His glory.

Tell us what you think. This may or may not be a finished project...if not, it's very, very close.

Great News About Caitlin

2006-03-20T23:17:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, as the service was ending, Jon and Traci Dixon came to me and asked if we could specifically pray for a young girl in the Cincinnati Children's Hospital that is very close to them. Caitlin has serious problems with her heart and was in very critical condition. Immediately, we stopped singing and prayed for Caitlin and her family. Today, I received this email from Jon and Traci...

Today Caitlin was discharged from ICU to a step down floor. Her vital signs are stable and so far her little heart is able to keep up with her bodies needs without the help of most of the drugs that she had been on to support her. She is on a cocktail of about 4 medicines to control her blood pressure and keep her blood thin. She will be monitored for a period of time before the Docs decide the next course of action.

Caitlin was supposed to be wheeled down the hall in her bed...she refused to "roll" anywhere. Below is a picture of Caitlin walking down the hall carrying her Polly Pockets to her new room...

Everyone at The Point Community Church will continue to pray for Caitlin and her family. We rejoice in this tremendous news, praise God for Caitlin!

Call To Prayer

2006-03-17T11:34:00.000-05:00

Sunday night, we will gather for a concert of prayer. We are being blessed mightily in the early days of this congregation. We need to carefully take every decision and step to the Lord. In the coming days we have decisions to make regarding our long term meeting location. There are several strong options for us, God has been really good to us. There are exciting doors open for us, we will not make a move until we are convinced He has ordained our move. Please join us this Sunday as we go before the Lord as a congregation seeking His face and His way.

Sunday
Pre-service prayer - 9:30am
Worship - 10am
Prayer Service - 6pm (Leadership Council Meeting following)

We will commit to significant, focused and purposeful prayer throughout next week as we allow God to lead us in the area of our decisions regarding our meeting location. Next Wednesday, we will gather again to pray and openly discuss our options that God is giving.

I am so very encouraged by the options we have before us. I am even more encouraged and blessed that our leaders will not determine by reasoning what we are to do, but rather will take this important decision to our Lord for His guidance and direction.

Your pastor,

Rick

What's For Dinner?

2006-03-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

Our first big potluck is scheduled. I guess that makes us officially a church.

Sunday evening, April 2 at The Point. Vicki Settle and her team of servants are leading this. You will be hearing and seeing more information about the details Sunday.

This gathering will also feature praise and worship, testimonies, prayer over our upcoming Easter services and another open forum for discussion. It will be good to share all of this with you. It's time for the family to sit down and share a meal, rejoicing over what God is doing among us.

Easter Look

2006-03-14T14:31:00.000-05:00

Hundreds of doorhangers and thousands of invitation cards with this graphic will cover the area in the coming weeks in preparation for our Easter launch.

Please plan to come the morning of Saturday, April 8 and give us a hand in handing these out as we canvas neighborhoods with invitations to our Easter services.

Point people (is that what we're called?) will be given handfulls of invitation cards to give to friends, co-workers and neighbors as well.

The Substance Of The Gospel

2006-03-11T11:50:00.000-05:00

The substance of the gospel is clear in the first few verses of Romans. As we walk our way through Romans and what Paul is saying to the church at Rome and the church today, we clearly see the transformation that has taken place in his heart.

Paul, this once persecutor and hater anything Christ, is pointing all of the gospel to the center of the cross and the personhood of Jesus Christ. To put it simply...everything, absolutely everything is about Jesus Christ. Tomorrow, at The Point, we will see how the purpose of the gospel of Christ is the obedience of faith. There is a process that becomes apparent through this powerful piece of scripture. Faith produces obedience which produces relationship.

And as we worship, we celebrate that through the gospel we are able to enjoy the relationship established through the cross. I look forward to seeing what God has in store for us.

Romans 1:1-6
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. Through him and for his name's sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith. And you also are among those who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

TPCC Update 3.7.06

2006-03-05T22:36:00.000-05:00

To bring you up to date on some on-going developments at TPCC:

1. The 'Skatarama' building - we are in talks with the building owner. The good news is that he wants to work with us and get us into the building on a long term basis. We are praying through this and seeking out God's determination on our long term location. This building seems ideal for what we want to do as a church and ministry. We believe that this facility offers all kinds of outreach and community ministry opportiunities. There is another church that wants to lease the smaller part of the building (the former 'Fun Town Pizza'). Ofcourse, we too would like to utlize this area for our children's ministry, like we do now. Two seperate churches meeting in the same building (different parts of the same building) do pose some issues that we would have to overcome. Such as parking, signage, and the general confusion of "which church am I going to?" We do have other attractive options that are out there and available. But for now and several weeks to come (possibly much longer), we are blessed to be in this great facility.

2. Small Group Bible Studies - We plan to debut small group Bible studies in homes right after Easter and our public launch. For the first few weeks, all groups will study the same material. It is some terrific material for church plants like The Point. Then, as we develop more choices and options, our small group ministry will evolve and grow with the church. The next step is to train the small group leaders and prepare them to lead others. Charles Shackelford is the Small Group Ministry Team Leader.

3. Follow Up on Guests - we are enjoying several new faces each week. I am facilitating much of the follow up with calls, personal visits by appointment and letters. There are others that are assisting me with this until the Outreach Team is fully up and running.

4. Missions - From day one, I have said that I believe that God wants us to be intentionally missional. I, along with others, am praying about where and when God wants us to go. I believe that God wants to put TPCC feet on land in Kentucky, North America and foreign lands in 2006.

5. Baptisms - we have several people to baptize. Where will we do this? Well, I am feverishly working on this. We have several options here ranging from local churches to portable baptistries. When the weather is warmer, we will likely baptize in the heated pool of a TPCC family (we'll make it a party-- baptisms and barbecue!)

6. Membership - we are now receiving members. If you are a confessing believer in Jesus Christ and have been baptized by immersion then we are pleased to receive you as a member of The Point. Ofcourse, if you are a new believer, then you become a member of TPCC upon your baptism and confession of Christ. If you are bringing your church membership to TPCC from another Christian church, we have a form for you to complete. Soon, we will be offering a class that is required for new members (which is pretty much all of us :-) ). Frank and Vivian Phillips serve as our membership clerks.

7. Ministry Teams - these teams are the muscle of TPCC. There are several teams up and running, such as Children, Youth, Worship, Administration, Communications, Hospitality, and Small Groups. There are at least 3 additional teams that need a team leader. They are: Fellowship, Prayer and Outreach/Missions.

8. Finances and Giving - we have been very blessed. Weekly giving is very strong and getting stronger. We have a financial accountability system set up and contributions are being recorded for year-end tax statements. Only two Admin/Finance team members are aware of who gives what. This is always discreet and never discussed. At TPCC, we do not place a value on money. We know that money is a neccessary tool for doing ministry and that God has a plan for our finances. However, we will not ask 'can we afford it?' or will we be constrained by budgetary concerns. Simply, God will provide where He leads.

This is just a short list of the things that we are working on. God is truly at work among us and is providing wisdom, leadership and guidance all along the way. The life of a young church can be hectic, changing and unpredictable. We have a tremendous team of leaders that are guiding the way under the leadership of God and His Holy Spirit.

We are a mere seven weeks old, but the strength of this young church plant is considerable. Sunday was a tremendous day for the church. The crowd was the largest yet, with many new faces and lots of children. More than anything, the sweet spirit of redemption was evident as several people came to Christ, several joined in membership and still more re-confirmed the Lordship of Jesus in their lives.

I just wanted to give you a brief update on all of the exciting opportunities and challenges that we have before us. The Point Community Church is an exciting place to be.

You are loved,

Rick

Only God...

2006-03-05T21:39:00.000-05:00

It's good to see God do the things that only He can do. Worshipping with the people of The Point Church was a tremendous experience today. We saw God open the hearts of several people as they surrendered and came to know Jesus as Savior. Still others returned to Jesus as Lord. This is what happens when God's people pray, praise and surrender.

Again, it is good to see God do the things that only He can do....because it is then that only He receives the glory. We glory only in the grace of a loving God, nothing more and never less.

"Grace is but Glory begun, and Glory is but Grace perfected" Jonathan Edwards

Praise God.

Rick

Please Hold Onto The Bar

2006-03-04T00:25:00.000-05:00

As you know, we are in the process of securing more chairs. If it really existed, this model would do nicely. Although we are in need of a nifty logo.....hmmmm...

Journey Through Romans

2006-03-03T15:46:00.000-05:00

Beginning Sunday, March 5 we will take a journey through the book of Romans. This verse by verse sermon series will form a tremendous foundation for our individual lives and our life as a young congregation.

It is very difficult to summarize the Book of Romans. It is so full of truth! The Book of Romans tells us about God, who He is and what He has done. It tells us of Jesus Christ, what His death accomplished and what his conquering death promises. It tells us about ourselves, what we were like without Christ and who we are after trusting in Christ. Perhaps the best application of Romans would be to apply Romans 1:16 and not be ashamed of the Gospel. Instead, let us all be faithful in proclaiming it!

This Sunday we will look at Romans 1:1, "A True Follower Of Christ". What does a true Christ follower look like? What are the characteristics of someone who has a relationship with the risen Christ as opposed to just a believer in a religion that is about Christ?

There are so many new faces each week at TPCC. Let's be sure to welcome each one and encourage our friends and families to join us on this exciting journey of faith. I look foward to worshipping with you this coming Lord's Day!

2.25.06

2006-02-26T22:37:00.000-05:00

The excitement is contagious at The Point Community Church. Worshipping with you today was wonderful! It is a true joy to gather with you each week. Once again, there were many new faces in worship today. The number of people coming to The Point is just something that only God can do - wow! God's people are drawing deeper in their relationship with Him, there are decisions to follow Christ every week. To Him be the glory!

Answered prayer was the theme of the day. Several people reported praises and answered prayer today. Last week you heard Brad O. request prayer for his dad. Today, you heard Brad say that his dad was attending church with his mom for the first time in a long time. Later, as I was having lunch, Brad called to say that his dad joined Crestwood and will be baptized soon. Praise God!!

I believe that as we honor God and exalt Jesus that He will draw people to Himself, we are seeing this come to fruition. At TPCC, we must simply BE the church that God is calling to us be by being faithful to the Word.

To bring you up to date on a few items...

Small Group Bible Studies are being developed. Soon, leaders will be trained and groups will begin meeting.

We are walking through the book of Ephesians verse by verse on Wednesday nights. The Apostle Paul has much to say to us as a young church. Come and join us for this study of God's Word.

The Leadership Council, which is made up of Ministry Team Leaders, is meeting regularly for the purpose of planning, scheduling and coordinating of ministry. These teams are: Admin/Finance, Youth, Children, Hospitality, Worship, Small Groups, Prayer, Fellowship and Missions. Other teams are coming soon. This team is the lead decision making body at TPCC.

God is building our eldership. God is dealing with men about serving as an elder at TPCC. This is going slowly, but it is evident that God is working and leading in this vital area of leadership.

Giving and Finances are very strong.

We are still confirming our current meeting location. We are tremendously blessed to be meeting in such a great facility. We hope to continue to meet in this building for a long time. Our Administration Team has made an initial proposal to the property owner for a long term commitment. However, if this doesn't work out, we know that God may have other plans for our meeting location.

We are planning an all day fellowship and ministry event. This is really exciting! More details on this are coming soon.

More than one missions experience is being planned for 2006.

Every day brings more excitement! Our challenges are great. Our opportunities are greater. We are a young congregation, and God is leading and blessing. Our focus is on health, not growth. But healthy things grow. It is indeed an honor to serve you as your Pastor. I praise God for this opportunity and I ask for your prayers and patience. What a wonderful journey we are on together!

You are loved,

Rick

3 -2 -1 ....

2006-02-23T21:03:00.000-05:00

We are planning the Easter launch of TPCC. Everyone will need to be involved in order for us to maximize the impact and enable a strong 'public' launch. Ofcourse, we are very public already.

There are several new faces each week and more people are coming - which is wonderful! Linley and I were having lunch today at McDonalds (where else?) when I ran into a friend from another church. As I was telling her about The Point, others around heard us talking and started asking questions. They seemed excited. It was great! I really hope to see them at The Point soon. I am more convinced everyday that our city not only needs, but WANTS a new beginning that a new church, like The Point, has to offer through Jesus Christ.

As part of our launch at Easter, we will be canvassing neighborhoods on a Saturday, sending out a direct mailing to several hundred homes, running ads and preparing for the new faces that God brings us. Begin praying now for everything that this launch entails. More on the launch soon...

buckle up!

It's all about...Him.

2006-02-21T09:22:00.000-05:00

Sunday at The Point was simply wonderful. The sweet Spirit that permeated the worship experience, the personal testimonies, the response from God's people was very moving. God is drawing His people to Him for the purpose of His sanctifying work.

There were a lot of people at worship. Many new faces and several familiar faces that I had not seen in awhile.

I like to ask questions. I found myself asking the many new people that I had never met before, "so, how did you hear about The Point?". The responses were varied and widespread. TPCC has not publicly launched yet. We have no advertising campaign, yet. We have no marketing strategy, yet. We don't even have a sign, yet. So how are they finding us? Do they walk in the door expecting to stap on some roller skates and skate to disco music? Are they looking for a fresh slice of pizza? Probably not. The roller rink and pizza place have been closed for quite some time.

I am reminded that we have a very simple way of publicity...

John 12:32
"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself."

We want to see Jesus lifted high! A banner that flies across this land.

- Rick

As We Go...

2006-02-17T23:26:00.000-05:00

Matthew 10 gives us the account of Jesus instructing His disciples in their ministry. This is so very relevant for us today.

I highlighted parts that particularly stood out to me.

These twelve Jesus sent out after instructing them: "Do not go in the way of the Gentiles, and do not enter any city of the Samaritans; but rather go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give. Do not acquire gold, or silver, or copper for your money belts, or a bag for your journey, or even two coats, or sandals, or a staff; for the worker is worthy of his support. And whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it, and stay at his house until you leave that city. As you enter the house, give it your greeting. If the house is worthy, give it your blessing of peace. But if it is not worthy, take back your blessing of peace. Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city. A Hard Road before Them. Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; so be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves. But beware of men, for they will hand you over to the courts and scourge you in their synagogues; and you will even be brought before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles. But when they hand you over, do not worry about how or what you are to say; for it will be given you in that hour what you are to say. For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you. Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. But whenever they persecute you in one city, flee to the next; for truly I say to you, you will not finish going through the cities of Israel until the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master. It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the head of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign the members of his household! Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops. Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a cent? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows. Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I came to set a man against his fayher, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies will be the members of his household; He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it. The Reward of Service He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward; and he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man's reward. And whoever in the name of a disciple gives to one of these little ones even a cup of cold water to drink, truly I say to you, he shall not lose his reward."

Praise God For A Critic!

2006-02-17T07:51:00.000-05:00

This morning a critic posted a harsh comment on this blog. The comment was removed, but may be added at another time by the blog administrator. I want to encourage the critic to read previous posts about our desire to be a truly Biblical church and about how the people at The Point are committed to operating under the authority of Scripture and nothing else.

Note added: the comment prompted a healthy dialogue that is located on Pastor Rick's personal blog - click on the link to the right to read the entire discussion.

It is unfortunate that the criticism likely came from a brother or sister in Christ. The true Biblical church is a kingdom church. At The Point, we understand that we are not THE church, we are just part of THE church on earth and that we join our hearts with every other Christ centered church in reaching Frankfort and indeed the world with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

Speaking of Good News...The Point Community Church is now one month old. In the first month, we have had people come to salvation in Christ or be re-assured of salvation in Christ every week. PRAISE GOD and Him alone for the things that only He can do. We just don't boast much about ourselves because we cannot take credit for what GOD does.

We do not lose heart because of a critical voice. In fact, we rejoice! It is Jesus that had His religious critics and it is Jesus that was unjustly accused, crucified, murdered and left for dead. It is also Jesus that lives again to offer joy, peace and eternal life.

Rejoicing!!!

(the critic's comment was removed, not to hide their comments, but to protect the community witness and sweet people of another fellowship. The comment could hurt others in another church, and so it was removed.)

Stayin Alive!

2006-02-15T13:01:00.000-05:00

All right people...here it is. The inevitable pic (morphed) of me on skates (thanks Melinda!). Feel free to add your own clever caption by submitting comments...

The Word lights our way...

2006-02-11T20:30:00.000-05:00

The Point church is to be a healthy church. With so many ‘models’ of ministry out there, we must be committed that our first priority is to be a church that is truly Biblical. In the early days, and indeed in every day to come, we must strive to search scriptures and let God’s Word alone guide us in the formation of every aspect of church life. While we are contemporary in our approach to ministry, our priorities and doctrine are centuries old. We believe that there is a healthy and wise balance of modern methods and sound doctrine, powerful worship and expositional preaching, innovative ministry and transformational teaching, casual dress and serious discipleship, compassion and Truth.

ACTS 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The Point is...Jesus.

2006-02-08T22:47:00.000-05:00

It's a particularly cold Wednesday evening, but the warmth of the people tonight 'at church' was touching. Judith shared how she had gone to church for years and experienced a lot of religion. She shared how she and her daughter have sensed genuine love and acceptance at The Point and that she felt at home. It was evident by the smiles in the group that others too sense the same love and acceptance that Judith does.

It is good to be with God's people, searching scripture, praying for each other and truly enjoying being together. Judith's sweet testimony and expression was very encouraging and uplifting to all us. It is also a lesson to savor, there are so many hungry souls for more than religion and legalism. Religion is just another dead-end philosophy that ends in disappointment for all and even damnation for some. Religion is an addiction of sorts that may temporarily and falsely satisfy the cravings of one's heart.

Ahhhh...but Jesus! It is Jesus who sets us free from religion and gives us a relationship with His Father! It is Jesus that makes the difference. It is Jesus that changes lives. It is Jesus that is building His church. It is Jesus that saves. Contrary to the passive, priestly, pious Jesus that too many churches espouse and portray, Jesus was a radical rebel that came to set God's people free from religion.

C.S. Lewis writes: "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic - on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg - or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronising nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." (C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, pp. 40-41.)

What about you? Who is this Jesus to you?

Heart To Serve

2006-02-06T21:38:00.000-05:00

Jesus said "...if one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest." Matthew 20:26

Leaders have a heart to serve others. Servant leadership involves caring for the people that God gives us at The Point. Jesus was the ultimate expression of servant leadership. This is a godly desire to lighten the load of others by serving them while they serve. Servant leaders model what Jesus did with those around Him. He cared for them by making sure that their needs were taken care of and that they developed in the process.

The scriptures indicate the characteristics of a servant leader: an attitude of humility, a willingness to listen, an ability to empathize with the needs of others, a commitment to seeing that those needs are met.

There are many people of The Point that are true servant leaders. All of us must continually seek out what it is that God has for us to do. As we grow and develop, needs will arise and we will put out the call for servant leaders. I believe that God is even now preparing hearts and minds to meet these needs even before we know the need.

Here are some areas that we do need servant leaders:
- building pick up and clean up after services.
- childcare during services.
- the hospitality team needs greeters, cafe' attendants and info booth attendants.

This is but just a short list of current needs. Visit the info booth and find out more about opporunities for you to serve at The Point. Or just email me: rlong7@gmail.com or call 502.320.9756.

Read Mark 10:42-45 and let God speak to your heart. What an absolute joy it is to serve you!

Rick

Living Stones

2006-02-03T15:25:00.000-05:00

1 Peter 2:4-8
“As you come to him, the living Stone— rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. For in Scripture it says: See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone, and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame. Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe, The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone, and, A stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall. They stumble because they disobey the message— which is also what they were destined for.”

Update 2.3.06

2006-02-03T10:34:00.001-05:00

What a great week it has been in the life of TPCC! Praising God and being Blessed by Him!

The Point Community Church gathers for worship Sunday at 10am. Come and bring friends! Come early and have some Coffee and Pastries at the PointCafe'. (KidsPoint has been moved to Wednesdays)

Wednesday Services time has changed...we gather on Wednesdays at 6pm for KidsPoint and fellowship. Adult Bible study will begin at 6:15pm.

Wintry Weather Plan - just in case it snows, hop on the website and check for updates and notices. We have a snow removal plan in place...shovels!

The SuperBowl party that was being planned for Sunday night will not be at the 127 South Building, we may have more to say on this Sunday morning.

Visit the blog and website everyday for encouragement, prayer needs and important announcements!

Volunteers are needed for many areas of service at TPCC. There will soon be a Volunteer page on the website.

VERTEX: (http://www.vertexlive.net/) will meet Friday night at the 127 South Building for fun & fellowship, coffeehouse and Bible study. Contact Jeremy Triplett at vertexinfoman@aol.com

PointYOUTH: Overnighter - Feb 10; "The Flood" Bible Study starts Wednesday Feb 8. Contact Russ Neal, Youth Team Leader, at 502-803-6635 or brahmabull001@hotmail.com

KIDSpoint

2006-02-02T09:19:00.000-05:00

KID'S POINT-----Wednesday Nights 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM

Parents, the Children's Ministry Team is committed to providing our children with a loving environment where they will be taught not only how to study God's word but how to apply God's word to their everyday life.

Beginning Wednesday February 8 join the Time-Stone Travelers on a Quest for the 10 Commandments. We will journey through far away places as we search for the 10 Commandments. Parents are welcome to join us on our adventure. This will be for children 4 years old to 5th grade. Child care will be provided for children under 4 years old.

The Children's Minsitry Team is asking for volunteers who feel lead to teach to commit to a one month rotation in Kid's Point. All materials will be provided for you, so you will just need to study the material provided and be ready to present the information to the kids. Our goal is to have a lead teacher and an assistant teacher for each class. As our curriculum develops and changes we will make the necessary changes to our scheduling.

The curriculum we are beginning with will be done much like VBS so we will need some additonal help with things such as crafts and music. We will also need greeters to welcome the kids and their families as they come into church, these greeters will "sign" the kids in, give them name tags and direct them to their "class".

We will need people willing to work in the nursery, not only on Wednesday nights but also on Sunday morning during corporate worship. I would love to have enough volunteers that this could be a once every quarter rotation (that would be 1 Sunday or Wednesday every three months) and as new members are added to our family we will have a much longer rotation schedule.

Last but certainly not least. The Children's Ministry Team covet your prayers. Pray for the members of the team, pray for God's wisdom in decision making and planning, pray for the workers that God will provide to work in Kid's Point, and pray for our kids and their families.

Thank you for joining us on this great adventure. If you have any questions, please contact me at 330-0778 or for Preschool Mindy Peck at 695-8012.

Thanks!!

Janine

Painful Lessons

2006-02-01T11:37:00.000-05:00

Once, when I was a kid. (Keep reading despite the possibly nauseating content :) My family and I went to Virginia Beach for vacation. It wasn't my first trip to the ocean, but it is the first that I remember. I was so excited. When we arrived in Virginia Beach my dad drove straight to the beach because I was so excited. I don't remember, but I probably even threw a fit that prompted him to drive past the hotel and go to the beach.

I jumped out of the car, ran down the sand path and over the dunes. There it was. The ocean with lots of inticing white caps and sea gulls. I ran ahead of my dad, despite his calls for me to wait for him. I raced toward the water that I had anticipated so much during that long drive from Lexington. I got out of the car so fast that I did not stop to put my shoes on. On my way across the sandy beach I stepped onto not one, but two jelly fish that were in a shallow pool. The pain was excruciating. I spent the next 3 days in pain and in trouble (my dad was not a 'time out' kind of guy. He was a 'cut the switch from the nearest tree' kind of guy) My feet felt better than my....well...you know.

Why do I share such a story?

In the early days of this wonderful church, we must be very careful that our enthusiasm and energy does not lead us down a path in front of our Father who just says 'wait'. There are many opportunities for us in the days, weeks, months ahead. There are many wonderful ministries and acitivities that we will do.

But only as God says 'do'. Not as we think we need to. Remember...it is not our job to build the church. Jesus said that He would build HIS church. We are just to BE the church.

We must be vigilant that we do not move too fast. If I had waited for my dad that day, he would have been frustratingly slow about getting out of the car and heading down to the water. But I would not have stepped on those jelly fish and would have enjoyed my family vacation.

Lesson learned? I hope so.

The Living Word

2006-01-31T00:23:00.000-05:00

Philippians 2: 1-11
Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and sympathetic? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one heart and purpose.
Don't be selfish; don't live to make a good impression on others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourself. Don't think only about your own affairs, but be interested in others, too, and what they are doing. Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal's death on a cross. Because of this, God raised him up to the heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Charting The Course

2006-01-30T00:11:00.000-05:00

The coming weeks, months and years will be filled with God's people at The Point prayerfully considering His direction for us.

Ministries are forming, leaders are being developed and The Point Community Church is taking shape.

Today was a wonderful worship experience together! To accomodate the crowd, we moved into the large open space of the former skating rink. There were people there that I had never met before. God is at work and to Him be the glory.

God is leading and we are following. We are explorers in this still yet to be charted territory. As I encouraged the church this morning, we must be very careful to only move forward as He leads. There are lots of good ideas and lots of good things we can be doing right now. We just need to be extemely careful that we don't become so busy doing good things that we forget to do the best things, or that the 'clutter' crowds out God's voice.

Each week seems to have a special, concentrated focus. The first week, we concentrated on some administrative matters and starting the Children's Ministry Lead Team. Last week, we focused on Student Ministry development. This week will focus on the Small Group Bible Studies. With each new day, comes new opportunities and new challenges. We are so very young as a congregation but already so very strong because of God's providence and protection.

God is at work. He is leading His people to BE His church. Remember, it isn't our job to build the church, God has already done that. It is our responsibility to BE THE CHURCH.

Our course is set. The captain, Jesus Christ, is at the helm. What a joy it is to be on this voyage with you!

I really like how 'The Message' words this passage from Matthew 7:13... "Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. "

This article by John Piper is especially relevant to us as a young fellowship...

- Rick

Update 1.27.06

2006-01-27T15:10:00.000-05:00

Check out the TPCC website www.thepointcommunity.net (still under construction)
We gather for worship at 10am each Sunday (currently meeting at the former skating rink on Hwy 127 South / I-64)
KidsPoint starts Sunday Feb. 5 at 9am (children and youth classes)
Home Bible Fellowship Groups begin soon!

How big is your vision?

A better question is 'how big is your God?'

Here is an excerpt from an article by Rick Warren:

"Over the years, I've learned that – contrary to popular opinion – the bigger the vision, the easier it is to reach that vision, and, ultimately, the size of your vision should be determined by the size of God. How big do you think God is? The issue is not who do you think you are, but who do you think God is? In your dreams for your ministry, don’t limit yourself by saying, “What can I do?” Instead ask, “What can God do in this place?”

Everyday, I become more convinced that God is so much bigger than anything I could ever imagine. Today I was driving and pondering things such as this. Numbers and creativity do not impress God at all. Afterall, this is the God that created the universe where the nearest star to the Earth, other than the sun, is 32 trillion miles away. And beyond that 'neighboring' star is infinite space consumed by God's creativity. That's a really, really, really huge God!

What can God do with The Point Community Church? Anything He pleases as long as TPCC pleases Him.

- Rick

We are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, you are God's building. —1 Corinthians 3:9

The Problem With Christianity

2006-01-25T23:15:00.000-05:00

>> This is an article and blog post from April 5 2005, on my personal blog that seems more real to me now that I am a part of a church that is seeking to BE the church that Jesus lived and died for. <<

"The problem with Christians today is that nobody is trying to kill them." I have forgotten who's quote that actually is. It is true I think. Perhaps the fire of our faith would burn white hot if someone where trying to eradicate the flame. It is so important that I remember how much Jesus loves the church. He bagan the church and gave us our marching order to serve the world. Honestly, I am believing more and more everyday that the church in America is nowhere close to what our Lord intended. There are some congregations that seem to be returning to the heart of Jesus, but only a few. The following is an excerpt of an article by Erwin McManus - lead pastor of Mosaic - www.mosaic.org

"For those of us who call ourselves followers of Christ, we have but one calling - to become like Christ no matter how great the cost because that’s what the world so desperately needs!!! Therefore, there is no such thing as “missions,” there is only one mission…We tend to give the term “missionary” to those Believers who are actually serious about obeying the call… and we use the term “Christian” to describe everyone else who’s not that serious… We tend to categorize missionaries into some type of higher calling… but the reality is that we all have the same calling… We justify our laziness and fear by giving money to those with the courage to the work… we should never pay people to do a job that we ourselves are not willing to do… That would only make us mercenaries….You will never be persucuted by choosing a life of mediocrity… but were we not called to suffer??? When you choose to truly follow Christ, you will be pushing against the very momentum of humanity…We must get past our American consumer mentality when it comes to the church… The church isn’t here to serve us or to provide programming that meets our entertainment criteria… WE ARE THE CHURCH… and we are here to serve the rest of the world!!!"

Update 1.25.06

2006-01-25T13:36:00.000-05:00

The energy and enthusiasm continues to grow. There have been several people from out in the community contact me and ask about The Point. I am hearing so many people say that Frankfort has long needed this.

The start up of ministry teams is continuing to develop. The Youth Ministry team is meeting on Thursday. Soon we will launch our small group Bible Studies in homes throughout the city. We are working on ways to simplify this if there are multiple people in a family that will be involved (such as youth and children).

KIDSPOINT will be our Sunday morning Bible study groups for children and youth. KIDSPOINT starts Feb 5 at 9am.

We are in the process of confirming our long term meeting location. There are several exciting options, including staying where we are (at the skating rink location).

FAMILY NIGHT kicks off tonight at 6:30pm!

TONIGHT we will begin discussing, in the form of a Bible study, our Belief Statement and Vision statement.

So......Get to The Point TONIGHT at 6:30pm at the 127 South location.

The Point is...Streams In The Desert

2006-01-23T23:56:00.000-05:00

Isaiah 43:18-21 "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland. The wild animals honor me, the jackals and the owls, because I provide water in the desert and streams in the wasteland, to give drink to my people, my chosen, the people I formed for myself that they may proclaim my praise.

Journey Of The Unexpected

2006-01-23T16:21:00.000-05:00

What an awesome worship experience we shared yesterday! The sweet spirit of God's people was overwhelming and touching. It's exhilierating, not knowing what to expect, and then God shows up and blesses His people. I really had no idea what to expect. At this point (no play on words intended), we have no expectations. We just want to seek God and glorify Him in all that we do. I wasn't expecting such a large crowd. We already need more space, chairs and parking places!

This is already a journey of the unexpected! The key is that God knows no surprises. Nothing shocks Him and makes Him think "wow! I wasn't expecting that!". Our God holds our future, our past and our present. That's why our faith must increase.

Speaking of surprises...Thanks so much for making my 36th birthday really special. The huge cake was definately unexpected and wonderful. Thanks to the children's ministry team for planning the surprise!
-------------

In order for us to move forward into our new opportunity and our new challenge, we must first cross a river of impossibility – how?

From Joshua 3:1-5;14-17...here is the outline from my sermon yesterday.
1. FIX YOUR EYES ON JESUS (THE ARK) 3:1-4
The Ark represents God’s presence and power
Following Jesus always leads into uncharted territory
We must respect the holiness of God
WARNING: we must be seeking the Savior and nothing else!
2. LET GOD USE YOUR LIFE (CONSECRATE) (3:5)
Here are 3 ways to consecrate yourself…
Get rid of your junk (sin)
Get into God’s Word
Get on your knees in prayer and fasting
Pray for:
o Pray for each other. That God has His way in our lives and that the sin that binds us up will be confessed and turned from.
o Pray for the thousands of people in this region that need Jesus. Pray that God will give us favor with them.
o Pray that our adversary, the devil, will be rendered totally harmless in his attacks on our church, leaders and families during this critical time.
3. STEP INTO THE RIVER (3:14-17)
It is time that we step into the river, eyes fixed on Jesus, and move into the land of our new opportunity and challenge.

Journeying with you,

Rick

Uncharted Territory

2006-01-21T12:41:00.000-05:00

Today (1/22 at 3pm), we worship as a congregation together on the first of many Sundays for The Point. Today we cross the Jordan and enter in the land of our new opportunity and challenge.

Join with me in prayer as we prepare our hearts for worship and consecration. We will share the bread and the fruit of the vine together on our first Sunday.

I am mindful that there are many that have not joined us on this journey yet. We don't know their names, they may not even know of us yet. God is preparing the harvest and God is preparing us as workers in the field.

There is tremendous excitement and energy about worshipping together today. The Journey continues...

Sunday at 3pm at the former skating rink on 127 South and I-64 in West Frankfort. Please note that the 3pm is for today only. 10am will be our regular worship time starting next Sunday (1/29).

- humbled to be your Pastor, Rick

So Far In Such A Short Time

2006-01-19T21:14:00.000-05:00

The past week or so is somewhat of a blur for many people. I hope someone is writing all of this down. Oh wait! That's what this blog is for!

To bring us all up to date:

God began the formation of a body of believers now called The Point Community Church. TPCC is a place for everyone: young and old. This is a place where every generation, race and culture is welcome!

We are praying that God raises up leaders and Elders as we move forward as a New Testament church.

God has provided a fabulous place for us to meet and worship in a terrific location.

The first Ministry Team has met and begun to organize. The Children's Ministry Team is planning and preparing a strong ministry to families.

The Praise Team is preparing for their first rehearsal and planning to lead worship this Sunday.

The Administrative Team has been really busy getting us legal and preparing a process to handle the business of the church. We are now incorporated, have bank accounts and are registered as a church. The people of TPCC have already begun to tithe.

Other ministry teams are forming too, such as Youth, Hospitality, Missions, Senior Care and more. A website and other ways of communicating to the church body is being developed.

We held our first Wednesday night worship ("Bodybuilding??") with a great crowd of over 70 people. What a sweet spirit of testimony and praise we had.

We are seeking God's direction and want to join Him where He is already at work.

We are preparing for our first Sunday worship together as a church, when we will take the Lord's Supper together as a body united in spirit and purpose.

Prayer has been the prevailing acitivity...and that sets a great precedent.

PRAISE GOD for all the He has done and will do. To Him and Him alone be the glory. To have brought us this far in such a brief time...what will be praising Him for in a month? a year? 10 years? 25 years?........the answer is...we don't know-- but this we do know-- we WILL be praising Him.

What are some of things this past week or so that you have witnessed God do??
Come on - post a comment....please...

Remember...Sunday at 3pm - invite and bring at least one friend or family.

Update 1.18.06

2006-01-18T09:24:00.000-05:00

TPCC will meet together tonight (1/18) at 6pm for prayer, testimony, Scripture and and open forum. Kids will have a great time in the wide open spaces of the former "Skata-rama".

We will also gather for worship on Sunday (1/22) at 3pm. Please note the time change.
(the 3pm time is for Sunday 1/22 only)

Until further notice we will meet at the former skating rink and Fun Town Pizza location on south 127.

**Bring your lawn/camp chairs and any extra you may have for others. We are working on securing a large number of chairs. Until then, bring your favorite!

**Again, we have many people that have other commitments for a couple of weeks at our sister church. They will be at Crestwood until their responsibilities conclude. We strongly encourage you to be faithful to any commitments you have made and help in a smooth transition.

Directions:
South on 127 , just across I-64 from Wal-Mart. Turn right at the first light. Our meeting location is the tan/green building next to the truck dealership.

It's All In The Name

2006-01-16T15:24:00.000-05:00

After much conversation coming out of much prayer...a name has arisen from the pile of suggestions.

The Point Community Church

Simple, concise, Biblical and intriguing to the community.

It's fun...think of the possibilities...Tim C suggests a bumber sticker that says (drum roll please...) "Get To The Point".

So here's our point >>

Isaiah 61:1 - The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me (us) because the LORD has anointed me (us) to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me (us) to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners..

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QUESTION OF THE DAY - since there are so many!

How are decisions being made right now with no complete Elder body in place yet?

The answer is that as things come up that need immediate attention, such as incorporation, setting up bank accounts, determining location, etc, I as the Pastor consult with our first and only elder currently (Brad Chase) and with a larger group from about 8-12 others. Those others are some of the leaders that God seems to be raising up as we move forward. For instance, we are in the process of forming some initial ministry teams. One of those teams is the Administrative Team. This team will coordinate items such as finance, insurance and legal matters. As God leads, individuals are volunteering and being affirmed by this unofficial group of prayerful advisors. As we develop a more refined process of organizing ourselves, this will become more efficient and explainable. If you have questions or concerns about this process, please contact me or Brad to discuss. We welcome input...really - we mean it ---- give us your input!

The most important aspect of decision making at The Point is prayer. Not just superficial prayer, but real seeking of God's Holy Spirit and confirmation through God's people and God's Word.

Simply put - We don't make a move until led by His Spirit and confirmed by His people and Word.

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LOCATION UPDATE!! Nothing is confirmed yet, but there is very exciting news regarding possible, potential, probable :) locations. PLEASE Pray over this throughout the day.

WE WILL MEET TOGETHER >>

Wednesday (1/18) at 6pm - Brief Bible study, prayer and site preparation (if needed)

Sunday (1/22) at 3pm - Worship (just ramping up, don't expect a musical extravaganza - Brad and other Chase family members will be away at a family baptism this day) But we will gather for worship, prayer and the Word.

(These are not going to be our regular meeting times. We want to be mindful that many of our people have prior commitments to ministry at our sister church. We intend to make the transition as smooth as possible for the people at Crestwood.)

>>> LOCATION --- The Point Church will meet at the former SKATARAMA Building. This is located in West Frankfort, at the I-64 / 127 interchange. (across I-64 from Wal-Mart -- 127 South on the right) <<<

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Mailing Address:

The Point Community Church PO Box 795, Frankfort Ky. 40602-0795

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Ministry Teams - these are forming as the need develops. We desire to be good stewards of people. So, we ask that as God leads you in certain areas that you not commit to serving on more than two ministry teams. No one person can lead more than 1 team at a time. We really want to have room for everyone to be involved and have a place to serve.

What's God speaking to YOU about?

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Visit this place often for updates and information you need to stay informed. You can also email and request that you be added to the contact list. Just send your name, email and preferred contact info.

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CONTACT:

Lead Pastor, Rick Long - 502.320.9756 - email: rlong@dcr.net

Worship Pastor, Brad Chase - 502.695.4841 - email: bcchas2@fastmail.fm

The Journey Begins

2006-01-15T18:12:00.000-05:00

Over 80 people gathered today in what is the beginning of a new Frankfort church.

Why does a city with a lot of churches need another church? The obvious answer is that Frankfort does not need another church. Frankfort needs this church...Because Frankfort needs Jesus. We join together with every other Jesus loving church in this city to reach our community with the truth of God's love.

At the end of the meeting, there was overwhelming excitement and anticipation of the great things to come. As we begin, we cannot forget that we are to be about the things that Jesus is about. We must share God's love in truth and compassion everyday in every way.

Welcome to the journey.

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We need a name. There are several suggestions floating around. Obviously, some of these seuggestions have found their way to this blog. Don't let that persuade your thoughts. Please submit ideas for conversation and feedback. Your input is welcome and needed. PRAY FOR GOD TO REVEAL OUR IDENTITY.

The suggestions I have heard so far...
"The Well"
"The Point"
"Vertex"
"Journey"
"The Summit"

add "Community Church' or just simply "Church" or nothing at all.

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Many questions, great questions, were asked today. This is a place where further questions, thoughts, ramblings, dreams, prayers and random notes can be posed and posted.

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The schedule for January 16 - 22 will be posted here on Monday 1/16.

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Prayer points:
Pray for the Worship Pastor, Brad Chase and the Lead Pastor, Rick Long.
Pray the God will raise men to serve in the role of an elder.
Pray that a meeting location is determined in God's time.
Pray that we do not run ahead of God, but instead...Go where and when He leads.
Pray for friends and families in transition and those still soaking this in.
Pray that in all things that the Lord Jesus Christ be honored in all that we do.

PRAISE HIM CONTINUALLY for all that He has done to bring us this far, and that He promises to lead us every day.
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Visit this place often for updates and information you need to stay informed. You can also email and request that you be added to the contact list. Just send your name, email and preferred contact info.

------

CONTACT:

Lead Pastor, Rick Long - 502.320.9756 - email: rlong@dcr.net

Worship Pastor, Brad Chase - 502.695.4841 - email: bcchas2@fastmail.fm