Sunday Aftermath

Yesterday, we had our 3rd service at Lakepointe Church. I was a little nervous about how many we would have in attendance. We knew that we had about 12-15 people of our core group that couldn't be there due to travel. My prayers was that we would at least maintain the crowd that we have been running in the 80's-90's. When the service started at 10:30, the crowd was low, but thankfully, they showed up and we ended with 87 for the day! Needless to say, I was excited. Here are some highlights:

• Our band was amazing! Two friends from Pensacola, Robert Gilliard and James Jernigan, flew up here to play yesterday. Robert leads the SEVEN22 band (the Tuesday night ministry that I led for 7 years), and James is a part of that same band (James also leads the Hundredfold Band). We also had a drummer and a bass player from the area that both did a great job. Our worship leader, Ben, did a great job of bringing these guys together for the first time to play on Sunday.

• Our message yesterday was about the core value of generosity. We talked about worship and giving through the story of the Wise Men and their gifts.

• As a part of the message, I gave away "one of my favorite things" (Oprah Style) - a Snuggie. (Seriously, it's not really one of my favorites. I just like to make fun of it!)
  

• We are seeing our people excited about bringing their friends to church. We had about 15 new guests.

• Our children's environments had a record high day with 24 in attendance!

• Again, our volunteers were amazing. A huge thanks to each volunteer! We cannot do church without you. Love you guys!

• A few weeks ago, our launch team made 1,000 goody bags with an invitation to our next service (January 17). We handed them out yesterday to our church and encourage them to hand these out. A few hours after the service, my associate Mark Nipper, received an email from one of our Lakepointers that their family had already handed out 45 goody bags!

• God has continued to bless us with another great offering! We also raised about $750 in Walmart gift cards to give to two family in need at Iroquois Middle School (the location of Lakepointe Church). Mark and I are meeting the families today and to give them the cards for Christmas! So AWESOME!!!

Again, I want to thank you for your prayers! Our next big event is on Sunday night, January 10 at Norm and Pam Beauregard's house. We are having a "State of the Church" address and we are praying for a large group to be a part of this night. Then our next Sunday morning service is on January 17. Have a merry Christmas!

The Lakepointe Dream

Recently, I read this post by Perry Noble, pastor of New Spring Church in Anderson, SC. What a powerful vision and this is what I desire for Lakepointe Church! Thanks for the great post, Perry!

PerryNoble.com
December 9, 2009

Ephesians 3:20 keep running over and over again in my mind…and I keep dreaming of a church (and churches…)

• That the ministry goes beyond the walls of the building and actually IMPACTS the community in a radical way.
• Where the broken, hurting and lost are received with open arms…and the religious are challenged to repent of their “perfection.”
• Where generosity is embraced.
• Where the staff and volunteers give their best to God in every task that they take on! (I don’t believe the church should look to organization like Disney and Apple for inspiration…I believe they should be looking at the church!!! Yes, they have great thinkers…we have the HOLY SPIRIT of the LIVING GOD! There is no excuse for half hearted, watered down effort in the Kingdom!)
• Where JESUS is exalted…NOT a denomination or a political party.
• Where Scripture, not Robert’s Rules of Order, govern the Body.
• Where people in the church REFUSE to ignore injustice…and EMBRACE that God has called the church to do more about it than simply pray…but rather to DIVE IN and do all we can to help all we can.
• That refuses to accept that the way things are is the way they have to be.
• That champions the next generation instead of teaching them they are insignificant until they can get a job and begin to tithe.
• That excitement and passion surrounds the Sunday services…and also an expectation that God is going to do something huge!
• That throws the desire to compete with other churches out the window…and does all that they can to help the body.
• That embraces the fact that Jesus originally called “unschooled, ordinary men” to change the world…and He’s STILL doing the same thing today. (See Acts 4:13)

The church’s best days are yet to come…and I can’t wait to see what Jesus does next. He loves His church way more than we do!!!

35th Birthday Reflections

It's amazing how fast life flies by and here I am - 35 years old! God has bless me in so many ways:

• I have a wonderful family - my wife of almost 8 years, Karen; and my 2 1/2 year old son, Nathan.
• Blessed with great parents, grandparents, brothers and their wives, aunt, uncles, nieces, nephew, cousins. Also, my wife has great parents and family.
• For providing us financially. I have some great friends who are helping us financially for the past 6 months and for the next 6 months plus as we launch Lakepointe Church. Again, thank you!
• Couldn't launch Lakepointe without the planting team - the Nipper's, the Sabo's, and the one and only, Ben Ayers! They have sacrificed in so many ways to be a part of the dream and vision of Lakepointe Church.
• I'm thankful for my health. This is one area where I sometime take it for granted. Need to be more discipline in this area.
• Blessed to have made so many new friends since moving to Detroit. I really missed all of my friends in Pensacola and at Marcus Pointe Baptist Church. The people at MPBC are some of the finest anywhere. They are always on my mind and in my prayers. They are about to take some giant steps of faith in this next year and can't wait to hear how God will use them!
• Most of all, I'm thankful for God and his gift of grace and mercy in my life. On October 14, 1982, I gave my life to Jesus Christ and He has been so good and so faithful, despite my screw-ups!

My birthday wish for you is that you'll take the time to reflect on God's blessing in your life. Sometime, we get so caught up in the moment that we take what we have for granted. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, remember this: we are always doing better than what we deserve! If you're not a follower of Jesus Christ: you're missing out!

It's 20 minutes into my birthday and I have a lot going on today. Need to get my birthday sleep! Good night!

BY THE WAY!

Will you consider making an end of the year donation to Lakepointe Church? We are a non-profit organization and all gifts can be deducted from your 2009 taxes.

You can make a direct donation right now by simply clicking on the "Chip In" button below. It will direct you to a secure paypal website.

If you would rather send a check by mail, simply write the check to "Lakepointe Church" and mail it to:

Blue Water Association of SBC
Attn: Lakepointe Church
PO Box 1147
Mt. Clemens, MI 48046

End of the Year Gift

Wow! I can't believe that we are in the final month of 2009! God has done so much in our lives this past year:

• Selling our home in Pensacola last December
  
• Moving from Pensacola to Detroit in July
• Two families joining us from Pensacola in August
  
• Starting monthly services in October

Lakepointe Church is off to a healthy start as we begin to find ways to reach people who are far from God. We had 84 in attendance for our first service and 94 in attendance in our second service. Our third service will take place on December 20 and we are excited to see what God is going to do next.

God has been so good to us and we have some amazing partners that has helped us expand the kingdom of God in the metro Detroit area. But we need more help, as we prepare for our public launch in March 2010. Our goal is to raise an additional $25,000 as we need to buy more equipment and to begin our marketing campaign in February (mass mailout, door hangers, newspaper ads, radio ads, etc.).

Will you consider making an end of the year donation to Lakepointe Church? We are a non-profit organization and all gifts can be deducted from your 2009 taxes.

You can make a direct donation right now by simply clicking on the "Chip In" button below. It will direct you to a secure paypal website.

If you would rather send a check by mail, simply write the check to "Lakepointe Church" and mail it to:

Blue Water Association of SBC
Attn: Lakepointe Church
PO Box 1147
Mt. Clemens, MI 48046

Again, thank you for your prayers and support! Have a great Christmas holiday!