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!

Sunday Aftermath

Today, we held our second monthly service at Lakepointe Church. We had an awesome day with 94 in attendance! Here are the highlights:

• Despite the fact that it's opening day for deer season (firearms), we had still had a great day!
• The weather was awesome today! A nice "warm" November day.
  
• A great sign: there were 25-30 first time guests today!
• We had about 15-20 people that were planning on attending for the first time today, but didn't make it. Some have already contacted us to let us know that they were sick, etc. Very promising for next month!
• I spoke on the 2nd part of the series, Unstoppable Force. The message today was entitled "Dangerous Pursuit." Talked about the tactics that Satan uses to cause us to be "stoppable." He'll do whatever it takes to get us out of the "movement" of God.
  
• We also honored those who served in the military (past and present), as well as loved ones who represent those who have served or are serving. Afterward, I had some tell me that they had never been to a service where the church honored veterans and really thought that was an awesome element to our service.
• Another great sign: our offerings doubled from last month!!
  
• Again, our volunteers were outstanding! The setup this morning went a lot smoother than last month. The greeters, children's workers, hospitality team, worship team, etc. were great! Our volunteer team are pumped up and excited about our new church. So thankful for our team!
• We had the leadership team of a church plant in another part of Detroit visit with us today to learn what we do and how we do our services. They also had a connection with Panera Bread and was able to get us free bagels and pastries for the hospitality table. Plus, we utilized some of their worship team to play with us today. Thank you to our new friends, Mike Gorr and Mercy Road Church!
  
• One of the purposes of the monthly services is to "tweak out the bugs." Our leadership team saw some of those "bugs" today and look forward to addressing those issues so that we can be the best that we can be in the future to come!
  
• Over the weekend, we were given 200 tickets to the Piston basketball game for tonight. We surprised everyone this morning at the end of the service and handed them all out.
• There was a great turnout of people at the game tonight. Many of our Lakepointers invited friends to the game with them and it was a great opportunity for me and our team to meet new people.
• Final thanks to our awesome God who uses us to be a part of His "unstoppable" movement! Amazing!!

Overall, it was a fantastic day and can't wait for the next service on December 20th! If you can, visit with us!

Launch Team Meeting #1

Tonight, we are having our first Launch Team Meeting for Lakepointe Church. We have about 25 total that is planning to attend. The purpose for these meetings is for us to invest and develop new leaders of our young church. Tonight, we will share a very important principle of reaching people and want to thank Craig Groeschel of LifeChurch.tv for this amazing truth.

Lakepointe Church Launch Video

Mark Nipper made an awesome video to recap our first service!

Sunday Aftermath

Just a few quick thoughts about Lakepointe Church first service today:

• Never thought that this day would come! I'm glad that it finally came.
• Our volunteers were awesome this morning. We couldn't have done it without you guys!
• The set up team showed up at 8:30 this morning. The temperature was 32 degrees. It was freezing! I need to get an ice scraper for the car. Needed it this morning.
• By the time the service began, the weather warmed up to about 45-50 degrees. It was sunny and gorgeous! A perfect fall morning. God, thank you for the beautiful weather!
• The worship was great! The children's environment was awesome! The hospitality was first class! The first impression team was very welcoming! Again, thank you to everyone involved in making this day awesome!
• Had 84 in attendance today (from children to adults). God is good!
• We heard many great comments from just about everybody! People were blown away on how we transformed a school building to a place of worship. We strived for excellence and it showed up. AND the people noticed!
  
• Started our series, "Unstoppable Force." I shared today on an Unstoppable Vision and challenge people to find a fresh vision for their lives.
• Thanks to the wonderful movie, Forrest Gump! So many great illustrations to use. I specifically used the clip where Forrest Gump ran across the country over a 3 year period. If you remember in the movie, Gump didn't have a purpose in his run. He's just running without "a vision or purpose." I applied to our lives, how that many of us are just running, going through the motions without purpose. Many are "Forrest Gumping" their lives away! I showed the clip where he stopped in the middle of the desert and told his followers that he was done and was going home. If we live life without purpose and vision, eventually we will find ourselves in the middle of the desert and will say, "What's the point?"
  
• I loved that we made a fun video to do our announcements.
  
• Our team met tonight to celebrate, and we wrote Thank You notes to all of our guests today.
• Thank you specifically to our core team leaders: Mark and April Nipper, Jared and Beka Sabo, and Ben Ayers.
• Final thanks to my wonderful wife who has made the sacrifice of letting me do this full time! I love you, Karen! Thanks for your full support and for being an awesome cheerleader!
• Heading to Pensacola tomorrow until Wednesday. Going to attend the Unchained Conference. Ed Young is speaking tomorrow night, Ergun Caner on Tuesday night, and Ed Stetzer on Wednesday morning. I'm praying for the opportunity to meet more pastors that will support the vision of Lakepointe and to be a financial partner with us.
• Final thought: God, thank you for letting me a part of your big plan and for this opportunity to reach more people for you!

Check back later this week for a short video vignette of our first service!

Opening Kickoff Series

What does a church looks like when it it's running on all 8 cylinders? I believe that it can truly be an Unstoppable Force. When a church is living to its true potential, it becomes powerful entity. Join us at Lakepointe Church this Sunday for this amazing series as we learn how the church is a force to be reckoned with and what it means for our lives!

The Service Schedule for the Next 5 Months (3rd Sundays of each month):

• October 18 - "An Unstoppable Vision"
• November 15
• December 20
• January 17
• February 21
  

Weekly services will begin on March 21.

Kicking Off This Sunday

Consider yourself invited.

We want you to be our guest at Lakepointe Church for one of our Sunday services. We will meet each month on the third Sunday at 10:30 a.m. at Iroquois Middle School starting October 18. Come check it out, no strings attached. We'll change the way you think about church!

For more information, check out the our website at www.LakePointeChurch.tv.