“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15 (NIV)
Yesterday Pastor Ray challenged everyone at Forest Pointe to leave their shoes at the stage so we could give them to those in need. 327 people took off their shoes and walked out of church barefoot or wearing just their socks. We received over 400 pairs of shoes in just one day. People gave all kinds of shoes - sandals, fancy dress shoes, new school shoes, baby shoes, custom made shoes, etc.
We have already distributed many shoes. Many of the shoes already have new “owners.” One man could not stop talking about the boots he received. He said that God had blessed him with shoes just for him - they were size 11.
If you have more shoes, we will be collecting them throughout the month of August. There is a huge need for shoes in our area. Don’t just go through your closet and get old, dirty, shoes that you would never wear again. Give your favorite pair of shoes so someone can hear how much God loves them. After all, God wants to use your beautiful feet to spread the good news.
To STEP IN at Forest Pointe is as simple as connecting and growing together with other people in relaxed environments to do life together.
HOW and WHERE does it happen for:
…. A PRESCHOOLER- on Sunday morning during each service. Young Children are cared for and taught to grow in Christ because they grow to learn that God loves them, cares for them, and wants to be their friend forever.
…An ELEMENTARY CHILD- Sunday mornings at 9:30 are times when kids meet with REGULAR SMALL GROUP LEADERS so they can build a relationship with an adult and older students who teach them over 42 Biblical values in creative and energizing ways. At our 11:00 service, they are given more activity based groups with various leaders, so they can have two DIFFERENT experiences on a Sunday morning. This allows parents to attend a service to STEP UP and gives them the opportunity to serve during the 2nd hour knowing their children get concentrated real life experiences where the stories of the Bible come alive in the ways we live our lives. They also get the value of learning from not only adults, but teenagers who are engaged in serving children and being good role models for them.
…A TEENAGE STUDENT- Sunday evenings from 6:00-8:00 PM, we reserve these hours on our church calendar for Middle School Students and HIgh School Students. Along with exciting worship, students get engaged in relationships with REGULAR SMALL GROUP LEADERS as well as developing the character and skills to live around what we call the “7 CHECKPOINTS OF STUDENT MINISTRY.” Often, college students and young professionals serve as small group leaders so that students can have someone to look up to as they take their next steps on their journey with Christ.
...COLLEGE STUDENTS AND TWENTYSOMETHINGS have their own group known as 7:24 due to the fact that they meet on Tuesday nights at 7:24 PM.
…An ADULT has numerous choices for small group connections throughout the week. There is literally a small group meeting EVERY DAY of the week and VARIOUS TIMES during that day somewhere in the Greater Forest Pointe Area. Childcare for adults with children is reimbursed to make it convenient for parents with children. Adults can choose to be part of more than one group if they like, and some groups are based on gender, couples, or people who are single.
In our recent Men’s retreat, several guys said, “I’ve been coming to Forest Pointe and I just to be more connected.” One of our small group leaders stood up and said, “Then you guys need to join a small group. It’s a GREAT place to get involved.”
That’s TRUE…for men…women…boys…girls. And we have an ENVIRONMENT where that can occur for each age group in a family friendly alignment to MAXIMIZE your time and your life!
Each week we want ALL people in our gathering to COMPLETE A CONNEXION CARD.
WHY? (I’m glad you asked!)
NO. 1 REASON- We want GUESTS to feel inconspicuous, but VALUED!
Since our Sunday morning event is the ENTRY POINT for unchurched people, to single them out by asking only them to complete a card would be disrespectful. When MEMBERS and REGULAR ATTENDERS complete the card, it makes it easier for EVERYONE to feel like we’re part of the family.
It’s about those far away from God coming to connect with growing disciples of Christ. If we honor them, it’s not about US, but THEM. When you complete a card, it says, “I care about you and your comfort level more than my own.”
No. 2 REASON- EVERYONE Needs To Take a NEXT STEP!
You see, we are PASSIONATE in our mission- “To Lead People To Take Their Next Step In Their Journey With Christ.”
EVERY SUNDAY we pray that EVERY PERSON will take a NEXT STEP. That STEP can be HUGE or even just a little baby step. Obviously, 1st time professions of faith and committing to baptism are HUGE. That’s why we have a place where people who are far away from God and disconnected with church can come close and get connected. But there’s more!
We want EVERYONE to be growing in their relationship with Christ!
So, memorizing verses, serving in church, participating in a community impact project ALL matter, and making commitments to do various message-appropriate steps is AS IMPORTANT as salvations and baptisms!
No. 3 REASON- Jesus wants DISCIPLES, not just CONVERTS.
By providing NEXT STEPS for everyone, we make promises before God to keep growing.
No. 4 REASON- We care about YOU because WE is stronger than ME.
We live in a culture where independence is valued. We’re Americans after all. But FIRST we are Christians! We are Christ-Followers. When there is a need you have for which we can pray or meet and we get a chance to be involved in your life, that’s what the Christ life is all about! We are to love one another, serve one another, be devoted to one another, care for one another…
Bottom Line: ONE ANOTHER is stronger than ONE. We are BETTER TOGETHER
We LOVE making a difference WITH LOVE to the ends of the earth- here, there, and everywhere!
In the spirit of our Anti-Recession Campaign @ Forest Pointe, we didn’t receive an offering on Mother’s Day. Instead, we GAVE ONE AWAY! We asked our co-worshippers (that’s everybody who attends on Sunday) to TAKE an envelope out of the offering basket. And in so doing we GAVE AWAY a week’s worth of budgeted offering rather than receiving one. Envelopes were filled with various designations of money. Some got 10’s, 20’s, 50’s, 100’s, and a couple of people even got $1000.
WHY?
To LOVE our community GREATER than ever before. Jesus said with his actions up to His last breath, “As I have served you, serve one another. As I have loved you, love one another.” And my favorite words of Jesus about those who are part of His church, His beautiful bride are these:
“Your LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER will PROVE TO THE WORLD that you are my disciples.”
So let’s go PROVE His love is real by serving others with the $16,500 we gave to you yesterday. And MAKE SURE to post your stories of what you decided to do with the money to the website:
Before I even left the place where our church gathers on Sunday, I heard a story about how a man was going to use his $50 to show Jesus’ love all the way around the world. And get this, he’s not even a Christ-follower yet? More details are available at www.LOVEGREATER.com
PASSION is the fire that motivates us to make a difference, pushes us through the pains and sustains us to LOVE THE WORLD GREATER to the end. It is an absolute honor to lead in such a passionate, vibrant time. When the world seems to have no answers, God has given us the answer- the church, The ONE TRUE HOPE OF THE WORLD. Occasionally, I will read something so POWERFUL that it fires me up so much I want to share it with you. The following is from Perry Noble, one of my fellow pastors and innovative church leader from which I continue to learn. Pastor Ray
Life is too short to mess around and play games!
The church doesn’t need any more leaders who are apathetic and unaware of who JESUS is and what HE wants to do with HIS church…but rather we need leaders who are consumed with passion, who have a fire inside of them that cannot be contained (Jeremiah 20:9)…and will do whatever they can to reach whoever they can and literally watch Jesus change their community one life at a time!
Our motivation for EVERYTHING we do should be passion… One of the reasons I believe the church in America lacks passion overall is because her leaders lack passion. It seems that our main obsession has become to maintain the status quo… rather than to listen to the voice of Jesus and do what He says!
Passion is something we must pray for…and then allow it to consume our lives.
A passionate leader keeps on trying when others have given up.
A passionate leader will stand and fight for what is right when others run.
A passionate leader WILL NOT STOP asking God to do the unexplainable and the undeniable so that the church will become unstoppable.
A passionate leader will face his biggest fears because he knows that God is Sovereign.
A passionate leader will not offer up excuses as to why what God has spoken to him cannot be done
A passionate leader will believe in the team around him and learn to pull from their passion when his seems to be fading.
A passionate leader will sacrifice—period!
A passionate leader will operate “in the now” but will always be moving towards what is next.
We don’t need any more leaders who are locked up in the prison of predictability. We need leaders in the church who are consumed with passion. When what REALLY matters to God TRULY matters to us…the world will NOT be able to resist all He wants to do through His church. ” Perry Noble (PASTOR, Newspring Church)
Over the last several weeks, God has initated a renewed passion IN ME as I’ve watched 40 people cross the line of faith, 10 people get baptized, and Almost 100 people to volunteer to serve at HOPE FOR GASTON, the community service project . I LOVE what Perry said at the end! Let’s focus on what truly matters! The world around us won’t be able to resist. Let’s GO IN THE NOW AND ALWAYS BE MOVING TOWARDS WHAT IS NEXT!
Do you want to see what happens when LIVES CHANGE? Can YOU feel It?
Forest Pointe had the privilege of being a part of a great partnership with local churches in providing Hope for Gaston. We had nearly 50 volunteers spend their Saturday in helping those who are less fortunate! Some folks packaged and delivered foods, while others helped with clothing we were giving away. We had a team to help repair a home in the community as well. Here you can see the house we “adopted.”
And here is the team that worked on the house to show God’s love in a practical way. We prayed for the family that lived in the home and are following up with them this week to make sure the repairs we made were done well.
Thank you to everyone who participated. This is a continuation of our Anti-Recession Effort! But, it is just the beginning of projects like this at Forest Pointe!
I spent Saturday morning with a small group from our church and some friends from Promisedland Ministries, a ministry partner of Forest Pointe to those who are homeless. We had a cookout, fun and games, and what party is complete without a DJ? Many of us are feeling the impact of the recession, but Saturday was about the making a lasting impact through the Anti-Recession Movement.
After lunch, we provided an opportunity for folks to receive Christ or to come forward for prayer and the response was amazing. This was cool because even though we did provide a fun outlet for many folks who are hit hard by the economy, we also provided an eternal source of hope through faith in Christ.
This is just the latest impact we are making in the Anti-Recession Movement. We started with 8,400 cans at Christmas, continued with a $30,000 Anti-Recession Offering, and made further strides in collecting 10,000 cans at Easter. It is a privilege for me to be a part of what you are doing through this movement in our local community.
Overboard is one of my wife’s favorite movies, but “overboard” is a place where most of us don’t want to go. Why? Because there is safety in a “secure” boat where I sit at my life controls and keep myself from getting wet.
Are you just cruising? Are you just moving along in the safety of your world, but profoundly miserable?
God designed for life to be SO MUCH MORE, but we can never experience it if we are PRACTICAL ATHEISTS- PEOPLE WHO BELIEVE IN GOD BUT LIVE LIKE HE DOESN’T EXIST. If we try to stay in the safe confines of life that’s really miserable, we NEVER get to live life as God intended. Half-hearted, lukewarm, “one foot in the boat and one foot out people” are miserable. PERIOD.
Christ-Followers are designed to GO and GO OVERBOARD regularly! Maybe that’s why the Bible describes the way we make our faith public is through baptism. Not just walking an aisle. Not just singing Just As Am. God wants us to live life a NEW way- just as we were designed by our creator to be! The first thing Jesus did when he went pubic was to be baptized- to go completely under the water and wash away the old to welcome the new. He went OVERBOARD. Then he spent the rest of his life challenging people to go OVERBOARD with him.
God wants to invite us to an AWESOME life of faith where we live to the max and meet God at every turn, but in order to do so, we HAVE TO GET OUT OF THE BOAT! Go over the side. Take a swim…or a walk on the water. Once, Jesus came walking on water and his followers saw him. Most probably wanted to be with him but they were scared to go overboard. One did. Here’s the secret to living life to the max in Christ: We need to get out on the water where Jesus is.
This Sunday, we are going to look at what God wants for us to do to be a FULLY DEVOTED CHRIST-FOLLOWER and to leave behind a lukewarm, unfulfilling, safe life. JUMP IN. FULL ON! ALL IN!
It’s Easter Monday and I’m thinking about Lonnie and those he loved…and those that loved him. Lonnie would have just turned 40 this year. Yesterday, we celebrated Easter. Over 1000 people streamed into the place where Lonnie worshipped yesterday along with his family and friends. His wife and her friend, his 1st wife, were up on stage telling their story on a piece of cardboard. That’s right, Lonnie and Micki Petit were close friends with Lonnie’s 1st wife, Corie and Mark Rudisill. It tells you a lot about Lonnie … and Micki… and Corie… and Mark. They ate lunch together almost weekly after church. Mark and Corie came to Forest Pointe first. Then, they invited Lonnie and Micki. Matisen belonged to Corie and Lonnie. Sage belonged to Micki and her 1st husband. But they all belonged to one another in a relationship where they all shared one thing in common- their love for Jesus Christ. And then came Lanie, Lonnie and Micki’s baby, who brought joy to all of them. They went to cheerleading competitions, races, football games, and church.
It was the most beautifully unusual relationship I have ever seen.
Lonnie was famous for being “invisible.” He liked to work behind the scenes working on the CREATE Team and serving as a quiet, friendly member of the 1ST IMPRESSIONS and HOST Teams. That’s why the pictures you see in this post are so unusual. According to Micki, you couldn’t get him out from behind the camera. He preferred to let everyone else be a star in life’s movie. Instead, he preferred to do things where others shone. When I think of Lonnie, I think of what Jesus said, “For The Son of Man did not come to be served, but TO SERVE and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That was Lonnie “Mr. Serve” with a capital “S.”
He took the time to think of others. Gift shopping went on year round because he was constantly looking for the perfect gift to give those he loved. And not just ANY gift would do. It HAD to be PERFECT.
One day, Lonnie called me about an important legal question. He wanted to do the right thing and wanted to make sure he was filtering his decision through the Scripture. We talked and he agreed to pray about it rather than rush hastily in to a sticky situation. He deliberately took time to do the right thing. I don’t know that I can always say that I do the same, but for Lonnie, it was the hallmark of his life- LIVE LIFE DELIBERATELY FOR THE BEST OF ALL CONCERNED.”
On Easter Sunday, as chairs were being stacked, I thought of Lonnie and the conversations we had over the years. One was about our church. After all was said on that day about the subject, Lonnie said, “You know the thing about our church that I like? We tell the truth and make everybody welcome without being judgmental. We talk about the truth in ways everybody can understand and in ways where no one is excluded.” ”
Forest Pointe is a place where “No Perfect People” are allowed…just Perfecting people (those who WANT to be all Christ wants them to be as they follow Him).
It’s Easter Monday. Seize every day! Live it like it’s your last. And if it is not, when you lay your head on your pillow tonight, close your eyes and give thanks. Lonnie would have.
Shortly after his graduation from this earth, our church released together 99 baloons in memory of a man named Lonnie and a little boy named Elliott.
Jesus is risen! And because he is risen, Lonnie, after living over 14,500 days on earth is enjoying his first Easter Monday in heaven. Undoubtedly, he’s met a little guy named Elliott, who lived only 99 days.
We do church the way we do church because everyone matters one day at a time.
600 chairs. We plan to fill our Worship Center this weekend with 600 chairs.
Do the math- 600 chairs X 2 services = 1200 souls (People are SOULS and not just numbers) and that doesn’t even include children. What if every chair were filled with someone who needed God’s best for them?
Do you realize that NUMBERS are important to God? That’s why He named a whole book in the Bible for them! People count ONE AT A TIME!
Why would we take such a big step of faith? Because somewhere between 1100 and 1200 people attend Forest Pointe at least once a month. We are praying that each chair would be filled. Yes, really!:) Would you join us in doing so as well?
Would YOU help us to fill them not for the sake of saying “Look what we did” but instead to say “LOOK WHAT GOD DID!” God is about to take us to a whole new level (or as Ed Young Jr. says an HNL- “a ‘Hole ‘Nutha Level!”
HOW CAN YOU HELP?
1. SHOW UP!
2. INVITE!!!! SHOW UP with ALL your family, friends, acquaintances, neighbors, and other people in your circle of influence. PRAY, PRAY, PRAY about who you can invite. Then, just do it.
***Do you know that 78% of UNCHURCHED people that don’t come to church WILL COME if they are asked? Someone’s salvation and eternity hang in the balance. Will you ask and ask again? Easter is one of THE most likely times when unchurched people will attend.
3. SHOW UP with Food. We hope to donate 10,000 items to our local families in need of the food. Many people are participating in our Anti-Recession campaign. Go Get ‘Em!
I Look Forward To Seeing You On EASTER and am praying for you to have an AWESOME Weekend!
