Lovely Ladies

I'm following in the footsteps of my radio station, KLOVE, because they do Make A Difference Monday. They have people call in and tell of how they made a difference in someone's life, or how someone made a difference in their own life. I wanted to showcase these lovely ladies from TurningPoint Church. They're in a kitchen at Ronald McDonald House where they helped with dinner and clean up for the families there, specifically to make it a little easier on fathers having a (probably) less than ideal Father's Day. THIS is being Jesus to people. Simple as that. And these ladies are already crazy busy all the time - one has 5 children under the age of 14, others have toddlers and school age kiddos. And another is a mom of a mom in the picture! I, honestly, don't know how they do it and are still functioning in life. 

But, it's quite simple really:  I can do all things through Him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13). 

Check out the Lexington Ronald McDonald House here

Kim is on the far right. 

Check out her blog about life, kids and being a pastor's wife here

Christina is third from the left and is a Thirty One Gifts consultant (among other talents), check out the super cute bags and organizational tools here

Cory is third from the right and the one with the 5 children, which includes one set of twins. She generously passed down some of their cute clothes to Emersen as well. She is amazing on a camera, check her out.

here or check it out on Facebook here.

And the other ladies so other fun things too - I just don't know about them yet! 

Sunday Sunday

To get ahead of schedule, I'm posting about Father's Day this Sunday. We'll be celebrating with a cookout, games, fun, etc after a shorter Sunday service at TurningPoint Church. I'm thankful for a church presenting the opportunity to hang out with family and hang out with other families. And for providing the opportunity to eat!

Childcare will cover nursery/toddler for the shorter service, while junior/elementary will be welcomed in with the adults - so fun for them!

This is my personal invitation to anyone who reads the blog. We would love to have you join us to celebrate our dad's! Much to my....dismay? despair? blah?...there will be bounce houses for kids. And burgers, corn hole, etc. If we don't see you, Happy Father's Day!

Making a Jump

So the last notes I posted were for Chapter 4. And tomorrow we're meeting to finish up the book. Oops. 

Tomorrow is Friday you say? Yep. We're moving our "day" to Friday, at least for the summer. And we're aiming for family friendly after tomorrow night. Games, activities, the park, etc. Looking forward to hanging out with people and unwinding on a Friday night. And hopefully, we can invite some other folks given a new night and new "topic". 


Which will lead into some discussion we'll be having as a group - probably not in a formal manner though. TurningPoint is going to be switching things up a bit to MOBILIZE us into the city of Lexington. Doesn't sound like church? Church as you know it? Good. That's the point. Stay tuned!

More Lions - Ch 4

The Art of Reframing


Reframe -to change the focus or perspective of (a view) through a lens.


“Reframing circumstances, and you start focusing on what’s right with God.”-Mark Batterson


Reframing requires shifting the context. Context determines what and how we see things, events, people, problems, etc. , much in the same way a picture frame determines what portion of the scene we see. When we learn to “reframe” our problems, we change the context, bringing God and his truth into the situation…and that changes how we see everything!


A frame=limits. The smaller we zoom in on a problem, the bigger the problem seems in our minds. The farther we zoom out, the smaller the problems seems. We see the big picture, and we see how God wants to use problems to serve a bigger purpose.


So how can you “reframe” your problems? It requires that you….


1) Refocus your prayer


-Are you asking God to take away your difficult circumstance, or are you asking God to show you what He wants you to get out of the difficult circumstance?


Matthew 26:42: 42 He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.


Romans 8:28-30: 28 ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[i] have been called according to his purpose. ²⁹ For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. ³⁰ And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.


2) Refocus on worship


Worship allows us to zoom out and focus on the big picture


We we worship God, our focus is naturally taken off of our circumstances and is instead directed at Him.


Worship provides perspective about who we are in Christ


3) Refocus your view of adversity


More problems=more potential


Your suffering becomes your ministry!


Ex. Paul’s sufferings


1 Peter 1:6-7 6 In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.


Closing Thought: How’s your focus these days? Are you praying to get out of trouble instead of praying through it? Are you worrying when instead you should be worshiping? Are you so focused on how much adversity that you’re facing that you have forgotten how great your God is? Take some time this week to refocus in each of these areas. Pray through your lion encounters. Worship God despite the fact you are staring a lion in the eyes. And remember that the scars that these lions inevitably give you will serve as a declaration to others of how great your God is and what He brought you through.


Note from Morgan: I've been really realizing the truth in the idea that if we refocus on worship, our perspective on adversity will change. A wise man (that I wouldn't dare want him to know I think is wise) that I work with gave me the advise to "keep looking up and not at [my problems]." Same premise. When we focus on God - who is REAL BIG - things around you can become smaller. It's a weird version of distraction...I mean really, if we're first focused on God, we won't BE distracted by the annoying/frustrating/challenging things in your life. And while worship isn't just singing and music, it's my "love language" in terms of worship and nothing refocuses me that turning up some of my favorite praise songs (thank you Spotify) and singing real loud (I wait to do this to KLOVE in the car...). 

In a Pit with A Llion on A Snowy Day - Ch 3

What is your irrational fear? Where did it come from?

1) Virtually all fear is learned

We are born with only 2 fears: the fear of falling, and the fear of loud noises….the rest is
learned.
The problem with fear is that it drives us to make decisions based on our own flawed wisdom,
not God’s….and the results are always bad when that happens.
Many examples in Scripture of fears that kept people from doing what God wanted them to do.
(Jonah, Saul, for example) .
God doesn’t want us to live in fear… He wants us to turn to Him knowing that He alone is greater
than all fears we might have.
2 Timothy 1:7-- 7For God has not given us a spirit[a] of fearfulness,(A) but one of power,(B) love,(C) and sound judgment.

2) Faith is unlearning the senseless worries and misguided beliefs that keep us
captive

It is far more complex than simply modifying behavior.
Romans 12:2--- 2 Do not be conformed(C)to this age,(D) but be transformed by the renewing of
your mind,(E) so that you may discern what is the good, pleasing, and perfect will(F) of God.
We need to replace the corrupt thoughts in our minds with uncorrupt ones.

How do we do this? Read/memorize Scripture. We replace our corrupt thoughts with God’s
perfect ones.

3) When God’s thoughts replace our thoughts, our faith outweighs our fear.

This is when becoming a lion chaser moves from being a nice concept to becoming who you are
as a person. It becomes part of your DNA.
Does that mean all fear is gone? No! But our faith allows us to overcome our fear because we
know God is greater than anything that crosses our path.
Matthew 14:22-33-Peter’s faith was overcome by fear because he was relying on his own logic
and not God’s.

Closing Thought: The old Jedi adage says “Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to
suffering.” While that’s just a quote from a movie, the first and last parts of it are definitely true: fear
leads to suffering. It may or may not be physical suffering, but it will definitely lead to mental anguish, spiritual turmoil, and can have disastrous physical consequences. So why do we put ourselves through this? It all comes back to what our focus is on. Is our focus on our circumstances? Our ability to get the job done? The unknown road ahead of us? When we focus on anything but who God is and his Word, fear and doubt overtakes us and we sink just like Peter. But when our focus is on Him, our faith becomes real and God will take us to heights we could never have imagined. Remember, it’s a process. You don’t unlearn fear in just a night, because you don’t memorize all of Scripture in just one night. But if you commit to working at it, allowing God to seep into your mind and replace your thoughts with His, then He will change you, and your faith will grow like never before. So the question is, are you committed to doing that, knowing that God promises a life of victory? Or are you willing to accept a life of fear and defeat?

Is This For Real?

It's been awhile. Again. So here goes the random information/updates/commentary.

I don't know about you but I've been so blessed by the happenings at TurningPoint. Daily, weekly, monthly. I, personally, have found my sweet spot for serving. And love it! I'm being challenged to develop a personal growth plan for leadership through our leadership meetings. I'm meeting new, and very sweet and dear friends that surprise you for your birthday. Two ARE better together. I am loving getting to hear the kids come out from Kidzpoint after service simply raving about how much fun they had in Elementary/Junior. I'm enjoying learning from the leaders around me as well.

God is teaching me through His word, His leaders, through required scripture memorization and educational reading, through the example of those I serve with and those that are in leadership positions, through my husband, through meeting new people and expanding my comfort zone. I can honestly say I've had genuine and awesome worship by myself on my way to work, and on Sunday morning at our service. I say all of this to say that, for sure, church isn't boring!

Our connect group has been growing/changing/growing through the Snow, Pit, Lion book we've been reading. I talked about it a bit on my personal blog, as it's challenged me to a life change. People are finally admitting their secret dreams/passions out loud. People are sharing their faith with family members. People are loving on other people. People are becoming better, and pursuing the best for themselves, as they know that God's way is way better than anything they've done themselves or could do on their own. There is nothing better than seeing God working in people's lives!

At our last leadership meeting, we got to hear the numbers:

Average weekly attendance: 177 (200 people last week, 45 in the kids ministry)

Average weekly giving: over $4000

If everybody who comes in one month all came to one service, we wouldn't be able to fit everyone in the auditorium. A regular attender, at this stage in a church life, is someone who comes twice a month. In other words, we have way more people that are regular attenders than you see on one Sunday morning. God is so good and it's so fun to be a part of His work.

This Sunday may prove to be the "biggest Sunday ever" at TurningPoint Church, if you've accepted the invitation/joined the group on Facebook. Tshirts to the first 200 people. A surprise of some sort as well. I'm sure if we've got big things planned, God's will definitely one-up ours. I'm excited to be there for the excitement!

As always, make the ask. I'm in awe of the people who wouldn't come before, but are coming to church now. Family members, especially. Sons, cousins, and parents. I. Love. It.

Catching Up

A little bid behind on the posting here. My apologies. Hope everyone had a happy Easter. It was a bit eventful in the kids ministry at church & I wasn't in service, so I don't really know what all went on. I do know from watching on the TV in the family room, and the communications afterwards, that it must have been awesome. Last week 30 people committed their lives to Christ. AMEN - sure helps you remember why we do what we do over in the kids ministry, particularly with the tiny ones. We've had people making decisions to committ their lives to Christ each week at TurningPoint since the launch. God is good and man, are we excited to be a part of it!

Today was probably the biggest Sunday since the launch. I almost had to have an usher find me a seat in the auditorium when I went in late after doing Check In at Kidzpoint. Our new series, called Baggage, has provided a real gut check so far. Our pastors have gotten quite honest through their messages and that's opening doors for others to just get real about what they're dealing with in their personal lives. I mean, let's all be honest here: we all have quirks and issues that we deal with daily, and now we're asking you to TALK ABOUT IT! Hard but good.

The message this morning was about addiction, and mentioned all the "big ones" like alcohol, money, and pornography. But underneath it all is often approval addiction, which we all struggle with to some extent. Loved the response method today that provided scripture verses to be taped to your mirror telling you who God says you are in His word. I've learned over the past couple of years that if you don't fill your mind with what God says, it will be filled by that awful little voice in your head and Satan's lies. Believing the lies will prevent you from realizing your potential in who God created you to be and you'll be missing out!

Next week we will be talking about depression during the message. I can say I'm interested to hear this because about a month or 2 ago I struggle with some sort of funk and started wondering about depression. My struggles were more with anxiety than depression, more to do with the devil than a mood altering event or situation. I know others who are going through that right now, and again I just reiterate reading what God's word says about you and who you are. After all, you were worth Christ dying - that's a lot.

We will be meeting with our connect group this week. Details to come via email/text/blog. Happy Sunday and come to Next Steps tonight at 6pm at church!

Sunday's Coming

My boss introduced me to this video a couple years ago. And every year I like to watch it. Well, listening to it is even better. Love this man's voice, full of passion, conviction...and joy.

"Enjoy" your Good Friday - because Sunday's coming. And we are going to celebrate!

Upcoming Events:

EASTER Sunday - 10am TurningPoint Church

We're starting the new series "Baggage: Live Free. Travel Light"

NO Next Steps on Easter Sunday night

Next Connect Group - we're trying to find a day next week to just get together to hang out/eat & it may be on a different day. Stay tuned to your emails!

NEXT Sunday 4/15/12 starts the next rotation of Next Steps classes

Next Steps 101 is the membership class

It IS Personal

Another awesome challenge from The Skit Guys for Easter. What does Easter mean to you? To others? To the world?

Does it seem like another holiday? Like just a day to go to church? Is it about somebody else or what it means to you?

Is it personal? Is your relationship with Jesus personal? Have you accepted the grace, mercy and forgiveness He offers for free in turn for you to admit you are a sinner, confess your sin and turn from it and believe that He is the one and only thus making Him master of your life. 

Make Easter personal this year - personally invite someone, personally read the accounts of "on the way to the cross" in scripture, personally thank God for sending His son to die so that we may live eternally. 

Impossible Odds

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day - Chapter Two Notes

Control is something many of us desire above all else.  What are things we like to control in our lives? Ex. How our kids turn out.

The problem with this is that control is a lie.  We can never experience total control in our lives because of variables not under our control.  Some things are left up to chance.  We “play the odds,” hoping for the best.

At some point, those odds are stacked against us.  The natural reaction is fear, despair, and relying on our own power to get us through.  But God has a bigger plan, and a better way of looking at “odds”….

God likes “impossible odds” because that’s when He gets all the glory.

-Ex. Gideon (Judges 7)

-It’s when the odds are seemingly impossible that we have to rely on God to do what we can’t.

-When God performs miracles like this, He gets the glory, and we get the blessing.

Focus on the odds causes us to have a diminished view of God

-God is omni-dimensional; the construct of God is that exists in our mind is nothing compared to who He actually is.

-Faith allows us to break free from space-time and do the extradimensional through a God that isn’t limited in the ways that we are.

Odds are irrelevant because God controls our destiny

-Chess Master example.

-As a child of God we can have a sense of destiny.

-Our problems aren’t circumstantial, they are perceptual.

Closing thought:  Odds are simply a predictor of outcome.  The better the odds, the better the chance a certain outcome occurs.  But God doesn’t operate this way.  He doesn’t pull the lever on the slot machine, hoping that all three symbols match up.  Instead, He determines what the outcome will be.   Chance is not a part of the equation.   God’s outcome is always good, because His word says he has our best interests at heart.   This is the sense of destiny that we can have as believers; that God has an outcome for us that isn’t based on luck, but carefully and thoughtfully planned out by a God who knows our needs, knows our future, who controls all things, and who loves us as dear children.

Challenge:  “Our problems aren’t circumstantial, they are perceptual.”.  How does this truth change the way you look at the lions you are facing (or are going to face)?  Commit to viewing your circumstances from God’s perspective, not your own.

The Rabbit and The Resurrection

As we're leading up to Easter Sunday, our focus at Turning Point is taking advantage of a holiday, when people who may not go to church every Sunday will be looking for a place to attend on this particular Sunday, and inviting them to church. Not because they should. Not because it's this particular Sunday. But because it's an opportunity with better than average odds that they will come. And they might meet Jesus. 

And Easter Sunday presents it's own unique opportunity, if we as Christians capitalize on it. It's like the most exciting day to celebrate as Christians. It's the day we celebrate that Jesus did what no other could do in their own power and that is RAISE FROM THE DEAD. He is alive. And that should be our day to show our joy that our God can conquer all, including death! So that means this should be the most exciting day for a visitor to come - it's a big party!

So keep these things on the forefront of your mind over the next two weeks. We'll be starting a new message series on Easter about Baggage. The new Creative team will be "theme-ing" out the church and auditorium. Everybody will be wearing some shade of pastel I'm sure. There might even be frilly dresses involved....but the focus will be on Jesus and those who might meet him for the first time.

Do it Do it!

This. Is. Hilarious.

And unfortunately, probably true for someone and somewhere. However, look how bad of an invite these people gave. And the person they asked SAID YES. Doesn't that give you hope? 

Who will you invite? We had our leadership meeting last night and those involved in the planning of the service are going to do Easter Sunday right. Things will be a little different, maybe in a different order or a different media, so you'll want to check it out. But as always, don't be afraid to invite anyone and everyone. Our goal at Turning Point Church is to make it a safe place to bring a friend, and to get out of the way so they can meet Jesus. And what day is more exciting that celebrating the day Jesus did what no other person has ever done in their own power - He ROSE FROM THE DEAD. HE'S ALIVE!

Make the ask! Give them food or candy instead of Easter eggs though...

Lion Chasers

We will be meeting again tomorrow night at our home (email wgcoop10@yahoo.com for address/directions) at 6:30 PM. We will eat and move on through our book, as well as discuss our next service opportunity. Can't wait to see you guys there! 

The notes from Ch. 1 are posted below - these are Wes' notes for what we talked about 2 Tuesday's ago. 

Lions-Chapter 1 (3/6/12)

Read 2 Samuel 23:20-21-The Story of Benaiah

2 Key Themes /Concepts in this story:

                 -Fight vs. Flight

                 -Risk vs. Reward

*These 2 concepts are natural human filters that allow us to analyze situations and make decisions.  However, when we start seeing filtering situations through faith instead, it changes the way we make decisions, even seemingly mundane ones, and opens us up to being used and blessed by God in ways we could never imagine.*

 1) We have to resist the desire to flee when God-ordained opportunities cross our path.

 God is in the business of strategically positioning us in the right place at the right time.

The problem is, the right place often seems like the wrong place, and the right time often seems like the wrong time.

However, we don’t know what the future holds, and how God wants to use these opportunities to prepare us for future ministry.

2 ) We need to value the reward that God has in store for us over the risks that might come along the way

Lion chasers know that playing it safe is risky

Our greatest regrets in life will be missed opportunities

Sin of Commission vs. Sin of Omission

·     

      When we give into their fears and don’t step out in faith, we 

      1) miss out on the incredible blessings God has for us and 

      2) fail to give God the glory He desires in doing something crazy awesome through us

Closing thought/Take-away:  For lion chasers, it’s not about the size of the lion, the risks involved, or the potential outcome of the confrontation; it’s about stepping out in faith and trusting in a God that is bigger than you, a God that wants the absolute best for you, and a God that wants to use you demonstrate his power and glory to the world, regardless of what the outcome look like. 

Looking ahead:  

The key for us is two-fold- 

1) We need to be able to recognize these God-ordained opportunities and 

2) We need to be able to seize these God-ordained opportunities.  The rest of this book will shed insight into how we can do that.

Challenge: Begin asking God to bring “lions” into your life (if He hasn’t already!).  Ask for the discernment to recognize God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.  Ask Him what dreams/passions that you have that He wants you to act on.  Ask Him for the faith to seize those opportunities.

Don't Miss Out

This Sunday:

Turning Point Church 10am Service

During the service this Sunday, the Elder's of the church will be affirmed. Don't miss out this opportunity to get to know these men and offer your prayer and encouragement to them. 

Plus, we'll be starting a new sermon series!

Next Steps - Essentials 201 6pm

Back for the next class in the Next Steps series, discuss and refresh on the essential activities and practices of a dedicated Christ follower.

Week of March 19th:

Monday

KidzPoint Mandatory Meeting 6:30pm

All members of all teams in the KidzPoint ministry will be gathering together for a meeting. This is the perfect opportunity to come check out Kidzpoint if you are thinking about serving in any of the areas: registration, nursery/toddler, junior and elementary. You can come even if you haven't signed up and you aren't required to commit just because you come to the meeting. Come check out the team - given the focus of kids for our ministry, it's also a pretty fun team to be a part of!

Tuesday 

Connect Group 6:30pm

We will continue through the book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson.

Wednesday

Leadership Team Meeting 6pm

The established leadership team of the church will be meeting together with the Elders and Pastors for a time of prayer, fellowship, brainstorming, scripture memory, bible study and so forth. 

They pray for you, lift them up in prayer as well!

This Month:

New Sermon Series

Next Steps

Connect Groups

Find one and join one! Even if it's not ours!

Easter Sunday April 8th, 2012

Who are you bringing to church? We will have invite cards available at church soon.

Up Next

What an awesome start back to Connect Groups this past week! We had two new couples join us and we started an amazing book study. Super excited about this "semester" of Connect Groups.


Next week - on Tuesday - we will be meeting at the church for our service opportunity to assembly-line-it and stuff the Turning Point bottles. The bottles have proven very resourceful at local gyms in getting the word out who Turning Point is, and obviously, where we are. The point isn't to advertise Turning Point for the sake of Turning Point, but to let people in our area who, based on research, don't know what church is or what it's about. And so we tell them about our church so that they can walk through our doors and we can point them to Christ. It's always about introducing them to Jesus!


Our goal is to have opportunities to serve that are family friendly so child care isn't required on a weekly basis for everyone. Plus, it allows us to schedule time to serve our church. For the time being, we might be serving in different ways at the church because we're still in our infancy and there is much work to be done. We have the ability and it offers family flexibility. Obviously, we would love to hear your ideas for serving opportunities - to help friends, family, co-workers or the community! 


THIS SUNDAY - is Next Steps 101. Come at 6pm for the "class"...it's your next step to joining as a member at Turning Point Church. You don't have to commit to 101, 201 and 301 all at one time. But make the first step of joining us on mission in Lexington - it would be awesome if you wanted to let myself (Next Steps Champion), Alex or Josh that you're coming. But if you can't give advance notice, don't let that stop you! Still come on Sunday - coffee and snacks. Child care is provided.

Finally, we're wrapping up on the series on Sunday mornings about Nehemiah and being a world changer. I have really enjoyed learning about Nehemiah and how he handled his God given opportunity to change his world. Very challenging!

Back At It

We're back together tomorrow night, getting back in the swing of Connect Groups! We've been taking a break as we got through the launch month and now we're starting a new book study. 




I'm (Morgan) almost finished with the book. I have found it challenging and exciting all at the same time. It has had some ideas and points that I have found very applicable to my life, especially your life as a Christ follower.

Check out the website and check into the author - he has a very interesting story. You can find him on Facebook or on Twitter @MarkBatterson. Specifically, he's a pastor of a church plant in Washington D.C. who hasn't always been successful; the book is about pursuing God's definition of success, which sometimes includes discomfort, risk and failure. Sounds fun, eh? I'm sure you're super psyched to read it now...but it is freeing to be able to act in obedience to God and his terms of success rather than "what everyone else says."

We'll be eating together tomorrow night and getting back in the swing of things, can't wait to see those of you who are coming! Oh, and tell others too - the more the merrier!

Opportunity Knocks

Well I had to take off the winter background because obviously, winter is never coming. And with the forecast for 68º on Friday, I'm okay with that. We'll go ahead and spring forward and with us moving into the spring, it's time for new opportunities!

With the launch of Turning Point Church, our small group or Connect group will be pursuing some new things as well. We'll be meeting weekly, studying new books and even serving outside the group. This new start is the perfect time to invite new people to join the group as well. I know some people can't attend weekend services because of work, but could come to the group during the week. MAKE THE ASK.

As you meet new people at church, they would probably prefer to attend something they were personally invited to and are at least going to know one person there - you! 

We're excited about the new book, the new schedule and meeting new people as well - hopefully you are ready to seize the new opportunities God is putting in front of us.

On another note, mentioning new people: the Newcomer's Meal, the first of many, is at 6pm this Sunday at the church. We'll be sharing a meal together and hearing more about Turning Point, and obviously hanging out with others we might not have met yet. Come join us for the meal and meet some people!

What Day is It?

Well we've gotten a little bit behind haven't we!?

The last post was 10 days before the launch - and now we've had two services since then. For an update on the service, check out the post here. It was an awesome launch - most fun I've had at church, maybe ever!

Yesterday was the second Sunday for Turning Point Church and we had familiar faces for this Sunday as people came back. Not sure what the count was at this point - will update with that later.

As we near March, activities will be gearing back up again:

March 4th - Newcomers Meal will kick off the monthly rotation of Next Steps. For those who haven't joined Turning Point yet, Next Steps 101 will take care of that process. The other Next Steps will direct you on how to plug into the church and get involved, including a spiritual gifts/personality survey and meeting with a pastor.

March will also be the kick off of Connect Groups, the small groups that will make up our church. As of right now, we'll plan to meet at the Cooper's house on a weekly basis. A reminder that childcare will not be provided regularly. As we all previously talked about, we'll be taking part in some service opportunities that will hopefully include the whole family.

The book we are going to be going through is starting out good - I'm on Chapter 2 so far. The author, Mark Batterson, is a church planter with a growing congregation in Washington, DC. In the first two chapters, he has looked at some scripture that goes unnoticed by most of us. Reading the book, I can already tell it is going to be challenging to the aspect of control we all feel like we should have, need to have and "do have" (parenthetical because we're not really in control.....). The book is about risks, and the idea that the stakes are often high when God's involved because how else are people going to know it was Him and not us? He takes the ante up to humanly impossible and we get to see Him show up to make things happen.

Anyway - we are excited to get back to our group meeting regularly, catch up and start and new book. Take this opportunity to invite people to church or small group or both. Sometimes a smaller group seems more comfortable, and for others being able to blend in at first at church is their preference. Either way, just ask!

Make the Ask

10 DAYS UNTIL LAUNCH TIME!


Just wanted to make sure you were aware....


With only 10 days to go, we want to push and encourage you to "make the ask" to people to join us for the launch.

Things are coming together very nicely. Training/practice went well this past Sunday. If you are scheduled to serve during launch season and weren't able to make this training, please follow up with your leader/director/champion to see about getting together with them to go over what you missed. Obviously, things come up, but it's imperative that everyone be on the same page before the launch. We don't want to get in the way of what God is going to do!


That said, this Sunday is Preview Sunday. This will be a regular Sunday service. Child care will be provided. Remember there is a new registration process in place for Kidzpoint, so you may want to come a little early for that. Service will start at 10am.


Last Sunday was AWESOME during worship. The worship band rocked it out. Will sweat all over the place. And I'm confident in saying God was pleased. It's amazing to see the Holy Spirit moving in our church.


Now that we're caught up - again, I want to encourage you to make the ask. Pop the question. Whatever. Just ask people to come. We want a great turn out. As Josh mentioned at the leadership meeting last night, really the 2nd Sunday is scarier because we typically can expect to retain about 60% of those who come on the launch Sunday. Given those statistics, we want there to be a ton of people the first Sunday. 


This Sunday, grab some of the postcards, the invite cards, the water bottles, the pens, etc. And hand them out to everyone. I wished I had had something to give the cashier at Walmart the other day. I don't know if I would be brave enough to do it, but I definitely thought about it. I'm telling you, people are excited and we haven't even launched yet. 


Something Wes and I discussed was challenging the small group to invite 2 neighbors (2 houses, not people). That's been one thing we have wanted to do and plan to do this week. He has met most of them once, but I haven't. And it's tough when it's the winter months to see people outside. But we're going to do it. You should too. Bring somebody! 

Sneak Peek

I was at church tonight for training for the registration desk for Kidspoint and took a few pictures of changes to the facilities. I wanted to share as we get closer to the launch next month!

Things are getting intense as we train and practice our new roles in leadership and service. We will be practicing this Sunday. I am super impressed as a mom at our child check in software. And very amazed and grateful for all the hours of craftsmanship and labor members have put into the building. Without further ado, here are pictures I took with my phone tonight.

Oh and the pics are of the toddler room I mentioned, the family room with a tv to watch the service, and the coffee cafe, as well as a couple signs.

Food. Fellowship. Fun.

HI-LARIOUS!

I don't think we are having tacos or french fries, but we ARE having some food and fellowship this Tuesday night! Plan to come hungry at 6:30pm for some time to hangout together.

Meat and drinks are being provided; we're planning for potluck so everyone would bring a side dish. And we'll be meeting at the Cooper's (younger ones). 

We REALLY hope to see everyone or even parts of your families on Tuesday night. 

Hope everyone is having a great week!

Lost People Matter To God

Apparently only one group of lost people is important to the world wide web...and that's a TV show!

Nonetheless, I wanted to update you all on what we talked about at the last small group gathering as well as information given at the Launch Meetings on Wednesday nights. BY THE WAY, if you're not coming on Wednesday nights, you should! Last night was AWESOME - Alex led us in some prayer activities - which having someone to guide you in different ways to pray/what to pray for is very helpful for me. I notoriously start a to-do list during prayer and this helped me focus and for lack of a less cheesy way to say it - I really felt the power of prayer. Wes and I have been trading off Wednesday's so one of us can go each week.

Not in any sort of order but just to get the information out there to all:

-Our small group will be moving to weekly meetings, be adding a service component to our purpose and, for the most part, not be providing childcare at the host home for the gathering. It was never really meant to be something that the Cooper's (Wes' parents) were supposed to do each time we met, but they fortunately have. However, they have other commitments at church as well, and moving to weekly, it's just not feasible. PRAY ABOUT THIS - don't just think, oh well we have no options - give it to God.

- Wes offered a challenge to families to start brainstorming ways/places/people to serve that are family friendly, to cut down on the times you have to get childcare. And so we can start early in setting an example for our kids.

-Small groups will look a little different after the launch. There will be more groups and there will be defined time periods for the groups. That way you can try other groups, to meet new people or study a new subject or just to fit any schedule changes you might have. 

-Wes offered a challenge to personally evaluate your commitment level to the small group: are you praying for the people in the group regularly? for the leader? what about your attendance? preparedness?

Okay - I think that covers the small group.

Next would be church information:

- The official launch of Turning Point Church is at 10am on 2/12/12. It's been out there for all to know, but just wanted to reiterate this. We want you all to be there. We want you to invite people to be there as well. ANYONE and EVERYONE. The Launch team leaders had to commit a list of 5 people to Josh/Alex that they would be inviting to the launch. Additionally, they're all fasting from something for 21 days to refocus on God, to eliminate distractions, to remind ourselves that we need Him for any of this to work. 

- I know many people have felt they want to serve but aren't sure where/how. Right now, in our Launch Season (first 2 months), I encourage you to simply ask Alex or Josh or any of the Champions or Directors or Team Leaders where they need help. Until we grow as a congregation, our pool for servants is small. So right now, it IS a bigger commitment because there are only a few of us. But as we grow, your goal will always be to replace yourself - as in, find more people to serve and mentor them in that area.

- The kids area has been experiencing some physical changes - what it looks like, new screens, etc. The sanctuary floor got a new coat of paint. The children's registration area has a new system set up for efficient registration. We're so fancy!

- On January 29th, we will be having a Practice Service at 10am.  This is for ANYONE who is SERVING any where at any time, I believe. Therefore, if you've shown interest in a team, your leader will be letting you know the details for your team. 

OH MY GOODNESS - that was a lot of information. But it's exciting, right? I'm so pumped for this thing to get off the ground. To meet new people from the area. To see people's lives changed by Christ. If we try to work this all out, it will just be work; but if we pray, God will work it out and it will be magnificent beyond what we can even picture or hope for. 

Last night we looked at Acts 2. So many church plants aim for being an "Acts 2" church. That is, having 3000 added to the body. They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They prayed. They listed to the apostle's teachings. They gave up everything to meet anyone's needs. And the last verse of the chapter - the Lord added to them daily those who were being saved. Make that your prayer. 

Small Group

Updated the blog for winter - if only it were actually winter in KY! I'm getting excited about the snow in the forecast for the end of the week. FORTUNATELY, weather won't be a factor for small group tomorrow night.

We're going to be meeting at our house (Cooper's) at 6:30pm Tuesday night (10th) - I think I'm making my potato soup. We'll be wrapping up our reading/study/discussion of Forgotten God by Francis Chan. I think we're just going to watch the final video of Francis talking, so if you haven't been reading the book, no big deal. Regardless of what the book is about, Francis always has an amazing and relevant message on the video.

Most importantly, we're going to chat about the direction of the group, what we'll do next, our schedule, etc. Wes emailed out some points to consider before coming so we can be ready to discuss.

It's been awhile so can't wait to see all of you there!

Launch Time

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I'm sure you've received some of Wes' emails over the past few days regarding our next small group meeting, etc. I'll hopefully update the blog with those details soon - I'm behind with the holidays and then being sick.

TONIGHT is the first Wednesday night launch team meeting/prayer time at 6pm since we've stopped doing Sunday morning service. I don't know if it's reverse psychology or just the Spirit moving, but I really can't wait to go tonight. I'm apparently like a teenager - tell me I can't do something and I really want to. This is how I've felt about no Sunday morning service in January. It's awesome really. Feeling renewed, refreshed, repurposed and ready to go!

Really and truly hope to see all of you there tonight. We hope you'll jump on the fast train of being involved in the launch and be ready to go all in and love God, love people and serve.

Happy Wednesday!