It feels good to ….

…. WIN!

Last night The Point played in the Softball Quarter-Finals against Valley Stream Blue.  In a surprise to everyone we upset them!  Oh man it felt so good!!!!  We played well.  It is so cool to see our team advance to the Semi-Finals as a 2nd year team!  10 Members of The Point battled it out and rose victorious!

It feels good to win!

We play Farmingdale tonight.  If … no when we win we will be playing on Saturday in the Championship game!  C’mon Point Church, show up tonight at support our guys – 6:30 pm – Wantagh State Park!

192 Confessions

Wow.  What else can I say?  Sunday at The Point was an amazing experience.  I am still feeling a bit emotional about all that God did in our church (and in me).

At the beginning of the teaching we handed out post-it notes to everyone in the theater.  During the teaching I instructed them to (1) Write down their deepest struggle and (2) Write down their greatest life challenge.  At the end of the service we brought out a cross and placed it in one aisle and asked people to place their confession on the cross.  One by one they came!  Then we moved the cross to the other aisle.  Again they came!

I think for the first time we had 100% participation for the closest thing we do to an altar call! 192 Confessions of an Imperfect Church we placed on the Cross of Jesus Christ. Many were crying and others had smiles of release!  It was powerful!!!

Life fails – God never does!

People fall short – God never does!

Money disappoints – God never will!

Employers demote – God doesn’t!

Marriages miss out – God never does!

Children mess up – God never does!

We serve the God who never fails us – he never has and he never will.  We serve a great, big, wonderful God!

Close your eyes and listen to the words of Deuteronomy 32:3-4: “I will proclaim the name of the LORD; how glorious is our God! He is the Rock; his deeds are perfect.  Everything he does is just and fair. He is a faithful God who does no wrong; how just and upright he is!”

We serve the perfect God for imperfect people!

At the end of the service everyone was hugging me.  What a great feeling to know that God spoke through you!

Deborah – “a prophetess”

I love Judges 4 & 5.  They have some pretty amazing nuggets that you miss if you skim it.

Deborah partners with Barak to face Sisera and his army.  Barak was very timid and did not want to face this battle without Deborah.  He tells her that he will fight, but only if she comes with.  Deborah concedes and then says, “… the honor will not be yours, for the Lord will hand Sisera to a woman.”  Wow.  Deborah was one tough, honest woman.

Sisera takes off.  Deborah encourages Barak to hunt him down.  ”Go!  This is the day the Lord has given Sisera into your hands. Has not the Lord gone ahead of you?”

Let’s make this personal.  Whatever God has called you to never forget that He has already gone before you!  You may feel afraid at times, but God is with you. You may have doubts in your heart, but God is with you.

Every leader needs a Deborah – a motivator.  Someone who will push us to the edge in order to embrace the victory God has for us!  For me – that’s my amazing wife, Mary – she is my ultimate motivator and encourager!  She pushes me and pulls out the best in me.  I would never have launched The Point unless she pushed our family!  She is a true Deborah!

Ehud – “The Lefty”

“Again the Israelites cried out to the LORD, and he gave them a deliverer‐‐ Ehud, a left‐handed man, the son of Gera the Benjamite. The Israelites sent him with tribute to Eglon king of Moab.” (Judges 3:15)

The first thing that jumps out at me is that Ehud was a “left-handed man.”  It seems kind of weird.  Why put that in the Bible?  Is it that relevant.  Yes it is.

There is some major irony in the story. The reason it is ironic is because the name Benjamin means “son of the right hand”. So what you have in the story is a “left‐handed man” from the tribe of the “son of the right hand.”

What do we learn?  Ehud was not the typical Benjamite.  He was unique.  The tribe of Benjamin is talked about more than any other tribe in Judges and most of it is negative!  Except this part about Ehud – the “left-handed” in a “right-handed” clan.  Ehud was different.  He was loyal and committed to God!

Don’t try and blend.  Stand out!  Embrace who God made you.

Reflections from the Beach

Yesterday was the first time in our 21 month history that we CANCELLED a Sunday Service.  It’s true.  Why?  We decided to show The Point how important we feel water baptism is.  About 60 people showed up for our 4th of July Baptism to see 8 people “Go Public” with their faith.  It was so amazing!!!

Why do we do our Baptisms in public places?  Because we feel that is what baptism is all about - a public confession of a personal decision.  I am so proud of Amy, Henry, Jennifer, Adeline, Craig, Eileen, CJ & Lucille.  What an amazing day!  So honored and humbled to see people take this step in their spiritual journey!

Several Cool Things:

• We had a lifeguard assigned to us – Mike – he was awesome.  It was the 1st time he ever saw a Christian Baptism.
• The lifeguard staff at Lido Beach was amazing – thanks guys for the rides!
• We had our own designated zone for baptisms.
• Our people were so jacked – cheering, applauding and going nuts before, after and during each baptism.
• People from around the beach were watching and applauding too.  I think our attendance doubled!
• We had so many opportunities to share Jesus with people on the beach who were asking us questions – I shared with 6 people personally.  I heard so many more stories.
• Someone came up to me at the end of the day and said, “I am having way too much fun at this church.”  Love it!!!

I was wiped yesterday, but it was well worth it.  Church is not a building.  It is not something we “schedule.”  It is who we are!!!  Wherever we go, whatever we do WE ARE THE CHURCH!!!!

NEXT BAPTISM:  August 15th @ 2 pm (sign up katherine@pointchurch.tv)

{Pictures to come soon}

Celebrate Mothers Day @ The Point

We are so excited about Mothers Day @ The Point!  It is going to be an amazing day!  Host Team – all men!  Worship Team – all men!  More firsts at The Point!  Moms you will be showered with lots of love – roses, chocolates and smiles!

Plus you will hear my wife, Mary, bring the message.  It is going to be awesome!  She has been praying and preparing for this day for weeks.  You will be challenged as she talks about the STATE OF THE FAMILY!  Wow.  Look out because it is red hot off the press of God’s Heart!  This is another first – and a milestone!

If you are a mom – don’t miss this service!!!  If not, bring your mom to The Point!

Can’t wait!

It all begins @ 10:30 am – don’t be late – you may miss something amazing.  Wait – you will miss something if you are late!

10,234

10,234.  That is the number of eggs that are stuffed and ready for our EGGSTRAVAGANZA.  It is an amazing accomplishment already.  Especially knowing that about 35-40% of our church has or will volunteer for this outreach to our community.

So what are we ready for?

1.  To demonstrate GOD’S LOVE to our community.
2.  To provide an EGGCELLENT event! 
3.  To host 500-1,000 children at all our events.

This has been a faith-filled event.  I can’t wait to see what God has in store in 5 days!  I am excited to meet loads of families from our communities.

Happy Birthday!

On February 17, 2008 a group of individuals launched The Point at Westbury.  It was a big dream.  A God dream.  Fast-forward two years and we never would have thought we would be where we are today!  Today’s our birthday and Sunday we celebrate.

Lessons Learned:

1.  No one can build a church.  That’s God’s job.  Our job is to be obedient to the plans of God.  Trust him.

2.  Church planting requires a team.  I could not imagine starting The Point with just me.  We have a great group of staff and volunteers.

3.  Church planting requires multiple partnerships.  The Point partnered with churches, organizations and individuals to raise the financial resources necessary to launch our church.  Prior to our launch we recruited a prayer team of 150.

4.  Prayer is non-negotiable.  There is no way around this.  You have to pray.  You have to teach your church to pray.  Side Note:  Show your church results of prayer – share testimonies.

5. Life & Ministry are experiments.  Enjoy the journey.  Not everything we do will succeed.  But enjoy what God is doing IN you.

6.  Trust God at all times.  There will be shortages in church planting – resources, personnel, volunteers, cash and space.  God owns it all.  He will provide for you!

7. Cast a big, large net.  Share the vision that God has planted in your life with everyone.  And I mean everyone.  Don’t just look at the next 6 months or 5 years.  Cast vision for the next 20 years.  People are attracted to vision.

Just some thoughts and ramblings from a church planting practitioner on our 2nd Birthday!

Weekend Reflections

Wow.  What an amazing weekend at The Point.  You can feel the energy in the theater every single Sunday.  I love being there.

* Service started 10 minutes early with Christina and Paul free sparring.  Set the stage for our Get Fit: Physically teaching.

* Worship was amazing as usual.  We have one of the best teams.  It’s true!

* Nick brought a great teaching on Physical Fitness.  The Bible compares the church to the body.  Church and Body are both to be healthy – healthy things grow.

* PointKids reached a ***new record*** attendance.  We need to get the 2nd theater.  It would cost another $10,000 per year.

* The Point reached a January Sunday attendance record and our attendance since April 09.

* We had a load of guests.  In fact, when the service began 50% of the attendance must have been guests.  I loved it.

* Our offering has been in a slump.  This week was no different.  Thank God we received some unexpected donations during the week.  God will always make up the difference.

* Our volunteer teams may be some of the best.  Host Team is doing an amazing job.  Set-up/Worship/Audio-Visual is at peak.

It is so awesome to see The Point growing.  Love the passion of our people.  Love the presence of God in a theater.

Merry Christmas!!!

Luke 2:8 “That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.9 Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,10 but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.11 The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!12 And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”13 Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying, 14 “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”15 When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”16 They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.”

From all of us at The Point we wish you a VERY, Merry Christmas!