" We're putting our chips on kids"

I’m not much of a gambling man.  We all know there are no guarantees at any card table in Vegas.  The skill in gambling comes down to the ability to calculate probabilities … and that’s about it.  Any fool knows that anything is possible.  But there is a tipping point where the factors lend to the higher odds of something being probable.

BridgePointe is just like any other church.  It has limited resources, volunteers, promotion time, and money.  So we as a church have to decide where to put our “chips.”  The leader in me wants to maximize all of our resources and desires the greatest return on our investment.  I want to minimize the gamble by identifying the most probable payoff spiritually.  Research shows that Children's Ministry is the best investment for our return. It is far more probable that people will respond to spiritual truth before the age of 18 than at any other season in their life.

In regard to spiritual decisions made about God, The Barna Institute research puts the probability at 32% for children between 5 and 13 years old, 4% for children between 14 and 18, and 6% for people 19 years and older.  In other words, attracting younger children to a church to learn about the Love of God will have 5 to 8 times the impact of attracting the same number of older children or adults.  Barna's research on faith development and discipleship also found that the moral development of children is complete by age 9. Research affirms that the foundation for lifelong values and morals are formed at the earliest years.

Barna's research also showed that church attendance by children has a lifelong impact.  The majority (61%) of adults who attended church as children still attend regularly, while only 22% of those who were not churchgoers as children attend church today.  Early churchgoing also has an impact on whether parents bring their children to church.  For parents who were churched as children, 63% take their own children to church.  That's double the proportion among adults who were not churched and now have children of their own (33%).

 This is the ancient insight the Bible gave us: "Train up a child in the way he should go, and 
when he is old he will not depart from it." 
(Proverbs 22:6)

So at BridgePointe, we’re putting on chips where there is the greatest spiritual return:  our kids.  The greatest outreach and ministry window today is among young children.  Look soon for a re-branding of our pre-school.  A new look, new name, new logo, new toys, new matts, new check in lap tops, and new t-shirts for our volunteers.

We’re not gambling at BrigdePointe.  No need to second guess what is possible.  We have probability working for us.  With the odds on our side, we’re investing, not spending.

"Who Carries You?"

Meet a man who has no money, no job, no influence, no family, and no future. He is a paralyzed man living in first century Israel. He has spent his life on a mat that was maybe 3 by 6 feet. That’s his world. Someone has to feed him, clothe him, carry him, move him from getting bedsores and clean him up when he soils himself. It’s humbling; it’s humiliating. He is a grown man who will never be independent.

He cannot contribute to society so he is forced to be a beggar. Most depressing is that there is no real solution.  There are no medicines, surgeries, rehab, or treatment centers that can help him. It’s only in his dreams, really, that he walks, has a job, enjoys a woman as a wife, or plays with kids.

But the one thing he has going for him in life is that he has friends … and great friends. According to Mark 2, his friends courageously go for broke and with a “whatever it takes attitude” they manage to carry their paralyzed friend to see Jesus. Since the house Jesus was teaching at had drawn a crowd, they are forced to be creative:

4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus by digging through it and then lowered the mat the man was lying on.

5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralyzed man, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Imagine that? Jesus directly alludes to the faith of paralyzed man’s friends. There were a lot of things that were completely out of this man’s control, but he knew that having friends was a choice he had to make. And the paralytic’s friends had to make the same choice as well. Imagine how costly it was to be the friend of a paralytic. Truth be told, it’s a choice we all have to make. Waiting for a convenient time to invest in friendships is like waiting for a convenient time to give birth. Simply put, it’s going to cost you no matter what.

But the pay-off is huge …. because all of us have a need for someone to carry us in one way or another. We may not be paralyzed but we will not experience all of what God has for us without a close circle of friends. Friends do to your soul what water does for your body on a hot day. We are designed and shaped to be interdependent on each other and there are no short cuts.

So who carries you? Who encourages you? Who allows you to be real? Who tells you what you need to hear? Who listens to you?  Who visits you? Who eats with you? Who laughs with you? Who cries with you? Who care for you?

Life Groups at BridgePointe are small circles of friends that commit to meet once a week to share life together. There is a Life Group waiting for you to belong to so that someone can carry you and you can carry another. Sign up this Sunday or sign up online. There is a group that fits your availability, community, and interest. Make the choice to have friends.

Who will carry you?

Personal, Not Private

People are moving forward in drawing close to God at BridgePointe! We sent a record breaking number of students, 96, to the Motion Conference in Birmingham two weeks ago.  Over 100 volunteers attended  Pulse in late July.  We baptized 37 people last Sunday. We had a record-breaking number of women, 165, attend the “Women Who Walk Conference” last weekend. It reminded me that BridgePointe is not an organization that we belong to. We are part of an organism-  something that is alive and living.

Being part of a local church is becoming a fast and loose option for today’s Christian. It is often argued that a commitment to a local church is unnecessary because “it’s all about a personal relationship with Jesus.” But this is short sighted. Personal does not mean private. As evidenced in the Bible, personal does not mean intangible either. The New Testament is filled with evidence of a church concept that had definite significance and structure.

1.  Christians regularly gathered for meetings (Heb.10:24-25, I Cor. 11:20) on consistent days  (Acts  20:7, I Cor. 16:2) and at specific locations (Acts 2:46).
2.   Christians localized as distinct congregations/churches within particular locations.
(I Thess. 1:1)
3.   Leadership was established in every church (Acts 14:23) as were detailed requirements for such leadership roles. (I Timothy 3)
4.   Physical and practical needs were met through administrative means.
(Acts 2:45, 4:32-37, 6)
5.   Detailed records were kept among churches. The number of people who became baptized Christians were added to the church (Acts 2:41, 44); A register of widows, under the church’s care, was kept (I Timothy 5:9); Letters and words of commendation were sent between churches regarding individuals. (Acts 18:27, I Cor. 16:3, II Cor. 3:1-2, Rom. 16:1, Col. 4:10)
6.   Financial collections were gathered and sent from one particular church to another.
              (Rom. 15:26, II Cor. 8:6-9:5)
7.   Organized practices of baptism and communion were experienced (Acts 2:41-42, 46) as well as other practices, common to particular churches.  (I Cor.11:17-22)
8.   Personal accountability was conducted in a public procedure that involved an individual church, its leadership, and individuals that knew the one being confronted for sin. (Matt. 18:15-19)
9.   Gatherings of believers were to be done in an orderly fashion. (I Cor. 14:40)
10. Each Christian was to utilize their unique abilities to make a difference. (I Pet. 4:10)

The Church in the New Testament does not sound like something private or intangible. This is why we host Inside BridgePointe Events. We think it’s important for you to know where your church is going and how to be a part of it. We want you to intelligently engage in your church as a living organism of spiritual life, rather than just another organization. Take your next step in drawing closer to God by attending our next Inside BridgePointe event on August 21, from 5:30-7:00. It’s hosted at Tuscany Restaurant in Woodstock where dinner will be served. I hope you will consider a Partnership with us at BridgePointe.