The decision, moving in, and the gap between then and now.

What a great way to end the school year!

·      -150 people at Servolution, descending on 20 homes to do yard work.

·      -The Compassion Team introducing us to our 3 new partners on “Unsung Sunday”.

·      -The return of the BP choir.

·     - Another full house at the last Inside BP event.

The summer is kicking off with the students gearing up for the annual “Motion” conference, the Deep End Workshops taking sign ups, and the new website almost completed. The Lead Team just returned from a mini-retreat where we planned next year’s calendar and focal points of improvement. Next week I will give you a preview of what the lead team is excited about, but I don’t want to get ahead of what’s before us right now.

We will soon need “all hands on deck”,  pulling in one direction, to focus and maximize our energy and efforts on one target: Getting out our mobile condition at the school. The desire would be to get out of our mobile status before the end of the summer. All of us would agree that the numerous hardships in being mobile for 9+ years has caught up to us and such a course is not sustainable.

The facility option that seems to be the most cost effective and the most expedient is the 20,000 square foot warehouse across the parking lot from the current Foundry location. Its present layout is about 15,500 square feet of open space with about 4,500 square feet of built out office area. This option has piqued our interest due to the limited build out it would require, unlike the other options which would require about $200,000 to get started. This particular facility would provide more than enough space for a worship center, a large lobby that could be used as medium size meeting area for gatherings, and open office space. Should we go forward with this, the built out office space in this new facility would potentially become the new TreeTop area (Infants - pre-K), the Foundry could potentially become the new WalkWay area (k-5^th), and the left over open space would be sectioned off for office space. The middle and high-school student’s would have potential options at this location as well. This, of course, would be the “get in” plan and then we go from there.

This potential venture has 3 components. First, the Advisors and Pointe Team will explore the costs for the short list of improvements needed and arrive at an ultimate decision on the move. Should that decision be positive, the second component would be to communicate work and costs related to the move in and utilize your expertise in particular trades, simple elbow grease, and raised dollars. Lastly, and most critical, will be to fill the gap between now and then.

 Here is what that means from now until the end of July:

·      -Volunteer as a children’s worker for 1 Sunday, 1 time.

·      -Make sure your worship giving is strong and consistent this summer.

·      -Volunteer to set up at 7:30 AM or to tear down at 11:45 AM in either the kids area or worship center.

Having one service time at 10:30 AM not only helps the dynamic in the worship service with summer attendance being sporadic, but it also helps pace our set up and worship team volunteers by giving them an extra hour of sleep and helps pace our Children’s workers by giving them some time off.

So hang in there with us! We will need to be pulling together this summer as we seek steps out of our mobile environment. So help us fill the gap between now and then!

Let's be like God .... and give.

This weekend will be memorable. I just know it. Saturday kicks off our Servolution! We have 100 volunteers ready to serve - doing yard work at homes of the elderly, needy, and disabled in our community. If you are not part of a team, show up at 9 AM at the Foundry and we gladly will put you on one. This is not a P.R. stunt for BridgePointe. This is about Christians trying to by more like God by giving. What a privilege to represent Jesus in this way. We will return back to the Foundry for a celebration lunch at 12 noon. I can’t wait to hear the stories!

But it won’t stop there. This Sunday is “Unsung Sunday”.  It’s a time where “compassion” will take center stage. “Unsung Sunday” is an opportunity for us as a church to publically recognize Unsung (unknown) individuals in our local community who are demonstrating compassion in an outstanding way. It’s our way of saying, “What you are doing is important to God, so it’s important to us.” We will also make them the focus of our prayer during this year’s National Week of Prayer. An insert in this weeks’ bulletin will serve as a helpful prayer reminder. This Sunday you will be inspired to make a difference and live on purpose-  I promise! We will also include a recap of the Servolution with a video of workers/teams in action.

We will also introduce you to 4 local organizations that we partner with as a church in helping to make their efforts successful. This Sunday is a chance for you to get to know them, their passion, what they do to help others, and how you can volunteer to be a part of it. They will have displays in the lobby and information readily available. You will hear about these organizations throughout the year and our circle of partners will expand as we grow as a church. This year, the leaders of these organizations will receive the Unsung Hero honors, giving us an opportunity to introduce them to BridgePointe. Make sure you personally connect with our partners at their booth and thank them for making a difference in our community.

The giving continues. A special “shout out” to all those who participated in the Food Drive this last month for Papa’s Pantry, one of our partners. Because of your thoughtfulness, a truckload of food was delivered to them this week. Think about it:  Hungry people in our community will have food because of your giving. Way to go , BridgePointe! And way to go “Moldova Compassion Team”! They raised over $3,000 last weekend at the car show. Every dollar helps fund a summer camp for orphans in the poorest country in Eastern Europe.  Please do all you can to donate items to their giant garage sale this month. Your bulletin this week will give you all the details. Wouldn't it be great if each BridgePointe family donated just one or two things to the sale? We are all have something in our garage, closets, and basements that would be of value to someone. It’s a simple way to make a difference. We can all be partners with the Moldola Team in supporting their work and uniting with their passion.

Let’s be like God ….. and give.