Finishing Well

We were all there once. Remember being in high school when the beginning of May rolled around? It had been a long year and now we were struggling to finish our final exams, let alone show up. Lets face it- by the last month of the school year, we already had checked out. We were there, but we weren’t really “there”. It was hard to finish well as we had waited so long for something to end.

We are there once again this summer and face a similar temptation as a church family. As we look forward at moving into a more permanent home, all of us can taste it! The set up and tear down has taken a heavy toll on all of us. We can’t wait to “get out of there” and not look back. But we must end well because we are more than just “renters”. We are Christ followers:

And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters. ( Colossians 3:17, 23).

We had some miscommunication several weeks ago and thought we could leave everything set up until school started again in August. Well, we were wrong. There may be times when we will get lucky, but our new instructions are that we must take “everything” down each week. This will require volunteers coming for set up at 8 AM, staying about 45 minutes afterwards for take down, and setting up and taking down exterior directional signs. We are asking you to sign up for a Sunday, or Sundays, when you can help with these three things so we can finish well as a team. The church has a small pick-up truck that you can switch with at the Foundry on Saturday night, or early Sunday morning, if you can help set up the signs. You can let us know which Sunday on the bulletin tear-off, by signing up in the lobby, or by e-mailing the office at: wendy.snyder@bridgepointechurch.org.

The Pointe Team is working hard to get us into a new facility as quickly as possible. We cannot promise move-in dates, but things are moving forward. We are outlining a short “to do list” that will get us “in” and we are entertaining bids to project realistic costs. We are waiting for the owner to respond to some initial proposals in working towards a lease arrangement. The Pointe Team has taken the planning process as far as they can take it. We are turning the project over to a General Contractor who will expedite the project in a more systematic way. The next Pointe Team meeting with the Contractor is this coming Monday night.

When God opens the door for us to move ahead, let’s end well at the school. Lets fight the temptation to “check out” at a time when we need to stay focused on the details of set up and tear down. I get it. We are all tired and feel deserving. But let’s not relax and pour the champagne just yet. Let’s end well and make sure each week has a sufficient amount of volunteers to set up and tear down. This is the way we should honor the meaningful memories that our time at the school has given our spiritual lives.

Filling in the Gap

I recently told you the gap between now and when we make a facility move will be critical. We will need everyone pulling in one direction and working together. We had a second meeting with the owner of the facility we have great interest in near the Foundry. This seems to be the facility opportunity with the least amount of expense and the least amount of time to get in. We understand the owner’s needs better and he will soon get back to us to explore a counter offer. Please pray for favor with him and quick timing. We should know more by next week and hopefully be closer to some mutually agreed upon terms. The dream is still to be out of our mobile condition by the end of summer. Our present lease ends mid-June. The school is not increasing our rent and will allow us to break our 12 month new lease with 30 days notice. That allows us to stay at the school into July and cancel the lease when we need to.

I appreciate all those who signed up to help give our Children’s teachers a break this summer. June is looking pretty good with volunteer workers. We have some gaps to fill in for July. So I hope everyone will volunteer to work with our kids at least once this July, for just one Sunday. You can sign up in the lobby for a date that works or you.

We also received permission this week to leave the stage set up in the auditorium over the summer, starting this Sunday. This is back-saver for us and life-saver for the church!  This Sunday we will need volunteers to show up at 7:30 AM to help set up the stage one last time for the summer. I am asking as many men as possible to help set up this Sunday, for both children’s area and worship center. We are waiting to hear back about leaving the lobby and children’s area set up to avoid further set up and take down in those areas as well, this summer. Just think, this Sunday may be our last to set up! Come help us out this Sunday at 7:30 AM and possibly be a part of this historic Sunday.

This summer consider attending a Deep End Workshop, hosted on Sunday nights, from 5-8 PM, at the Foundry. The courses are spelled in a flyer you can pick up on Sunday. I taught the first one this last Sunday and had a great time teaching how to be a “Contagious Christian”. This coming Sunday you can get an overview of the Old Testament from a guest professor from a Christian University. We regret not being able to provide childcare for these courses, but hope that with a facility move, childcare can be offered more regularly. Also consider being baptized on August 5^th if you are Christ Follower. There are brochures available on Sunday morning that explain what baptism is all about.

And finally, this Sunday I am excited about commissioning our Moldova Missions Team. They depart this week to host a summer camp for orphans in the poorest country in Eastern Europe. This is an extraordinary team of BridgePointers who have worked hard to be able to touch the other side of the world with the love of Jesus. What a joy it will be to partner with them in prayer as their church family.

So stay plugged in! Be a part of what God is doing in and through us as a church family!