The next big thing at BP!

I’m so proud of the response last week when we returned to two services. You guys gave us a smooth transition with great attendance. Way to go BridgePointe!  The 11:00 AM service is the one that guests are likely to attend and you created more room in that service. That sets us up for Easter as well. Thank you for working together to reach more guests. Reaching un-churched friends and family is our mission on Sundays. Thanks for sharing that vision.

But there’s more to do. As you know, we have a vision to bring our Sunday morning meeting spaces closer together. Having the kid’s facilities close to the worship center will make things more convenient for guests and make it easier for us to invite friends. Our current set-up between three different buildings in not conducive to that. We were working on a plan to change that. We had our eye on a 20,000 square feet building, located at the upper parking lot area, next to the church offices. It’s presently an empty warehouse. We knew it would require many improvements that would be costly and could only be done in phases and we would “improve as we go” when money was raised.

We were ready to commit to that plan when I got a phone call from the owner of the business park where we meet. Due to some needs that other tenants have, he explained that he would like to move another client into the present worship center and allow yet another tenant to take the 20,000 square foot we had wanted to move into one day. Just when I thought things could not be worse, he then surprised me by suggesting he build a new worship center for us, right next to our existing offices at The Foundry. Brand new! He said he would build the worship center at his expense and to fit our meeting needs. He would have us take on both sides of the existing Foundry, one half for pre-school and the other half for elementary kids. The warehouse portion would help to expand the student space as well, with the roll up doors being replaced with double glass doors. The proposed new worship center would almost double our seating capacity and would house our offices and an expanded lobby. He would build a breezeway in-between the building and a covering over the walkways to protect us from rain. We hope to get a plan in place to present to the church soon. A new building could happen as early as one year.

Wow! What a vision! What an incredible opportunity for BP! This new worship center comes at a cost of course and we would basically double our rent. So here’s what we need to do as a team:

 1.     Invite our friends-  Lets each try to invite one person or family to Easter this year.

     2.     Give regularly-  Whatever you give, be as consistent as you can.

     3.     Volunteer on Sunday-  Be a part of the team and part of what God is doing.

You have taken BP this far and I’m convinced you will take BP to its next big thing!

First in!

It will be a first in BP history! We are hosting an indoor baptism on March 24, Palm Sunday, at both services. Being that we were mobile for almost the first 10 years of existence, we were never able to offer baptism indoors and were forced to hold them in the hot sticky summer, outdoors. The heat was so miserable at times, I’m sure there were those who signed up to be baptized a second time just to avoid the heat.

Baptism just might be the next step for you in your spiritual growth with God. Baptism is one of the most exciting expressions of our faith as a Christian. A person is baptized when they are brought under the water and then raised up from it. There’s nothing sacred about the water, yet this simple act has profound meaning. Baptism symbolically pictures new spiritual life that comes from God when we choose to believe what Jesus has done for us and follow after him.

We make a “big deal” out of baptisms at BridgePointe! Baptisms are celebrated like a party and cheered on like a football game! We encourage you to invite your friends as well! Baptisms are a great way to introduce spiritual conversations with friends who may not attend church.

We also videotape your spiritual story of how God is working in your life. This video is shown on the day of your baptism as a way of introducing you. It makes for a very meaningful day for all who attend.

Note your interest in baptism on a connection card or register on our web site. A friendly team leader will contact you. He/she will help prepare you for when the next baptism is scheduled. He/she will let you know what to bring, what to do, what to wear, and what time to arrive. To get you started, there is information available on our web site to learn about baptism. There will also be a brief meeting with a leader to talk through an understanding of baptism and to answer any questions you might have questions.

So be the first in! We’re convinced this will be one of the most memorable events in your life!

Once Upon A Time ...

  

Last week our Technical Director, Jake Till, filmed a video that was shown last Sunday at BP. In this video, you met Lisa and heard her story. She is just like us in many ways. She could be your neighbor, a friend, a co-worker, or the person in front of you at the market.

And like many of us she came to a desperate crossroads where she needed to make a U-Turn in her life. We heard how she took on the challenge and by relying on and leaning into God's strength, minute by minute, made a change that saved her life. It is a simple reminder to me of our simple and singular vision at BP:  To draw people close to God. God is the only one that can give our lives ultimate purpose and has the power to change us. There’s nothing that brings me greater excitement than that!

For us to keep the “once upon a time” stories continuing, we must make room on Sunday for more people. For the last month we have been at full capacity each Sunday, so beginning March 3, Sunday, we will transition to two, one-hour identical services at 9:30am and 11:00am. Our mission has always required a team and this is no exception. You can help in three ways:

     · Consider being one of the 100 people we need to commit to coming to the 9:30am service until the summer. You can note your intention on the connection card on Sunday.

     · Be part of the Parking Team that will need to increase its numbers to assure a great welcome for guests.

     · Be part of the Host Team that will need more people to assist with refreshments and greeting.

Two services will be challenging for us. But you brought us this far and you will take us to where we need to go next …. and beyond.

Let’s make sure the “once upon a time” stories continue. Let’s do together what cannot be done alone.

Making Room for More!

It’s an exciting time to be a part of BridgePointe! Since making our transition to the new campus, we have experienced new guests exploring us every week. Just this month our attendance jumped 15%. We are experiencing a little under 300 adults and about 70 kids weekly. I have personally had the opportunity to hear some of our guests’ spiritual stories. God is at work! What a privilege to play a part in drawing people close to Him. There is a buzz and excitement in the air that continues to build!

As a result, we have clearly outgrown one service. The most we can get in the worship center is about 250 -  and that’s tight. Last week we had about 240 people in the service. If our 30-40 adult volunteers in our Children’s areas came to the service, we would not be able to hold everyone.

The job of the leadership, now, is to make room for more. We are attempting to answer 2 questions:

·          When is the strategic time to jump to 2 services? Logistically, it takes time to double our volunteer teams to cover two services. We don’t want to make any changes until we get through February, due to several long weekends that would affect attendance. Stay tuned!

·          What is the plan to bring the present meeting spaces together in closer proximity of each other? It has been our vision to move all our facility space to the upper parking lot area to solve this challenge. Pray for a meeting the leadership has this week with the owner of the office park to discuss a plan.

Here’s how you can help be part of the preparation:  Commit to a consistent giving percentage each month. Your consistency in giving has far reaching benefits in your spiritual development. It helps you in being intentional in your giving to God. As well, your consistency and faithfulness helps us see where the church is financially which helps us plan for our future.

The earliest Christ followers saw consistency as a value in their giving practice:

Now about the money being collected for the Christians in Jerusalem: You should follow the same procedures ….. On every Lord's Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering …

                                                                                                1 Corinthians 16:1-2 

Wow! What a great challenge to have: Making room for more people! Help us take the next step forward and commit to a consistent giving percentage each month. Let’s make room for more!

"Who Carries You?"

Meet a man in the Bible 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 is humbling and humiliating. He is a grown man but 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 that he walks, has a job, enjoys a woman as a wife, or plays with kids.

But the one thing he’s got 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” manage to carry their paralyzed man to see Jesus. Since the house Jesus is teaching in has drawn a large crowed, 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 the 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 at your church is like waiting for a convenient time to give birth.

Connecting more deeply with people at BridgePointe will require a step out of our comfort zone, but the pay-off is huge! 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 to your body on a hot day. We are designed and shaped to be interdependent in each other and there are no short cuts.

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 so that someone can carry you and you can carry another. Our sign ups for Winter/Spring Session start this Sunday online at the web site and in lobby. Best yet, this time around, all the groups will be going through the same book. If you are new to Life Groups or considering a new group, we are hosting a party called “Inside Life Groups” on January 13, Sunday night. Childcare is provided. In a relaxed setting of food and drinks, you’ll meet others more naturally and have a chance to meet and see what Life Group leaders you connect with. There is no pressure to sign up that night so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

So …who will carry you?