All In

I know it's been a while since my last blog. I'm still kind of new to this so it's like creating a new disciple in my life. Hopefully, this will become a little more consistent. The last few weeks have been amazing. It was about six weeks ago that Suzanne and I were talking about dedicating a time of prayer and fasting for our church plant. She mentioned that we should do a fast leading up to our first preview service. Which, by the way, was this past weekend. I agreed, but I've also got to say that I don't look forward to fasting. On our journey in life we have faced so many challenges and God has been faithful through them all. Even still I found myself in a place of discouragement. We started our small group at the end of August and although we have had a few good meetings, but there have been some meetings that left us discouraged. We have been faithful, working and doing everything that we can. We have prayed and even begged God for this church. My heart has never been more broken for the lost. We had others praying for us. We lacked one thing. Total sacrifice. It's not as though we hadn't made sacrifices along the way. We had, but I believe as God's word says "some things only come by prayer and fasting." We decided to fast 21 days. The 21 day Daniel fast is know as the breakthrough fast and we needed some breakthroughs. Well, in three weeks we: met a milestone financial goal, doubled our attendance in our weekly team meeting, had 61 people in a preview service, had one person saved, and added 7 families to our launch team. That just some of the miracles we saw corporately. I wish I could share all the personal miracles to go along with all that. Not only just for us, but also for members of our team. I have to admit that I have never needed a set of miracles like this before, but God knows just want we need, when we need it. If you are following His will and living His dream. I guarantee He will not let you fail if you go all in. That's what fasting is all about to me. If you are holding anything back in reserve you are only giving the enemy a place to rob and steal the best things God has for you. So, my encouragement to you is go all in and see what God can do when you give him everything.

Relational

Relational is one of the key terms I am using to describe our church plant. I have always been a very relational person. When I was younger I thought that being relational meant being completely extroverted. I had a hard time overcoming my self-confidence to build a lot of relationships, however I have so many close friends that God has given me throughout my life and ministry. That’s because I believe in long-lasting authentic relationships. As my relationship with God grew so did my confidence with people. God created us for relationships, and an effective church will be one that is strategic in building relationships. Our goal at changepoint is to build relationships outside the church for the purpose of leading others to Jesus and to build relationships inside the church to lead others closer to Jesus. Our society has been eliminating the need for relationships for a long time. In a world of drive thru windows, pay at the pumps, and automated services we have to be strategic in order just to meet people, much less build a relationship with them. I pray that God will continue to give me creative ways to build authentic relationships with people in the Cabot area! I also want to challenge you to get out of your comfort zone and build a relationship with someone you don't already know. You never know how God might use you if you give Him a chance.

Unexpected Blessing

Sometimes God brings us unexpected blessing.  As I reflect over the past year, I am amazed at God's provision and blessing in our lives.  Last year as we prepared to leave our ministry to start a church,  I had a feeling that God wanted me to truly learn how to trust Him.  I have always trusted God, but this was different.  Before in my life, I felt somewhat in control.  I could make a decision and I could somewhat predict the outcome.  Following God is not always that predictable.  Think of Abraham, the father of faith, God told him to pack up his family and hit the road.  When asked where they were going his only response was “were going to a city whose builder and maker is God.”  The fact is, he really didn’t know where the journey would take him, but he trusted God anyway.  Along the journey Abraham encountered supernatural favor and blessing for his family.  As I reflect over the past year I can see God’s blessing in our lives.  Every time God meets our needs I’m reminded of his faithfulness to those who place all their hope and trust in Him.  I hope on your journey you will learn to trust Him too.  He is all you need!

The Journey

Life is a journey! I'm so glad God gave me so many great friends and a wonderful family to share this journey with. I could have never imagined what my life would hold for me. God always knew every step I would take even before I was born. That blows me away! Of course I understand that I have a choice to follow God's plan for my life. He knows when I stumble and fall.  He knows when I have the courage to fight, and when I am weak without faith. Even still, He called me and has trusted me with the assignment telling others about Him. Although I'm not at the beginning of my journey, I fell as though I've only just begun. As I embark on the next part of my journey I'm reminded of a promise that Jesus made to all of us. "I will never leave you or forsake you. I will be with you even to the end of the age." I hope on your journey you will remember that your not alone. You have someone to share this journey with. Don't walk alone!