Hello LifePoint family,
Hope you are having a great Saturday. There’s much we need to cover in this week’s newsletter, so be certain to read through to the end. Let’s get to it!
A permanent place for LifePoint
Many of you have been asking about a permanent location for our church. We continue that quest and have been looking at several pieces of property. Thanks to many of you, we are discovering several pieces that might provide a potential place for us to build – if building is what God has for us. That said, rest assured that before we can make any “official” decision on purchasing any piece of property, you, the LifePoint membership, will have to make that decision. Purchasing property or building a facility is much too large a step for one person, or even a group of people, to make. Before we can, or even will, move forward on anything like that, we will make a presentation to the congregation, give all of you a chance to look at the property, ask questions, and pray over it. Only after we have had the opportunity to think and pray through the property can we ultimately decide as a congregation what step to take. All of that to say, there will be a thorough vetting of any location before we decide as a church what to do.
As most of you know, Pam and I have led two churches through a complete relocation. In each instance, although the size of the churches was very different, the process was just as challenging for each. Trust me when I say that this process is both rewarding and daunting. This is important and “big” stuff. Thankfully, God has given us a great facility at UCO to use until He provides the perfect spot for us. So, we don’t have to be in a hurry to move and we have time to proceed with faith and caution. That said, we certainly do not want to be sluggish and drag our feet causing us to possibly miss God. At the same time, we must not run out ahead of God, decide too quickly, and end up missing Him in that way. So, please be praying that we will have clarity and wisdom to see exactly what His plan is and when to step forward. I am confident of this: God has something wonderful for us!
LifePoint Leadership Team
You may recall that our constitution requires three levels of leadership for our church:
- an Executive Team (ET: made up of men who are either ordained or qualify as church elders),
- a Leadership Team (LT: made up of those who lead the individual ministries at LifePoint),
- and the congregation (made up of the official members of our church).
Since LifePoint is only 8 months old, we have been taking these early months to get our “sea legs” as a church. During this time, the ET has been offering the necessary leadership we have needed, and when it was required, we have called upon the congregation to vote on several things that needed that level of action. I believe it is time to activate the LT so we can have all three levels of our leadership operational. So, if you lead any of the ministries of LifePoint, be prepared to receive an email from me in the next few days with information about our first meeting which is tentatively set right now for Oct. 27. (For those of you who are part of the LT, there will be more information to follow.) So, why did I include this information in the newsletter to everyone? I do so because I want everyone to know how things are progressing concerning the leadership structure of our church. Just know that the LT will play a crucial role in helping us make numerous decisions going forward and as an example, they will be essential in recommending a piece of property to the church for consideration when the time comes.
Shepherding Ministry
We are presently working on launching our Shepherding Ministry on Jan 1, 2025. Carl and Penny Allen have prayed about this over the past few months and have graciously agreed to lead this effort. Because of the importance of this vital ministry and the time it will require to bring online, Carl and Penny may begin to pull back from the leadership duties in some of the other ministries they have previously helped to lead. The Shepherding Ministry will operate very similar to a deacon/flock ministry but will not require leaders to be officially ordained as deacons. Here’s how this ministry will function: Carl and Penny will oversee shepherd couples (husbands and wives) who will in turn minister to a “flock” of some six families from our church membership. The job of the shepherds will be to make certain that everyone in their flock is receiving necessary care/ministry and provide for that care/ministry when needed. This ministry will provide a vital flow of information to me and help me to know where my pastoral ministry is most needed. In this way, we can prevent anyone in our church from “falling through the cracks” of ministry. We are presently assessing the number of families (including singles) in our church to determine how many shepherds are needed. Once that process is completed, we will begin recruiting potential shepherds and offer necessary training. Serving as a shepherd is a ministry almost any believer can do, so if you have a heart for ministering to others and think God might want you to be part of this ministry, please contact Carl Allen, Penny Allen, or me.
Voting correctly and voting early
Unless you have been visiting another planet lately, you know that a major election is on the horizon. Sadly, George Barna just released a study showing that some 32 million evangelicals will not vote this November. What a difference those believers would make if they voted in a way consistent with biblical principles! But what is almost as bad as Christians not voting is Christians who vote but don’t know who to vote for. To help with that, we have included in this newsletter a Biblical Voter Guide and information about early voting in the counties surrounding the OKC area (Click here). Please check out the information and cast an informed and biblically consistent vote. If you can vote early, please do and “bank your vote” so that if something comes up on election day, you’ll have already voted.
BRR in New England
I will be traveling to New England after church tomorrow to do a BRR presentation on the 20th just south of Boston, MA. This will be my last BRR presentation this year that takes me out of OK – PTL! Although I do not like being gone from our Sunday services, I feel the need for the New Englanders to hear the BRR message is so great, I have agreed to go. Therefore, I will be absent from our services on Oct. 20. But never fear, we have recorded my Pastor’s Class lesson and the sermon for that day, and I’ll be with you on the big screen. We also have a neat worship experience planned for you that day as well, and I’ll be explaining how that will work tomorrow. The folks hosting the event in Uxbridge, MA are excited about my being there, so I’m looking forward to working with them. I’ll return to OK on the 23rd or 24th and will be back in the pulpit in person on the 27th. Please pray for safe travel and for God’s Spirit to move mightily in this vital mission effort to spiritually dark New England.
2025 Budget meeting Dec. 8
On Dec 8, during the 10:00 AM Bible study hour, we will meet as a church to hear and approve the budget for 2025. The budget will be made available for review a couple of weeks before the meeting. If you want a copy of the budget, just request a copy from Gary and he will see that you get one. Please ask all of the questions you can before the meeting on the 8th, so Gary can answer them early making the presentation and approval process move more quickly. If presentation and approval of the budget goes quickly, I plan to share some thoughts about the future of LifePoint and how our congregation is located throughout the metro area and how that affects our future permanent location.
Tomorrow at LifePoint
- Pastor’s Class 10:00 AM – we will continue the lesson, “The Final Judgment.”
- Worship/preaching service, 11:00 AM – we will continue the sermon series, “God & Government – what every believer must know,” with the sermon entitled, “Our rights – from God or government?”
I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow, |
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