GP: A Small Church Doing BIG Things

I want to take a moment to brag on Grace Point Church in Odessa, Texas! I'll be honest, I'm partial to them as I have the extreme privilege of serving as the lead minister for this group, but they are a awesome bunch! The past twelve months have been huge for Grace Point and I want the world to know what God has done in our midst as we've made ourselves available to him.

Over the course of 2011 we have had more than 250 people attend Grace Point in one or

more of our worship gatherings. Some of these guests were family and friends while others were searching to become a part of a church. Of those searching, we have had nine new households become a part of the “regulars” at Grace Point! We were blessed

to baptize eight this year.

We also stepped out on a limb this year by trying a Saturday night worship gathering. With help from guest worship leaders like Skip Birtman, Bill Yuhasz, and Andre Furtado, these were great experiences. Though the gathering time seemed like a good idea to many of us to start with, we discovered in the process that Saturday nights work for some congregations, but it just wasn’t the right time for us. So in September, we returned to gathering on Sundays!

Another bold step we took was to partner with Faith Temple Fellowship and their efforts to assist men transitioning out of homelessness through the Jesus House and Soup Kitchen. Beginning in May, a team of GPers spent one Sunday a month preparing meals for the Jesus House Soup Kitchen. More than 30 people participated in this throughout the year, including some 10 kids. This effort to care for others is a great example of how we live a missionary life in our own community.

Speaking of missionaries, we had seven people affiliated with GP attend a mission trip this year. Mother and daughter duo, Channon and Elizabeth Gregg went to Haiti in April. The Greggs served alongside others from Texas in helping in some of the rebuilding following the earthquake of 2010. Christy Tyree joined Project Partner for Christ to teach English for two weeks in China. In late September, I joined Matthew Gregg and Dale Arnold and her son Bryce Harper on a trip to Berlin to witness the efforts of XZBerlin.

If you add the numbers, that means nearly 40 people from Grace Point experienced some level of missionary service in 2011! That’s pretty awesome for a church that averages 55 in attendance.

I’ve not mentioned our efforts for the Spring Fest where more than 200 people showed up for our egg race or the 300 backpacks we gave away to students at Jordan Elementary. We did all this and more through your partnership and an income stream of less than $65,000. What a mighty God we serve!

As we prepare for 2012, join me in believing God is up to something BIG for the year ahead. He is moving in your life; in my life; in our lives. He is at work not only for our benefit but also for the benefit of our neighborhoods, city, state, nation, and world. We should count it a great joy that he has chosen to use us as part of his plan to bring heaven to earth!

Thanks for sharing in the stories of Grace Point and for allowing me to brag on what God is up to in our midst as we make ourselves available to him.